“There are several reasons why Japan should look forward to an Obama presidency. First of all, Obama is the first person to become President for whom Asia is not a far away region with which he has little personal experience but is an integral part of his life experience.”—Gerald Curtis

The Weatherhead East Asian Institute has posted a column by Gerald Curtis which argues that Japanese-American relations are bound to improve during an Obama administration.

Curtis who is the author of The Logic of Japanese Politics: Leaders, Institutions, and the Limits of Change and other titles, writes, “As President, Obama will seek to strengthen the US-Japan alliance. Like the Presidents who have preceded him, he will encourage Japan to do more to contribute to regional and global security. But the Bush Administration put too much emphasis on the military dimension of the relationship alone. Obama is truly a President for the 21st century. He understands that security involves military power and much else as well: protecting the environment, stopping global warming, preventing the emergence of pandemic diseases, raising the African continent out of dire poverty, developing new sources of energy and reducing energy consumption.”

You can read the entire column here.