Asia Policy Events, Monday September 28, 2026

TAKEAWAYS FROM THE TRUMP-XI SUMMIT: THE ECONOMIC SECURITY ANGLES. 9/28, 9:00-10:00am (EDT), VIRTUAL. Sponsor: CSIS. Speakers: Scott Kennedy, Senior Adviser and Trustee Chair, Chinese Business and Economics, CSIS; Sujai Shivakumar, Director and Senior Fellow, Renewing American Innovation, CSIS; Philip Luck, Director, Economics Program and Scholl Chair, International Business, CSIS; Kate Koren, Deputy Director, Economics Program and Scholl Chair, International Business, CSIS; Ilaria Mazzocco, Deputy Director and Senior Fellow, Trustee Chair, Chinese Business and Economics, CSIS; Lauryn Williams, Deputy Director and Senior Fellow, Strategic Technologies Program, CSIS.

THE SECOND TRUMP-XI SUMMIT: TAKEAWAYS FROM THE US, CHINA, AND RUSSIA. 9/28, 9:30am (EDT), VIRTUAL. Sponsor: Stimson Center. Speakers: Christopher Preble, Senior Fellow and Director, Reimagining US Grand Strategy Program, Stimson Center; Yun Sun, Senior Fellow and Director, China Program, Stimson Center; Peter Slezkine, Senior Fellow and Director, Russia Program, Stimson Center.

AF BRIG. GEN. TIMOTHY M. HELFRICH. 9/28, 1:00-2:30pm (EDT), VIRTUAL. Sponsor: Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies. Speaker: Brig. Gen. Timothy M. Helfrich, Portfolio Acquisition Executive for Fighters and Advanced Aircraft, Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Air Force Materiel Command; Moderator: Heather Penney, Director of Studies and Research, Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies.

PROTECTING UKRAINE'S ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE, FOCUSING ON WINTER, WAR, AND LESSONS FOR THE UNITED STATES. 9/28, 2:00pm, 188 Russell Senate Office Building. Sponsor: Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (U.S. Helsinki Commission). Speakers: Meredith Berger, former Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Energy, Installations, and Environment); Michael Kofman, senior fellow, Russia and Eurasia Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; Alex Riabchyn, Chief International and Sustainability Officer, Naftogaz Ukraine. 

BOOK TALK: IS CHINA'S ECONOMY BROKEN? 9/28, 4:00-6:00pm (EDT), HYBRID. Sponsor: Trustee Chair in Chinese Business and Economics, CSIS. Speakers: author Logan Wright, Senior Associate (Non-resident), Trustee Chair in Chinese Business and Economics, CSIS, Broken China: How the Economic Miracle Shattered and What It Means for the World; Dinny McMahon, Head of China Markets Research, Trivium China; Tianlei Huang, Senior Fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE); Zoe Liu, Maurice R. Greenberg Senior Fellow for China Studies, Council on Foreign Relations (CFR); Moderator: Scott Kennedy, Senior Adviser and Trustee Chair in Chinese Business and Economics, CSIS. PURCHASE BOOK

CHINA’S LAW ON PROMOTING ETHNIC UNITY AND PROGRESS. 9/28, 4:30-6:00pm (EDT), IN PERSON ONLY. Sponsor: Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia University. Speakers: Aaron Glasserman, Distinguished Fellow, Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia University; Tenzin (Tendor) Dorjee, Director of Research & Advocacy, Tibet Action Institute; Rayhan Asat, Senior Legal and Policy Advisor, Atlantic Council; Moderator: Andrew J. Nathan, Class of 1919 Professor of Political Science, Columbia University.

JAPAN’S RESIDENCY RULES: WHAT HAS REALLY CHANGED AND HOW DO THEY COMPARE WITH OTHER PLACES? 9/28, 6:00-9:00pm (JST), IN PERSON ONLY. Sponsors: Yokosuka Council on Asia-Pacific Studies (YCAPS); Japan Expert Insights. Speakers: Yuta Kato, Certified Administrative Procedures Legal Specialist (Immigration Attorney), IMS Legal Professional Corporation; Maximilien Xavier Rehm, Postdoctoral Assistant, Graduate School of Global Studies, Doshisha University, Kyoto; Ben Tanaka, Founder, RetireJapan; Moderator: John Bradford, Executive Director, YCAPS.

Monday Asia Policy Events, March 24, 2025

COMBATTING DISINFORMATION: THE IMPORTANCE OF PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN JAPAN AND CANADA. 3/24, 8:00-9:30am (EDT), VIRTUAL. Sponsor: Macdonald-Laurier Institute. Speakers: Chris Beall, Executive Director, Project Connie; Marcus Kolga, Senior Fellow, Macdonald-Laurier Institute; Kyoko Kuwahara, Fellow, Macdonalad-Laurier Institute. 

LOOKING BACK TO LOOK FORWARD: THE ROLE AND CHALLENGES OF ACCOUNTABILITY IN POST-ASSAD SYRIA. 3/24, 10:00-11:00am (EDT), VIRTUAL. Sponsor: Carnegie. Speakers: Omar Alshogre, Director of Detainees Affairs, Syrian Emergency Task Force; Federica D’Alessandra, British Academy Global Innovation Fellow, Global Order and Institutions Program; Nousha Kabawat, Head of Program, Syria, International Center for Transitional Justice; Robert Petit, UN Assistant Secretary-General; Stephen J. Rapp, Senior Fellow, International Justice, Center on National Security, Georgetown Law.  

HOW CEOS ARE NAVIGATING THE TRUMP ERA. 3/24, 11:00am (EDT), VIRTUAL. Sponsor: Foreign Policy Live. Speaker: Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Founder, President, Chief Executive Leadership Institute. 

RECHARGED? THE FUTURE OF EUROPE’S AUTO SECTOR AND EU-CHINA RELATIONS. 3/24, 9:00-10:45PM (EDT), VIRTUAL. Sponsor: CSIS. Speakers: Ilaria Mazzocco, Deputy Director and Senior Fellow, Trustee Chair in Chinese Business and Economics, CSIS; Maria Martin-Prat De Abreu, Deputy Director-General, Directorate-General for Trade and Economic Security, European Commission; Max Bergmann, Director, Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program and Stuart Center, CSIS; Francesca Ghiretti, Adjunct Fellow (Non-resident), Wadhwani AI Center; Julia Poliscanova, Senior Director, Vehicles & Emobility Supply Chains, Brussels (EU), T&E. 

ABE MEMORIAL LECTURE: THE FUTURE OF GLOBAL DIPLOMACY AND THE INDO-PACIFIC. 3/24, 9:30-11am (EDT), IN PERSON ONLY. Sponsor: Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. Speakers: Ambassador Shigeo Yamada, Ambassador of Japan to the United States; Dr. Kurt Campbell, 22nd Deputy Secretary of The United States Department of State; Dr. Evan Medeiros (moderator), Director of Asian Studies, Penner Family Chair in Asia Studies in the School of Foreign Service. 

PUTIN'S REVENGE AND RUSSIA'S WAR ON UKRAINE. 3/24, 11:00am–Noon (EDT). VIRTUAL. Sponsor: Atlantic Council. Speakers: author Lucian Kim, Journalist.  PURCHASE BOOK: https://amzn.to/3XVCR5u

FORECASTING DISASTER: HOW DOGE'S CUTS TO NOAA WILL AFFECT WEATHER AWARENESS AND WELL-BEING. 3/24, 1:00-2:00pm (EDT), VIRTUAL. Sponsor: Center for American Progress. Speakers: Todd Carter, Chief Development Director, Hospitality House of Northwest North Carolina; David Dickson, Meteorologist, Covering Climate Now. 

GLOBAL PUBLIC OPINION ON CHINA: HOW DOES THE WORLD SEE CHINA? 3/24, 3:00-4:00pm (EDT), VIRTUAL. Sponsor: Asia Society. Speakers: Andrew Chubb, Fellow, Foreign Policy and National Security, Center for China Analysis, Asia Society Policy Institute; Maria Repnikova, Associate Professor, Global Communication, Georgia State University; Cindy Yu, Expert, Modern China. 

CITIZENSHIP AND MULTICULTURALISM IN EAST ASIA: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF MARRIAGE MIGRATION IN JAPAN, SOUTH KOREA AND TAIWAN. 3/24, 4:00–5:30pm (EDT), HYBRID. Sponsors: Harvard University Asia Center. Speakers: Margarita Estévez-Abe, Associate Professor, Political Science Department, Syracuse University; Susan J. Pharr, Edwin O. Reischauer Research Professor of Japanese Politics, Harvard University. 

US-Japan Week

US-JAPAN WEEK IN WASHINGTON, DC

U.S.-Japan Relations after the U.S. Presidential Election

U.S-Japan Research Institute (USJI)

JAPAN’S TRADE POLICY IN AN ERA OF GROWING ANTI-GLOBALISM. 2/27, 2:00-3:30pm. Speakers: Vinod K. Aggarwal, Professor, Travers Family Senior Faculty Fellow, Department of Political Science, Director, APEC Study Center, University of California, Berkeley; Yukiko Fukagawa, Professor, Faculty of Political Science and Economics, Waseda University; Takashi Terada, Professor, Department of Political Science,  Doshisha University, Operating Advisor,  U.S.-Japan Research Institute; Shujiro Urata, Dean, Professor, Graduate School of Asia-Pacific Studies, Waseda University; Moderator: Mireya Solís, Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy, Center for East Asia Policy StudiesPhilip Knight Chair in Japan Studies. 

PLANT SCIENCE RESEARCH FOR GLOBAL FOOD SECURITY. 2/ 27, 2:00-3:30pm. Speakers: Hiroshi Ezura, Professor, Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba; Jocelyn Kenneth Campbell Rose, Professor, Plant Biology Section, School of Integrative Plant Sciences, Cornell University; James J. Giovannoni, Professor, ARS/BTI, Ithaca NY, Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research, Plant Biology, Cornell University; Tohru Ariizumi, Associate Professor, Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba. 

ASIA AND THE WORLD AS SEEN BY BORDER STUDIES: IMPLICATIONS FOR US-JAPAN RELATIONS. 2/ 28, 10:00 –11:30am. Speakers: Edward Boyle, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Law and Center for Asia-Pacific Future Studies, Kyushu University; Akihiro Iwashita, Professor, Hokkaido University/Kyushu University; Mikhail Alexseev, Professor, Department of Political Science, San Diego State University; Emmanuel Brunet-Jailly, Professor, School of Public Administration, University of Victoria; Tony Payan, Fellow & Director, Rice University. 

U.S.-JAPAN RELATIONS IN THE ASIA-PACIFIC REGION: NEW CHALLENGES FOR THE FUTURE. 2/28, 1:30-4:10pm,. Speakers: James L. Schoff, Senior Fellow, Asia Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; Shunji Yanai, Advisory Board, USJI / Former Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Japan Embassy, U.S. / Judge, International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea / University Professor, Waseda University; Michael H. Armacost, Advisory Board, USJI / Former U.S. Ambassador to Japan and the Philippines / Shorenstein APARC Fellow, Stanford University; Fumiaki Kubo, Director, USJI /Professor, Graduate Schools for Law and Politics, the University of Tokyo; Masayuki Tadokoro, Professor, International Relations, Keio University; Aiji Tanaka, Operating Advisor, USJI / Professor, Faculty of Political Science and Economics, Waseda University; Jeffrey Hornung, Fellow, Security and Foreign Affairs Program, Sasakawa USA; Bruce Stokes, Director, Global Economic Attitudes, Pew Research Center. 

US-JAPAN ALLIANCE AFTER THE US PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION. 3/1, 2:00-3:30pm. Speaker: Koji Murata, Operating Advisor, USJI, Professor, Faculty of Law Department of Political Science, Doshisha University; Benjamin Self, Vice President, Mansfield Foundation. 

INCLUSIVE AND EQUITABLE QUALITY EDUCATION FOR ALL IN THE CONTEXTS OF SDGS: INCLUDING CHILDREN WITH DISABILITY IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES. 3/2, 10:00-11:30pm. Speaker: Miki Sugimura, Vice Chair, USJI, Vice President, Academic Exchange, Sophia University, Professor, Faculty of Human Sciences, Department of Education, Sophia University. 

MIGRATION AND ANTI-GLOBALIZATION IN NORTH AMERICA: VIEWS FROM MEXICO AND JAPAN. 3/2, 2:00-3:30pm. Speaker: Fuminori Minamikawa, Professor, Faculty of International Relations, Ritsumeikan University; Mariana Gabarrot Arenas, Professor, Institute of Technology, University of Tec de Monterrey, Mexico. Moderator: Keiji Nakatsuji, Operating Advisor, USJI, Professor, Faculty of International Relation, Ritsumeikan University. 

IS SHINZO ABE’S JAPAN SPECIAL TO DONALD TRUMP’S AMERICA?. 3/2, 6:00-7:30pm. Speaker: Takashi Terada, Operating Advisor, USJI / Professor, Faculty of Law Department of Political Science, Doshisha University. [students only]

U.S.-Japan Network for the Future Presents on Capitol Hill

On June 9th, The Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation* held its now annual public forum on Capitol Hill featuring members of its U.S.-Japan Network for the Future (The Network).

This program, initiated in 2009, introduced its fourth two-year co-hort group in April 2016. The Network identifies American, emerging Japan scholars and provides them with tools to make their work policy relevant. Five of the 14 from the last “co-hort” group (III) were selected to present publicly papers on the challenges facing Japanese society. The Japanese government's Japan Foundation Center For Global Partnership underwrites this effort. Harvard Professor Emeritus Ezra F. Vogel* was the moderator. The topics discussed were: religion in politics, immigration, the new secrecy law, work culture, and Japan’s opposition party. A bound publication included 3-page essays by all 14 members of Co-hort III (2014-2016) on a greater range of political issues in Japan.

The five presentations portrayed Japan as a “normal” industrial democracy troubled by an ageing population and uncomfortable with change. Accommodating immigrants and women into its rapidly shrinking workforce are challenges both politically and socially. Internationally, the U.S.-Japan alliance will continue to evolve with mainstream political parities preferring low-budget structural reforms and reassurances to the U.S. over active participation in regional disputes.

The central point of the each presentation is as follows:

• Conflicts between LDP and the Democratic Party can not be understood without a knowledge of each party's religious affiliation: Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) – Shintoism and Komeito Party – Buddhism. 
• The Special Designated Secrets Law that passed in 2013 although initially controversial will not threaten Japan’s democracy.
• Japanese government could change the long-hours work culture by sending “change ambassadors” to companies to advocate for institutional reform.
• Japan’s political parties need to begin the discussion of immigration reform to address the growing demographic problem of low birth rates and ageing population.
• For the July 10th Upper House elections, the opposition Democratic Party could capitalize on the Abe Administration’s failing economic policies and the unpopularity of the security legislation.

“Network” Participants: List of 14
Bound Publication: New Perspectives on Japan from the U.S.-Japan Network for the Future (80 pages)

1. Japan’s Ruling Coalition Gets Religion
Levi McLaughlin, assistant professor of Religious Studies at North Caroline State University.

Conflict between the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its coalition partner the Komeito must be understood as a clash of religious commitments. Although a 2008 and 2010 World Values Survey by the conservative Yomiuri Shimbun suggests that only 26% of Japanese believe in any religion, two religious forces, Shintoism and Buddhism, do “play important roles in shaping policy and electioneering within the governing coalition of the LDP (Shintoism) and Komeito Party (Buddhism).” Religious parties and positions maintained by LDP politicians and the Soka Gakkai campaigners ensured electoral success for Komeito.
Paper: Japan’s Ruling Coalition Gets Religion

2. Japan’s Specially Designated Secrets Law and 21st Century Security
Emer O’Dwyer, associate professor of Japanese History at Oberlin College.

Japan’s Specially Designated Secrets Protection Law (SDS), passed by the Diet on December 6, 2013 (and coming into force December 10, 2014) provoked massive demonstrations that clogged the streets surrounding the Diet Building. These demonstrations have since died down. The law allows government agencies broad powers to designate secret information regarding defense, diplomacy, terrorism counter-measures, and espionage. In addition, government entitites are allowed to conduct background checks and seek prosecution for criminal use of state secrets. O’Dwyer concludes that the law is reasonable and that “democracy is safe in Japan” because the law is a natural response to strengthening the U.S.-Japan military alliance and to potential security threats from China.
Paper: SPECTRE in Japan

3. Changing Japan’s Long Working Hours: “Cool Japan” Meets Keidanren
Liv Coleman, associate professor of political science at the University of Tampa.

The Abe Administration has tried, with little success, “a mixture of soft regulation, financial incentives, and moral suasion” to reduce working hours and to promote family-friendly work places. Sixty percent of Japanese women quit their jobs by the time they have their first child. Work cultures have not changed due to “too much work, face to face meetings, and unawareness of directors on this problem.” Coleman encourages the government to introduce “‘change ambassadors’ to coach managers into a new way of thinking and asking questions about work productivity while taking a profoundly personal approach.” Institutional reforms needs to accompany individualistic guidance for altering the work culture.
Paper: Changing Japan’s Long Working Hours: “Cool Japan” Meets Keidanren
Yukatsu’ program to let civil servants leave early for second summer, Jiji 6/5/16

4. Immigration and the Upcoming Upper House Election
Michael Strausz, associate professor of political science at Texas Christian University.

Japan has the largest aging population (33%) in the OED, but an extremely limited immigration system. Japan’s Prime Minister and Diet have been reluctant to make significant changes to both the legal and cultural barriers. As the 2016 Upper House elections approach, Strausz observes that “it would be good for Japan if some political parties advocate an immigration policy.” In order to keep the work force of 87.2 million at the 1995 level, Japan “would need 33.5 million immigrants from 1995 through 2050.”
Paper: Immigration and the Upcoming Upper House Election

5. Japan’s Democratic Party and the July Upper House Election
Daniel M. Smith, assistant professor of comparative politics at Harvard University.

Prime Minster Shinzo Abe and his LDP hope to secure a large enough victory to move ahead with their goal of constitutional revision, which includes “loosening restrictions on the use of the Self-Defense Forces, a change many decry as unconstitutional.” The opposition Democratic Party has an opportunity to reverse recent electoral setbacks in the upcoming election if it manages to “simultaneously avoid competition with the remaining opposition parties in single-seat districts and convince disaffected voters to show up at the polls.” The previous success of the LDP has not been due to their policies, but rather the failure of any anti-Abe coalition, including the recently formed Democratic Party, Japan Restoration Party (later re-branded as JIP), and Tomorrow Party of Japan . If the opposition combined and focused on the weaknesses of Abe economic and security policy, the LDP could lose 156 seats in the House of Councilors (Upper House) this July.
Paper: The Challenge for Japan’s Democratic Party in 2016: Simultaneously Increase Coordination and Turnout

*APP members

Monday in Washington, March 21, 2016

NEWSMAKER PANEL EXAMINES SOUTH CHINA SEA DISPUTE – WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? 3/21, 10:00am. Sponsor: National Press Club. Speakers: Gregory Poling, Asian Maritime Security Initiative, CSIS; Dr. Yann-huei Song, Center for Asia-Pacific Area Studies; Capt. Donald Marcus, President, International Organization of Masters, Mates & Pilots; Dr. Larry M. Wortzel, U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission.

RUNNING TOWARDS A BREXIT? UNDERSTANDING THE TRANSATLANTIC IMPLICATIONS OF THE UK REFERENDUM. 3/21, 10:00-11:00am. Sponsor: CSIS. Speaker: The Rt. Hon. Dr. Liam Fox, Member of British Parliament and Former UK Defense Secretary.

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AMERICA'S INVISIBLE WARS. 3/21, 11:00am-12:30pm. Sponsor: Cato Institute. Speakers: Emma Ashford, Visiting Research Fellow, Cato; Bronwyn Bruton, Deputy Director, Africa Center, Atlantic Council; Charles Schmitz, Professor, Towson University; Moeed Yusuf, Director, South Asia Programs, United Institute of Peace.


THE GRAND STRATEGY THAT WON THE COLD WAR: ARCHITECTURE OF TRIUMPH. 3/21, Noon-1:00pm, Washington, DC. Sponsor: Heritage Foundation. Speakers: author Dr. Douglas E. Streusand, Professor of International Relations, Marine Corps Command and Staff College; Dr. Francis H. Marlo, Associate Professor of International Relations, Marine Corps Command and Staff College; Dr. Norman A. Bailey, Professor of Economics and National Security, University of Haifa. 

CHINA’S AUTHORITARIAN ECONOMIC MODEL: TEMPORARY HICCUP OR IN TERMINAL DECLINE? 3/21, Noon-1:30pm. Sponsor: Hudson Institute. Speakers: Leland Miller, President, China Beige Book International; John Lee, Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute.

WOMEN, TERRORISM, AND VIOLENT EXTREMISM: THE MISSING LINKS. 3/21, Noon-2:00pm. Sponsor: Women in International Security. Speakers: Amb. Claudia Fritsche, Embassy of Liechtenstein in Washington, DC; Sanam Anderlini, International Civil Society Action Network; Dr. Kathleen Kuehnast, U.S. Institute of Peace; Dr. Paul Pillar, Georgetown University; Dr. Lorenzo Vidino, George Washington University.

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ARE WE READY FOR THE NEXT RECESSION? 3/21, 2:00-4:00pm. Sponsor: Brookings. Speakers: David Wessel, Director, The Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy; Wendy Edelberg, Assistant Director for Economic Analysis, Congressional Budget Office; Ben Spielberg, Research Associate and Project Manager for Full Employment, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities; Philip Swagel, Professor, University of Maryland School of Public Policy; Richard Clarida, Professor of Economics and International Affairs, Columbia University; Jon Faust, Professor of Economics, Johns Hopkins University; Jared Bernstein, Senior Fellow, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

THE DIPLOMACY OF MIGRATION: TRANSNATIONAL LIVES AND THE MAKING OF U.S.-CHINESE RELATIONS IN THE COLD WAR. 3/21, 4:00-5:30pm. Sponsor: Wilson Center. Speaker: Author Meredith Oyen, University of Maryland.

THE GLOBAL FUTURE OF SECURITY: A CONVERSATION WITH FORMER DEFENSE SECRETARY CHUCK HAGEL. 3/21, 4:00-5:15pm. Sponsor: Georgetown University (GU). Speaker: Chuck Hagel, Former Secretary of Defense.

Monday in Washington June 8, 2015

CAN THE FINANCIAL SECTOR PROMOTE GROWTH AND STABILITY? 6/8, 8:30am-2:00pm. Sponsor: Brookings Institution’s Initiative on Public Policy. Keynote Speaker: Richard Berner, Director, Treasury Department’s Office of Financial Research.

WORLD BANK’S EIGHTH MIGRATION AND DEVELOPMENT CONFERENCE. 6/8, 9:00am-5:00pm. Sponsor: World Bank. Featured Speakers: Dani Rodrik, Professor, Princeton University and Ran Abramitzky, Professor, Stanford University.

HOW ICELAND WEATHERED THE FINANCIAL CRISIS. 6/8, Noon-1:30pm. Sponsor: National Economists Club. Speaker: Geir Haarder, Iceland Ambassador to the US.

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THE ROK-US ALLIANCE: FACING MISSILE AND NUCLEAR THREATS ON THE KOREAN PENINSULA. 6/8, 3:00-4:30pm. Sponsor: Asan Institute for Policy Studies. Speakers: Thomas Karako, Director, Missile Defense Project, CSIS; Choi Kang, Vice President for Research, Asan; Woo Jung-Yeop, Director, Asan Washington Office.

NEW WAYS TO MEASURE THE IMPACT OF COUNTRY HEALTH PROGRAMS. 6/8, 4:00pm. Sponsors: UN Foundation; World Bank. Speakers: Jennifer Adams, Deputy Assistant, USAID’s Bureau for Global Health; Ties Boerma, Director, World Health Organization’s Department of Measurement and Health Information Systems; Tim Evans, Senior Director of Health, Nutrition and Population, World Bank; Elizabeth Cousens, Deputy CEO, UN Foundation. 

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THE POST-WWII TRADE SYSTEM: A PILLAR OF FREEDOM. 6/8, 4:30-6:00pm. Sponsor: Institute of World Politics (IWP). Speaker: author, Douglas A. Irwin, John Sloan Dickey Third Century Professor in the Social Sciences, Dartmouth College.


FROM STARVATION IN NORTH KOREA TO SALVATION IN AMERICA. 6/8, 6:30-9:00pm. Sponsor: Korean Economic Institute (KEI). Speaker: author Joseph Kim, North Korean Refugee.

Can Japan come back from the "Lonely Death"? The Demographic Challenge

Sustainable Governance Indicators is a platform built on a cross-national survey of governance that identifies reform needs in 41 EU and OECD countries. The 2014 Report assess a period of two years, beginning May 1, 2011 and ending May 15, 2013. It is a project supported by the Bertelsmann Foundation.

Japan generally falls in the middle of the 41 countries and appears to be shifting downward in its strength of democracy.

EU affairs writer, Craig James Willy examines below the indicators for Japan in light of the country's low fertility, low immigration and low female participation in the labor force. He finds, like many, Japan needs more action to address demographic challenges, as those are major underlying causes of weakening economic growth in the island-nation.

The Japanese have evocative words for some disturbing phenomena. One of these is kodokushi or "lonely death," referring to elderly people dying alone in their home, only to be horrifyingly discovered much later. Indeed, cleanup after such occurrences is a growing industry in the country. The word kodokushi expresses some of the extreme trends of Japan as a postmodern society: the tragedy of elderly loneliness, the challenge of a rapidly-aging society.

Indeed, Japan's over-65s currently make up 24 percent of the population, something which is forecast to rise to 30 percent by 2025 and, extraordinarily, almost 40 percent by 2060. In contrast, the working-age population between 15 and 64 years is expected to precipitously decrease to just over 50 percent by 2050.

Another striking expression is parasaito shinguru which, you may or may not have guessed, stands for "parasite singles," referring to individuals who continue to live with their parents in their late 20s and beyond. If Japan is aging so fast, it’s also because it is an increasingly childless society, with a fertility rate of just 1.4, one of the lowest in the world. These deep-seated demographic trends are unlikely to change any time soon.

This makes the Japanese government's stated objective of returning the country to economic dynamism and international prominence all the more difficult. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, whose ruling coalition just won a sweeping victory in the recent general elections, has implemented a radically heterodox approach to economic policy with the so-called "three arrows" of what wonks are calling "Abenomics": fiscal stimulus, money printing and structural reforms. So far however, results have been mixed, with two quarters of recession over the past year.

Unfortunately, Japan's economic problems are on one level intractable, not resolvable through economic policies, because they are fundamentally deriving from this poor demography. Japan ranks dead last in the Bertelsmann Stiftung’s Sustainable Governance Indicators (SGI) in terms of fiscal sustainability, which analyzes budgetary policy of all countries in the Organization for Economic Co-operation (OECD) and the European Union. Tokyo's incredible government debt is clocking in at around 240 percent of GDP (however, the cost of interest rates on that are very low as the government borrows directly from the Bank of Japan).

This is likely to worsen as the Japanese population shrinks, the pension and healthcare costs of retirees inevitably grows, and the working-age population declines. In all likelihood, a significant part of this public debt will be monetized and reduced through inflation, with pensions declining as a result.

Paradoxically, one of Japan’s strengths accentuates these demographic problems. Japanese healthcare is remarkable in being relative cheap (10.1 percent of GDP, just over half as much as the United States) and achieving spectacular results: the average Japanese can hope to live over 84 years, longer than in any other country.

Japan’s gender situation is alarming: While the country has the second-highest gender income gap among full-time employees in the OECD and female participation is low, women are also not having children. Although the government has made attempts in recent years to improve women's ability to balance work and family life, so far the results have been slim.

Could immigration solve Japan’s demographic problems?

Immigration has been suggested as a way of rejuvenating the population and growing the workforce. However, the Japan is basically closed off to foreign settlement. While it is not unusual for over 1-in-10 people in Western countries to be foreign born, in Japan foreigners make up less than 2 percent of the population.

Indeed, foreigners find it difficult to integrate and assimilate to Japan's unique, particularistic culture with a language only distantly related to others. As SGI’s Japan report notes: "Given Japan’s restrictive approach to immigration, there is little integration policy as such." This appears unlikely to change as the Abe government has taken a nationalist tone and remains reluctant to loosen grip on immigration controls. A majority of Japanese has generally opposed increasing immigration.

Unless fertility is increased, Japan then looks set for economic and international decline. Poverty and inequality have spread, although these remain at relatively low levels. Pensions are likely to be insecure. At the same time however, a shrinking population can be a positive in terms of increasing environmental sustainability and energy independence. Indeed, Japan may be uniquely well-suited to tackling aging’s challenges through automation and robotics.

Ultimately, demographic challenges can however only be fully addressed through demographic solutions, as opposed to economic or technological band-aids. A nation may be more than the sum of its parts, but it is also simply the people that make it up, and there are not quick-fix solutions if those people disappear.

Monday in Washington, September 22, 2014

ADDRESSING CORRUPTION IN GLOBAL TRADE. 9/22, 8:30-10:00am. Sponsor: US and International Anti-Corruption Law Program, American University Washington College of Law. Speakers: (Keynote) Pascal Lamy, Former WTO Director General; Alan Larson, Chairman, Transparency International USA; Tim Reif, General Counsel, Office of the US Trade Representative; Moderator: Nancy Boswell, Director, US & International Anti-Corruption Law Program. 

RUSSIA’S ROLE IN ASIAN ENERGY MARKETS. 9/22, 10:00-11:30am. Sponsor: Russia Eurasia Program, CSIS. Speakers: Edward C. Chow, Senior Fellow of the Energy and National Security Program, CSIS; Shoichi Itoh, Senior Analyst at the Institute for Energy Economics in Tokyo, Japan; Andrew C. Kuchins, Director and Senior Fellow of Russia and Eurasia Program, CSIS; and Jeffrey A. Mankoff, Deputy Director and Fellow of Russia and Eurasia Program, CSIS.

TRADE AND INNOVATION: INDIA'S AND CHINA'S DIVERSE EXPERIENCES WITH THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AGREEMENT. 9/22, 10:30am-Noon. Sponsor: East-West Center in Washington. Speaker: Dr. Dieter Ernst, Senior Fellow, East-West Center.

SAUDI ARABIA: OPPOSING DEMOCRACY AT HOME AND ABROAD. 9/22, Noon-2:00. Sponsor: National Endowment for Democracy. Speakers: Bernard Haykel, director of the Transregional Institute for the Study of the Middle East and North Africa at Princeton University; Jean-Francois Seznec, visiting associate professor in the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies at Georgetown University; and Karen Elliott-House, author, On Saudi Arabia: Its People, Past, Religion, Fault Lines and Future.

SHOULD KOREA JOIN THE TRANS-PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP? 9/22, 12:15-1:00pm. The Peterson Institute for International Economics. Speakers: Angela Ellard, chief trade counsel to the Trade Subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee; Everett Eissenstat, chief international trade counsel to the Senate Finance.

THE RISE OF LASHKAR-E-TAIBA : A LOOK AT ONE OF SOUTH ASIA'S LARGEST TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS. 9/22, 12:15-1:45 pm. Sponsor: New America. Speakers: Arif Jamal Author, Call for Transnational Jihad, Lashkar-e-Taiba 1985-2014; Dr. Mohammad Taqi Columnist, The Daily Times (Pakistan); Moderator: Joshua T. White Deputy Director, South Asia Program, Stimson Center. 

HIGH-SKILLED IMMIGRATION POLICY & THE GLOBAL COMPETITION FOR TALENT. 9/22, 1:00pm-5:30pm, 9/23, 8:30am-5:00pm. Sponsor: National Academies. Speakers: Charles Beach, Queens University; Herbert Brücker, University of Bamberg; Jean-Christophe Dumont, OECD; Richard Freeman, Harvard University, NBER; Lesleyanne Hawthorne, University of Melbourne, Victoria; Graeme Hugo, University of Adelaide; William Kamela, Microsoft; Lindsay Lowell, Georgetown University; William Kerr, Harvard University; Pia Orrenius, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas; Daniele Paserman, Boston University; Madeleine Sumption, Migration Policy Institute; Jonathan Wadsworth, University of London; Madeline Zavodny, Agnes Scott College.

SOUTHEAST ASIA AND THE UNITED STATES. 9/22, 2:00-3:00pm. Sponsor: Center for East Asia Policy Studies, Brookings Institution. Speakers: Ambassador Susan E. Rice, Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, Executive Office of the President; H.E. Mr. K. Shanmugam, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Law, Republic of Singapore; Joseph Liow, Senior Fellow and Lee Kuan Yew Chair in Southeast Asia Studies at Brookings; Richard Bush, Chen-Fu and Cecilia Yen Koo Chair in Taiwan Studies, Senior Fellow and Director of the Center for East Asia Policy Studies, Brookings Institution.

THE ECONOMIC COSTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE. 9/22, 4:00-5:00pm. Sponsor: Hamilton Project, Brookings Institution. Speakers: Treasury Secretary Jack Lew; former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, co-chair of the Council on Foreign Relations; Michael Greenstone, professor of economics at the University of Chicago; and Melissa Kearney, director, Hamilton Project, Brookings.

PUBLIC SECTOR INVESTMENT AND ITS IMPACT ON THE WORLD ECONOMY. 9/22, 4:00-6:00pm. Sponsor: Atlantic Council's Transatlantic Finance Initiative (TFI) and the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF). Speakers: The Hon. C. Boyden Gray, Atlantic Council Board Director and Former US Ambassador to the EU; Mr. David Marsh, Co-Founder and Managing Director, OMFIF; Ms. Sara Bonesteel, Managing Director and Head of Portfolio Strategy, Prudential; Ms. Sonja Gibbs, Director, Capital Markets & Emerging Markets Policy, Institute of International Finance; Mr. Clay Lowery, Vice President, Rock Creek Global Advisors; David Marsh, Managing Director and Cofounder, The Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF); Dr. Rakesh Mohan, Executive Director, India, IMF.
Launch OMFIF's new publication Global Public Investor (GPI) 2014.

JIHAD 3.0. 9/22 4:45-6:30pm. Sponsor: Schieffer Series Dialogues, CSIS. Speakers: Bob Schieffer, Chief Washington Correspondent for CBS News and Anchor for CBS News “Face the Nation”; The Honorable Juan C. Zarate, Former Deputy National Security Adviser for Combating Terrorism, Author of Treasury Wars, Senior Adviser for the Transnational Threats Project and Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Program, CSIS; Dr. Jon Alterman, Senior Vice President, Zbigniew Brzezinski Chair in Global Security and Geostrategy, and Director of Middle East Program, CSIS; and Julianna Goldman, Washington Correspondent for CBS News.

100 YEARS OF WARFIGHTER TECHNOLOGY. 9/22, 5:00-8:00pm. Sponsor: Task Force on American Innovation. Speakers: Patricia Falcone, associate director for national security and international affairs at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy; and Thomas Williams, director of operations and CEO at United States Marine Corps Historical Company.