It’s time for Japan to rethink its security dependency on Washington

It's time for Japan to rethink its security dependency on Washington It's time for Japan to rethink its security dependency on Washington

Robert Dujarric is co-director of the Institute of Contempor Asian Studies at the Japan campus of Temple University.

The cornerstone of Tokyo’s security is the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty. But what matters most is not the American pledge to defend Japan — treaties, unlike private contracts, aren’t enforceable. No government will go to war solely because a document says it must.