Japan Must Look Beyond America

Four months into his second term, U.S. President Donald Trump has stunned both the American people and the wider world by his administration's rapid-fire actions, which include forcefully deporting immigrants and enacting major reforms of the federal government via the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency.

- AKIHIKO TANAKA

On the foreign policy front, he has delivered a shock by effectively abolishing the U.S. Agency for International Development, as well as by withdrawing from the Paris Agreement on global warming and the World Health Organization.

At the White House, Trump also had a spat with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, sending chills down the spines of many people around the world. There were fears that the Trump administration might try to push Ukraine to capitulate to Russia, in accordance with Moscow's wishes.

Then, in early April, Trump announced plans to impose "reciprocal tariffs" on almost every country and region. He set off a global panic when he added that Washington would impose additional tariffs on about 60 countries and regions with which the United States has large trade deficits.

The world is being swayed by the superpower that is the United States and is struggling with how to respond to the Trump administration. This is especially true for Japan—the United States is its one and only ally and its largest target for investment abroad. It is only natural for Japan to view its relationship with the United States as the most important.

However, there are more countries in the world than just the United States. Japan is now faced with the question of how to develop a comprehensive and proactive foreign policy that takes into account the entire world while maintaining appropriate relations with the United States.

Actually, Japan already has the answer in its vision of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP). While focus has recently shifted away somewhat from this concept toward immediate Japan-U.S. relations, this is a vision that not only can endure but could prove vital during the Trump era.