Lessons of history

Shinzo Abe has become the first Japanese prime minister to visit Pearl Harbour since his country’s attack on the US base there brought America into the Second World War. American involvement in the war helped make the US into the ultimate guarantor of Western security and thus the greatest cause of peace and prosperity in the modern world.

The Pearl Harbour visit is timely, and not just because Japan is debating amending the post-war constitution written for it by its US conquerors that forbids an active military role in the world.

The election of Donald Trump as US president raises questions about American willingness to go on providing security guarantees that were previously seen as cornerstones of the global order. During his election campaign, Mr Trump appeared to question America’s promise to defend Japan, something that can only embolden the nuclear – armed rogue regime in North Korea and push Tokyo to seek nuclear arms of its own. An arms race in east Asia is in no one’s interests. Mr Trump has also had hard words for China, raising fears of a trade war between the world’s leading economies, another unnerving prospect.

In Franklin Roosevelt’s phrase, the bombing of Pearl Habour still lives in infamy. But the long and effective post-war partnership between the US and Japan offers a much happier lesson: when nations swap goods and services instead of bombs and bullets, the profits are not just financial ones. Trade makes the world richer, but also more secure; business partners may disagree, but rarely do so militarily. These are tense times in Asia. Trade is a good way to calm nerves and ensure that the mistakes of history are not repeated.