Joint U.S. Korea Academic Studies
From the Issue
Joint U.S.-Korea Academic Studies 2013About Joint U.S. Korea Academic Studies
For over twenty years, KEI has sponsored annual major academic symposiums at universities across the country and major academic conferences. Each year, papers are specially commissioned to fit panel topics of current policy relevance to the U.S.-ROK alliance and implications for the Korean peninsula. Following the symposium, KEI edits and publishes those papers in an annual volume entitled “Joint U.S.-Korea Academic Studies.”
The View from Japan
How do the Japanese view the Sino-U.S. national identity gap? Their views are naturally informed by their own national identities and their national identity gaps with China and the United States, while also viewing the Sino-U.S. relationship through the lens of Japan’s perceived national interests. They long regarded Japan as a natural bridge between the two countries, briefly feared that the two would have find an affinity at Japan’s expense, and recently have found consolation in the notion that irreconcilable differences are driving China and the United States far apart. This progression is traced below before this paper concentrates on the recent Sino-U.S. gap, noting Japan’s overlap with its ally, but also observing Japan’s loss of interest in learning from the United States.