Join the Asia Society Policy Institute for a panel discussion to explore the state of the current U.S.-Japan relationship and what the key areas of focus are likely to be for U.S. President Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba in 2025 and beyond. Both Trump and Ishiba face divisions within their own parties that could complicate bilateral coordination on security and economic relations. A complicated agenda awaits: the recent decision on Nippon Steel, possible tariff hikes, burden-sharing negotiations, uncertainty about U.S. leadership in multilateral bodies, increasing concerns around the future competitiveness of Japanese and U.S. industries in the face of Chinese expansion, and the emphasis on economic security in economic and trade decisions are just a few of the challenges for the two leaders at the start of a turbulent year. 

This event is part of the ASPI’s multi-year program for Japan’s emerging female leaders (EFL), which is an integral element of ASPI’s broader initiative, “Building Trade Ties with Asia’s Emerging Female Leaders.” As part of this program, selected Japanese female professionals, who are rising in the field of trade, business, and public policy, will embark on a journey to the U.S., engaging in briefings, workshops, and networking events. The EFL program aims to deepen their understanding of how U.S. trade and economic policies are developed and what the most pressing trade and economic challenges today are, enhance their negotiation and leadership skills, and advance their careers. 

Agenda:

5:00 pm: Doors open and registration  
5:30-6:30 pm: Panel discussion  
6:30-7:30 pm: Reception 

SPEAKERS

Mireya Solís is the director of the Center for Asia Policy Studies, Philip Knight Chair in Japan Studies, and a senior fellow in the Foreign Policy program at the Brookings Institution. Prior to her current positions at Brookings, Solís was a tenured associate professor at American University’s School of International Service. She is an expert on Japanese foreign economic policy, international trade policy, and U.S. economic statecraft in Asia, authoring books such as “Japan’s Quiet Leadership: Reshaping the Indo-Pacific” (2023) and “Dilemmas of a Trading Nation: Japan and the United States in the Evolving Asia-Pacific Order” (2017). Her commentary has also appeared in The New York Times, Financial Times, Nikkei, Kyodo News, Asahi Shimbun, Japan Times, NHK World, among others. Solís earned a doctorate in government and a master’s in East Asian studies from Harvard University, and a bachelor’s in international relations from El Colegio de México.

David Boling is the Director of Japan & Asian Trade at the Eurasia Group, where he leads the firm's coverage of Japan and works on Asian trade issues. Before joining Eurasia Group, Boling served for more than seven years as a negotiator at the Office of the US Trade Representative, where he helped negotiate the US-Japan Trade Agreement and Japan-related provisions of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement. Earlier in his career, he spent time on Capitol Hill as the chief of staff to then-Rep. Vic Synder (AR-2) and launched a political candidacy of his own. He also worked as an antitrust prosecutor for the US Justice Department, spent one year in the Japanese government as a Mike Mansfield Fellow, and served as the vice president of the Mansfield Foundation. A native of southeast Arkansas, Boling received his bachelor's and J.D. from the University of Arkansas, and an LL.M from Columbia Law School.

Emma Chanlett-Avery is Deputy Director of the Asia Society Policy Institute's Washington, DC office and the Director for Political-Security Affairs. Previous to this post, she served for 20 years as a Specialist in Asian Affairs at the Congressional Research Service, where she focused on U.S. relations with Japan, the Korean Peninsula, Thailand, and Singapore, with an emphasis on security issues and alliances. In 2023, she served as a Congressional Fellow on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, assisting the Chairman with drafting Asia policy legislation and preparing for hearings. Ms. Chanlett-Avery was a Presidential Management Fellow, with rotations in the State Department on the Korea Desk and at the Joint U.S. Military Advisory Group in Bangkok, Thailand. She also worked in the Office of Policy Planning as a Harold Rosenthal Fellow. She is a member of the Mansfield Foundation U.S. – Japan Network for the Future and a Mansfield-Luce Asia Network Scholar. In 2016, she received the Kato Prize, awarded by Washington think tanks for strengthening the U.S.-Japan alliance. She serves as Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees of the National Association of Japan America Societies, Vice-Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Japan America Society of Washington DC, and as a Trustee of International Student Conferences, Inc. Ms. Chanlett-Avery received an MA in international security policy from the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University and her BA in Russian studies from Amherst College.  

Wendy Cutler (moderator) is Vice President at the Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI) and the managing director of the Asia Society’s Washington, D.C. office. She focuses on leading initiatives that address challenges related to trade, investment, and economic security, as well as women’s empowerment in Asia. Wendy draws on her extensive network across Asia and the US Government to grow ASPI’s presence in Washington and promote policy exchange. She has published a series of ASPI papers on the Asian trade landscape and serves as a regular media commentator on trade and investment developments in Asia and the world. She joined ASPI following an illustrious career of nearly three decades as a diplomat and negotiator in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), where she also served as Acting Deputy U.S. Trade Representative. During her USTR career, she worked on a range of bilateral, regional, and multilateral trade negotiations and initiatives, including the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, U.S.-China negotiations, and the WTO Financial Services negotiations.