The Reischauer Center for East Asian Studies welcomes you to a hybrid conference discussing the short- and long-term geo-economic implications of the Ukraine War and the role the leaders in the upcoming G7 Hiroshima Summit will play in establishing and maintaining stability in the region and in Asia. Each expert will provide insight from their regional expertise and offer policy implication and opportunities for cooperation leading up to the G7.
In-person attendees will be invited to enjoy a reception following the hybrid event. [In-person location: Johns Hopkins SAIS, Rome Building, Room 812, 1619 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington, DC 20036].
Date and Time
8:00 am – 10:00 am (EST), November 30th (Wednesday)
10:00 pm – 12:00 am (JPT), November 30th (Wednesday)
Venue
Hybrid Conference
List of Speakers
(From the Graduate School of Public Policy, University of Tokyo)
Prof. Kuni Miyake (Special Advisor to the Cabinet of Prime Ministers Yoshihide Suga and Fumio Kishida and Research Director, Canon Institute for Global Studies)
Dr. Keisuke Iida (Dean, Graduate School of Public Policy, University of Tokyo)
Dr. Akio Takahara (Professor, Graduate School of Public Policy, University of Tokyo)
Dr. Kazuto Suzuki (Professor, Graduate School of Public Policy, University of Tokyo)
(From the Edwin O. Reischauer Center for East Asian Studies, Johns Hopkins University SAIS)
Ambassador David Shear (Former Ambassador to Vietnam and Senior Advisor, Edwin O. Reischauer Center for East Asian Studies, Johns Hopkins University SAIS)
Dr. William Brooks (Professor, Edwin O. Reischauer Center for East Asian Studies, Johns Hopkins University SAIS)
Dr. Kent Calder (Director, Edwin O. Reischauer Center for East Asian Studies, Johns Hopkins University SAIS)
Agenda
Opening Remarks by Dr. Kent Calder
Keynote Speech by Prof. Kuni Miyake
Comments on the Speech by Dr. Keisuke Iida
Panel Discussion (Moderated by Dr. Kent Calder)
1. Ambassador David Shear
2. Dr. Akio Takahara
3. Dr. William Brooks
4. Dr. Kazuto Suzuki
Q&A Session
Biographical Information (in order of appearance)
Prof. Kent E. Calder was the Interim Vice Dean for Education and Academic Affairs of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). Calder, who also directs the Edwin O. Reischauer Center for East Asian Studies at Johns Hopkins SAIS, previously served as the school’s Interim Dean and Vice Dean for Faculty Affairs and International Research Cooperation from 2018 to 2020 and as director of Asia Programs from 2016 to 2018. Prior to SAIS, Calder served as special advisor to the U.S. Ambassador to Japan, Japan Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), professor at Princeton University, lecturer on government at Harvard, and as the first executive director of Harvard University’s Program on U.S.-Japan Relations. Calder received his Ph.D. from Harvard University, where he worked under the direction of Edwin O. Reischauer. A specialist in East Asian political economy, Calder lived and researched in Japan for eleven years and across East Asia for four years.
Prof. Kuni Miyake is currently a Special Advisor to the Cabinet of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. He previously served as Special Advisor to the Cabinet of Former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga. He is also the President of the Foreign Policy Institute, a private think-tank in Tokyo, Research Director for foreign and National Security Affairs at Canon Institute for Global Studies and a Visiting Professor at Ritsumeikan University. In 2006-7, he was Executive Assistant to Mrs. Akie Abe in the Office of the Prime Minister of Japan. Professor Miyake passed the Foreign Service Officer’s (senior class) Exam in 1977 and joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) in 1978. From 1978-2005, he served in many capacities at MOFA. Most recently, his positions have included: Deputy Director-General of the Middle East Bureau, MOFA; Minister at the Embassy of Japan in Iraq and Japan’s Representative to the CPA; Charge d’Affaires at the Embassy of Japan in Iraq, Minister at the Embassy of Japan in China; and Directors of Japan-US. Security Treaty Division, First Middle East Division and Second Middle East Division in MOFA. He graduated from the Law Faculty of the University of Tokyo.
Amb. David Shear currently serves as Senior Advisor of the Edwin O. Reischauer Center for East Asian Studies and an Adjunct Professor at Johns Hopkins SAIS. He was the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs from September 2014 to June 2016. He served as Ambassador to Vietnam 2011 to 2013. Ambassador Shear served for 32 years in the American Foreign Service. He has also served in Sapporo, Beijing, Tokyo, and Kuala Lumpur. In Washington, he has served in the Offices of Japanese, Chinese, and Korean Affairs and as the Special Assistant to the Under Secretary for Political Affairs. He was Director of the Office of Chinese and Mongolian Affairs in 2008-2009 and served as Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs in 2009-2011. Ambassador Shear was a Rusk Fellow at Georgetown University’s Institute for the Study of Diplomacy 1998-99. He is the recipient of the State Department’s Superior Honor Award and the Defense Department’s Civilian Meritorious Service Award for his work in U.S.-Japan defense relations.
Dr. Akio Takahara is a Professor of Contemporary Chinese Politics at the Graduate School of Law and Politics at The University of Tokyo. He received his DPhil from Sussex University, and later spent several years as Visiting Scholar at the Consulate-General of Japan in Hong Kong, the Japanese Embassy in Beijing, Harvard University, Peking University, the Mercator Institute for China Studies, and the Australian National University. He currently serves as a Senior Adjunct Fellow of the Japan Institute of International Affairs and Director of JICA Ogata Sadako Research Institute for Peace and Development.
Dr. William Brooks has been an adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) since 2010, after retiring from the U.S. Department of State. For 15 years, he served as head of Embassy Tokyo’s media analysis and translation unit, responsible for analyzing the impact of Japanese media trends on U.S. interests. He had two earlier postings to Embassy Tokyo’s economic section and also served as a senior research analyst at the State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research. He has a doctorate from Columbia University and taught history at the university level including SAIS before entering government service.
Dr. Kazuto Suzuki is a Professor at the Graduate School of Public Policy at the University of Tokyo, Japan, and Director of the Institute of Geoeconomics. He received a Ph.D. from Sussex European Institute, University of Sussex, England. He served as an expert in the Panel of Experts for the Iranian Sanction Committee under the United Nations Security Council from 2013 to July 2015. He currently serves as a member of the National Space Policy Committee of the Cabinet Office, the Government of Japan, and the President of Japan Association of International Security and Trade.