Sixth Annual Sasakawa USA Security Forum

(Joy Asico / Asico Photo)

Sasakawa USA held its Sixth Annual Sasakawa USA Security Forum on April 24, 2019, at the Willard InterContinental Hotel in Washington, D.C. The day-long event featured key experts and officials from government, business, think tanks, and academia as they discussed and debated future challenges for the United States and Japan.

Topics included: Indo-Pacific grand strategy, economic influence and competition in the Indo-Pacific region, Japan’s new National Defense Program Guidelines, Japanese society and security and the role of the Self-Defense Forces, as well as a conversation with current U.S. and Japanese government officials on relevant issues.

The event was live-streamed, in English and Japanese, and live-tweeted on Twitter: #USJapanSecurity.

For a complete agenda, please click here. See below for video from the event. You can read a complete recap here.

Videos

Security Forum Morning Video (English):

2:30 – Welcome by Amb. James Zumwalt
25:58 – Welcome by Amb. Shinsuke Sugiyama
20:08 – Welcome (via video, but audio only) by Amb. William “Bill” Hagerty IV
22:08 – Introduction by Adm. Dennis Blair
25:58 – Keynote Speech by Gen. Ryoichi Oriki (Ret)
1:03:52 – Indo-Pacific Grand Strategy: Is It More than Countering China?
2:34:00 – Economic Influence and Competition in the Indo-Pacific Region

Security Forum Afternoon Video (English):

0:00:05 – Salon-style Conversation with Adm. Dennis Blair and Dr. Yoichi Funabashi
0:59:15 – Japan’s National Defense Program Guidelines: Pacing the Threat?
2:22:48 – Japanese Society and Security: The Role of the SDF
3:32:36 – Conversation with United States and Japanese Government Officials
4:18:37 – Concluding Remarks by Adm. Dennis Blair

Agenda

8:00                        | Registration and Coffee

8:30                        | Welcome and Introduction by Amb. James Zumwalt (ret.) and Amb. Shinsuke J.  Sugiyama  / Video message from

Amb. William F. Hagerty, United States Ambassador to Japan

8:45                        | Opening Keynote Speech by Gen. Ryoichi Oriki (ret.)

9:30                        | Indo-Pacific Grand Strategy: Is it More than Countering China? – Moderated by Dr. Michael J. Green

11:00                      | Economic Influence and Competition in the Indo-Pacific Region – Moderated by Mr. Matthew P. Goodman

12:15                      | Lunch

12:30                      |Salon-Style Conversation with Special Guest Dr. Yoichi Funabashi – Moderated by Adm. Dennis Blair (ret.)

1:30                        | Japan’s National Defense Program Guidelines: Pacing the Threat?- Moderated by Dr. Sayuri Romei

2:45                        | Japanese Society and Security: The Role of the SDF – Moderated by Mr. James L. Schoff

4:00                        | Conversation with United States and Japanese Government Officials – Moderated by Amb. James Zumwalt

5:00                        | Concluding Remarks

Speakers

Dr. Evan Feigenbaum, Vice President for Studies, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Mr. Tobias Harris, Fellow for Economy, Trade, and Business, Sasakawa USA

Dr. Eric Heginbotham, Principal Research Scientist, MIT Center for International Studies

Dr. Kathleen Hicks, Senior Vice President, Henry A. Kissinger Chair; Director – International Security Program, CSIS

Prof. Takako Hikotani, Gerald L. Curtis Associate Professor of Modern Japanese Politics and Foreign Policy, Columbia University

Lt. Gen. Masayuki Hironaka (ret.), JASDF

Minister Keichi Ichikawa, Political Minister, Embassy of Japan

Lt. Gen. Koichi Isobe, Resident Fellow, Harvard Asia Center

Mr. Masanori Nishi, Former Vice Minister of Defense

Prof. Andrew Oros, Director of International Studies, Washington College

Amb. David Shear (ret.), Senior Advisor, McLarty Associates

Dr. Mireya Solís, Director, Center for East Asia Policy Studies and Senior Fellow in the Foreign Policy Program, Brookings Institution

Ms. Yuki Tatsumi, Co-Director of the East-Asia Program and Director of the Japan Program, Stimson Center

Ms. Nina Wagner, Chief of Staff for the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy, Plans, and Capabilities