Tokyo faces new challenges in US relations under Biden

Significance

Presumptive presidential election winner Joe Biden is reputed not to have trusted Suga’s predecessor, while Democratic governments in general are seen in Tokyo as giving Japan a low priority.

Impacts

• A US return to multilateralism will begin to rebuild Japan’s diminished respect for the United States.
• East Asia specialists may return to the US State Department, making for better informed and probably more consistent policy towards Japan.
• Talks on repairing Japan-South Korea relations are reportedly underway behind the scenes; a creative solution may be found.
• Together with European partners, Japan and the United States would make a powerful alliance at the COP26 climate talks in November 2021.