Japan–United States Security Treaty

Japan–United States Security Treaty (1951, 1960) The Japan-US Security Treaty of September 1951 and subsequent agreements have provided the basis of Japanese foreign and defence policies since the war. The pact was signed in 1951 at the same time as the San Francisco Peace Treaty which concluded the peace with the Allies except the USSR and China. The first security treaty was widely viewed in Japan and elsewhere as unequal and many opposition forces within Japan argued that it was unacceptable. Under the terms of the treaty and its accompanying agreements, US forces stationed in Japan had no obligation to protect Japan, while the Japanese government had no control over the deployment of those forces inside or outside its territory. During the 1950s when the misdeeds of US servicemen were the subject of media attention and public outcry, US personnel also enjoyed extraterritoriality. The 1960 treaty did much to rectify this imbalance, requiring US forces to defend Japan while removing the possibility that they would interfere with domestic affairs. US service personnel also became subject to Japanese law. Despite these improved conditions, the treaty was ratified by the Diet amid scenes of massive popular protest. Since that time, the security relationship with the USA has attracted less controversy, although the case of US servicemen raping a Japanese teenager in Okinawa in 1995 reignited mass opposition to the presence of foreign military bases there.