Geostrategy in the Grassroots
Public Affairs Series Presents:
The Japan America Society of Southern California, in partnership with the Sasakawa Peace Foundation and the National Association of Japan-America Societies (NAJAS), is proud to present a virtual fireside discussion exploring the unique geostrategic challenges and opportunities in East Asia. The signing of the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty in 1951 has been the cornerstone of peace and security for over 70 years. But, with new administrations in power, the ever-present threat of the COVID-19 global pandemic, and the rise of China’s influence, how will the U.S.-Japan alliance adapt to Asia’s rapidly evolving geopolitical environment. We are pleased to welcome two experts on the subject, Dr. Sheila Smith from the Council on Foreign Relations, and Dr. Akio Takahara from the Graduate School of Public Policy at the University of Tokyo to share their insights on how these issues can help shape the future of U.S.-Japan relations. Dr. Saori Katada from the University of Southern California will be moderating the discussion.
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Speakers
Dr. Sheila Smith
John E. Merow Senior Fellow for Asia Pacific Studies,
Council on Foreign Relations
Sheila A. Smith is John E. Merow senior fellow for Asia Pacific studies at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). An expert on Japanese politics and foreign policy, she is the author of Japan Rearmed: The Politics of Military Power, Intimate Rivals: Japanese Domestic Politics and a Rising China (released in Japanese as 日中 親愛なる宿敵: 変容する日本政治と対中政策), and Japan's New Politics and the U.S.-Japan Alliance. She is also the author of the CFR interactive guide Constitutional Change in Japan. Smith is a regular contributor to the CFR blog Asia Unbound and a frequent contributor to major media outlets in the United States and Asia.
Dr. Akio Takahara
Professor in the Graduate School of Public Policy,
University of Tokyo
Akio Takahara is Professor of Contemporary Chinese Politics at the Graduate School of Law and Politics and the Graduate School of Public Policy (GraSPP) at The University of Tokyo. He received his DPhil in 1988 from Sussex University, and later spent several years as Visiting Scholar at the Consulate-General of Japan in Hong Kong, the Japanese Embassy in Beijing, Harvard University, Peking University, the Mercator Institute for China Studies, and the Australian National University. Before joining The University of Tokyo, he taught at J. F. Oberlin University and Rikkyo University. He served as President of the Japan Association for Asian Studies, and as Secretary General of the New Japan-China Friendship 21st Century Committee. Akio was Dean of GraSPP from 2018 to 2020. He currently serves as Senior Adjunct Fellow of the Japan Institute of International Affairs, Distinguished Research Fellow of the Japan Forum on International Relations, and Director of JICA Ogata Sadako Research Institute for Peace and Development. His publications in English include The Politics of Wage Policy in Post-Revolutionary China, (Macmillan, 1992), and Japan-China Relations in the Modern Era, (co-authored, Routledge, 2017).
Moderator
Dr. Saori Katada
Professor of International Relations,
University of Southern California
Saori N. Katada is Professor of Political Science and International Relations Department and Director of the Center for International Studies at University of Southern California. Her book Japan’s New Regional Reality: Geoeconomic Strategy in the Asia-Pacific was published by Columbia University Press in July 2020. She is also a co-author of two recent books: The BRICS and Collective Financial Statecraft (Oxford University Press, 2017), and Taming Japan’s Deflation: The Debate over Unconventional Monetary Policy (Cornell University Press, 2018). She has her Ph.D. is from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Political Science), and her B.A. from Hitotsubashi University (Tokyo). Before joining USC, she served as a researcher at the World Bank in Washington D.C., and as International Program officer at the UNDP in Mexico City.
Geostrategy in the Grassroots is made possible by a generous grant from the Sasakawa Peace Foundation and supported by the National Association of Japan-America Societies, Inc.
