You are cordially invited to a roundtable on

Thursday, 13 February 2020, 16:00 - 18:00 h

US-Japan Relations under Donald Trump and Shinzo Abe

Keynote by Glen S. Fukushima

Comments by Koichi Nakano and Henning Simon

US-Japan relations form a core element in Asian regional security and a central pillar of the international trade regime. The quality of the relationship has always been shaped by the personalities representing the two countries. Shinzo Abe, Japan's now longest-serving prime minister, has been keen to establish good personal ties with Donald Trump, whose "America First" policy implied a major shift in the US approach to regional and global issues. This roundtable will discuss the changes that US-Japan relations underwent since the beginning of Trump's presidency and analyze the regional and global implications.

Our keynote speaker, Glen S. Fukushima, is one of the most knowledgeable experts on US-Japan relations. Having served as Director for Japanese Affairs (1985-1988) and Deputy Assistant United States Trade Representative for Japan and China (1988-1990) at the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), he held various senior business executive positions in Asia with multinational corporations (1990-2012) and was also elected for two terms as President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan. Today, Mr. Fukushima is Senior Fellow at the Center of American Progress, a public policy think tank in Washington, D.C., where he focuses on US-East Asia relations. He holds degrees from Stanford University and Harvard University.

Koichi Nakano is Professor of Political Science and Dean of the Faculty of Liberal Arts, Sophia University. He has graduated from the University of Tokyo and the University of Oxford, and obtained his Ph.D. from Princeton University. A frequent media commentator, he has contributed an op-ed on the authoritarian turn under Prime Minister Abe entitled "The Leader Who Was 'Trump Before Trump'" to the New York Times in May 2019.

Simon Henning is Head of Division "East Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Pacific States" at the German Federal Foreign Office. Before his present position he was head of the political section at the Germany Embassy in Moscow. Other postings include the Embassy in Riga, the Permanent Representation at the EU in Brussels, the Consulate General in New York and the German Embassy in Tashkent.


Deutsches Institut für Japanstudien - German Institute for Japanese Studies
Jochi Kioizaka Bld. 2F, 7-1 Kioicho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-0094
Tel: 03 - 3222 5198 www.dijtokyo.org