WHAT THE JAPAN-U.S. RIFT MEANS FOR NORTHEAST ASIA (The Chosun Ilbo, Seoul)

Tension between Washington and Tokyo is growing ahead of U.S. President Barack Obama's visit to Japan this Friday and Saturday. The reason is Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's repeated comments since his inauguration in September that Japan has relied too much on the U.S. and will seek a more equal relationship. Hatoyama told lawmakers on Oct. 29 a "comprehensive review" is needed in U.S.-Japan relations.

Hatoyama's cabinet wants to revise a 2006 agreement over the relocation of the Futemma air base in Okinawa. Some lawmakers in the ruling Democratic Party want the air base out of Japan altogether. That is threatening a U.S. strategy to reorganize its troop presence in Asia.

The U.S. and Japan even canceled a foreign ministerial meeting planned in Washington. Some experts are saying the rift is too deep to patch up in a hurry. The U.S. government and media have said recently that Japan is not what it used to be, criticizing it for replacing China as Washington's "headache." The U.S. has considered its ties with Tokyo the cornerstone of its diplomatic strategy in Asia, which is why it is so sensitive.

But Hatoyama is showing no signs of backing down, saying he is against the U.S. attempts to solve problems in Afghanistan by military means. All the while, Hatoyama is looking for closer Asian integration, proposing an East Asian Community.

Hatoyama is not rejecting U.S.-Japan ties. He has repeated that the Washington-Tokyo relationship is the "cornerstone" of Japanese diplomacy but it is clear that U.S.-Japan relations, which have been among the closest over the last 55 years, are undergoing the pains of transformation. These changes cannot be seen solely as the result of Hatoyama's decisions. Behind his new policies in Asia is a widespread realization that Japan cannot walk its own foreign policy path against the background of China's inexorable rise by relying on Washington alone.

In August, Hatoyama claimed that the era of U.S.-led globalization is coming to an end and the world is heading toward a multi-polar order. Washington is bogged down in two wars, and the global financial crisis is testing its resources. Even under the liberal Democrats, Japanese officials worried whether Washington's diplomatic policies favored Tokyo or Beijing. But Japanese officials were shocked to see the Obama administration raise its relationship with China to a "strategic partnership."

It remains to be seen how Hatoyama's new foreign policy will shape up and whether it proves no more than a temporary escape from traditional policies. But it is clear that diplomacy in Asia, where the interests of South Korea, China and Japan are closely intertwined, will change. South Korea faces the task of preparing for eventual reunification with North Korea and must fine-tune its national strategy by accurately forecasting the changes from U.S.'s decline and China's rise. The sounds of discord between Washington and Tokyo should be taken as a wake-up call for South Korea in shaping its national strategy in the increasingly fluid and complex diplomatic landscape of Northeast Asia. (Nov. 9)