President Obama visits US allies and partners this week during a visit to Asia. In Japan, Obama dreams of sushi and a resolution of TPP, and Jiro dreams of a US pivot.

In my piece for Asahi Shimbun, I argue that the focus of alliance management for the US and Japan will be two key issues over which their interests diverge: the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands, and historical memory.

For another piece that focuses the conversation not on distractions like US actions in Ukraine, but on the core interests at stake for the United States in East Asia, see Stephen Walt’s recent post.