Georgetown SFS’ “Japan and the World” Event Series  

Engaging the Georgetown University and greater Washington DC community in conversations with leading experts on Japanese foreign policy, East Asian international affairs, and Japan’s relations with different world regions

October 2023 panel on “Japan & Northeast Asia”

In my capacity as Visiting Chair in Japanese Politics and Foreign Policy at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service (SFS), I launched the “Japan and the World” Speaker Series, which I also directed, chairing each event and moderating each discussion. This series offered students, faculty, and the general public various opportunities to engage in frank, off-the-record conversations with leading thinkers from the United States, Japan, and beyond on major issues driving contemporary policy debates in Japan on security, economics, and international politics more broadly. It proved quite popular–a clear demonstration of interest in and student demand for Japanese foreign policy-focused programming–and attracted an *average* in-person attendance of ~85 throughout its run.

Through the series I hosted leading experts with expertise on U.S.-Japan relations and Japan’s approaches to Europe, Southeast Asia, and the Quad, among others. I also hosted a public conference on U.S.-Japan relations.

The first two events have each attracted more than 100 students…

Most visiting speakers in the series offered public lectures or served on panels examining topics of contemporary relevance for Japanese foreign policy, such as China’s rise, Japan’s grand strategy, the Korean Peninsula, U.S. Asia-Pacific strategy, Japan’s approach to Europe, the war in Ukraine, Southeast Asia, the Quad, and the implications of East Asian economic interdependence for regional security. They also meet with Georgetown and other DC-area students.

Kick-off event (9/2023): Annual “Abe Lecture on U.S.-Japan Relations” featuring Chris Johnstone (CSIS)

The Georgetown SFS “Japan and the World” Series facilitated important, university-based conversations on pressing issues of interest to Japan, the United States, East Asia, and the wider world. The speaker series engaged audiences in an ongoing, spirited discussion about how to understand Japan and its foreign relations including and beyond the United States, the difficult choices that Japanese policymakers face in a dynamic and complicated region, and the impact these decisions have on regional and global peace, stability, and prosperity.

Speakers included (listed in chronological order):

• Mr. Christopher Johnstone (Center for Strategic and International Studies)
• Dr. Sheila A. Smith (Council on Foreign Relations)
• Prof. Victor Cha (Georgetown University)
• Ms. Shihoko Goto (Wilson Center)
• Dr. Jeffrey Hornung (RAND Corporation)
• Ms. Bonnie Glaser (German Marshall Fund)
• Mr. Benjamin Goldberg (US State Department)
• Prof. Yuhki Tajima (Georgetown University)
• Ms. Emma Chanlett-Avery (Asia Society Policy Institute)
• Prof. Jessica Liao (North Carolina State University)
• Prof. Junya Nishino (Keio University)
• Dr. Mira Rapp-Hooper (US National Security Council)
• Mr. Josh Rubin (US National Security Council)
• Ms. Genevieve Paterson (Embassy of Australia)
• Mr. Motosada Matano (Embassy of Japan)
• Amb. Sripriya Ranganathan (Embassy of India)
• Prof. Christina Davis (Harvard University)
• Prof. Phillip Lipscy (University of Toronto)
• Mr. Nick Szechenyi (Center for Strategic and International Studies)
• Prof. Mary Alice Haddad (Wesleyan University)
• Ms. Kazuyo Kato (Japan Center for International Exchange)
• Dr. Charles McClean (Yale University)