2020 has proven to be a tumultuous year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I imagine all of you have somehow been impacted. It is my sincere hope that none of you have lost loved ones to COVID-19. If this is the case, I offer my deepest condolences.

The changes we have all been forced to face have drastically altered our lifestyles both personally and professionally. We have spent most of our time at home away from our workplaces, we have been robbed of opportunities to meet with friends and colleagues to exchange ideas and simply to have fun with one another, our children have lost precious childhood opportunities in learning in-person and being with their friends at school to socially develop, and young staff have missed learning the ropes of a profession from their seniors firsthand.

While COVID-19 has changed nearly every aspect of our lives, we are grateful that despite the disruption it has created, the goodness of human beings in the most difficult of times has prevailed. I would like to offer my heartfelt appreciation to essential and frontline workers who have courageously helped sick patients and their families, and communities, despite the personal risks they face. In addition, it has been humbling to see people strive to preserve as much normalcy as possible within their homes and workplaces during the most restricted conditions, helping one another out however possible.

I greatly appreciate each and every one of you for your support of Sasakawa USA throughout 2020, making it possible for us to continue our activities and carry out our mission to deepen the understanding of and strengthen the relationship between the U.S. and Japan. Since our fiscal year began in April 2020 we have been able to hold 21 online gatherings and have published 25 articles. We have also launched a major research project on Maritime Domain Awareness in the Pacific Islands. Having said that, we have had many planned activities that we had to forgo due to the COVID-19 crisis, such as Sasakawa USA Emerging Experts Delegation (SEED), which sends young American experts to Japan. We look forward to getting back to these in-person programs in 2021 once deemed safe for all.

On December 3, Sasakawa USA hosted a virtual roundtable with Ms. Kathryn Tolbert, an editor at the Washington Post, and Col. (Ret.) Jyuji Hewitt to discuss the role of Japanese women who married American G.I.’s following World War II as bridges in Japan’s transition from wartime enemy to post-war ally. Ms. Tolbert discussed her project, Japanese War Brides: An Oral History Archive, and concluded that Japanese war brides came to represent racial integration and cultural pluralism, playing a defining role in bridging the U.S.-Japan post-war alliance. Following Ms. Tolbert’s talk, Col. Hewitt discussed his personal connection with Ms. Tolbert’s project, as he is the son of a Japanese war bride and an American G.I. A full recap and video of the event can be found here.

Photo: Ms. Tolbert and Col. (Ret.) Hewitt

On December 8, Sasakawa USA welcomed Dr. Robert Dohner, Nonresident Senior Fellow at The Atlantic Council, Mr. Ichiro Oishi, Minister at the Embassy of Japan, and Mr. Yasuhiro Yamai, Managing Director of Corporate Planning at Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, for a discussion of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC). The panel analyzed key questions surrounding debates by major central banks on the introduction of CBDC, including how the United States and Japan could work together on this issue based on viewpoints from both the public and private sectors. A full recap and video of the event can be found here.

Photo: Dr. Dohner, Mr. Oishi, and Mr. Yamai

On December 10, Sasakawa USA welcomed Mr. Kimitake Nakamura, Minister at the Embassy of Japan, and Dr. Masami Onoda, Director of the Washington, D.C. office of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), for a virtual event. The speakers addressed the many facets of the U.S.-Japan space partnership, including exploration, research, defense, and satellites. They also discussed JAXA Astronaut Dr. Soichi Noguchi’s flight to the International Space Station on a SpaceX Crew-1 and looked at how U.S.-Japan space cooperation will continue to grow. A full recap and video of the event can be found here.

Photo: Mr. Nakamura and Ms. Onoda

On December 1, as the seventh installment of The Alliance Working in America Series, Sasakawa USA held a webinar in partnership with the World Affairs Council of Seattle and World Affairs Councils of America. This program featured a distinguished panel: Dr. Michael Green, Senior Vice President for Asia and Japan Chair, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS); Dr. Mireya Solís, Director of the Center for East Asia Policy Studies, Brookings Institution; and Dr. Saori Katada, Professor of Political Science and International Relations, University of Southern California. “The Alliance Working in Washington: Impacts of the U.S.-Japan Relationship” event, discussion, and Q&A was moderated by Jacqueline Miller, President and CEO of World Affairs Council of Seattle. A full recap and video of the event can be found here.

Photo: Dr. Green, Dr. Solís, and Dr. Katada

In his new article, “Prime Minister Suga Faces COVID-19 Crisis and Declining Public Support,” Dr. Satohiro Akimoto, Chairman and President of Sasakawa USA, discusses the issues that have caused Prime Minister Suga's approval ratings to take a nosedive, going from a high of 70% following his election to 42% in a recent December 11 to 13 NHK poll. PM Suga's political stock has been declining sharply due to public perception that he is not handling the COVID-19 situation well—unable to control the health crisis and its economic impact. Due to a lack of aggressive action or strong measures, the COVID-19 spike has continuously increased. The “Go To Travel” campaign, which was pushed through by the government to boost economic activity, was eventually suspended by the prime minister on December 14. It remains to be seen if the party and the public still have confidence in Prime Minister Suga to lead Japan through the current crisis.

Photo: Prime Minister Suga at a press conference regarding COVID-19 on December 25, 2020. (Official Website of the Prime Minister of Japan and His Cabinet)

Eunice Ha, Senior Program Manager (Asia) at the National Democratic Institute, and Mr. Jonathan Temin, Director of the Africa Program at Freedom House, reflected on their time in Japan as participants in Sasakawa USA’s SEED program. Ms. Ha, Mr. Temin, and five colleagues from four democracy support organizations traveled to Japan to learn about the country’s evolving approach to values-based diplomacy. Ms. Ha reflects on the various opportunities for Japan to assist in democracy advancement in her article and Mr. Temin reflects on and provides recommendations on what Japan can do to take an elevated global role in defending and promoting democratic norms. Please read Ms. Ha’s perspective here and Mr. Temin’s here. 

Dr. Satohiro Akimoto, Chairman and President of Sasakawa USA, authored in the Japan Times a tribute to his teacher and mentor, Dr. Vogel, a remarkable East Asia scholar who passed away on December 20. In the article titled “Remembering a Mentor: Ezra Vogel’s Big Vision on Asia,” Dr. Akimoto wrote “Vogel was simply in his own league in terms of his academic work, and his contributions were immeasurable in facilitating a better understanding of the two Asian giants for scholars and laypersons alike.” Dr. Akimoto was Dr. Vogel’s student from 1987 to 1995 at Harvard, as well as his head teaching fellow. As they worked closely together, Dr. Akimoto shared personal memories and conveyed the extent to which Dr. Vogel cared about his students. Dr. Akimoto concluded the article with Dr. Vogel’s famous parting words “Ganbare!”

Photo: Dr. Vogel and Dr. Akimoto at a Sasakawa USA co-sponsored event with Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in October 2019.

Sasakawa USA In-Depth Alumni Research Trip provides selected alumni with an opportunity to return to Japan for a deeper understanding of common challenges in the U.S.-Japan relationship. Dr. Carolina Young has been selected to participate in the 2020-21 trip and is an alumna of the Congressional Study Program on Asia, a program held in partnership with the East-West Center in Washington. Dr. Young will travel to Japan to complete her research on U.S.-Japan strategic technological partnership, with a specific focus on AI research at Japan’s National Defense Academy.

Currently, Dr. Young serves as the Future of Work Policy Advisor in the Office of U.S. Senator R. Mark Warner, where she works on a policy portfolio aimed at preparing workers and businesses for a more inclusive twenty-first-century economy. 

Applications for the Winter 2021 Congressional Program on U.S.-Japan Relations and the Indo-Pacific are now open! The program consists of a series of seven, 75-minute interactive discussions, held online weekly. Certificates of Completion are awarded to participants who attend at least four of the seven planned sessions. Speakers will come from government agencies, think tanks, universities, and other policy institutions. Session topics are set to include: The U.S.-Japan Alliance as the Cornerstone of Indo-Pacific Peace, Security, and Stability; U.S.-Japan Technological Partnership and Competition; Economic Challenges Post-COVID-19; U.S.-Japan Frontier Defense and Technology Cooperation; Public Health Security; Engagement of International Organizations; as well as U.S. and Japanese Foreign Direct Investment and Foreign Aid. Please visit the East-West Center website for more details.

Sasakawa USA is pleased to announce a new publication project called “Japan Looking Ahead.” With Japan’s global reputation for innovation, this project aims to identify policy areas in which Japan is developing or implementing novel strategies, policies, or technology and invite Japanese experts to author papers on these issues. The theme for this year’s project is “Public Health,” and upcoming papers will investigate Japan’s national health system and international health cooperation, among other topics. Sasakawa USA looks forward to sharing these articles with you in the coming months.