Obama and Japan: An Endangered Legacy

Th is chapter will discuss the legacy of the Obama administration of 2009– 17 for US– Japan relations. It will highlight elements of change and continuity that characterised the Obama years in the realms of security and economic policy, as well as the significance of historical memory and the processes of reconciliation between the two countries. It will also discuss policy shift s promoted by the administration of President Donald Trump at around the halfway mark of his 2017– 21 presidential term in office. The Trump presidency, it is argued, has injected a high degree of uncertainty into the bilateral relationship, causing perceptions of declining American influence in the region, especially in the economic realm.