Headlines
- Yellen and Suzuki discuss global economy and forex agreements
- US and Japan join with others to harmonize cross-border data privacy rules
- New South Korean president’s delegation visits Washington and Tokyo
- NTT’s Sawada discusses cooperation with US on 5G networks
- Japan welcomes US halt to anti-satellite missile testing
Details
- US Treasury Secretary Yellen consulted with Japanese Finance Minister Suzuki in Washington on April 22 following the IMF/World Bank annual meetings. The pair reaffirmed their condemnation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and agreed to uphold existing G7 and G20 commitments on exchange rates. Minister Suzuki denied that the meeting was focused on intervention to support the yen, though they did pledge to work closely to on currency movements considering the yen’s rapid depreciation against the dollar. The yen reached 20-year lows following expected US interest rate hikes, while the Bank of Japan holds steady.
- US Secretary of Commerce Raimondo on April 21 hailed the establishment of a Global-Cross-Border Privacy Rules (CBPR) Forum involving Japan and five other Asia-Pacific economies (Canada, South Korea, Singapore, the Philippines, and Taiwan). The goals include building an international certification system based on the APEC CBPR and Privacy Recognition for Processors (PRP) systems, supporting the free flow of protected data, and promoting best practices and interoperability with other data projection and privacy frameworks. Global CBPR Forum certifications will be based on the APEC CBPR and PRP model, but they will be administered independently. Participation in the Global CBPR and PRP is open to all countries who accept the objectives and principles of the Forum outlined in its declaration. Ideally it will be compatible with the Trans-Atlantic Data Privacy Framework recently outlined by the United States and European Commission, but details are still pending.
- A delegation of South Korean lawmakers and policy experts sent by President-Elect Yoon arrived in Tokyo on April 24, after some of them visited Washington earlier in April. Delegation leader Chung Jin-suk delivered a letter from Yoon to Prime Minister Kishida during a meeting on April 26, outlining Yoon’s ideas for improving bilateral ties. The delegation also met Foreign Minister Hayashi, METI Minister Hagiuda (in part discussing export controls), Chief Cabinet Secretary Matsuno, and Defense Minister Kishi (conferring on North Korea). President Biden is preparing to visit both South Korea and Japan in late May, when efforts to improve trilateral relations will be among the trips’ priorities.
- US Ambassador Emanuel thanked NTT CEO Sawada on April 20 for his telecom company’s investment in the US and its pledge to coordinate on developing secure 5G communication networks. US-Japan cooperation in this area is described in a paper by NEXT Alliance Initiative visiting research fellow Tomoko Tanaka-Makino, entitled “US-Japan Focus on Scaling Up Open RAN Technology Can Support Secure 5G Globally.” On April 26, Sawada was tapped to become the Chairman of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation, with Akira Shimada to fill his role as president.
- US Vice President Harris announced the United States will halt direct-ascent anti-satellite (ASAT) missile testing and advocate internationally for the responsible use of space. Japan’s Foreign Ministry Press Secretary Ono welcomed the announcement, calling it a positive step towards creating norms of responsible behavior in space. The move comes six months after Russia destroyed one of its own satellites causing thousands of pieces of space debris, which is dangerous for global space operation
“US-Japan Alliance Digest” is a bi-weekly summary of bilateral and related developments compiled by Sasakawa USA’s “US-Japan NEXT Alliance Initiative.” To receive “Alliance Digest” via email, contact egulum@spfusa.org
