On February 19, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld met with their Japanese counterparts to adopt a Joint Statement on common strategic objectives and defense cooperation. At this meeting, the United States and Japan clearly stated their common interests in the de-nuclearization of North Korea and the peaceful resolution of the Taiwan Strait dispute, while calling on China to improve its military transparency. The Joint Statement also pledged the United States and Japan to strengthen their defense ties and work to induce China to play a constructive role in Asia.

Does this Joint Statement presage a period of intensified strategic cooperation between the United States and Japan? What will be the implications of U.S.-Japanese cooperation on ballistic missile defense research and development? What role can the United States expect Japan to play in the event of a conflict over the Korean Peninsula or the Taiwan Strait? What measures should the governments of the United States and Japan adopt to sustain a new era of strategic cooperation? These and other questions will be the subject of an AEI panel discussion.