Japan America Society of Southern California

   Building Japan-America Relationships Since 1909

The Japan America Society of Southern California is a recognized 501(c)(3) non-profit, charitable and educational organization consisting of individuals and corporations with an interest in Japan and in United States-Japan relations. 

We have been building Japan-America relationships since 1909.

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A Message from JASSC's Chairman of the Board

Frank (Fumio) Eguchi


Read Frank Eguchi's Full Message Here

Upcoming Events

Upcoming events

    • Wednesday, March 20, 2024
    • 4:00 PM - 7:30 PM
    • Loyola Marymount University
    Register



    Japan America Society of Southern California

    and

    Loyola Marymount University Global Policy Institute

    Present

    2024 Japan Currents Public Affairs Seminar


    THE U.S. - JAPAN ALLIANCE AND THE FUTURE OF THE INDO-PACIFIC


    Wednesday, March 20, 2024 

    4:00  Registration Begins

    4:30 - 6:30 pm Seminar

    6:30 -7:30pm Networking Reception 


      Location: 1 LMU Drive, Los Angeles CA 90045 


      Admission to 2024 Japan Currents Conference

      JASSC Members & Cooperating Organization Members - $50
      Non-Members - $75

         Parking - $15 per vehicle payable onsite. This fee is not included in the registration fee.

        This in-person event will feature keynote speeches and panel discussions on the security of the Indo-Pacific Region by Ambassador Ichiro Fujisaki, Former Japanese Ambassador to the U.S., Admiral Harry Harris, Former Commander, U.S. Pacific Command and Former U.S. Ambassador to South Korea, and Dr. Saori N. Katada, Director, Center for International Studies, University of Southern California. The event is moderated by Dr. Gene Park, Director, Global Policy Institute, Loyola Marymount University.

        Hear our esteemed guest speakers discuss topics on the security of the Indo-Pacific region and the role the U.S.-Japan alliance should play to achieve that goal, what the U.S. and Japan are doing to influence the future of security in that region, addressing the geoeconomics dimension of the Indo-Pacific, and more. 

        Featured Speakers:


        AMBASSADOR ICHIRO FUJISAKI
        Former Japanese Ambassador to the U.S.
         

        Ambassador Ichiro Fujisaki had been a Japanese diplomat who served as Ambassador to the United States from 2008 to 2012. He is currently the President of the America-Japan Society Inc. & the National Association of America-Japan Societies. He served as Ambassador to the United Nations and to the World Trade Organization in Geneva from 2005-2008, where he served as a chairman of the Executive Committee of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. From 1995 to 1999 he worked in Washington DC as the Political Minister of the Embassy of Japan. Fujisaki has also held posts in Jakarta, Paris (OECD), and London; his other Ministry of Foreign Affairs posts include terms as Deputy Director-General for Asian Affairs and Director-General for North American Affairs before being appointed as the Deputy Foreign Minister. His teaching positions include four years (1991-1995) as a lecturer and five years (2013-2018) as a professor of International Relations at Sophia University, Tokyo.



        ADMIRAL HARRY HARRIS

        Former Commander, U.S. Pacific Command and Former U.S. Ambassador to South Korea

        Admiral Harris served as the U.S. Ambassador to South Korea from July 2018 to January 2021.

        He served 40 years in the U.S. Navy, retiring on 1 June 2018.  He joined the State Department 3 days later.  From May 2015 to May 2018, he commanded U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM).  He is the first (and only) Asian-American to hold 4-star rank in the U.S. Navy and the first to head USINDOPACOM.  He previously commanded U.S. Pacific Fleet, U.S. 6th Fleet, Striking and Support Forces NATO, Joint Task Force Guantanamo, Patrol and Reconnaissance Wing 1, and Patrol Squadron 46.  From 2011 to 2013, as the Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Harris served as the direct representative of the Chairman to Secretaries of State Hillary Clinton and John Kerry.  Traveling to over 80 countries with the Secretary, he participated in most of the Secretary’s meetings with foreign leaders.  Concurrently designated as the U.S. Roadmap Monitor for the Mid-East Peace Process (Oslo Accords), he travelled monthly to Israel to meet with Israeli and Palestinian Authority leaders to assess conditions.  Harris was born in Japan, reared in Tennessee and Florida, and graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1978 where he was a varsity fencer.  Awarded master’s degrees from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service, he did post-graduate studies at Oxford University and completed the Seminar 21 fellowship at MIT.  He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Council of American Ambassadors and is a Governor for the Center for Creative Leadership. Harris’ father was a career U.S. Navy veteran of World War II and the Korean War.  Harris’ mother was Japanese and became an American citizen in 1974.   He is married to Ms. Bruni Bradley, herself a career Naval officer.




        DR. SAORI KATADA

        Director, Center for International Studies, University of Southern California

        Saori N. Katada is Professor of International Relations and the director of the Center for International Studies at University of Southern California.  She is the author of Japan’s New Regional Reality: Geoeconomic Strategy in the Asia-Pacific published from Columbia University Press in 2020, which also came out in Japanese in 2022. She has co-authored 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 publishes on geoeconomics, international political economy of trade and finance, monetary policy as well as on Japan and the Indo-Pacific.  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.


        Moderator:



        DR. GENE PARK

        Director, Global Policy Institute, Loyola Marymount University 

        Gene Park is Director of the Global Policy Institute at Loyola Marymount University and Professor in the Political Science and International Relations Department.  His expertise and research areas include East Asia, political economy, and international relations.  He is currently working on projects on Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan.  Prior to arriving at LMU, he taught at Baruch College, City University of New York. Professor Park has been a Global Taiwan Institute Scholar, Social Science Research Center Abe Fellow, and a Shorenstein Fellow at Stanford University’s Asia Pacific Research Center.  In addition, he spent two years as a visiting researcher at Japan’s Ministry of Finance. He also has had affiliations with the Stockholm School of Economics, Academia Sinica, Keio University, Rikkyo University, Saitama University, and Yokohama National University. He is a member of the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation’s U.S.-Japan Network for the Future.  He co-authored a book entitled Taming Japan's Deflation, The Debate over Unconventional Monetary Policy (Cornell University Press, 2018). An earlier book, Spending without Taxation, FILP and Politics of Public Finance, was published by Stanford University Press.  His articles and commentary have appeared in Japanese Journal of Political Science, Governance, Socio-Economic Review, Texas National Security Review, Asian Survey, Pacific Review, New York Times, National Interest, Current History, Yonhap News, Kyodo News, Channel NewsAsia, and the Wall Street Journal

         


        A Special "Thank You" to our Sponsors

        Embassy of Japan

        NAJAS

        Loyola Marymount University Global Local Affairs




      Other Events in the Pipeline 

      - events and dates are subject to change - 

      Japan America Society of Southern California Business Seminar (Artificial Intelligence) - April 2024 (to be confirmed)

      Women's Leadership Counts Young Professionals Career Workshop - June 2024 (to be confirmed)

      115th Anniversary Dinner and Gala Celebration - July 2024 (to be confirmed)

      Japan America Golf Classic - October 2024 (to be confirmed)


      How You Can Help!

      There are many ways to support JASSC fulfill our non-profit mission:

                

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      1411 W. 190th Street, Suite 360, Gardena, CA 90248

      tel (310) 965-9050    fax (310) 965-9010   email info@jas-socal.org

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