May 18, 2016 - In This Issue:
U.S. elections, TPP,
U.S.-Japan alliance management take forefront at Third Annual Security Forum

More than five hundred registrants joined Sasakawa USA at the Willard Hotel in Washington earlier this month for the Third Annual Security Forum. The Forum featured American and Japanese security, foreign policy, and economic experts from both countries and included seven panel discussion on such topics as U.S.-Japan defense policy, regional security threats, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the U.S. elections, and the future of the U.S.-Japan alliance. 

     
Report: Lessons from the U.S., Japan, and the Future of Renewable Energy Workshop 
 
Earlier this year, Sasakawa USA and the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies (DKI-APCSS) co-hosted a workshop on the future of renewable energy in the United States and Japan to examine the current status of clean energy. Held at DKI-APCSS in Honolulu, Hawaii, the workshop brought together twenty-three experts representing both private and public stakeholders from Japan and the United States with the goal of exploring opportunities for bilateral cooperation in advancing the most promising renewable energy technologies. This report summarizes the workshop. 
 
   
Commentary: Abenomics' Last Shot? A Fiscal U-Turn for Japan

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe faces a major economic challenge, Sasakawa USA's Tobias Harris writes in this op-ed published in Foreign Affairs.  In a bid to rescue Abenomics, Abe appears to be considering abandoning fiscal consolidation in favor of fiscal stimulus aimed at spurring near-term growth

 
Diet members welcomed to Capitol Hill at reception

On May 3, 2016, Sasakawa USA took part in a reception at the U.S. Capitol welcoming members of Japan's National Diet, who were visiting Washington, D.C. during Japan's Golden Week. The reception, hosted by organizations that foster a strong U.S.-Japan relationship through legislative exchanges, celebrated the strength of the U.S.-Japan relationship. 

     
Japan Political Pulse: Abe support strengthens despite ongoing economic dissatisfaction

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's position continues to strengthen, according to recent polls by Kyodo News and the Nikkei. In both cases, it appears that undecided voters may be making up their minds, Sasakawa USA's Tobias Harris writes in the latest edition of Japan Political Pulse.

The government's support is strong despite ongoing dissatisfaction with many of the Abe administration's policies. The government did, however, receive high marks for its handling of disaster relief and reconstruction efforts in earthquake-stricken Kyushu. 

In the News: Sasakawa USA's Security Forum, anxiety in Japan about Donald Trump, and  Obama's Hiroshima visit 

Third Annual Security Forum: Concerns about presidential candidates draw media reports: Sasakawa USA's Annual Security Forum gained the attention of many American and international media outlets after speakers raised criticisms of prospective U.S. nominees for president. Japan's former defense minister Satoshi Morimoto, Ambassador Kenichiro Sasae, and Japanese Minister Shigeru Ishiba all took stances against remarks made by candidate Donald Trump, though not all referenced him specifically by name. Click here for links to the all the coverage. 
 
Anxiety swells in Japan over the reality of Trump's likely nomination: Republican Presidential Candidates Donald Trump's political stance toward American forces in Asia could lead to diminished American power in the Pacific, Sasakawa USA's Dr. Jeffrey Hornung said May 7 in a Sankei Shimbun article. Read the full article (or the English-language summary) here.
 
Japan, America welcome Obama Hiroshima plans:  When U.S. President Barack Obama makes a historic visit to Hiroshima on May 27 after the G7 summit in Japan, he likely will discuss the suffering of those who lived there when the world's first atomic bomb was dropped in 1945, Sasakawa USA's Tobias Harris said in a May 11 article in The Japan Times . Read the full article here. 
 
Why Japanese may see Obama's Hiroshima visit as an apology anyway:  Obama must choose his words wisely when speaking at Hiroshima, Sasakawa USA's Dr. Jeffrey Hornung said in an article in a May 10 article in USA Today. His speech could be in danger of being misinterpreted, politicized, and over-analyzed as pundits debate what he said, what he should have said, and what he did not say Read the full article here.
We're hiring: Deadline approaching for applicants to Program Assistant position in Sasakawa USA's Education Program

Sasakawa USA is still accepting applications for a full-time Program Assistant. This is an entry-level position to provide programmatic and administrative support for Sasakawa USA's Education Program in all program functions, including preparation and evaluation of program proposals, event planning, execution and follow-up, and internal and external coordination and communications. The deadline to apply is Friday, May 27.
 
     
Event recap: Twenty-Five Years of U.S.-Japan Relations: Baseball, Bashing, and Bilateral Cooperation

At a seminar held at NBR's offices in Seattle on May 12, Sasakawa USA and The National Bureau of Asian Research looked back on the past 25 years of the U.S.-Japan relationship with an emphasis on the unlikely role of Nintendo and the Seattle Mariners. Speakers included Senator Slade Gorton, Adm. Jonathan Greenert (pictured at left), and Sasakawa USA Fellows Daniel Bob and Tomohiko Taniguchi.

This conversation was especially important given Nintendo's announcement on April 27 that a local Seattle ownership group will take over lead ownership of the team with Nintendo retaining a 10 percent stake.
 
     
Upcoming events: May & June 2016
 
  Last year, in partnership with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Sasakawa USA convened a conference to explore the triangular relationship among the United States, Japan, and Russia. On May 24, Sasakawa USA will hold a discussion on Japan-Russia Relations: Implications for the U.S.-Japan Alliance , a new volume based in part on that conference.

Other upcoming events are planned
to demonstrate the recently unveiled Maritime Awareness Project on Capitol Hill, to update congressional staffers on the future of the U.S.-Japan relationship, and
to bring together those who have served in Japan. Not all events are open to the public ----- please view each listing for details.
Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA

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