"An Odd Couple"

The national systems (of Japan and the United States) are extraordinarily disparate, to the point of incompatibility. Japan's penchant for explicit planning, for administrative guidance, and for collective national action could not be further from the norms and preferences of the United States.

And yet...

Sharing between Japan and the United States remains a possibility primarily because it is so difficult to picture a set of events in the future that would effectively reduce the interdependence between them. Japan appears to have few options other than to live alongside the United States, even if in constant discomfiture. Except for the possibility of a sporadic unfriendly gesture, the United States is unlikely to block Japan's choice to remain in the American camp, as long as the Japanese elect to remain there. The two countries seem doomed to continue as the odd couple, sharing little in habits, values, and aspirations, yet unable to make any other choice but to accommodate themselves to one another's existence.

Raymond Vernon, Two Hungry Giants.