The jacket of this hefty chronicle of the recent history of Japan-U.S. security relations proclaims that Japan has found its Bob Woodward. Consider yourself warned.
The Washington Post's seemingly indefatigable investigative reporter has carved out a distinctive niche in journalism, featuring minutely detailed accounts gleaned from access to high-ranking decision-makers. Funabashi definitely matches Woodward there: "Alliance Adrift" is packed with information, from former Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto's drink preferences to the bargain rates the Hotel Okura charges the Japanese government. His access is extraordinary. The list of interviewees covers just about every major player on both sides of the Pacific, and he -- unlike Woodward -- footnotes almost every quote. (In some private conversations, he provides the thoughts of both participants.)
For real info-junkies, this stuff is a gold mine. But most readers will be on the ropes after 100 pages. A periodically clunky translation, a tendency to put far too many phrases in quotes -- not because anybody said anything but because the English phrase was used in Japanese (I assume) -- and a narrative that seems to go backward in time, all cry out for a good editor. "Alliance Adrift" could be half as long and would lose precious little.
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