Project on "Policy Innovations in Crises: New Pathways for Japan-U.S. Cooperation"
The research project brings together scholars and practitioners to broaden and deepen Japan-U.S. cooperation in policy innovations in crises. There are five broadly defined policy areas that the project examines: (1) threats to economic interdependence (trade, financial flows, migration); (2) public health and global pandemics; (3) new security challenges (e.g. cross-domain conflicts that involve cyber and space); (4) climate change; and (5) natural disasters. Policy innovations involve new ideas and resource allocations for pre-crisis planning, short-term policy response in the midst of crisis situations, and post-crisis learning and innovations.
The project’s Principal Investigator is Director Christina Davis. The project sponsors seminars, workshops, and conferences that bring together scholars and practitioners in different career stages from Japan, the U.S., and other countries. The project also appoints a Policy Innovations Fellow, who teaches a course on Japanese politics, political economy, and/or foreign policy. This project is made possible by generous support from the Japan Foundation.
Policy Innovations Blog
"Universal Human Rights and the Nation-State: Japan in Global Perspective" (Kiyoteru Tsutsui)
By Sophie Welsh [ Video Link] In his presentation, “Universal Human Rights and the Nation-State: Japan in Global Perspective,” Kiyoteru Tsutsui examined Japan’s place in the global human rights regime as well as its current state of human rights at home...
"The Indo-Pacific as Japan’s 21st Century Grand Strategy" (Saori Katada)
By Sophie Welsh [ Video Link] Saori Katada seminar, titled “The Indo-Pacific as Japan’s 21st Century Grand Strategy,” was based on chapters of a book project with Kei Koga (Nanyang Technological University), tentatively titled Japan’s Grand Strategy...
"Nuclear Ghost: Atomic Livelihoods in Fukushima's Gray Zone in 2023" (Ryo Morimoto)
By Sophie Welsh In this seminar, Ryo Morimoto presented on a few themes from his recent book, Nuclear Ghost: Atomic Livelihoods in Fukushima’s Gray Zone , which examined how the 2011 disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant impacted its...
"Japan’s Quiet Leadership: Reshaping the Indo-Pacific" (Mireya Solís)
By Sophie Welsh [ V ideo Link] The third seminar in the autumn of 2023 featured Mireya Solís, who presented her latest book, Japan’s Quiet Leadership: Reshaping the Indo-Pacific. The work is a deep dive on the transformations in Japan’s external...
“Industrial Policy In the Name of National Security: What Role for the WTO?” (Petros C. Mavroidis)
By Sophie Welsh In his talk, “Industrial Policy in the Name of National Security: What Role for the WTO?”, Petros Mavroidis examined the problems facing WTO adjudication in cases where national security concerns shape industrial policy. With recent...
"Prosperity and Human Security: Japan and Asia’s 21st Century Governance Challenges" (2023 Symposium)
By Nicholas A.R. Fraser [Video Link: Panel 1] [Video Link: Panel 2] On Monday February 6, 2023, the Program on U.S.-Japan Relations gathered a group of scholars to examine two major policy issues that will pose serious challenges for Japan, Asia, and the...
"Japan, Germany, and Eurasia's Security Crises" (Masashi Murano and Thomas Berger seminar)
By Sophie Welsh [Video Link] Russia’s war against Ukraine in 2022 has transformed security policy debates in both Japan and Germany. On December 5, 2022, the Program on U.S.-Japan Relations invited two speakers—Masashi Murano (Hudson Institute) and Thomas...
“Economic Policy Agenda for the Indo-Pacific Region” (Aaron Forsberg and Rokuichiro Michii seminar)
By Sophie Welsh [Video Link] This panel featured two leading policymakers and experts on U.S. and Japanese foreign economic policies, Dr. Aaron Forsberg, Minister Counselor for Economic and Scientific Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, and Mr...
"Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Domestic Work" (Nobuko Nagase seminar)
By Sophie Welsh [Video Link] Prof. Nobuko Nagase’s seminar examined the application of artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics to domestic work, which is a pressing issue for Japan due to its labor shortage and aging society. One of the characteristics...
When Does the Japanese Public Support Refugee Admission?
By Nicholas A.R. Fraser [Video Link] Over the past decade, the Syrian refugee crisis has created one of the largest outflows of forced migrants since the Rwandan genocide, and the largest refugee crisis since the end of the Second World War. While...
“China, Japan, and the Global Politics of Climate Change” (Kelly Gallagher and Miranda Schreurs seminar)
By Sophie Welsh [Video link] Climate change poses an existential threat to humanity and is the most significant global policy challenge of our time, impacting our economy, politics, and society in profound and unprecedented ways. In a panel which brought...
“Japan, South Korea, and U.S. Alliance Politics in East Asia” (Junya Nishino and Sue Mi Terry seminar)
By Sophie Welsh [Video link] The development of North Korea’s missile and nuclear capabilities have emerged as one of the key security challenges in East Asia. At the same time, the relations between two U.S. allies—Japan and South Korea—has been marked...
“Domestic Institutions, Geographic Concentration, and Agricultural Liberalization: Evidence from Remote-Sensed Cropland Data and Elite Interviews” (Megumi Naoi seminar)
By Sophie Welsh [Video link] Trade liberalization improves a country’s overall welfare in the long run, but creates winners and losers in the short run. In her policy innovations seminar, Megumi Naoi (University of California, San Diego) presented her co...
“Security Threats and Alliance Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific Region” (Panel with Tokuhiro Ikeda, Keita Azuma, Aki Nakai, and Jennifer Lind)
by Sophie Welsh As the strategic rivalry between the U.S. and China has intensified in the Indo-Pacific region, the U.S. allies have had to adapt their own foreign and national defense policies. Two practitioners and a scholar from Japan spoke in a panel...
"How Did the Japanese Public React to the US Withdrawal Decision from the Afghanistan Crisis?" (Yusaku Horiuchi Seminar)
by Sophie Welsh [Video recording] After the U.S. government’s decision to withdraw their troops from Afghanistan, the Japanese government Self-Defense Forces (SDF) failed to evacuate about 500 Afghan staff members working in the Japanese embassy. Yusaku...
“The Global Commons Stewardship: Enacting Systemic Transformations” (Naoko Ishii seminar)
by Sophie Welsh Our planet earth has been undergoing a cascade of environmental crises, as human society has experienced economic development on a global scale. We are approaching multiple major environmental tipping points and risks, which pose...
"Why Has the East Asian COVID Model Diverged over Delta and Omicron?” (Yves Tiberghien seminar)
by Sophie Welsh [Video recording] The coronavirus pandemic has disrupted many activities worldwide. Much of the media has covered national responses, from the relative success of various Asian and Oceanian countries to news about the polarized attitudes...
When and How States Restructure Alliances
by Aki Nakai From the classical works of Thucydides, Kautilya, and Machiavelli, to the more contemporary writings of Hans Morgenthau and Kenneth Waltz, to name a few, all have discussed the subject of alliances among political units or sovereign states...
“UN’s Role in the Global Disarmament Agenda” (Izumi Nakamitsu seminar)
by Sophie Welsh [Video recording] The Program on U.S.-Japan Relations welcomed Ms. Izumi Nakamitsu, Under-Secretary- General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs. United Nations, as its Distinguished Visitor to Harvard campus. Below is an...
“Japan and South Korea’s Legalistic Turn” (Celeste Arrington seminar)
by Sophie Welsh [Video recording] Japan and South Korea have historically adopted a more bureaucratic, non-legalistic, flexible approach to governance, due to institutional hurdles (such as small number of lawyers) and cultural deterrents to litigation...