“21st Century Japan Politics & Society Initiative” (21JPSI)   

Invigorating Indiana University’s teaching, research, and programming on contemporary Japanese politics, society, and foreign policy

Since 2018, I have served as Founding Director of the multi-disciplinary “21st Century Japan Politics and Society Initiative” (21JPSI) at Indiana University’s Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies.

21JPSI’s mission is to serve as a Midwestern hub for policy-relevant contemporary Japan studies and to expand teaching, research, and programming on contemporary Japanese politics, society, and foreign policy (esp. U.S.-Japan relations) at Indiana University. Through teaching, research, and public outreach, 21JPSI also aims to educate and raise awareness across the (oft-neglected) greater Midwest, and beyond, about the importance of U.S.-Japan relations and the various political, social, and foreign policy challenges that Japan faces in this extremely dynamic era.

Thanks in significant part to major grant from the Japan Foundation, 21JPSI has supported a new tenure-track faculty line in contemporary Japanese politics and society; the launch of four *new* courses on contemporary Japanese society, politics, and international relations; a multidisciplinary “Japan Politics and Society” speaker series; policy webinars and conferences on U.S.-Japan relations; manuscript workshops at which U.S.- and Japan-based experts on contemporary Japan have received critical/constructive feedback on a combined total of 44 academic works-in-progress; and nine faculty travel grants to support multi-week field research in Japan. For more information, please see the official 21JPSI website.

Please sign up for the 21JPSI mailing list for details, updates and other event announcements.

EVENTS:

• “Japan Politics & Society” Speaker Series
  • Prof. Marvin Sterling (Indiana University) on “Naomi Osaka, Black Japanese Experiences, and ‘Multiculturalism’ in Contemporary Japan”
  • Prof. Christine Yano (University of Hawai’i at Manoa) on “Pink Globalization: Challenging Hello Kitty’s Trek Across the Pacific”
  • Ambassador (Ret.) Masafumi Ishii (Gakushuin University) on “Japan-ASEAN Relations and U.S.-Japan Cooperation in Southeast Asia”
  • Prof. Mary Brinton (Harvard University) on “Work-Life Balance in Japan”
  • Prof. Rohan Mukherjee (Yale-NUS) on “Is a Japan-India Alliance Possible?”
  • Ms. Mihoko Matsubara (NTT) on “Japan’s Changing Cybersecurity and the Future of U.S.-Japan Relations”
• Hamilton Lugar School’s 2nd National Conference on U.S.-Japan Relations (2/2022); Details here.
  • Welcome/Introductory Remarks
    • 21JPSI Director Adam Liff Hamilton Lugar School
    • The Honorable Hiroshi Tajima Consul-General of Japan in Chicago
  • Panel Discussion 1: The U.S.-Japan Alliance & Contemporary Foreign Policy Challenges in East Asia (& Beyond
    • Dr. Jeffrey Hornung Senior Political Scientist, RAND Corporation
    • Ms. Shihoko Goto Deputy Director for Geoeconomics, Wilson Center
    • Dr. Tanvi Madan Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution
    • Prof. Adam P. Liff Associate Professor, Hamilton Lugar School
  • Panel Discussion 2: Allies’ Perspectives on the U.S.-Japan Relationship & Northeast Asia Today
    • Dr. Charles Edel Australia Chair & Senior Adviser, Center for Strategic and International Studies
    • Dr. Alexandra Sakaki Deputy Head, Asia Group, German Institute for International and Security Affairs
    • Dr. Celine Pajon Head of Japan Research, French Institute of International Relations
    • Prof. Alessio Patalano Security Director, Japan Programme, King’s College London

• • Panel Discussion 3: Domestic Policy Challenges & U.S.-Japan Relations
    • Prof. Ko Maeda Associate Professor, University of North Texas
      
    • Ms. Kazuyo Kato Executive Director,Japan Center for International Exchange (JCIE/USA)
      
    • Prof. Ulrike Schaede Professor of Japanese Business, University of California San Diego
      
    • Prof. Hilary Holbrow Assistant Professor, Hamilton Lugar School
• Academic Manuscript Workshop #4: “Gender, Ethnicity, and Immigration in Contemporary Japan” (9/2021); Details here. Paper presenters:
  • Ms. Yuko Hara (Ph.D. Candidate, University of Maryland, College Park)
  • Prof. Hilary Holbrow (Assistant Professor, Indiana University
  • Prof. Tristan Ivory (Assistant Professor, Cornell University) 
  • Prof. Yoshiaki Kubo (Associate Professor, University of the Ryukyus) 
  • Prof. Eunmi Mun (Assistant Professor, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) 
  • Mr. Fumiya Uchikoshi (Ph.D. Candidate, Princeton University)
• Academic Manuscript Workshop #5: “Japan and the World” (12/2021); Details here. Paper presenters:
  • Prof. Maiko Ichihara(Associate Professor, Hitotsubashi University)
  • Prof. Adam Liff(Associate Professor, Indiana University)
  • Prof. Deirdre Martin(Visiting Assistant Professor, Colby College)
  • Prof. Satoru Mori(Professor, Hosei University)
  • Prof. Andrew Oros(Professor, Washington College)
  • Prof. Saadia Pekkanen(Professor, University of Washington)
• Academic Manuscript Workshop #6: “Demographic Challenges in Contemporary Japan” (2/2022); Details here. Paper presenters:
  • Prof. Angelina Chin (Pomona College)
  • Prof. Gene Park (Loyola Marymount University)
  • Prof. Kathryn Goldfarb (University of Colorado – Boulder)
  • Prof. Michael Sharpe (CUNY)
  • Prof. Michael Strausz (Texas Christian University)

Events During AY2020-2021:

• “Japan Politics & Society” Speaker Series
  • Prof. Ezra Vogel (Harvard University) on “Understanding China-Japan Relations, 1945-2020”
  • Mr. Tobias Harris (Teneo) on “Shinzo Abe and the New Japan”
  • Abe Global 2020 (Social Science Research Council): “Work-Life Balance in the COVID Age: Can the US and Japan Meet the Challenges?”
    • Panelists: Dr. Setsuya Fukuda (National Institute of Population and Social Security Research), Dr. Machiko Osawa (Japan Women’s University), and Ms. Brigid Schulte (New America)
  • Prof. Saori Katada (University of Southern California) on “Japan’s Geoeconomic Strategy in the Asia-Pacific”
  • Prof. Jennifer Lind (Dartmouth) on “Historical Reconciliation in East Asia’s Changing Security Environment”
  • Prof. Hilary Holbrow (Indiana University) on “‘Training’ Foreign Workers, Cultivating Bias: Japan’s Guest Worker System”
  • Prof. Hiroshi Ono (Hitotsubashi University) on “How COVID-19 has Transformed Japan’s Culture of (Over-)Work”
  • Prof. Michael J. Green (Georgetown University/Center for Strategic & International Studies) on “Line of Advantage: Japan’s Strategy in Asia”
• Academic Manuscript Workshop #2: “Japan and the World” (12/2020); Details here. Paper Presenters:
  • Prof. Madoka Fukuda (Hosei University)
  • Prof. Yinan He (Lehigh University)
  • Prof. Adam P. Liff (Indiana University)
  • Prof. Phillip Lipscy (University of Toronto)
  • Prof. Yasuhiro Matsuda (University of Tokyo)
  • Ms. Ayumi Teraoka (Ph.D. candidate, Princeton University)
• Webinar Miniseries on “U.S.-Japan Relations: Policy Challenges for the Biden Administration (Co-organized with Brookings Institution Center for East Asia Policy Studies) 1/2021:
  • Panel 1 of 2: National Security and Domestic Politics
    • Prof. Andrew Erickson (US Naval War College)
    • Ms. Yuka Koshino (International Institute for Strategic Studies)
    • Prof. Toshihiro Nakayama (Keio University/JIIA)
    • Dr. Sheila Smith (Council on Foreign Relations)
    • Moderator: Prof. Adam P. Liff (Indiana University)
  • Panel 2 of 2: Trade, COVID-19, Climate, and Infrastructure/Connectivity
    • Ms. Wendy Cutler (Asia Society Policy Institute)
    • Prof. Saori Katada (University of Southern California)
    • Ms. Jane Nakano (CSIS)
    • Prof. Yves Tiberghien (University of British Columbia)
    • Moderator: Dr. Mireya Solis (Brookings Institution)
• Academic Manuscript Workshop #3: “Race & Multiculturalism in Contemporary Japan” (1/2021); Details here. Paper presenters:
  • Prof. Atsuko Abe (J.F. Oberlin University)
  • Prof. Mitzi Carter (Florida International University)
  • Ms. Kimberly Hassel (Ph.D. candidate, Princeton University)
  • Ms. Yasmine Krings (Ph.D. candidate, University of California-Los Angeles)
  • Prof. Yuichiro Onishi (University of Minnesota-Twin Cities)
  • Prof. Marvin Sterling (Indiana University)
• 

Events During AY2019-2020:

• “Japan Politics & Society” Speaker Series
  • Prof. enneth Mori McElwain (University of Tokyo) on “What Do the Japanese People Want From Their Constitution?”
  • Prof. Takako Hikotani (Columbia University) on “Japan’s ‘Value Diplomacy’ and the Rise of China”
  • Prof. John Yasuda (Indiana University) on “Revenge of the Developmental State: The Rise and Fall of the Tokyo Stock Exchange”
  • Mr. Noriyuki Shikata (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan) on “The Rise of China and the U.S.-Japan Alliance”
• Hamilton Lugar School’s Inaugural National Conference on U.S.-Japan Relations; Details here.
  • Welcome/Introductory Remarks 
    • Dean (Amb.) Lee Feinstein, Hamilton Lugar School
    • 21JPSI Director Adam Liff, Hamilton Lugar School
  • Policy Keynote
    • Ms. Andrea Richter, Vice President for International Engagement at the Indiana Economic Development Corporation on Indiana-Japan economic relations (representing the Honorable Jim Schellinger, Secretary of Commerce (Indiana)
  • Panel Discussion 1: Foreign Policy Challenges & U.S.-Japan Relations 
    • Dr. Mireya Solis, Brookings Institution
    • Dr. Michael Auslin, Hoover Institution (Stanford University)
    • Dr. Naoko Aoki, RAND Corporation
    • Prof. Adam Liff, Hamilton Lugar School
    • Moderator: Prof. Wendy Leutert, Hamilton Lugar School
  • Academic Keynote (“U.S.-Japan Relations: The Roads Ahead”) 
    • Prof. Richard Samuels, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • Panel Discussion 2: Domestic Challenges & U.S.-Japan Relations
    • Mr. Craig Kafura, Chicago Council on Global Affairs
    • Dr. Sherry Martin, US Department of State
    • Prof. Rie Watanabe, Aoyama Gakuin University/Harvard University
    • Moderator: Prof. Emily Metzgar, Media School
  • Closing Remarks
    • The Honorable Kenichi Okada, Consul-General of Japan in Chicago

• Academic Manuscript Workshop #1: “Japan and the World”(2/2020); Details here. Paper presenters:
  • Prof. Mary Alice Haddad (Wesleyan University) on “Japan’s Urban Diplomacy: 21st Century Foreign Policy”
  • Prof. Kristin Vekasi (University of Maine) on “Political Cooperation and Conflict in Japan’s Trade Agreements”
  • Prof. Kathryn Ibata-Arens (Depaul University) on “Japan’s Inclusive Innovation Diplomacy: New Drug Discoveries”
  • Prof. Hiroki Takeuchi (Southern Methodist University) on Lessons from Japan’s and China’s Foreign Direct Investment Experiences in the USA
    

    Flyer for 21JPSI’s February 2020 inaugural academic manuscript workshop

• Prof. Satoru Mori (Hosei University) on “U.S.-China Strategic Competition: The View from Japan”; event postponed due to COVID-19 outbreak

Events During AY2018-2019

After a “soft” launch with a talk on the storied JET (Japan Exchange and Teaching) program by the IU Media School’s own Prof. Emily Metzgar, the 21JPSI “Japan Politics and Society” Speaker Series hosted multiple events in its first full (2018-2019) academic year:

• “Japan Politics & Society” Speaker Series
  • (Inaugural Speaker): Prof. Kiyoteru Tsutsui (University of Michigan) on human rights and minority activism in Japan (October 17, 2018)
  • Prof. Joseph Coleman (Indiana University) on the challenges of Japan’s rapidly aging population (November 5, 2018)
  • Prof. Megumi Naoi (University of California, San Diego) on U.S.-Japan trade frictions in ‘the Trump Era’ (November 28, 2018)
  • Prof. Phillip Lipscy (Stanford University)  on Japan’s role in sustaining the “liberal international order” (February 7, 2019)
  • Ms. Emma Chanlett-Avery (U.S. Congressional Research Service) on the U.S., Japan, and the Alliance System in Asia (February 26, 2019)
  • Prof. Jolyon Thomas (University Of Pennsylvania) on religious freedom in U.S.-occupied Japan and its contemporary legacies (April 11, 2019)