Japan is a major area of engagement for the East Asian foreign policy of the Obama Administration . In her inaugural tour of East Asia , U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reassured Japanese officials of Japan 's centrality in the network of American alliances . In a response to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami , the United States initiated Operation Tomodachi to support for Japan 's disaster relief following the natural disaster earning gratitude from Japan 's Minister of Defense , Toshimi Kitazawa , who while visiting the '' Ronald Reagan '' , thanked its crew for its assistance as part of Operation Tomodachi saying , " I have never been more encouraged by and proud of the fact that the United States is our ally . " Not long after Obama took office as President of the United States on 20 January 2009 , North Korea elbowed its way back onto the international stage after a period of relative quiet during the waning months of the Bush administration . But in spite of a pledge , made during George W. Bush 's last few weeks as president , to denuclearize , North Korea drew accusations of planning a new long-range intercontinental ballistic missile test weeks after Obama was sworn in . The accusations , which came mostly from Japan , the Republic of Korea , and the United States , were countered by Pyongyang 's insistence that the alleged rocket launch preparation identified by U.S. spy satellite observation was actually groundwork for a North Korean satellite launch
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
East Asian foreign policy of the Barack Obama administration