Pressure Not Working

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had the fifth meeting with United States President Donald Trump at the State Guest Houses in Tokyo on Monday. Japanese newspapers raised a headline of “Maximum Pressure on North Korea” as the biggest outcome, according to the line drawn by Japanese officials. There was no concrete agreement, however, in terms of actual action against the North’s intimidation of nuclear and missile development. What rather appeared was discordance over trade between both countries.

Abe explained his plan to tighten Japan’s unilateral sanction against North Korea, including freezing assets of additional 35 organizations or individuals related to the North. Abe insisted on their firm bilateral relationship “being together 100%,” which expression was 100% obscure. Trump appealed his own diplomatic standpoint, different from previous administration, by declaring that the time of “strategic patience” was over.

Even how Abe stressed the pressure on North Korea, there was no evidence that those two leaders agreed on actual measures. Nikkei Shimbun focused on whether Abe and Trump had discussed military option in Korean Peninsula. While quoting the words of a Japanese official that the leaders had not discussed evacuation of Japanese citizens in contingency, Nikkei did not deny a possibility of actual proposal on military option. So, what will the alliance do to put further pressure on Pyongyang, anyway?

One topic about the meeting was Trump’s agreement on Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy, in which Abe was hoping to take initiative. Abe proposed that strategy in Tokyo International Conference on African Development in Kenya last year. It was a concept based on democracy, free trade or rule of law, to counter China’s geopolitical strategy called One Belt One Road. Although he did not get into the detail before visiting Beijing later this week, Trump showed basic, or maybe blind, support for Abe.

Instead, Trump did not conceal his conviction as a salesman. Japanese newspapers did not miss a word when Trump appealed “Buy America” policy. “One very important thing for Prime Minister is to purchase enormous amount of military equipments from United States. He should do that. We are making the most sophisticated weapons in the world,” Trump said in the press conference, based on the interpretation of Japanese side. It was unexpected effusion of an ambition of Trump for the Japanese officials. Trump was obviously frustrated with US deficit in trade with Japan.

Those gaps between Japan and US stem from lack of responsible Asia-Pacific policy in Trump administration. Asahi Shimbun quoted a viewpoint of former Assistant Secretary of Defense, David Shear, which raised American politics as one of three uncertainties in Asia-Pacific region, paralleled with emerging China and nuclear and missile development of North Korea. This instability cannot be covered by golf play or treating wagyu.