An independent foreign policy, 1971-89
During this period Japan fashioned a number of foreign relations initiatives that collectively suggested a more active and independent foreign policy, despite still sheltering under the American security umbrella and despite the central role that was still accorded to relations with the United States. These initiatives may be seen as a response to a relative decline in American hegemonic power, as expressed in the Nixon Doctrine and in the removal of the American dollar from the gold standard.