January 30, 2018 - In This Issue:


 

News: Admiral Dennis Blair testifies before the 
U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Forces

Admiral Dennis Blair, Chair of Sasakawa USA, testified before the U.S. Senate Armed Forces Committee on January 30. Blair was a witness for a hearing on the "Situation on the Korean Peninsula and U.S. Strategy in the Indo-Pacific Region." Blair is a former Director of National Intelligence and previously served as Commander in Chief of the U.S. Pacific Command.

Blair told Senators that there are at least five common misconceptions about North Korea that are making it difficult for policy makers to come up with an effective set of actions. Read a recap of Admiral Blair's testimony, and find a link to his full remarks, on the Sasakawa USA blog.
 

News: Sasakawa USA Fellow Tobias Harris testifies on Capitol Hill on China's Belt and Road initiatve

Sasakawa USA Fellow for Economy, Trade, and Business Tobias Harris testified before the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission on January 25. Harris spoke at a hearing on China's Belt and Road Initiative: Five Years Later, held at the Dirksen Senate Office Building. Harris focused on how Japan has responded to BRI.

 
Sasakawa USA Forum: The Economic and Political Impact of Brexit on Japan

While the Japanese have consistently viewed Brexit as a bad idea, the progression of Brexit negotiations has forced Japan to revisit its position and priorities in terms of Japan-UK and Japan-EU relations. In Sasakawa USA Forum Issue No. 11, Irina Angelscu explains how Brexit will have important economic ramifications as UK-based Japanese firms begin to relocate to the EU as well as political results as Japan forges partnerships in Europe to maintain the global rules based order.

Event Recap: Japanese Perceptions on the Past and Future 


Sasakawa USA partnered with the Pew Research Center for a discussion of "Japanese Perceptions on the Present and Future," at the National Press Club on January 23. Speaker Bruce Stokes, Director of Global Economic Attitudes, Pew Research Center, presented findings from Pew Research surveys of Japan from 2002 to April 2017. Emma Chanlett-Avery, Asia Specialist, Congressional Research Service, served as commentator/ moderator. 

Visit the Sasakawa event recap online to view a video of the event and photos, as well as download a copy of Stokes' presentation. 
                    
Upcoming Event: Cybersecurity: Corporate Decision-Making to Prepare Trusted Global Supply Chain in Tokyo March 28-30

Sasakawa USA and Keio University will co-host a symposium on cybersecurity March 29-30 at Keio University, Mita Campus, in Tokyo. "Cybersecurity: Corporate Decision-making to Prepare a Trusted Global Supply Chain," will explore developments in corporate efforts to manage cybersecurity risk in global supply chains. As a pre-event on March 28, a Table Top Exercise (TTX) will simulate the impact of a cyber-attack within the supply chain of a large multinational corporation, and will include Internet of Things issues. 

News: Sasakawa USA 2017 Journalism Fellow: The story behind 'Would You Play Ball at Fukushima?"

Sasakawa USA Journalism Fellow Seth Berkman took a reporting trip to Japan in late 2017. Berkman has begun publishing articles from that trip, including a December 29 New York Times story on "Would You Play Ball at Fukushima?" 

Berkman wrote a post providing insights into his reporting process for the Sasakawa USA blog, on January 17.


Event Recap: Cybersecurity, Innovation, Entrepreneurship: Challenges and Opportunities in Japan

On January 22, Sasakawa USA held a special roundtable discussion with participants of the December 2017 Sasakawa USA Emerging Experts Delegation (SEED) trip to Japan who were selected in partnership with the Center for a New American Security (CNAS). The private roundtable centered on "Cybersecurity, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship: Challenges and Opportunities in Japan." 
From Nippon.com: Japan's Politics in 2018: Prospects for Abe's Constitutional Revision Agenda?

Prime Minister Abe is seen as likely to win reelection as president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party this September, enabling him to lead Japan for another three years. He is eager to get Japan's post-World War II Constitution amended for the first time, but accomplishing this will be a major challenge. 
From Nippon.com: Fiscal 2018 Tax Reforms Aim at Overcoming Deflation
 
The Liberal Democratic Party and Kōmeitō announced a tax reform package for fiscal 2018 that will affect the income tax, the corporate tax, and the tax on business succession (inheritance taxe) as well as establish such new taxes as a departure tax for travelers leaving Japan. Changes to the income tax include a reduction in the upper limit in earned income deductions for salaried employees and an expansion of the basic deduction for all taxpayers. 


In the News: Ms. Magazine article by Brittney Washington outlines challenges for women of color in security and defense careers

In a recent article for Ms. Magazine, Sasakawa USA Program Assistant Brittney Washington outlines some of the challenges unique to women of color as they pursue careers in defense and foreign relations. Washington, who co-wrote the piece with Jeesue Lee, a former researcher at the Center for a New American Security, discusses the importance of diversity and inclusion in the national security sector in "To Pluck a Brown Feathered Goose: On Being a Woman of Color in National Security."


Upcoming Events

Join Sasakawa USA for upcoming events in Tokyo and Washington, D.C. focused on U.S.-Asia relations. Please check our events page for event details and new listings as we post them.

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