Introduction

Abstract

On April 15, 2013, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry traveled to Tokyo to deliver an address outlining what he termed a “21st-Century Pacific Partnership.” Speaking as the chief diplomat of “a Pacific nation,” Kerry reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to what he termed “our Pacific partnership,” reminding his listeners that President Barack Obama had expressed a conviction “that the Pacific Ocean doesn’t separate us so much as it connects us.” The Secretary reviewed the myriad connections—diplomatic, political, economic, cultural—between the United States and the nations and peoples of the Pacific region, pointing to the historical legacies of the longest-lasting of these often complicated connections, between the United States, Japan, and China. Kerry also praised the power of people in “overcoming conflicts that seem to be locked in time,” whether in Vietnam, the Philippines, or Burma, and expressed optimism for the future, a time in which “our shared values” will demonstrate “a mutual recognition that we are all in this together, otagai-sama, and a conversation that begins with the realization that cooperation can benefit us all.” And he predicted that the 21st century would be dominated by issues that were inherently international or even transnational in their makeup, such as human rights, human trafficking, and resisting environmental degradation.