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

Under Prime Minister Suga, U.S.-Japan Relations Will Remain Strong

Author: James Zumwalt

Ambassador James Zumwalt shares his analysis on how and why the new Suga administration will continue strengthening the Japan-U.S. alliance alongside an incoming Biden administration.

Tags: Japan, Prime Minister Suga, us-japan relations

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.                                             

Tags: 5G, China, Huawei, security

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