#  Distinguished Visitor Lectures 

 



Sort   ![Peter Katzenstein](/sites/g/files/omnuum8416/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/us-japan/files/dv.06.katz_.jpg?itok=t5tb_K0K) 

 



   ![Carol Gluck](/sites/g/files/omnuum8416/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/us-japan/files/dv.09.gluck__0.jpg?itok=dpvZ3OZy) 

 



   ![Yoichi Funabashi](/sites/g/files/omnuum8416/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/us-japan/files/dv.12.funabashi.jpg?itok=3_qUODtS) 

 







Left to right: Peter Katzenstein (2006), Carol Gluck (2009), Yoichi Funabashi (2011)

  
Since 1987, the Program has annually hosted a leading commentator on U.S.-Japan relations or other relevant topics to give a major address. At Harvard for several days, the Distinguished Visitor also lectures in classes and meets with Associates and students. The individuals so recognized in recent years, and the titles of their speeches, are listed below.

##### 2025-26

#### [David E. Weinstein](https://www.davideweinstein.com/)

Carl S. Shoup Professor of the Japanese Economy, Columbia University; Director of the Center of Japanese Economy and Business, Columbia Business School

**Lecture Title**: "Evaluating the Impact of the Trump Tariffs"

**Discussant**: [Elhanan Helpman](https://helpman.scholars.harvard.edu/), Galen L. Stone Professor of International Trade, Harvard University

##### 2024-25

#### [Laura Hein](https://history.northwestern.edu/people/faculty/core-faculty/laura-hein.html)

The Harold H. and Virginia Anderson Professor of History, Northwestern University

**Lecture Title:** "The Wild Ride: The Subject of Japan"

**Discussant:** [Andrew Gordon](https://history.fas.harvard.edu/people/andrew-gordon), Lee and Juliet Folger Fund Professor of History, Harvard University

##### 2023-24

#### [Haruhiko Kuroda](https://www.grips.ac.jp/list/en/facultyinfo/kuroda_haruhiko/)

Former Governor of the Bank of Japan; Professor, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies

**Lecture Title:** "Fragmentation of the World Economy: Challenges and Opportunities for G20"

**Discussant:** [Larry Summers](https://larrysummers.com/), Charles W. Eliot University Professor; President Emeritus, Harvard University

*This event was part of the Special Series on Japanese Economic Statecraft.*

##### 2022-23

#### [Glen S. Fukushima](https://www.sipc.org/about-sipc/leadership/fukushima)

Vice Chair, Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC); Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress.

**Lecture Title:** "Are the United States and Japan Really 'Like-Minded' Countries?"

**Discussant:** [David Howell](https://scholar.harvard.edu/dhowell/home), Robert K. and Dale J. Weary Professor of Japanese History, Harvard University

*This event was supported by a grant from the Japan Foundation.*

##### 2021-22

#### [Izumi Nakamitsu](https://www.un.org/disarmament/high-representative/)

Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, United Nations

**Lecture Title:** "UN's Role in the Global Disarmament Agenda"

*This seminar was part of the Special Series on Policy Innovations in Crises, supported by a grant from the Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership (CGP).*

##### 2020-21

#### [Takashi Shiraishi](https://www.grips.ac.jp/list/en/facultyinfo/shiraishi_takashi/)

Chancellor, Prefectural University of Kumamoto; Professor Emeritus, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS), Japan

**Lecture Title:** "Technology, Industry, and Japan's National Security"

*This symposium was part of the Special Series on Japanese Economic Statecraft.*

##### 2019-20

#### [Roger Goodman](https://www.sant.ox.ac.uk/people/roger-goodman)

Nissan Professor of Modern Japanese Studies and Warden of St Antony's College, Oxford University

**Lecture Title:** "Investigating Youth Problems in Japan"

**Discussant:** [Mary Brinton](https://scholar.harvard.edu/brinton/home), Reischauer Institute Professor of Sociology; Director, Edwin O. Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies, Harvard University

*This event was supported by a grant from the Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership (CGP).*

##### 2018-19

#### [Junko Kato](https://www.u-tokyo.ac.jp/focus/en/people/people003419.html)

Professor of Political Science, University of Tokyo

**Lecture Title:** “The Future of Japanese Democracy: A Comparative Research Agenda”

**Discussant:** [Andrew Gordon](https://ealc.fas.harvard.edu/people/andrew-gordon), Lee and Juliet Folger Fund Professor of History and Acting Director (2018-2019), Harvard-Yenching Institute, Harvard University

*This event was supported by a grant from the Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership (CGP).*

##### 2017-18

#### [Louise Young](https://history.wisc.edu/people/young-louise/)

Professor of History, University of Wisconsin-Madison

**Lecture title:** "Rethinking Imperialism in the 20th Century: Japan in East Asia”

**Discussant:** [Carter Eckert](https://ealc.fas.harvard.edu/people/carter-eckert), Yoon Se Young Professor of Korean History, Harvard University

*This event was supported by a grant from the Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership (CGP).*

##### 2016-17

#### [Frances Rosenbluth](http://campuspress.yale.edu/francesrosenbluth/)

Damon Wells Professor of Political Science, Yale University

**Lecture title:** "The Future of Women: Why Time is Money and Power”

**Discussant:** [Peter Hall](https://scholar.harvard.edu/hall/biocv), Krupp Foundation Professor of European Studies, Harvard University

*This event was supported by a grant from the Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership (CGP).*

##### 2015-16

#### [Akio Takahara](http://www.tokyofoundation.org/en/experts/t/takahara-akio)

Professor, Faculty of Law and Graduate School of Law and Politics, University of Tokyo

**Lecture title:** "China's External Policies under Xi Jinping: Implications for Japan"

**Discussant:** [Victor Cha](http://explore.georgetown.edu/people/chav/), D.S. Song-KF Endowed Chair in Government and International Affairs, Georgetown University, and Senior Advisor and Korea Chair, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)

*This event was supported by a grant from the Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership (CGP).*

##### 2014-15

#### [Ellis Krauss](https://gps.ucsd.edu/faculty-directory/ellis-krauss.html)

Professor of Japanese Politics and Policy-making, University of California, San Diego

**Lecture title:** "The Rise, Fall, and Rise Again of Japan's Liberal Democratic Party"

**Discussant:** [J. Mark Ramseyer](http://hls.harvard.edu/faculty/directory/10697/Ramseyer), Mitsubishi Professor of Japanese Legal Studies, Harvard Law School

##### 2013-14

#### [Sheila Smith](https://www.cfr.org/expert/sheila-smith)

Senior Fellow for Japan Studies, Council on Foreign Relations

**Lecture title:** "Intimate Rivals: Japanese Domestic Politics and a Rising China"

**Discussant:** [Elizabeth Perry](https://scholar.harvard.edu/elizabethperry/home), Henry Rosovsky Professor of Government; Director, Harvard-Yenching Institute

##### 2012-13

#### [Michael J. Green](http://csis.org/expert/michael-j-green)

Senior Vice President for Asia and Japan Chair, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), and Associate Professor of International Relations, Georgetown University

**Lecture title:** "Can Japan Be a ‘Tier One Nation’ in the 21st Century?"

**Discussant:** [Stephen Walt](https://www.hks.harvard.edu/faculty/stephen-walt), Robert and Renee Belfer Professor of International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School

##### 2011-12

#### [Yoichi Funabashi](http://www.chartwellspeakers.com/speaker/yoichi-funabashi/)

Chairman, Rebuild Japan Initiative Foundation, and Editor-in-Chief, Asahi Shimbun (2007-10)

**Lecture title:** "The Rise of China from a Japanese Perspective"

**Discussant:** [David Gergen](https://cpl.hks.harvard.edu/people/david-gergen), Professor of Public Service and Director, Center for Public Leadership, Harvard Kennedy School

##### 2010-11

#### [T.J. Pempel](http://polisci.berkeley.edu/people/person/tj-pempel)

Professor of Political Science, University of California, Berkeley

**Lecture title:** "Japanese Politics: Between Pork and Productivity"

**Discussant:**[ Hirotaka Takeuchi](http://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/profile.aspx?facId=6563), Professor of Management Practice, Harvard Business School

##### 2009-10

#### [Sheldon Garon](https://history.princeton.edu/people/sheldon-garon)

Dodge Professor of History and East Asian Studies, Princeton University

**Lecture title:** "'Keep on Saving': How Other Nations Forged Cultures of Thrift When America Didn't"

**Discussant:** [Lizabeth Cohen](https://history.fas.harvard.edu/people/lizabeth-cohen), Howard Mumford Jones Professor of American Studies, and Chair, Department of History, Harvard University

##### 2008-09

#### [Carol Gluck](https://history.columbia.edu/faculty/gluck-carol/)

George Sansom Professor of History, Columbia University

**Lecture title:** "Past Obsessions: World War II in History and Memory"

**Discussant:** [David Blackbourn](https://ces.fas.harvard.edu/people/000053-david-blackbourn), Coolidge Professor of History and Director, Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University

##### 2007-08

#### [Jeffrey Sachs](https://sipa.columbia.edu/faculty-research/faculty-directory/jeffrey-sachs)

Director, The Earth Institute, Quetelet Professor of Sustainable Development and Professor of Health Policy and Management, Columbia University; and Special Advisor to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

**Lecture title:** "Common Wealth: Economics for a Crowded Planet"

**Discussant:** [Michael Reich](http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/faculty/michael-reich/), Taro Takemi Professor of International Health Policy, Harvard School of Public Health

##### 2006-07

#### [Takatoshi Ito](https://sipa.columbia.edu/faculty-research/faculty-directory/takatoshi-ito)

Professor of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University and Member, Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy, Japanese Government

**Lecture title:** "Economic Integration in Asia"

**Discussant:** [Dale Jorgenson](https://scholar.harvard.edu/jorgenson/home), Samuel W. Morrison University Professor, Harvard University

##### 2005-06

#### [Peter J. Katzenstein](http://pkatzenstein.org/)

Walter S. Carpenter, Jr. Professor of International Studies, Cornell University

**Lecture title:** "Anti-Americanisms in World Politics"

**Discussant:** [Stephen P. Rosen](https://gov.harvard.edu/people/stephen-rosen), Beton Michael Kaneb Professor of National Security and Military Affairs, Harvard University

##### 2004-05

#### [William W. Kelly](https://anthropology.yale.edu/people/william-w-kelly)

Professor of Anthropology and Sumitomo Professor of Japanese Studies, Yale University

**Lecture title:** "Sport, Culture, and Society: The Case of Japanese Baseball"

**Discussant:** [James L. Watson](https://anthropology.fas.harvard.edu/people/james-watson-0), Fairbank Professor of Chinese Society and Professor of Anthropology, Harvard University

##### 2003-04

#### [Joseph Nye, Jr.](http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/experts/3/joseph_s_nye.html)

Dean and Don K. Price Professor of Public Policy, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University

**Lecture title:** "Reflections on Soft Power"

**Discussant:** [Richard Samuels](http://web.mit.edu/polisci/people/faculty/richard-samuels.html), Professor of Political Science and Director, Center for International Studies, MIT

##### 2002-03

#### [Gerald Curtis](http://weai.columbia.edu/gerald-curtis/)

Professor of Political Science, Columbia University

**Lecture title:** "Turmoil and Change in Japanese Politics"

**Discussant:** [Roderick MacFarquhar](https://scholar.harvard.edu/roderickmacfarquhar), Leroy B. Williams Research Professor of History and Political Science, Department of Government, Harvard University

##### 2001-02

#### [Sadako Ogata](https://www.brookings.edu/experts/sadako-ogata/)

Distinguished Fellow, Foreign Policy, Global Economy and Development, Brookings Institute; United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (1991-2001), President, Japan International Cooperation Agency (2003-2012)

**Lecture title:** "Global Humanitarian Crises and Japan"

##### 2000-01

#### [Bruce Cumings](https://history.uchicago.edu/directory/bruce-cumings)

Professor of History, University of Chicago

**Lecture title:** "U.S. Relations with East Asia in a New Century and a New Administration"

**Discussant:** Akira Iriye, Professor of History, Harvard University

##### 1999-00

#### Ryutaro Hashimoto

Former Prime Minister (1996-98), and Representative, Japanese Diet

**Lecture title:** "Making Sense of Japan in the 1990s"

##### 1998-99

#### Takie Sugiyama Lebra

Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, University of Hawaii

**Lecture title:** "Making a Career in the World of Men: Women's Strategies in Japan"

##### 1997-98

#### [Takashi Inoguchi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takashi_Inoguchi)

President, University of Niigata Prefecture; Emeritus Professor of Political Science, Institute of Oriental Culture, University of Tokyo

**Lecture title:** "Looking Forward by Looking Backward: Lessons for the 21st Century from Westphalia, Philadelphia, and Tokugawa"

**Discussant:** Akira Iriye, Professor of History, Harvard University

##### 1996-97

#### Ronald Dore

Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Economic Performance, London School of Economics

**Lecture title:** "Can Japanese Capitalism Remain Japanese?"

**Discussant:** [Richard Cooper](http://scholar.harvard.edu/cooper/), Professor of International Economics, Harvard University

##### 1995-96

#### [Donald Keene](http://ealac.columbia.edu/donald-keene/)

University Professor and Shincho Professor of Japanese Literature, Emeritus, Columbia University

**Lecture title:** "Mishima and Japanese Aesthetics"

**Discussant:** Philip J. Fisher, Felice Crowl Reid Professor of English and American Literature, Harvard University

##### 1994-95

#### [Robert E. Cole](http://facultybio.haas.berkeley.edu/faculty-list/cole-robert)

Haas School of Business, University of California at Berkeley

**Lecture title:** "Learning Japan Quality Practices in American Industry: Hares, Tortoises, Donkeys, Ostriches, Parrots, Chameleons, and Owls"

**Discussant:** Daniel Bell, American Academy of Arts and Sciences

##### 1993-94

#### [John W. Dower](http://history.mit.edu/people/john-w-dower)

Henry R. Luce Professor of International Cooperation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

**Lecture title:** "Coming Out of War: Japan After World War I"

**Discussant:** Nagayo Homma, Professor of American Studies, Tokyo Women's Christian University

##### 1992-93

#### Arthur Stockwin

Nissan Professor of Modern Japanese Studies, Institute for Japanese Studies, St. Antony's College, Oxford

**Lecture title:** "Japan's First Woman Party Leader: The Rise and Fall of Takako Doi"

**Discussant:** Shirley Williams, Professor, Kennedy School of Government, and Member, House of Peers, United Kingdom

##### 1991-92

#### Yukio Matsuyama

Honorary Chair and former Chair of the Editorial Board, Asahi Shinbun

**Lecture title:** "After Kaifu: Japan's Leadership Challenge"

**Discussant:** Stanley H. Hoffmann, Professor of Government, Harvard University

##### 1990-91

#### Yotaro Kobayashi

President, Fuji Xerox Company

**Lecture title:** "The Race for Technological Superiority: Japan and the United States in the 1990s"

**Discussant:** Charles H. Ferguson, Postdoctoral Associate, Center for Technology, Policy, and Industrial Development, MIT

##### 1989-90

#### Seizaburo Sato

Professor of Social Sciences, University of Tokyo

**Lecture title:** "U.S.-Japan Relations in the Post-Cold War Era"

**Discussant:** Samuel P. Huntington, Professor of Government, Harvard University

##### 1988-89

#### [Hisashi Owada](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hisashi_Owada)

Former Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Japan (Retired)

**Lecture title:** "Soviet-Japanese Relations in the Light of Recent Developments"

##### 1987-1988

#### [Ezra F. Vogel](http://scholar.harvard.edu/ezravogel/biocv)

Henry Ford II Professor of Social Sciences, Harvard University

**Lecture title:** "Economic Reforms in Guangdong Province"