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December 7, 2016 - In This Issue:
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Video: Securing Critical Resources in a New Green and Industrial Era
 On November 30, 2016, Sasakawa USA partnered with the Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center at Stanford University to hold a conference discussing the challenges, opportunities, and limitations of creating resilient supplies of critical materials.
The event included expert roundtables on specific aspects of bringing rare metals from production to product. This was the first conference to bring together companies from the entire rare metal supply chain, including experts and officials from both Japan and the United States, countries that both rely on the entire spectrum of these resources for manufacturing.
A video archive of this event is now available online, courtesy of Shorenstein APARC.
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Video: Panel talks Trump administration, U.S.-Japan relations at Wilson Center
Sasakawa USA Fellow
Dr. Jeffrey Hornung had the opportunity to weigh in on how the incoming Donald Trump administration could steer U.S.-Japan relations when he spoke as part of a panel discussion for the Woodrow Wilson Center's Asia Program.
"Partners in a Changing Asia: The Outlook for U.S.-Japan Relations" included Hornung as a panelist along with Shingo Yamagami, Acting Director-General of the Japan Institute of International Affairs. The event was moderated by Shihoko Goto, Senior Associate for Northeast Asia at the Wilson Center's Asia Program.
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In the news: The Abe-Trump meeting and debating China's might
First Abe-Trump meeting focuses on moving past campaign rhetoric:
The first meeting between President-elect Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister
Shinzo Abe
focused not on the
campaign rhetoric
that has gained widespread attention to this point, but instead on the future of U.S.-Japan relations, Sasakawa USA experts said in media reports providing context in which to interpret the meeting.
Click here to read more.
Retired U.S. admirals debate China's military might (with video):
Sasakawa USA Chairman and CEO Adm. Dennis Blair and CNA Senior Fellow RADM Mike McDevitt debated opposing viewpoints on the topic of China's military might last week as part of a
CSIS China Power
program. Read the points they presented, as reported in
media outlets including
USNI News and Foreign Policy.
Click here to read more or watch the full debate.
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Japan Political Pulse: Most Japanese believe gender inequality remains entrenched, but increasingly support greater equality
The Japanese government's quadrennial survey of public attitudes on gender equality, published on October 31, reveals how difficult it remains for Japanese leaders to uproot traditional gender roles. Since 2012, perceptions of equality across Japanese society have barely budged, and in some areas have worsened, writes Sasakawa USA's Tobias Harris in this edition of Japan Political Pulse.
Despite Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's endorsement of "Womenomics
," a high-level initiative to create new opportunities for women throughout the workforce and elevate women into leadership roles in the public and private sectors, most Japanese still believe Japanese society favors men in most situations.
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Video: Leadership Innovation in Crises and Lessons from 3.11
On March 11, 2011, the most powerful earthquake ever to hit Japan struck off the coast of the Tohoku region. As the disaster unfolded, a massive tsunami with waves up to 40 meters high slammed into the coast, killing more than 15,000 people and complicating matters by contributing to the meltdown of nuclear reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station.
To commemorate the fifth anniversary of the "3-11" triple disaster, now known as the Great East Japan Earthquake, on March 8, 2016 Sasakawa USA in coordination with the U.S.-Japan Council hosted a discussion on the disaster and the joint response to it.
Sasakawa USA and the U.S.-Japan Council
continued discussion on this topic at the USJC seventh Annual Conference
from November 14-15, 2016 in Silicon Valley.
This video was shown as an introduction to the panel at USJC's Annual Conference.
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Program recap: Students showcase Japanese language skills at J.LIVE Talk
Students broadening their global horizons by studying Japanese had the opportunity to prove their talent and further their goals November 13 at the final round of the second annual J.LIVE Talk at George Washington University.
Sponsored by The Japanese Program at GWU with support from organizations including flagship sponsor Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA, J.LIVE Talk 2016 (Japanese Learning Inspired Vision and Engagement) was launched in 2015 as the only active university-level speech competition in the region. This year, the competition spread to invite schools from across the U.S. to apply, garnering more than 65 students from 23 applying Universities.
Click here to read more.
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Maritime Awareness Project: Japan's Coast Guard, the Maritime Self-Defense Force and cooperation among siblings
Coping with "gray zone" situations has in recent years become the core security challenge for Japan, writes author Céline Pajon in this analysis at the Maritime Awareness Project.
Since September 2012, Beijing has been challenging Japan's sovereign control of the Senkaku Islands by regularly sending law-enforcement vessels into Japanese territorial waters and contiguous zones. Beijing sends civilian or paramilitary forces to change facts on the ground while daring the targeted country to use force to stop these activities. These incursions, which do not amount to an armed attack, are blurring the line between crime and defense, law enforcement, and military activities. Pajon examines
the outlook for improved cooperation between the Japanese Coast Guard and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, particularly when coping with such gray-zone situations.
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Upcoming events: December 2016 - January 2017
Events focusing on topics including climate and energy initiatives and U.S.-Japan-Korea trilateral relations are coming up to close out 2016 and ring in the New Year! Not all events are open to the public, and we anticipate listing a couple more in the coming weeks ----- check each event link for details and view our events page for new listings as they get posted.
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Internship opportunity: Accepting applications for Paid Education Internship
Sasakawa USA is currently accepting applications for a paid internship opening in its Education Program.
The Education Program Intern will assist with research, contact database management, and event logistics for
roundtable meetings, delegation trips, and short lectures alongside other public education and outreach events.
The deadline to apply is Friday, January 6, 2017.
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