The Japan Institute of International Affairs (JIIA) and the Pacific Forum were delighted in 2008 to once again co-host the 14th annual Japan-U.S. San Francisco Security Seminar on March 28-29, 2008 in the city where the alliance was established. We had much to discuss.

The U.S.-Japan security alliance continues to evolve. Changes in Japan, the U.S., and within the alliance, don’t occur within a vacuum. They are a response to, and are affected by, changes in Asia and elsewhere. Political, economic, and military developments are reshaping relationships within the region; Northeast Asia, in particular, is being buffeted by these forces. Officials in both governments are working on ways to deal with those changes. Their ability to focus on the future is another departure from the past and another indicator of recent successes: problems that once threatened to cause crises have been deftly handled by alliance managers.

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