Institute of Contemporary Asian Studies, Temple University Japan
The cost of Japan's shut borders
Shihoko Goto, Wilson Center
Weston Konishi, Mansfield Foundation
Robert Dujarric, Temple University Japan

10 February 2022 09:00-10:30 (Tokyo)
Wed 9 Feb 19:00 DC/16:00 California


Overview

Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic Japan, like other nations, has imposed a set of restrictions on incoming travellers. Though its measures have not been as drastic as those of China, its de facto entry ban on non-residents aliens has been more draconian than those of most other liberal democracies. Foreigh scholars of Japan, would-be international students, business executives, and new hires with job offers in Japan have found it extremely difficult to enter Japan in the past two years.

Japan's geopolitics put it on the periphery. Its sole formal ally, and ultimate guarantor of its security, is the United States -- a distant land in another cultural area. Its attempts to develop new security partners involve other far-away lands: Australia, India, the UK, Frande, the EU, etc. Therefore, more than many other states, Japan needs to cultivate a cadre of foreigners who know the country. Two years of quasi-seclusion are preventing the training of new Japan experts and fraying the links that existed between Japan and the outside world.


Our panel will discuss these issues and then open the (virtual) floor to a Q&A session.

Speakers

Shihoko Goto is the Acting Director of the Asia Program and Deputy Director for Geoeconomics at the Wilson Center. Her research focuses on the economics and politics of Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea, as well as U.S. policy in Northeast Asia. A seasoned journalist and analyst, she has reported from Tokyo and Washington for Dow Jones and UPI on the global economy, international trade, and Asian markets. A columnist for The Diplomat magazine and contributing editor to The Globalist, she was previously was a donor country relations officer at the World Bank and has been awarded fellowships from the East-West Center and the Knight Foundation, among others. She received an MA from Waseda University's School of Political Science and a BA in Modern History from Trinity College, University of Oxford.

Weston Konishi is a specialist in U.S.-Japan and Asia policy-related issues, with 20 years of leadership experience in the think tank and non-profit arena on both sides of the Pacific. He is currently president of the Sake Brewers Association of North America and co-founder of the LongTable Advisory Group LLC, a Washington-based consulting firm. He was formerly director of partnerships and development at the U.S.-Japan Council in Washington, DC and is a senior fellow at the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation. He has authored numerous reports on political and strategic developments in the Asia-Pacific region and is a frequent media commentator on those issues. As the former COO of Peace Winds America, Weston was involved in promoting humanitarian assistance/disaster relief (HA/DR) cooperation among civil society groups and governments in the Asia-Pacific. He has served as director of Asia-Pacific studies at the Institute for Foreign Policy Analysis (IFPA) in Cambridge, MA, an analyst in Asian affairs at the Congressional Research Service (CRS) and was a Hitachi/Council on Foreign Relations International Affairs Fellow in Japan. He has lectured on Asia policy at The George Washington University and The Johns Hopkins University. Weston holds a B.A. and M.A. from the International Christian University (ICU) in Mitaka, Japan.

Robert Dujarric is co-director, Institute of Contemporary Asian Studies, Temple University Japan. He is a former Council on Foreign Relations (Hitachi) International Affairs Fellow in Japan, and previously was with a DC think tanks and international investment banks. He is a graduate of Harvard College and holds an MBA from Yale University.

Webinar Access
To register, please RSVP to icas@tuj.temple.edu.

Registration not required but helpful for organizers.

Register for free with the following link:
https://temple.zoom.us/j/96889872828
Meeting ID: 968 8987 2828

Institute of Contemporary Asian Studies
Temple University, Japan Campus
www.tuj.ac.jp/icas