Primary Source Document
with Questions (DBQs)
B I L A T E R A L S E C U R I T Y T R E A T Y B E T W E E N T H E U N I T E D S T A T E S O F
AMERICA AND JAPAN (SEPTEMBER 8, 1951)!
Introduction
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Although the American Occupation of Japan came to an end on April 28, 1952, when the San Francisco Peace Treaty
went into effect, the United States was hardly prepared to abandon its military presence in Japan. With Japan a key
strategic partner in Cold War Asia, the Korean War still in progress, and the military threats from China and the Soviet
Union apparently very real, American planners were insistent that substantial U.S. forces needed to remain in place in
Japan. At the peace negotiations in 1951, the Japanese delegation was pressured to endorse a separate security
agreement with the United States. The Japanese were reluctant to accept this ongoing subordination to America, but
had no choice but to acquiesce, signing the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty on the same day (September 8, 1951) as the
San Francisco Peace Treaty. The Security Treaty was revised and renewed in 1960 and almost 50,000 American troops
are still stationed in Japan today.
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Selected Document with Questions
From Sources of Japanese Tradition, edited by Wm. Theodore de Bary, Carol Gluck, and Arthur L. Tiedemann, 2nd ed., vol. 2 (New
York: Columbia University Press, 2005), 1071-1072. © 2005 Columbia University Press. Reproduced with the permission of the
publisher. All rights reserved.
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Japan!has!this!day!signed!a!treaty!of!peace!with!the!Allied!Powers.!On!the!coming!into!
force!of!that!treaty,!Japan!will!not!have!the!effective!means!to!exercise!its!inherent!right!of!self‑
defense!because!it!has!been!disarmed.!
There! is! danger! to! Japan! in! this! situation! because! irresponsible! militarism! has! not! yet!
been!driven!from!the!world.!Therefore,!Japan!desires!a!security!treaty!with!the!United!States!of!
America!to!come!into!force!simultaneously!with!the!treaty!of!peace!between! the!United!States!of!
America!and!Japan.!!
The!treaty!of!peace!recognizes!that!Japan!as!a!sovereign!nation!has!the!right!to!enter!into!
collective!security!arrangements,!and!further,!the!Charter!of!the!United!Nations!recognizes!that!
all!nations!possess!an!inherent!right!of!individual!and!collective!self‑defense.!
In! exercise!of!these! rights,! Japan! desires,! as! a!provisional!arrangement! for! its! defense,!
that!the!United!States!of!America!should!maintain!armed!forces!of!its!own!in!and!about!Japan!
so!as!to!deter!armed!attack!upon!Japan.!
Primary Source Document with Questions (DBQs) on
BILATERAL SECURITY TREATY BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
AND JAPAN (SEPTEMBER 8, 1951)!
Asia for Educators l Columbia University l http://afe.easia.columbia.edu Page 2 of 2
The!United!States!of!America,!in!the!interest!of!peace!and!security,!is!at!present!willing!
to! maintain! certain! of! its! armed! forces! in! and! about! Japan,! in! the! expectation,! however,! that!
Japan! will! itself! increasingly! assume! responsibility! for! its! own! defense! against! direct! and!
indirect!aggression,!always! avoiding!any!armament!which!could!be!an!offensive!threat!or!serve!
other!than!to!promote!peace!and!security!in!accordance!with!the!purposes!and!principles!of!the!
United!Nations!Charter.!
Accordingly,!the!two!countries!have!agreed!as!follows:!
Article! 1.! Japan! grants,! and! the! United! States! of! America! accepts,! the! right,! upon! the!
coming!into!force!of!the!Treaty!of!Peace!and!of!this!Treaty,!to!dispose!United!States!land,!air,!
and!sea!forces!in!and!about!Japan.!Such!forces!may!be!utilized!to!contribute!to!the!maintenance!
of!international!peace! and!security!in!the!Far! East!and!to! the!security!of! Japan!against!armed!
attack! from! without,! including! assistance! given! at! the! express! request! of! the! Japanese!
Government!to!put!down!large‑scale!internal!riots!and!disturbances!in!Japan,!caused!through!
instigation!or!intervention!by!an!outside!power!or!powers.!
Article!2.!During!the!exercise!of!the!right!referred!to!in!Article!1,!Japan!will!not!grant,!
without!the!prior!consent!of!the!United!States!of!America,!any!bases!or!any!rights,!powers!or!
authority!whatsoever,!in!or!relating!to!bases!or!the!right!of!garrison!or!of!maneuver,!or!transit!of!
ground,!air,!or!naval!forces!to!any!third!power.!
Article! 3.! The! conditions! which! shall! govern! the! disposition! of! armed! forces! of! the!
United!States!of!America!in!and!about!Japan!shall!be!determined!by!administrative!agreements!
between!the!two!Governments.!!
Article! 4.! This! treaty! shall! expire! whenever! in! the! opinion! of! the! governments! of! the!
United! States! of! America! and! Japan! there! shall! have! come! into! force! such! United! Nations!
arrangements! or! such! alternative! individual! or! collective! security! dispositions! as! will!
satisfactorily!provide!for!the!maintenance!by!the!United!Nations!or!otherwise!of!international!
peace!and!security!in!the!Japan!area.!
![Dennett!and!Durance,!eds.,!Documents*on*American*Foreign*Relations,!vol.!9,!1951,!pp.!266–67]!
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Questions:
1. Is the 1951 Security Treaty consistent with the spirit of Article 9 of the 1947
Constitution?
2. How would you characterize the relationship between the United States and
Japan under the Security Treaty? How was this treaty in the interests of the
United States? Of Japan?
3. Under the Security Treaty, what was the explicit function of the U.S. troops
stationed in Japan? Was it!simply to defend Japan from external attack?
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