Last minute Friday

CHINESE CYBER-ATTACKS 4/15 -12:00 pm,2172 Rayburn House Office Building. House Foreign Affairs Committee Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee hearing on "Communist Chinese Cyber-Attacks, Cyber-Espionage and Theft of American Technology."Witnesses: Pat Choate, director of the Manufacturing Policy Project; Richard Fisher, senior fellow of Asian military affairs at the International Assessment and Strategy Center; Edward Timperlake, former director of technology assessment and international technology security in the Office of the Secretary of Defense; and Adam Segal, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.

PREVENING DISASTER AFER MARCH 11: RISING TO THE GLOBAL CHALLENGE. 4/15, 6:15pm-7:30pm, Washington, DC. Sponsors: Japanese Ministry of Finance and the World Bank . Speakers: Rintaro Tamaki, Vice Minister of Finance for International Affairs, Japan; Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Managing Director of the World Bank; and Kristalina Georgieva, EU Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response. In addition to a short presentation highlighting the findings from the recent World Bank-UN Report Natural Hazards, Unnatural Disasters: The Economics of Effective Prevention, high-level representatives from Australia, Ethiopia (tbc), Japan, Pakistan (tbc) and Philippines will participate in a panel discussion to showcase the lessons learned from recent disasters around the world—including Japan’s experience. Closing remarks will be provided by Inger Andersen, Vice President and Head of Network, Sustainable Development, the World Bank. Location: The World Bank, MC 2-800. Contact: Space is Limited. Please RSVP with subject line "Preventing Disasters" to cseki@worldbank.org. Please include your name, affiliation, and contact information. Visitor passes can be picked up at MC building visitor entrance on 18th St. NW.

This week in Washington

LAUNCH OF THE ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK'S FLAGSHIP PUBLICATION, ASIAN DEVELOPMENT OUTLOOK 2011. 4/13. 3:00-5:00pm, Washington, DC. Sponsors: Asian Development Bank, Asia Society Washington Center, and the Wilson Center's Asia Program. Speaker: Changyong Rhee, Asian Development Bank’s newly-appointed Chief Economist. By invitation only but webcast.

CHINA’S FOREIGN POLICY: CHALLENGES AND PLAYERS. 4/13, 8:40am-3:05pm, Washington, DC. Sponsor: U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. Speakers: Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA); Mr. Daniel Kritenbrink, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, U.S. Department of State; Mr. David Helvey, Principal Director for East Asia Policy, Office of the Secretary of Defense; Mr. Andrew Small, Transatlantic Fellow, German Marshall Fund; Dr. J. Peter Pham, Director of the Michael S. Ansari Africa Center, Atlantic Council; Dr. Alan M. Wachman, Associate Professor of International Politics, Tufts University; Dr. John W. Garver, Professor, Georgia Institute of Technology; Dr. Victor Cha, Director of Asian Studies, Georgetown University; Dr. Richard Weitz, Director of the Center for Military-Political Analysis, Hudson Institute; Dr. Yu-wen Julie Chen, Visiting Scholar, University of Virginia; Dr. Erica S. Downs, Fellow, Brookings Institution; Ms. Susan V. Lawrence, Analyst in Asian Affairs, Congressional Research Service.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF NATURAL DISASTERS. 4/13, 11:30am-12:30pm, Washington, DC. Sponsor: United Nations Association of the National Capital Area’s Sustainable Development Committee. Speakers: Anita van Breda: Director, Humanitarian Partnerships at World Wildlife Fund; Marion Pratt: Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA), Social Science Advisor; Stephanie Fritz Savolaine: U.S. Forest Service, Assistant Director for International Programs Disaster Assistance Support Program (DASP); Joseph Ashmore: Independent consultant, co-compiler, illustrator, and author of the UNOCHA, IFRC and CARE International supported booklet "Timber as a construction material in humanitarian emergencies"; Mary Beth Brennan: Acting East Asia and Pacific Regional Coordinator, Office of Disaster Assistance, USAID. 

THE U.S.-INDIA STRATEGIC DIALOGUE: PRIORITIES AND NEXT STEPS. 4/13, 3:00-4:30pm, Washington, DC. Sponsors: CSIS; Wadhwani Chair in US–India Policy Studies; CII. Speakers: Ambassador Ronen Sen, Former Ambassador of India to the United States; Mr. Chandrajit Banerjee. Director General, Confederation of Indian Industry; Mr. Jamshyd N. Godrej, Chairman and Managing Director, Godrej and Boyce Manufacturing Company, Ltd., India; Ambassador Karl F. Inderfurth, Senior Advisor and Wadhwani Chair, CSIS.

GREEN FINANCE IN KOREA AND THE GLOBAL CONTEXT. 4/13, 10:00am-Noon, Washington, DC. Sponsor: Korean Economic Institute. Speakers: Dr. Hyoung-Tae Kim,President, Korea Capital Market Institute; Dr. Young-Tae Kim, Transportation Attaché, Embassy of the Republic of Korea; Dr. Debra Lynn Perry, Principal Investment Officer, International Finance Corporation; Mr. William F. (Bill) Tyndall, Senior Vice President, Federal Government and Regulatory Affairs, Duke Energy.

DEMOCRACY IN ASIA. 4/14, 10:00-11:00am, Washington, DC. Sponsor: Southeast Asia Program, CSIS. Speakers: Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Leader of the People’s Justice Party and Former Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia; Ernest Z. Bower, Senior Advisor & Director, Southeast Asia Program.

IDENTITY AND RISING ASIAN POWERS: IMPLICATIONS FOR REGIONAL COOPERATION. 4/14, Noon-2:00pm, Washington, DC. Sponsors: Sigur Center for Asian Studies; MacArthur Foundation. Speakers: Allen Carlson, Associate Professor of Government, Cornell University; Mike Mochizuki, Associate Dean for Academic Programs & Associate Professor of Political Science & International Affairs, The George Washington University; Deepa Ollapally, Associate Director, Sigur Center for Asian Studies; Shawn McHale, Director, Sigur Center for Asian Studies.

CONFUCIANISM IN CHINA TODAY. 4/14, Noon-2:00pm, Washington, DC. Sponsor: Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs, Georgetown U. Speaker: Yi Liu, postdoctoral fellow, Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs.

IT'S A DISASTER

THE GREAT EASTERN JAPAN EARTHQUAKE AND THE US-JAPAN ALLIANCE: PRELIMINARY ASSESSMENT. 4/5, 2:30-4:00pm, Washington, DC. Sponsor: Stimson Center. Speakers: Brian Finlay, Stimson Center; Taku Ishikawa, National Defense Academy of Japan; Jane Nakano, Center for Strategic and International Studies; Heigo Sato, Takushoku University; Yuki Tatsumi, Stimson Center.

JAPAN'S EARTHQUAKE AND TSUNAMI: DIMENSIONS OF THE DISASTER AND FUTURE PROSPECTS. 4/5, 6:30-8:00pm, Washington, DC. Sponsor: SAIS. Speakers: Japanese Ambassador to the United States Ichiro Fujisaki; Jessica Einhorn, dean of SAIS; Capt. David Barlow; Hironori Kawauchi, senior economist, East Asian and Pacific Region of the World Bank; Ryo Tsuzukihasi, Japanese SAIS graduate student; Kent Calder, director of the Reischauer Center.

U.S. PACIFIC COMMAND/U.S. FORCES KOREA BUDGETS
4/6 - 10:00am, 2118 Rayburn House Office Building. House Armed Services Committee full committee hearing on the FY2012 national defense authorization budget requests from the U.S. Pacific Command and U.S. Forces Korea, including military efforts to support the humanitarian relief efforts in Japan. Witnesses: Navy Adm. Robert Willard, commander of the U.S. Pacific Command; Army Gen. Walter Sharp, commander, U.S. Forces Korea.

RESPONDING TO DISASTERS: MYTHS, MISTAKES, AND RECOVERY. 4/6, 3:00-5:00pm, Washington, DC. Sponsor: Wilson Center. Speakers: Frederick Burkle, senior public policy scholar, WWC; Leonard Doyle, International Organization for Migration; Arif Hasan, chairman and founder, Urban Resource Centre of Karachi, Pakistan; Elaine Ubalijoro, adjunct professor of practice for public-private sector partnerships, Centre for Developing-Area Studies at McGill University.

DISASTER AND POLITICS: JAPAN AFTER MARCH 11. 4/6, 10:30am-Noon, Washington, DC. Sponsor: US-Japan Research Institute. Speakers: Dr. Akihiko Tanaka Vice Chair, USJI Executive Vice President, The University of Tokyo; Dr. Michael Auslin, AEI; Dr. Andrew Oros, Washington College.

LEGAL AND POLICY PERSPECTIVES ON THE JAPANESE CRISIS. 4/6, 6:00-7:30pm, New York, NY. Sponsors: Center on Japanese Economy and Business at Columbia University; Center for Japanese Legal Studies; "NHK" (Nihonho Kenkyukai) Student Organization; Columbia Law School. Speakers: Masayoshi Arai, Special Advisor, Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry of Japan, and Director, Japan External Trade Organization, New York; Michael Gerrard, Professor, Professional Practice in Law, and Director, Center on Climate Change Law at Columbia Law School; Curtis J. Milhaupt, Fuyo Professor, Japanese Law, and Parker Professor, Comparative Corporate Law at Columbia Law School; Hajime Matsuura, Senior Columnist, Sankei Shimbun.

ASSESSING U.S. EARTHQUAKE RISK REDUCTION
4/7 - 10:00am, 2318 Rayburn House Office Building. Technology and Innovation Subcommittee hearing on "Are We Prepared? Assessing Earthquake Risk Reduction in the United States." Witnesses: Dr. Jack Hayes, Director, National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program(NEHRP), National Institute of Standards and Technology; Mr. Jim Mullen, Director, Washington State Emergency Management Division; President, National Emergency Management Association; Mr. Chris Poland, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Degenkolb Engineers; Chairman, NEHRP Advisory Committee; Dr. Vicki McConnell, Oregon State Geologist and Director, Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries.

JAPAN’S NUCLEAR CRISIS: AN UPDATE AND NEW PERSPECTIVES. 4/7, 3:30-5:00pm, Stanford, CA. Sponsor: Center for International Security and Cooperation, Stanford University. Speakers: Chaim Braun, Consulting Professor, CISAC; Edward Blandford, Postdoctoral Fellow, CISAC; Charles Perrow, Visiting Professor, CISAC; Professor Emeritus, Sociology, Yale University; Lynn Eden, Senior Research Scholar & Associate Director for Research, CISAC.

NUCLEAR SAFETY AFTER FUKUSHIMA. 4/7, 2:00pm-5:00pm, Washington, DC. Sponsor: CSIS. Speakers: Moderator: Ms. Sharon Squassoni, Director, CSIS Proliferation Prevention Program; Mr. Alex Flint, Senior Vice President for Governmental Affairs, Nuclear Energy Institute; Ms. Ellen Vancko, Nuclear Energy and Climate Change Project Manager, Union of Concerned Scientists; Mr. Mark Holt, Specialist in Energy Policy, Congressional Research Service; Dr. Olli Heinonen, Senior Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School; Mr. Carlton Stoiber, Chair of the Nuclear Security Working Group, International Nuclear Law Association; Ms. Carol Kessler, Chair of the Nonproliferation and National Security Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION (NRC) (F.R. Page 16457) holds a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, April 7-8.

India

INDIAN ROOTS, AMERICAN SOIL: A LOOK AT INDIAN COMPANIES IN THE U.S. ECONOMY. 3/30, 3:00-4:30pm, Washington, DC. Sponsor: Global Business Dialogue, Confederation of Indian Industry. Speakers: Meera Shankar, India's Ambassador to the United States; Dave Delie, CEO, Welspun Tubular LLC; Chuck Caprariello, Ranbaxy; Martha Bejar, Wipro Technologies.

FAILING TO DELIVER: DEFENSE REFORMS IN INDIA. 3/31, 12:30-2:00 pm, lunch, Washington, DC. Sponsor: East-West Center in Washington. Speakers: Mr. Anit Mukherjee, Research Fellow, Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), New Delhi, and discussant Dr. Stephen P. Cohen, Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy Studies Program, The Brookings Institution.

Three for Monday

THE FUTURE OF NUCLEAR POWER AFTER FUKUSHIMA. 3/28, Noon-1:00pm,
Washington, DC. Sponsor: Progressive Policy Institute. Speakers: Dr. James Conca, Director, Laboratory Operations, Dept. of Energy Hanford Nuclear Site Waste Sampling and Characterization Facility (WSCF); Margaret Harding, President, 4 Factor Consulting; Micheal A. Levi, Director of Energy Security and Climate Change Program, Council on Foreign Relations.

AFTER THE EARTHQUAKE AND TSUNAMI: JAPAN'S NUCLEAR, ECONOMIC, AND POLITICAL CHALLENGES. 3/28, Noon-2:00pm, Washington, DC. Sponsor: Sigur Center for Asian Studies, George Washington University (GWU). Speakers: Philippe Bardet, Assistant Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, GWU; James Kilpatrick, Adjunct Professor of Economics and International Affairs, GWU; Llewelyn Hughes, Assistant Professor of Political Science and International Affairs, GWU; Moderated by: Dr. Deepa Ollapally, Associate Director, Sigur Center for Asian Studies.

ASIA 2011: THE VIEW FROM CAPITOL HILL. 3/28, 2:00-3:30pm, Washington, DC. Sponsor: Heritage Foundation. Speakers: Nien Su, Staff Director (Majority) Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, House Foreign Affairs Committee; Justin Johnson, Legislative Director Office of Representative Todd Akin (R-MO), Chairman Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces, House Armed Services Committee; Sajit Gandhi, Professional Staff (Minority), House Foreign Affairs Committee. 

CARE FOR JAPAN

APP member institution, The Sasaskawa Peace Foundation USA, initiated on Friday, March 25th, an earthquake and tsunami relief fund. It enables Americans to contribute to its sister organization The Nippon Foundation's effort to rebuild Japan's communities.

Unlike many relief organizations, The Nippon Foundation has nearly 50 years of initiating social welfare projects and disaster assistance in Japan with an extensive, established network of civil society organizations. The focus of The Nippon Foundation's work will be on post-relief needs to aid children, the elderly, the disabled, and the dispossessed.

Donate Here

Kan unshaken by massive earthquake

It is premature to conclude the fate of Prime Minister Naoto Kan. The “March Crisis” that everyone predicted did not turn out quite as expected. For now, Kan has been strengthened by his management of the earthquake and tsunami. However, judgement of Kan’s competence is under keener scrutiny of the Japanese people. To an outsider the Prime Minister, Chief Cabinet Secretary Edano, and other aides have done a competent job in coping with the disaster.

The media have transmitted information from official sources and local sites with extraordinary skill, sensitivity, and thoroughness. As for the nuclear disaster, TEPCO’s briefings on TV have left much to be desired – NHK had to bring in a specialist afterwards to explain what the inarticulate and bumbling spokesman just said – but the workers at the scene risking their lives to contain the reactors, not to mention the teams of firefighters and SDF troops pumping water on the towers are true heroes.

From the start, Kan took charge and the people knew it. He rightfully ceded spokeman’s responsibilities to Chief Cabinet Secretary Edano, who also played a low-key, but responsible role. He even brought in a seasoned aide, former chief cabinet secretary Sengoku, when it seemed that Edano was wearing himself out. Kan issued important statements on TV and showed the public that he was clearly the man issuing critical orders from the emergency headquarters set up to handle the disaster. He looked weary when he appeared in public, and even showed his short temper when dissatisfied. He reportedly was observed yelling at TEPCO officials for their poor dissemination of clear and consistent information to the public about the state of the nuclear plant. Unfortunately, he has yet to make personal tours of the disaster area.

Following the 1995 earthquake, then Prime Minister Murayama received low marks for his handling the crisis, even reportedly rebuffing US offers of help. But this time, no such criticism seems warranted. Prime Minister Kan even urged the opposition to put aside differences and cooperate on an emergency fiscal package for the earthquake victims and localities, welcomed the assistance of the US forces in Japan and other foreign help, and oversaw a gradual restoration of normalcy in communications, transportation, and basic distribution in the broadly affected areas.

It may have seemed slow – a week is a long time when disaster strikes -- but by the week’s end, food and other supplies were coming into even the most badly affected areas. It will be a long process even before rebuilding starts, but people realize that, given the enormous scale of the devastation.

Even if Prime Minister Kan gets high marks for crisis management, he is not likely to regain his popularity for he carries too much baggage from the pre-earthquake months when his administration was rocked by scandals, policy failures, and a reputation of indecisiveness on key issues. It will take a lot for him for wipe away a prior history of policy mishandling. Many of these earlier problems remain to be resolved such as passing the budget-enabling bills, and of course resolving the Futenma base relocation issue. But at least Kan can rest assured that it will not be his handling of the Great Northern Japan Earthquake that will make or break his administration.

William Brooks
APP Senior Fellow

Monday Nuclear Disaster Briefings

Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on Monday, March 21 holds a briefing on the ongoing nuclear event in Japan from 9:00 to 11:00am in Rockville, Maryland, the briefing will be webcast.

Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) on Monday, March 21 holds a Conference call briefing beginning at 11:00am to discuss the latest developments at the Fukushima nuclear complex in Japan as well as safety issues at U.S. nuclear plants. Call-in, Domestic calls: 866-861-4873; International calls 703-639-1464; password, Japan Nuclear Reactor Update.
 
The American Geological Institute; the American Geophysical Union; and the Seismological Society of America on Monday, March 21 hold a briefing on Disaster in Japan: What it Means for the US on Capitol Hill at 1:00pm.

US Department of Energy Blog Posts on the Japan Emergency.

Will the disaster strengthen the US-Japan Alliance?

Unlikely, is what your Editor thinks. As you can see in the video below, APP member Paul Giarra calls the situation a "laboratory." He is right.

The US and Japanese militaries are working together as never before, clearly stretching the definitions and traditional practice of Japanese "collective security." With "Operation Tomodachi" American military supplies are being transported on Japanese Self-Defense Forces planes, and vice versa. American officers are coordinating closely with their Japanese counterparts. That this "exercise" will extend beyond this disaster to combat preparation may be an expectation missing an assumption.

The US military seriously undermined its credibility and ability to deliver aid to the Japanese people by keeping its personnel outside the 50 miles radius of the disintegrating Fukushima nuclear facility. Although this area is a fraction of the disaster zone, it creates the impression that the US is really not committed to going shoulder-to-shoulder with their Japanese allies.

Japan's Prime Minister Naoato Kan will visit Fukushima on Monday, March 21, and he will be just outside a 20-mile radius of the nuclear crisis site. [UPDATE Trip canceled due to bad weather]

The message to the average Japanese is that the US is not willing to share every danger with Japan. To many, there is not much difference between taking bullet or absorbing some radiation. The US is supposed to be committed to the defense of Japan, not matter the definition. This impression is cemented by the panicked exodus of American and European ex-pats from Japan that has been encouraged by their embassies.

This Week in Defense News is one of the best Sunday morning talk shows. Here is today's piece on the possible security implications of Japan's earthquake, tsunami, nuclear meltdown with Paul Giarra:

Empathy from Korea

For the lyrics in Korean, Japanese and English, see HERE.

More disaster chatter

Devastation in Japan:

The Aftermath and Implications of the

World’s Fifth Largest Earthquake

Friday, March 18, 2:00-3:30 pm

The Brookings Institution
Washington, DC

Introduction and Moderator

Martin Indyk, Vice President and Director, Foreign Policy

Panelists
Richard Bush, Senior Fellow and Director, Center for NEA Policy Studies
Charles Ebinger, Senior Fellow and Director, Energy Security Initiative
Elizabeth Ferris, Senior Fellow and Director, Project on Internal Displacement
Barry Bosworth, Senior Fellow

The Economic, Health, and Political Consequences

of Japan's Earthquake

Tuesday, March 22, 6:00-7:30pm

Center on Japanese Economy and Business, Columbia Business School
Columbia University, New York, New York

Speakers

David J. Brenner, Higgins Professor of Radiation Biophysics, College of Physicians & Surgeons of Columbia University; Director of the Center for Radiological Research (CRR); Director of the Columbia University Radiological Research Accelerator Facility (RARAF)

Prof. Brenner is an expert in the field of identifying the effects of low doses of radiation relating to medical, occupational, and environmental exposures, and winner of the the 1992 National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements Award for Radiation Protection in Medicine.

Gerald L. Curtis, Burgess Professor of Political Science; Director, Toyota Research Program, Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia University

Prof. Curtis has published extensively on Japanese politics and serves as a columnist for numerous Japanese and US news publications. He was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star by the Emperor of Japan, one of the highest honors bestowed by the Japanese government.

David E. Weinstein, Carl S. Shoup Professor of the Japanese Economy; Associate Director for Research, Center on Japanese Economy and Business, Columbia Business School; Executive Director, Program for Economic Research, Columbia University

Prof. Weinstein has written extensively on the economic impact of catastrophic events in Japan as well as on trade, macro, and financial economics. Prof. Weinstein is the winner of numerous grants and awards and has served as an advisor to the Japanese Cabinet Office and to the Federal Reserve Bank.

Curtis J. Milhaupt (Moderator), Fuyo Professor of Japanese Law; Parker Professor of Comparative Corporate Law; Vice Dean, Columbia Law School

Prof. Milhaupt is an expert on the Japanese legal system, and has published widely in the fields of corporate governance and law and economic development.

Japan and the World after the Quake

Wednesday, March 23, Noon-2:00pm

Japan Society, New York

Panelists
Robert Dujarric, Director, Institute of Contemporary Asian Studies, Temple University Japan
Ambassador Shigeyuki Hiroki, Consul General of Japan in New York
Takashi Imamura, Vice President & General Manager, Marubeni America Corp., Washington, D.C.
Paul Scalise, Adjunct Fellow, Institute of Contemporary Japanese Studies, Temple University Japan

50% of all admission sales will go to Japan Society's Earthquake Relief Fund.