Prime Minister Koizumi Junichiro has done an extraordinary job in leading Japan's response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States. Both the package of measures his government put together to support the U.S.-led coalition against terrorism and the speed with which it was approved have been nothing less than astounding.
But the prime minister's work is not yet done. The dispatch of Self-Defense Forces has renewed questions in the region about Japanese intentions and ambitions. Koizumi's next task is responding to those concerns: He has an historic opportunity to build a new framework for Japan's relations with its neighbors.
Japan's decision to send Maritime Self-Defense Forces to the Indian Ocean to assist the U.S. was a landmark event: It is the first time in the postwar era that Japanese forces have participated in a ongoing military campaign.
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