Learn about recent developments in U.S.-Japan relations — and how they affect North Texas. Experts from both countries will examine the state of the relationship as the new U.S. administration assumes power. The afternoon panel will look at the importance of mobility in the globalized world and the potential impact in Texas of the nation's first high-speed passenger train.
Grant Newsham, senior research fellow at the Japan Forum for Strategic Studies, will speak about the crucial U.S.-Japan security alliance and the challenges the new administration may face in the Asia-Pacific region. Newsham, a retired U.S. Marine colonel, was the first Marine liaison officer to the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force. He lived in Tokyo for twenty years and has served on two occasions as the Marine attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo.
Join us as we honor outstanding supporters of the U.S.-Japan relationship. Mr. Yoshihiko Miyauchi, Senior Chairman, ORIX Group, will receive the Sun & Star Legacy Award for his many significant contributions to strengthening U.S.-Japan relations for more than fifty years. Mr. Mark Berry, Chairman of the Dallas-Sendai Committee since 2005, will receive the Bridges-to-Friendship Award for his dedication to Dallas-Sendai friendship and exchange.
The John G. Tower Center for Political Studies presents a luncheon program on Japanese citizens' response to the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011. Professor Nicolas Sternsdorff-Cisterna, Assistant Professor of Anthropology at SMU, explores how ordinary people in Fukushima formed organizations, exchanged knowledge, and found ways of screening and sourcing food.
A delegation selected by the Prime Minister's Office of Japan and led by Ambassador Shotaro Oshima, Chairman of the Institute for International Economic Studies, will examine the U.S.-Japan relationship from many angles and engage in dialogue with the audience
Learn the characteristics, future, and role of Japanese companies in the Texas economy. This forum will feature The Honorable Tetsuro Amano, Consul-General of Japan in Houston, and other distinguished speakers
The John G. Tower Center for Political Studies presents Mr. Naoyuki Agawa, who currently teaches American constitutional law and history as Distinguished Visiting Professor of Law at Doshisha University in Kyoto, Japan. Mr. Agawa served as Minister for Public Affairs in charge of public diplomacy and press relations at the Embassy of Japan in Washington, D.C. on leave of absence from Keio University (2002 – 2005).
Join the SMU Tower Center Sun & Star Program on Japan and East Asia and the Mission Foods Texas-Mexico Center for a joint symposium looking at the economic and political relations between Japan, Mexico and Texas.
