2021 Japan-US ForumHow should the US-Japan Alliance take leadership toavoid decoupling of the world economy during a time of
US-China conflict, and deepening of the confrontation
between authoritarianism and democracy?
Tokyo : Tuesday, January11, 2022
9:00 a.m. - 11:15 a.m.JST
Washington,D.C. : Monday, January10, 2022
19:00 p.m. - 21:15p.m.EST

D ISC U S S I O N T OP I C S

2021 Japan-US ForumHow should the US-Japan Alliance take leadership toavoid decoupling of the world economy during a time of
US-China conflict, and deepening of the confrontation
between authoritarianism and democracy?

PANEL1 :DETERRENCE AND NATIONAL SECURITY
Both the nature of war and global geo-politics are in transition. Traditional
issues of military defense are being supplemented by non-conventional
challenges such as cyber and space security. China is replacing Russia as thepreeminent challenge to international order, even as economic and politicalmilitary issues become increasingly intertwined.
Sanctions are becoming increasingly pervasive as tools of diplomacy, even as
major categories of potent weaponry in the nuclear, chemical, and biologicalrealm are proscribed. Important gray areas of “weaponized interdependence”
below the level of overt military conflict remain, in areas ranging fromcyber security to fishing rights. The chessboard of permissible weaponry ininternational relations, not to mention the nature of war, are thus changing.
Northeast Asia is replacing Europe and even the Middle East as the fulcrumof international geo-political competition, driven by the rise of China. Howand why do the interests of Japan and the United States intersect, asartificial intelligence, 5 G communications, and other recent technologicaldevelopments bring commercial and defense considerations into increasingly
intimate interplay with one another?
What are the global implications of deepening US-Japan cooperation intechnology? How does that bilateral cooperation compare in significancewith broader multilateral patterns, particularly those in the Atlantic? And what
are the appropriate limits on technological interdependence on the part ofboth the US and Japan with China, as the boundaries of the commercial andthe military are increasingly blurred? Is there a security rationale for new
regulatory structures, possibly resembling those of the Cold War era?

PANEL2 :BUILDING A RULE-BASED INTERNATIONAL ORDER :ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL DIMENSIONS
Even as global multilateral agreements like the Tokyo and Uruguay Rounds
have become more difficult, regional understandings such as CPTPP andRCEP have shown unexpected promise. Some sectors, such as digitaltrade, have forged important new frameworks of understanding as well. Yet
protectionism has intensified in other areas, and tariff levels have significantly
risen between some key trading nations, such as China and the United States.
What broader global political-economic forces are driving the changing patternof international trade competition and cooperation? Is there still scope formeaningful US-Japan cooperation in multilateral contexts? How will Americanand Japanese domestic politics constrain prospects for cooperation—both
bilaterally and in broader contexts—in coming years?
Apart from trade and technology, environmental protection and food supply
are crucial areas of global concern. How should one evaluate recent
progress toward the global environmental goals laid out in COP-21? And areinternational efforts at nutritional improvement keeping pace, amidst the covid
crisis? What further progress was achieved at COP-26? Is Global Zero ameaningful concept? When and how is it likely to be attained, and with whatcontribution by major global powers?
There is naturally an important interface between environment and global
economic interaction, including food supply. What are the key elements ofglobal response to climate change (CCS, hydrogen energy, nuclear power,solar power, geo-thermal energy, natural gas, energy efficiency, and soon)? And how do those responses relate to the global trading system andunderlying issues of human security? In particular, how can global trading andnational incentive rules be so configured as to create domestic incentives for
pro-environment economic policies, in areas such as the manufacture of solar
panels, wind-power equipment, and efficient, high-performance batteries?

AGE NDA
09:00 (JST) / 19:00 (EST)

Welcome and Conceptual Introduction
Masakazu TOYODA

Chairman and CEO Japan Economic Foundation(JEF)

Kent E. CALDER

Vice Dean for Education and Academic Affairs, Johns Hopkins University (SAIS)

09:15 (JST) / 19:15(EST)PANEL1

DETERRENCE AND NATIONAL SECURITYModerator : Naoyuki HARAOKA

Executive Managing Director Japan Economic Foundation (JEF)-Panelists / Japan sideBonji OHARA

Senior Fellow, Sasakawa Peace Foundation

Chisako T. MASUO

Associate Professor, Graduate School of Social and Cultural Studies,
Kyushu University-Panelists / US side-Ambassador David B. SHEAR

Senior Advisor, Edwin O. Reischauer Center for East Asian Studies
Adjunct Professor, Japan Studies, Johns Hopkins University (SAIS)

Thomas G. MAHNKEN

Director of External Programs for the Philip Merrill Center for Strategic Studies,
Johns Hopkins University (SAIS)

09:35 (JST) / 19:35 (EST)

Panel Discussion

10:05-10:15 (JST) / 20:05-20:15 (EST)

Coffee Break10:15 (JST) / 20:15 (EST)PANEL2BUILDING A RULE-BASED INTERNATIONAL ORDER :ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL DIMENSIONS
Moderator : Kent E. CALDER

Vice Dean for Education and Academic Affairs, Johns Hopkins University (SAIS)-Panelists / Japan sideTakaaki ASANO

Senior Analyst, Sumitomo Corporation Global Research

Yukari Niwa YAMASHITAManaging Director, Energy Data and Modelling Center,
Institute of Energy Economics Japan (IEEJ)-Panelists / US side-Jessica FANZO

Vice Dean for Faculty Affairs and International Research Cooperation,Johns Hopkins University (SAIS)

William W. GRIMES

Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Professor of International Relations atthe Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies, Boston University

10:35 (JST) / 20:35 (EST)

Panel Discussion

11:05 (JST) / 21:05 (EST)Closing Session

Masakazu TOYODA

Chairman and CEO Japan Economic Foundation(JEF)

Kent E. CALDER

Vice Dean for Education and Academic Affairs, Johns Hopkins University (SAIS)

11:15 (JST) / 21:15 (EST)

Adjournment