Chief Cabinet Secretary of Japan, Yasuo Fukuda, incites controversy and criticism with his comments on Japan's longstanding nuclear policy.

The U.S.-Japan security alliance is at a crossroads. The outcome of certain decisions to be made in 1998—the Japanese Diet's vote on legislation necessary to implement the new U.S.-Japan Guidelines for Defense Cooperation, the implementation of the recommendations of the Special Action Committee on Okinawa (SACO), and the nature of Japan's participation in the Theater Missile Defense (TMD) system with the United States—will determine the path of the security relationship for years to come. One course will lead to a weakening of the alliance, with reduced obligations and expectations on both sides. The other is a path toward strengthening the alliance, with a greater mutual commitment to dealing with the Asian security challenges of the 21st century.

The Asian financial market meltdown and the fierce debate over the U.S. role in a bail-out tend to obscure the huge scale of American exports to the region, currently $200 billion a year. Washington's efforts to promote U.S. exports to Asia are equally controversial, having been tarred by the "Huang-gate" hearings on illegal campaign donations and accusations of political favoritism and corporate welfare.

The issue of the future of U.S.-Japan security ties is an extremely timely one. Events such as the rape incident in Okinawa and massive public demonstrations in Japan against the U.S. troop presence call into question the long-term stability of the alliance between the two nations. This study group is undertaking an investigation into U.S.-Japanese relations with the premise that the United States urgently needs to reexamine current assumptions about this "immutable" relationship.

Japanese Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama gave these remarks on August 15, 1995, the fiftieth anniversary of the end of World War II. He expresses remorse for Japan's nationalist actions during the war and the need to learn from history to promote peace and improve international relations.

The Convention for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna (CCSBT) was signed on May 10, 1993 and entered into force on May 20, 1994.

This treaty, "Agreement between Japan and the United States of America Concerning the Ryukyu Islands and the Daito Island," negotiated control of Okinawa back to Japan while maintaining U.S. military forces on the islands. It is known more commonly as the Okinawa Reversion Agreement.

Japan and some of the Allied Powers signed this treaty on September 8, 1951, in San Francisco, and it came into force on April 28, 1952. It officially ended World War II, outlined compensation for former prisoners of war in Japan, and renounced Japan's rights to some overseas territories.