Shizuoka City, October 2 – The Assistant Professor at the University of Washington’s Henry M Jackson School of International Studies and Japan Studies Chair, Dr. Robert Pekkanen, spoke about the impact of the new U.S. administration on U.S.-Japan relations to an audience of prefectural assembly members in Shizuoka.

During the speech, Dr. Pekkanen stated that both Barrack Obama and John McCain appear to have the same policy goals vis-à-vis Japan.

Both administrations would view Japan as a key ally and work to expand the scope of the U.S.-Japan military partnership, according to this U.S. scholar of Japanese studies.

However, Dr. Pekkanen stressed that Obama and McCain’s policies regarding other regional actors, including China, the two Koreas and Russia, differ and that those different policies would affect the U.S.-Japan relationship.