[SOLD OUT] How are the U.S. and Japan Shaping the Future of the Indo-Pacific?

This event is sold out.

The U.S.-Japan alliance has strengthened significantly over the past decade. Washington and Tokyo have boosted cooperation across trade, technology, security, and diplomacy while sharing concerns over the future of global trade, supply chains, and access to critical minerals.

How will the U.S. and Japan deal with the range of risks and regional challenges that impact national and global interests? What are the prospects for enhanced coordination with South Korea after the recent trilateral meetings at Camp David? And with Japan chairing the G7 this year and the U.S. hosting APEC in November, how can the two countries further coordinate their policies in a multilateral context?

We invite you to join us at the Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI) for an in-depth and wide-ranging discussion with the Ambassador of Japan to the U.S. Koji Tomita and Asia Society Policy Institute Vice President Daniel Russel on the future trajectory of U.S.-Japan ties, prospects for upgrading trilateral and multilateral cooperation, and potential outcomes from the upcoming G20 and APEC summits.

Coffee and pastries will begin at 8:00 a.m. ET.

SPEAKERS

H.E. Koji Tomita is Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to the United States of America. On February 17, 2021, President Joseph Biden received Ambassador Tomita’s Letter of Credence acknowledging him as Japan’s Ambassador to the United States. Ambassador Tomita’s diplomatic career in the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) spans 40 years.  Most recently, he served as Japan’s Ambassador to Korea, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Personal Representative for the G20 Summit in Osaka, and Ambassador to Israel. His other overseas postings have included London and Paris. Apart from his overseas duties, his main professional focus has been on security policy, having been actively involved in the policy and legislative reviews that the Japanese Government undertook in the area in recent years, including Japan’s Legislation for Peace and Security that has increased Japan’s deterrence. His relationship with the United States began when he studied in North Carolina for a year in college. Since he entered MOFA, he has also held leadership positions in U.S.-Japan relations, including Director-General of MOFA’s North American Affairs Bureau and Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy of Japan in Washington, DC.  In these capacities, he led the Japanese efforts to strengthen the Japan-U.S. alliance and to promote mutual understanding between the two nations. He was also responsible for the preparation of Prime Minister Abe’s highly successful official visit to the United States in 2015. Ambassador Tomita writes in his spare time and has published two books (in Japanese): Churchill: Leadership in Crisis and Margaret Thatcher: Iron Lady Who Changed Politics. The latter won the Yamamoto Shichihei Award. Ambassador Tomita graduated from the University of Tokyo, Faculty of Law and joined Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1981.  He is married to Noriko, and they have two daughters and a son.

Daniel Russel is Vice President for International Security and Diplomacy at the Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI). Previously he served as a Diplomat in Residence and Senior Fellow with ASPI for a one year term. A career member of the Senior Foreign Service at the U.S. Department of State, he most recently served as the Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs. Prior to his appointment as Assistant Secretary on July 12, 2013, Mr. Russel served at the White House as Special Assistant to the President and National Security Council (NSC) Senior Director for Asian Affairs. During his tenure there, he helped formulate President Obama’s strategic rebalance to the Asia Pacific region, including efforts to strengthen alliances, deepen U.S. engagement with multilateral organizations, and expand cooperation with emerging powers in the region. Prior to joining the NSC in January of 2009, he served as Director of the Office of Japanese Affairs and had assignments as U.S. Consul General in Osaka-Kobe, Japan (2005-2008); Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in The Hague, Netherlands (2002-2005); Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Nicosia, Cyprus (1999-2002); Chief of Staff to the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Ambassador Thomas R. Pickering (1997-99); Special Assistant to the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs (1995-96); Political Section Unit Chief at U.S. Embassy Seoul, Republic of Korea (1992-95); Political Advisor to the Permanent Representative to the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, Ambassador Pickering (1989-92); Vice Consul in Osaka and Branch Office Manager in Nagoya, Japan (1987-89); and Assistant to the Ambassador to Japan, former Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield (1985-87).

This program is a part of Asia Society’s Global Year of Japan – a season of multidisciplinary programming dedicated to Japan, presented across Asia Society’s 16 centers in the United States, Asia, and Europe.