The Rise and Fall of the “Revisionist’ View of Japan in the United States Yu Tiejun (57) The article starts from the investigation of the rise and decline of the American “revisionist” view of Japan in the late 1980s and early 1990s and its influence on Americas Japan policy, especially the trade policy. The article then explores the role of perceptions in international policies and the relations between perceptions and power. While recognizing the importance of perceptions, the author argues that perceptions can be better understood only through the actual situation in the power equation, because the change in the balance of power often conditions the ground for political views to play their role. The interaction between power and perception provides a key to better understanding the U.S.Japan relationship in recent times.