Foreign policy is never a cutting-edge issue in U.S. presidential elections, and this year's campaign is no exception. Even when the candidates have ventured into the territory, the focus has been on China, North Korea or the role of U.S. forces in Europe or Africa or even Haiti. When Japan makes the agenda, it's usually in response to economic difficulties in the United States, with policymakers looking for a scapegoat. This year, however, the U.S. economy continues to hum along and Japan has gone virtually unmentioned.

Why is it, then, that three blue-ribbon groups in the U.S. have released reports in the last few months that try to chart a future course for the Japan-U.S. relationship? Both the security and the economic aspects of the alliance have come under intense scrutiny. That seems odd, given the relative lack of friction between the two countries just now.

Cynics might say it reflects the relative imbalance between the two countries. The U.S. is riding a wave of economic growth; Japan is still digging out of the worst recession of the postwar era. That disparity puts the U.S. in a prime position to restructure the bilateral alliance to its liking.