Japan’s foreign policy is frequently criticised for only following that of the US. Indeed, Japan often moves in step with the US on security issues because of the US-Japan alliance, but in many other situations, it does pursue policies that differ from those of the US, such as energy diplomacy, economic diplomacy, and Asian diplomacy.
Also, unlike the US, Japan maintained friendly relations with Iran after the Iranian revolution in the 1970s, and it also took a different stance from the US on issues surrounding Cambodia during the same period, playing an important role in the Cambodian peace talks. China is well aware of this, and during the “honeymoon” period between Japan and China in the 1980s, China clearly opposed the Soviet Union and the US on the Cambodian issue, while taking the same stance as Japan.
In full: https://www.thinkchina.sg/politics/japans-sensitive-approach-cooperation-cambodia
