オバマ氏万歳！

Japan has traditionally been wary of Democratic Presidents and close to Republican administrations, so it wasn't a great surprise to see this Washington Post article on Japan's lukewarm reception of Obama's victory. (Aside from the town of Obama, Japan, which can't get enough of the guy. Mostly because he represents a celebrity boost, however slight, to their worn out rural economy.)

While this is an extremely complex and thorny issue, and I think the article tackles it as best it can, I can offer my own humble assessment. Although Japan has one of the largest and most well equipped military's in the world, Japan is still under the US's nuclear umbrella, and the Japanese constitution still forbids military aggression as a force of international diplomacy. In addition, Japan seems to have a hard time admitting how dependent it is on international cooperation. The country imports a large amount of its food, it relies on other countries for raw materials to keep its economy going, and while it does have somewhat of a manufacturing base, it is also heavily invested in international trade and finance.

While the article perhaps overstates anti-American sentiment in Japan, I would say that rather the country feels alone in Asia and at the mercy of the whims of the US. Since Republican presidents have generally been more congenial to Japanese interests, Democrats are viewed warily.

Which is the reaction I saw from friends of mine in Japan, whose reactions varied from ecstatic and hopeful to vaguely wary, realizing it was a milestone for the US but wondering how he would treat Japan.