Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s highly symbolic visit to Pearl Harbor yesterday was touted as an emblem of the closeness between Japan and the US, coming half a year after Barack Obama made a historic trip to Hiroshima.
Yet as the Japanese and US leaders prepared to honour the 2,403 Americans who lost their lives in the 1941 surprise attack that propelled the US into the second world war, uncertainties cloud the future of the partnership.
President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign comments raised doubts about his commitment to US postwar alliances, as he complained about the cost of US military support and vowed to tear up the Trans-Pacific Partnership that Mr Abe and Mr Obama advocated.