The U.S.-Japan Alliance in 2025:

Flourishing of Floundering?

YCAPS is excited to announce the next event in the Community Conversations seminar series in the Iwakuni Community! This event will feature Ms. Emma Chanlett-Avery, Deputy Director of the Asia Society Policy Institute's Washington, DC Office, who will guide us in a discussion on "The U.S.-Japan Alliance in 2025: Flourishing or Floundering"

This seminar will focus on the status of the U.S.-Japan alliance under the current administration. Despite a successful initial leaders' summit and a visit from the Secretary of Defense that emphasized continuity, the imposition of steep tariffs cast a shadow over the relationship in the early months of the Trump Administration. The cancellation of the 2+2 talks in June indicated a downward spiral, but the announcement of a trade deal in July appeared to arrest the crisis. Will the ambitious alliance modernization goals forge ahead? Or has Japan lost confidence in U.S. security commitments? How will burden sharing talks develop given both Japan's increased resourcing to defense and Washington demands for Tokyo to devote a larger percentage of GDP? And how do developments in the security landscape to date impact policymakers' approach to the alliance?

This event is free and open to all in the Iwakuni and surrounding communities. refreshments will be provided.

Registration (optional) at this Google form.

Schedule:

• 17:45-18:30 - Refreshments & Networking (food & drinks)
• 18:30-19:45 - Presentation and Q&A
• 19:45-20:00 - Optional light networking/wrap up

Location:

Atago Sports Complex - Culture Center: 2nd Floor Multi-Purpose Room

2 Chome Atagomachi, Iwakuni, Yamaguchi 740-0037

https://www.city.iwakuni.lg.jp/soshiki/19/28779.html

Google Maps

Speaker:

Emma Chanlett-Avery is Deputy Director of the Asia Society Policy Institute's Washington, DC office and the Director for Political-Security Affairs. Emma leads Congressional outreach efforts and directs ASPI’s policy engagement on Indo-Pacific alliances. Previous to this post, she served for 20 years as a Specialist in Asian Affairs at the Congressional Research Service, where she focused on United States relations with Japan, the Korean Peninsula, Thailand, and Singapore, with an emphasis on security issues. In 2023, she served as a Congressional Fellow on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, assisting the Chairman with drafting Asia policy legislation and preparing for hearings. Ms. Chanlett-Avery was a Presidential Management Fellow, with rotations in the State Department on the Korea Desk and at the Joint United States Military Advisory Group in Bangkok, Thailand. She also worked in the Office of Policy Planning as a Harold Rosenthal Fellow. She is a member of the Mansfield Foundation United States–Japan Network for the Future and a Mansfield-Luce Asia Network Scholar. She is a recipient of the Kato Prize, awarded by Washington think tanks for strengthening the United States-Japan alliance. She serves as Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of the National Association of Japan-America Societies, Counselor of the Board of Trustees of the Japan-America Society of Washington, DC, and a Trustee of International Student Conferences, Inc. Ms. Chanlett-Avery received an MA in international security policy from the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University and her BA in Russian studies from Amherst College.

Format: This event will be off-the-record

Registration: Optional at this link
Moderators: Jeff Mazziotta/Daniel Stone
Seminar Cost: Free of charge