In a world marked by growing political volatility and escalating U.S.-China rivalry, the United States and Japan face a crucial opportunity to collaborate under new leadership to maintain and strengthen peace and stability in East Asia and beyond. Co-sponsored by Columbia University and Keio University, this full-day conference will convene top experts on East Asian and global politics to explore the challenges and opportunities arising from leadership transitions in both Tokyo and Washington and discuss how the two allies can shape the security and political dynamics of the Korean Peninsula, in Southeast Asia, across the Taiwan Strait, and the International Order.

The speakers will examine how the U.S.-Japan partnership can navigate these complexities and shape a cooperative future in an increasingly intricate global landscape.

This event is hosted by the Weatherhead East Asian Institute and co-sponsored by China and the World Program, Columbia Journalism School, Keio Center for Strategy, and Keio Institute of East Asian Studies.

For non-Columbia affiliates, registration is required to access the Morningside campus. Registering here will generate an email with a QR code which must be presented along with a government-issued ID (your name must match exactly the name registered for the event) at either 116 Street & Broadway or 116 Street & Amsterdam gates for entry. Please register by Friday, November 15 at 4:00 p.m. for campus access.

Agenda

9:00-9:10 a.m. Welcome Remarks

Duy Linh Nguyen Tu, Dean of Academic Affairs and Professor of Professional Practice, Columbia University
Lien-Hang Nguyen, Director, Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia University
Yuichi Hosoya, Director, Keio Center for Strategy, Keio University

9:10-9:20 a.m. Opening Videos

9:20-10:40 a.m. Session 1 U.S.-Japan-South Korea Relations after the Elections

Junya Nishino, Professor of Political Science, Faculty of Law and Politics, Keio University
Ambassador Kathleen Stephens, Global Senior Advisor, McLarty Associates
Scott Snyder, President & CEO, Korea Economic Institute of America
Carol Gluck, George Sansom Professor Emerita of History, Columbia University
Gerald Curtis, Burgess Professor Emeritus of Political Science, Columbia University (moderator)

10:50-12:10 p.m. Session 2 Japan and the U.S. in Southeast Asia after the Elections

Ambassador Derek Mitchell, Senior Advisor, Center for Strategic and International Studies
Ambassador Masafumi Ishii, Special Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Law, Gakushuin University
Ken Jimbo, Managing Director, International House of Japan; Professor, Faculty of Policy Management, Keio University
Lien-Hang Nguyen, Dorothy Borg Associate Professor of the History of American-East Asian Relations, Columbia University
Ann Marie Murphy, Professor, School of Diplomacy and International Relations, Seton Hall University (moderator)

12:10-1:00 p.m. Lunch Break

1:00-2:20 p.m. Session 3 China, Taiwan, and the U.S.-Japan Alliance after the Elections

Andrew J. Nathan, Class of 1919 Professor of Political Science, Columbia University
Thomas Christensen, James T. Shotwell Professor of International Relations, Columbia University
Satoru Mori, Professor, Faculty of Law, Keio University
Ayumi Teraoka, Postdoctoral Research Scholar and Lecturer, Columbia University
George Miller, Associate Dean, Academic Affairs and Adjunct Professor, Columbia’s Journalism School (moderator)

2:30-3:50 p.m. Session 4 Global Politics and International Order after the Elections

Yuichi Hosoya, Professor, Faculty of Law, Keio University
Michito Tsuruoka, Associate Professor, Faculty of Policy Management, Keio University
Stephen Biddle, Professor of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University
Zongyuan Zoe Liu, Maurice R. Greenberg Senior Fellow for China Studies, Council on Foreign Relations
Merit Janow, Professor of Practice in International Economic Law and International Affairs, Columbia University (moderator)

3:50-4:00 p.m. Closing Remarks

Conference Adjourn

Click here for a full list of speaker bios.

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Susan McCormac 9/23/24 Susan McCormac 9/23/24

BOOK TALK AT DONALD KEENE CENTER

Navigating Narratives: Tsurayuki's Tosa Diary as History and Fiction

Friday, September 27 at 6:00 p.m.

Columbia University – Kent Hall, Room 403

Admission: Free

The Donald Keene Center of Japanese Culture at Columbia University kicks off the 2024–2025 academic year with a book talk by Gustav Heldt, professor of Japanese literature at the University of Virginia.

This talk will outline several unique insights into Heian Japan provided by Ki no Tsurayuki's Tosa nikki (Tosa Diary), which is ostensibly the record of an ex-governor's voyage back to the capital kept by an anonymous woman in his entourage. The resulting split between fictional female narrator and historical male author has usually led Tosa nikki to be viewed as either the first Heian woman's memoir or the last aesthetic manifesto of one of the Japanese poetic tradition's foremost figures. In lieu of these narratives, it will be argued that the diary merits attention for the discursive practices, representational conventions, and non-elite social contexts it illuminates.

Preregistration is required by noon on Thursday, September 26. Click here for the Google Form.

About Gustav Heldt

Gustav Heldt specializes in the language, literature, and cultural history of Japan prior to contact with the West, with related interests in gender, poetics, narratology, ritual practices, comparative historiography, and myth. At the University of Virginia, he regularly teaches courses such as Survey of Japanese Literature and Introduction to Literary Japanese, as well as seminars on more specialized topics such as Japanese myth, the Tale of Genji, Japanese court women's literature, and medieval warrior tales.

Susan McCormac 9/8/24 Susan McCormac 9/8/24

OKINAWA GOVERNOR DENNY TAMAKI TO SPEAK AT COLUMBIA

Interactive Talk with Governor Denny Tamaki of Okinawa

Thursday, September 12 from 4:00 p.m. until 5:30 p.m.

Faculty House, Columbia University – 64 Morningside Drive, Garden Room 2

Admission: Free

Engaging with contemporary Okinawa requires an understanding of fundamental themes such as human rights, democracy, diplomacy, and peace—issues that hold significance worldwide.

Governor Denny Tamaki of Okinawa will speak on regional security in East Asia amid a shifting international landscape. He will address critical issues such as rising tensions over the Taiwan Strait, Japan's pursuit of enhanced defense capabilities through its alliance with the United States, and ongoing debates over Japan's pacifist constitution. Governor Tamaki will share his perspective on what security means for the people of Okinawa, a region hosting the majority of the U.S. military presence in Japan, and he will discuss his efforts in sub-national diplomacy. He will also outline the role Okinawa is prepared to play in promoting peace and stability regionally and globally. Kenneth McElwain, Visiting Professor of Political Science, will moderate the discussion.

Registration is required, so to attend, please visit the Weatherhead East Asian Institute’s website.

This event is hosted by the Weatherhead East Asian Institute and by the Okinawa Prefectural Government Washington D.C. Office and co-sponsored by the Columbia-Harvard China and the World program.

Conference to Examine Leadership transitions in U.S. and Japan

Elections Aftermath: Exploring Opportunities and Challenges in U.S.-Japan Relations