Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe commenced an eight-day visit to the US Sunday. He has been offered the unprecedented chance to address a Joint Session of the US Congress on Wednesday.

Excited about the high-profile arrangement, Japanese society is becoming increasingly inclined to take Washington's attention as their major source of confidence. The US means so much to Japan that it disregards the rest of the world.

US civil society and its political sphere hold veiled or half-veiled criticisms of Abe, whose attitude toward some WWII issues has been scorned. Before Abe's visit, some major US media organs published editorials in which they requested Abe to face up to history.

Besides, in contrast to Abe's great interest, his US counterpart Barack Obama doesn't act equally enthusiastically. Obama will accompany Abe for only one day during his visit.

These signs show that US society has complicated feelings for this hawkish Japanese leader. What Washington values is probably nothing but how to use Abe and Japan to the max. Japan remains the most loyal ally and favorite lever of the US in geopolitics.

Considering the fact that Japan itself is quite strong in many terms, such a lopsided alliance is not normal in international relations. Perhaps the changing climate of Asia is pushing Japan to fawn on the US more vigorously.

Most countries attach importance to balanced diplomacy, for example, although China and Russia draw closer due to the challenges from the Western world, their strategic partnership is not an "exclusive alliance." Even close US ally the Philippines has greater independence in foreign affairs than Japan has.

To Washington, China matters much more than Japan. Without the ability to strike a balance, Japan is no longer qualified to be in the three-party China-Japan-US relationship. It has reduced itself to a bargaining chip in Washington's China policy.

The US is employing the "carrot and stick" approach to Japan - giving Abe a courteous reception on the surface but imposing pressures on him on certain issues - so that Washington is able to keep a condescending position toward Japan.

Japan is craving a recovery in its status as a "normal state." But its actions are abnormal. For instance, many Japanese administrations keep an ambiguous stance on Japan's wartime atrocities. The prevalence of nationalism in Japan is way out of proportion to its highly advanced economic development. Japan seems to be covering some of its natural flaws by pushing the Japan-US alliance to the highest level.

Abe's visit is not a big deal, because Tokyo has lost the initiative to maneuver its relationship with Washington. This visit will characterize Washington acting like a suzerain in front of Japan.

US-Japan relations have been branded as an alliance to contain China. However, direct dialogues between Beijing and Washington draw more attention between the leaderships of both sides, making the "containment" policy less favorable. In this scenario, Japan is playing second fiddle in Asia-Pacific geopolitics.