Chairman's Message
Chairman’s Message: The Mar-a-Lago U.S.-Japan Summit
I recommend a careful reading of the formal communique of the summit meeting, rather than press reporting, or even the transcript of the joint press conference of the two leaders. Communiques for summit meetings are drafted with care in consultations between the staffs of both delegations and approved by the heads of state. They represent the considered results of the meetings, drawing on the overall relationship between the countries and the issues they face together. The communique from Mar-a-Lago shows clearly that the U.S. and Japan are united on the big security issues that both countries face.
Press Releases
Cyber Experts Detail Results of Simulated Cyberattack in Japan
WASHINGTON D.C. — Sasakawa USA released a report on November 30 of its recent “tabletop exercise” in Tokyo, which simulated a major cyberattack during the 2019 World Rugby Cup.
U.S.-Japan alliance working in Texas
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S.-Japan alliance serves as a foundation for deeper U.S.-Japan relations in areas such as economic growth, energy, and even disaster relief, as seen in the Japan Society of Houston’s JAPAN STANDS WITH HOUSTON fund, created to support Houston’s recovery after Hurricane Harvey.
In the News
Japan Today article examines debate over Japan’s defense strategy
Brittney Washington, Program Assistant for Sasakawa USA, and Kangkyu “David” Lee, former Program Assistant for Sasakawa USA, have published an article in Japan Today about the Japan Self-Defense Forces, and Japanese PM Abe’s efforts to constitutionally redefine Japan’s national defense strategy.
Tobias Harris comments on PM Abe’s political situation in Japan Times, New York Times
Sasakawa USA Fellow Tobias Harris was quoted in the Japan Times and the New York Times on recent scandals surrounding Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Abe’s administration is currently facing backlash over government cover-ups of documents relating to a public land deal with education organization Moritomo Gakuen, and alleged favoritism in a deal to establish veterinarian school Kake Gakuen in a special economic zone in Japan.
From Nippon.com
Steps Toward Restoring the Medium- to Long-Term Sustainability of Social Security
Japan’s public finances are facing an unprecedented situation in both historical and international terms. The debt to GDP ratio of general government (central and local) has exceeded 200%, an all-time high surpassing the level recorded in fiscal 1944 toward the end of World War II.
Fiscal 2018 Tax Reforms Aim at Overcoming Deflation
The Liberal Democratic Party and Kōmeitō announced a tax reform package for fiscal 2018 that will affect the income tax, the corporate tax, and the tax on business succession (inheritance tax) as well as establish such new taxes as a departure tax for travelers leaving Japan.