Japanese Politics & Foreign Relations
JCIE programs deepen understanding of the political and foreign policy dynamics in Japan, promote a greater Japanese voice in international affairs, and build ties among leaders from various sectors—government, business, civil society, academia, and more—in Japan and around the world.
CURRENT PROGRAMS
RELATED ACTIVITIES
ROUNDTABLE | Discussion with US Congressional Staff on Priorities of the 118th Congress
December 15, 2022 | Washington DC
JCIE/USA hosted a luncheon discussion with alumni of our US-Japan Congressional Staff Exchange Program, to share their thoughts on what to expect from the 118th Congress following the 2022 midterm ele…
Trilateral Commission | 2022 Asia Pacific Group Regional Meeting
November 20, 2022 | Tokyo
The Asia Pacific Group of the Trilateral Commission held its annual regional meeting in Tokyo, gathering leaders from around the globe to promote dialogue on key issues facing the international commun…
The Roles of Germany and Japan in Global Health IV
October 19, 2021 | Berlin and Online
Japanese and German politicians, policy experts, business leaders, and global health experts participated in a hybrid forum to utilize the countries’ bilateral relationship to discuss key issues in gl…
2022 US Congressional Staff Delegation
October 10–October 16, 2022 | Tokyo and Okinawa
The 2022 US Congressional Staff Exchange Program will give 8 Congressional Staff to Japan, where they will meet with Japanese leaders across politics, media, and academia.
30th Korea-Japan Forum
August 18 and 24–26, 2022 | Tokyo
The 30th Korea-Japan Forum, held in Tokyo, brought together participants to discuss domestic political shifts and bilateral relations, economic and security issues facing the two countries, and the la…
Launch of the G7 Global Health Task Force
August 10, 2022 | Japan
Ahead of the G7 Summit, JCIE has established the 2023 G7 Global Health Task Force under the Executive Committee on Global Health and Human Security to make recommendations to the Japanese government o…
Trilateral Commission | 2022 Plenary Meeting
June 10–12, 2022 | Washington DC
The Trilateral Commission held its 2022 meeting in Washington DC—the first in-person plenary since the pandemic began—drawing hundreds of leaders from around the globe to promote dialogue on key issue…
2022 US-Japan Women Leaders Dialogue | Tokyo Meetings
May 29, 2022 | Tokyo
A roundtable on recent developments in women’s issues was held, taking advantage of a visit to Japan by Dialogue Co-chair Rep. Diana DeDegette (D-CO). This was followed by a smaller lunch meeting that…
Congressional Staff Briefing on US-Japan Relations
April 13, 2022 | Washington DC
JCIE/USA hosted a briefing with Minister Ishigaki (Embassy of Japan), Emma Chanlett-Avery, and Mark Manyin (Congressional Research Service) to update Congressional Staff on the latest developments for…
2022 US-Japan Women Leaders Dialogue
January–March 2022 | Online
JCIE is holding the 2022 US-Japan Women Leaders Dialogue, a three-part virtual discussion bringing together more than 40 women leaders from across multiple sectors from the United States and Japan. Th…
UK-Japan 21st Century Group | 38th Conference
March 8 & 11, 2022 | Online
The 38th annual meeting of the UK-Japan 21st Century Group was held online due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic with the participation of around 20 members from each country, who held discussions on t…
EXECUTIVE ROUNDTABLE | Japan’s Economic Security Legislation and Implications for Japan and US-Japan Relations
March 9, 2022 | Online
JCIE/USA hosted an online discussion to examine US and Japanese approaches to ensuring economic security as part of its Executive Roundtable series. The hour-long discussion took place in the context…
2022 Japanese Young Political Leaders Virtual Exchange
March 1–25, 2022 | Online
The 2022 US-Japan Young Political Leaders Exchange Program was held virtually, allowing the 31st Japanese delegation to explore US-Japanese relations and build global relationships.
29th Korea-Japan Forum
November 29 and December 3, 2021 | Online
The 29th Korea-Japan Forum, held online, brought together participants to discuss domestic political shifts and bilateral relations, economic and technology cooperation, and the latest geopolitical de…
Trilateral Commission Special Global Meeting on Global Capitalism in Transition
November 3–5, 2021 | Virtual
The Trilateral Commission launched the Task Force on “Global Capitalism in Transition” in April 2021, consisting of 30 experts and Commission members from the three regions, and conducted a series of…
RECENT PUBLICATIONS
Report of the 2022 US-Japan Women Leaders Dialogue | Moving the Needle on Gender Equity through US-Japan Collaboration
Kimberly Gould Ashizawa
December 2022
A report on the 2022 US-Japan Women Leaders Dialogue, held virtually, features recommendations based on the discussions among 40 women from politics, business, media, think tanks, and civil society.
Japan’s Democracy: Lessons and Reflections | Concluding Paper
Harukata Takenaka
May 2022
This report serves as the concluding paper for a project on “Japan’s Democracy: Lessons and Reflections” and was written by the project lead, Dr. Harukata Takenaka, to summarize the key points that em…
The China Challenge and US-Japan Relations under Fumio Kishida
December 2021
Japan’s new Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, passed his first test and guided the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) to victory in the Lower House election on October 31, less than one month after he…
Japan’s Democracy: Lessons and Reflections 3 | Civil Society, Diversity, and Media
Harukata Takenaka, Toshiki Abe, Rieko Kage, Kaori Hayashi
April 2022
This report transcribes discussions that took place as part of JCIE’s project on “Japan’s Democracy: Lessons and Reflections”. The report details the contents of the 3rd dialogue to take place as part…
Japan’s Democracy: Lessons and Reflections 2 | Government Systems
Harukata Takenaka, Yosuke Sunahara, Satoshi Machidori, Takako Hikotani
April 2022
This report transcribes discussions that took place as part of JCIE’s project on “Japan’s Democracy: Lessons and Reflections”. The report details the contents of the 2nd dialogue to take place as part…
Japan’s Democracy: Lessons and Reflections 1 | The Current State of Japan’s Democracy
Harukata Takenaka, Kenneth Mori McElwain, Kensuke Takayasu, and Naoko Taniguchi
April 2022
This report transcribes discussions that took place amongst members of JCIE’s research team for our project on Expanding Support for Democratic Governance. The initial discussion took place shortly af…
Report of the 2021 US-Japan Women Leaders Dialogue | Seeking the "Next Normal"—Creating a Post-Pandemic World Where Women (and Men) Can Thrive
Kimberly Gould Ashizawa
July 2021
A report on the 2021 US-Japan Women Leaders Dialogue, held virtually in March–April 2021, featuring a series of recommendations based on the discussions among 40 women from politics, business, media,…
Research Team Trialogue 2: The Spread of COVID-19 and Its Impact on Global Democracy
Kaori Shoji, Hiroaka Shiga, and Ryo Sahashi
January 2021
This transcription of a discussion between three research team members from JCIE’s project on Expanding Support for Democratic Governance focuses on the potential threats to democracy in the light of…
Deepening US-Japan Strategic Cooperation on China and the Indo-Pacific
June 2021
The new Biden administration has emphasized the importance of cooperation with East Asian allies to uphold a stable, rules-based regional order, while at the same time seeking a tough and united appro…
The Time Has Come for a COVID-19 Marshall Plan
James Gannon
May 25, 2021
“In his announcement of COVID-19 vaccine donations, President Biden evoked World War II by vowing that the U.S. will be the world’s “arsenal of vaccines.” It is time to instead harken back to the imme…
Research Team Trialogue: The Spread of COVID-19 and Its Impact on Global Democracy
Takako Hikotani, Harukata Takenaka, and Kimitoshi Yabuki
November 2020
This transcription shares a conversation between three JCIE research team members from the project on Expanding Support for Democratic Governance on their assessments of the current state of democracy…
Japan's Friendship with the US Remains Unshakable
Koji Tomita
March 11, 2021
This opinion piece was written by Ambassador Koji Tomita, who references a 2016 JCIE survey on US givings in the Great Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami disaster response.
The Biden Administration’s Chance to Get Asia Policy Right—A View from Japan
February 2021
The Biden administration faces complex challenges in maintaining peace, stability and prosperity while restoring multilateral diplomacy with East Asia. Overcoming these obstacles will require special…
US-Japan Cooperation on COVID-19 with James Gannon
January 28, 2021
Jim Gannon, Executive Director of JCIE/USA, discusses Japan’s COVID-19 response and the expanding potential of the US-Japan cooperation in this episode of the Edwin O. Reischauer Center’s “Asia in Was…
Global Health Needs US-Japan Partnership
James Gannon
December 18, 2020
Jim Gannon, Executive Director of JCIE/USA, calls for greater US-Japan partnership on pandemic response and global health in this piece for the Council on Foreign Relations’ Asia Unbound blog, pointin…