The U.S.-Japan alliance remains the cornerstone of the bilateral relationship and a bulwark for peace and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific. In the past few years, Japan has issued a new security strategy, created a national security council, and reinterpreted its constitution to permit collective self-defense. The two countries currently are reshaping the alliance based on the first new bilateral defense guidelines in almost two decades. Japan and the United States also are adapting their foreign policies, individually and together, to reflect regional and global changes.
Sasakawa USA’s Security and Foreign Affairs Program includes research, publications, and events that analyze a range of issues relevant to the U.S.-Japan alliance, while also considering Japan’s relationships with other countries. Current ongoing initiatives include the Maritime Awareness Project, a joint project with the National Bureau of Asian Research that analyzes maritime issues in the Pacific, mapping U.S.-Japan alliance structural connections, and exploring Guam relocation challenges. The program’s capstone event each year is the Sasakawa USA Annual Security Forum, a major conference on the alliance featuring high-level speakers and in-depth discussion.
Forums

Sasakawa USA Security Forum
Each spring, Sasakawa USA gathers key security experts and officials from government, business, think tanks, and academia in the United States and Japan for a one-day forum. In-depth discussions center around the year’s developments and new challenges regarding the U.S.-Japan alliance as well as strategies to enhance it for the future.
Programs

Japan’s New National Defense Program Guidelines: Alliance Strategies for the Third Post-Cold War Era
On January 11, 2019, in partnership with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Sasakawa USA organized a symposium to discuss the NDPG. A bilateral group of scholars and former defense officials assessed Japan’s policy priorities and defense capabilities through the lens of its newly revised guidelines and Mid-Term Defense Plan. A book that will bring together the analyses of conference participants will be published in April 2019.

Tabletop Exercise: Pacific Trident II
Sasakawa USA’s Tabletop Exercise: Pacific Trident II, conducted in October 2018, built on the successes of Exercise: Pacific Trident to address U.S.-Japan, U.S.-ROK, and U.S.-Japan-ROK responses to signs of instability and illicit sanctions evasion activities in North Korea.

The U.S.-Japan Alliance and Roles of the Japan Self-Defense Force: The Past, Present, and Future
The U.S. military’s cooperation with the Japan Self-Defense Force (JSDF) is a core element in the U.S.-Japan alliance. This research project focuses on roles of the JSDF and how they have contributed to sustaining and expanding the U.S.-Japan alliance.

Japan-Russia Relations: Implications for the U.S.-Japan Alliance
Sasakawa USA hosted a public forum and compiled a book seeking to better understand outstanding historical issues between Japan and Russia, prospects for cooperation in the fields of security, energy, trade, and investment, and the impact of these relations on the U.S.-Japan alliance.
Publications
Follow Japan’s Lead on IoT Security
Author: ADM Dennis Blair (Ret.), Michael Chertoff, Arthur Coviello, and William “Bud” Roth
Categories: Cybersecurity
Admiral Dennis C. Blair, USN (Ret.) is the former U.S. Director of National Intelligence and Distinguished Senior Fellow (Non-Resident) at the Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA; Michael Chertoff is the former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security; Arthur Coviello is Special Counsel at Wilmer Hale; and William “Bud” Roth is a Fellow (Non-Resident) at Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA.
Tags: internet of things, iot, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, privacy laws
Immediate Change to Our 5G Strategy is Needed
Author: ADM Dennis Blair (Ret.), Michael Chertoff, Arthur Coviello, and William “Bud” Roth
Categories: Cybersecurity
Admiral Dennis C. Blair, USN (Ret.) is the former U.S. Director of National Intelligence and Distinguished Senior Fellow (Non-Resident) at the Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA; Michael Chertoff is the former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security; Arthur Coviello is Special Counsel at WilmerHale; and William “Bud” Roth is a Fellow (Non-Resident) at Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA.
The U.S. and Japan After the INF Treaty
Author: Ankit Panda, Adjunct Senior Fellow, Federation of American Scientists
Categories: Sasakawa USA Alumni
Ankit Panda is an adjunct senior fellow at the Federation of American Scientists, where he specializes in defense and security topics in the Asia-Pacific region. Panda participated in the Sasakawa USA 2019-2020 In-Depth Alumni Research Trip to Japan. In this paper, Panda explores the history of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, the United States’ decision to withdraw, capabilities, concerns, and implications for the U.S.-Japan alliance for the post-INF era.
Tags: Defense, INF Treaty, Japan, security, U.S.-Japan Alliance, U.S.-Japan cooperation