We Understand International Trade

February 10, 2023

8:00-11:30 am

Japan, the U.S. and the Indo-Pacific: Collaboration and Competition

MITA is sponsoring this forward-looking program focused on the Japan-U.S. partnership and its evolving role and impact in the Indo-Pacific region. Expert speakers will review recent trends in the U.S.-Japan partnership, particularly Nebraska’s special economic and trade relationship with Japan. The seminar will include an analysis of prospects for Japan and the U.S. from a political, economic, and regional security perspective. Join MITA on February 10th to hear directly from:

Mr. Hiroshi Tajima

Consul-General of Japan in Chicago

Topic: Japanese Foreign Policy in the Indo-Pacific – and the U.S. as Strategic Partner

Consul-General Tajima will present an overview of Japan’s evolving economic, trade and security policy, particularly as it relates to the U.S. and the Indo-Pacific.

Mr. Tomofumi Nishizawa

Executive Director

JETRO Chicago

Topic: Japan-U.S. Economic and Trade Trends

Mr. Nishizawa, executive director of the Japan External Trade Office in Chicago, will provide JETRO's latest information on Japan-U.S. trade and economic trends, particularly as they relate to Japan-Nebraska direct trade and investment.

Dr. Ellen L. Frost

Senior Advisor and Fellow

Washington Office of the East-West Center

Topic: Japan, the U.S., and the Emerging Indo-Pacific Order: A Look Ahead

Dr. Frost will review the impact of recent geopolitical trends on Asia’s regional trade and investment order, highlighting Japan’s emerging role as a regional leader while remaining a key U.S. partner and ally in trade and security. Dr. Frost’s analysis will include an examination of the rival strategies pursued by China and Japan, along with conclusions about the future role of the U.S. in the region.

Presenters

Mr. Hiroshi Tajima

Consul-General of Japan in Chicago

TAJIMA Hiroshi is currently Consul-General of Japan in Chicago. Until August 2021, he was Deputy Assistant Minister / Deputy Director-General of Economic Affairs Bureau and Foreign Policy Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan. He also held the title of Ambassador in charge of Economic Diplomacy and Senior Official of Japan for APEC.

Previously he was Counsellor (Foreign Policy) at the Cabinet Secretariat, Office of Assistant Chief Cabinet Secretary of Japan in charge of overall foreign policy. Before returning to Japan, he was Minister (Economic) at the Embassy of Japan in Moscow from 2015 to 2018.

Since joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1989, he has held numerous positions, including Director of the Economic Policy Division, Consular Policy Division, Southwest Asia Division, Central Asia and Caucasus Division and Southeast Asia Economic Partnership Agreement Division, as well as Legal Counsellor at the Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations in New York. During 2008 and 2015, he was Official Interpreter to His Majesty the Emperor.

He also served in the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty Division, Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement Division, and National Security Policy Division dealing with National Security issues as well as divisions dealing with foreign affairs with Western European countries and economic relations with North America in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. His first overseas assignment was in the Embassy of Japan in the United Kingdom.

Mr. Tomofumi Nishizawa

Executive Director - JETRO Chicago

Tomofumi Nishizawa joined JETRO in April 2004 and was first assigned to the Trade Fair Division where he spent two years. In 2006, he was transferred to JETRO Yamagata and then in March 2008, he was sent to JETRO Shizuoka. In 2010, Mr. Nishizawa was assigned to the International Economy Research Division of the Overseas Research Department at JETRO Tokyo. The following year, 2011, he joined JETRO New Delhi as the Director of the Research Department, where he spent almost five years. In August of 2015, Mr. Nishizawa returned to JETRO Tokyo as the Research Manager of the Asia and Oceania Division of the Overseas Research Department and then in March 2019, he was promoted to Deputy Director. Mr. Nishizawa assumed his current post as Executive Director of the JETRO Chicago office in December 2019.

Mr. Nishizawa is the author of a JETRO publication entitled, "Basic Knowledge of the Indian Economy (3rd Edition)", which was published in 2019.

Dr. Ellen L. Frost

Senior Advisor and Fellow

Washington Office of the East-West Center

Dr. Ellen L. Frost is Senior Advisor and Fellow at the Washington office of the East West Center, a non-profit organization established by Congress to promote better understanding among the people and nations of the United States, Asia, and the Pacific through cooperative research, leadership training, and dialogue.

Dr. Frost’s prior jobs included Counselor to the U.S. Trade Representative (1993-95), Deputy Assistant of Defense for International Technology and Economic Affairs (1977-81), various positions in the U.S. Treasury Department (1974-77), and Legislative Assistant in the U.S. Senate (1972-74). During the 1980s she worked for two multinational corporations. From 1995 to 2012 Frost was a visiting fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. She is the author of several articles and three books: "Asia’s New Regionalism," "Transatlantic Trade: A Strategic Agenda," and "For Richer, For Poorer: The New U.S.-Japan Relationship." She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the International Institute of Strategic Studies. She received an M.A from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and a Ph.D. from the Department of Government at Harvard University.