Japan Outlook 2024 took place online on January 11th. Japan Outlook is a forum that examines the year ahead and discusses the future of US-Japan relations in regard to upcoming events, as well as events that happened in the previous year that hold weight in the upcoming year.
This year, we had two speakers discuss happenings in the political and economic sectors of both America and Japan. The first speaker was Akiyo Fuji, a 40-year veteran journalist and Chair of the Editorial Board of Nikkei Shimbun. His experience gives him keen insight on the U.S. and Japan’s economic relations. The second speaker was Tobias Harris, Deputy Managing Director of the Indo Pacific Program at German Marshall Fund. Tobias Harris is also the author of The Iconoclast: Shinzo Abe and the New Japan, a book on the former Prime Minister Abe. At the time of the event, he was in Japan and touched on Japan’s current political state.
Akiyo Fuji opened by talking about the upcoming elections. He spoke about the importance of the Taiwan, South Korean, and especially the U.S. elections in 2024. Each of these elections are important to future trade and relations between the nations. Extra emphasis was placed on the future U.S. President, as the possibility of Donald Trump becoming President again could end many of the trade agreements and relations between the U.S. and Japan. It was noted that during Trump’s tenure as President, much of the economic tension was relieved by Trump’s relationship of trust with the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. However, with Abe’s death and the current political climate in Japan, many Japanese bureaucrats and policy makers are gearing up for Trump’s possible re-election. Finally, Akiyo finished up by touching on the Japanese-China relationship and the need for dialogue between the two nations.
After that, Tobias Harris discussed the current political chaos in Japan. In late 2023, a scandal regarding the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) skimming fundraising money and handing it out to their members occurred. The scandal was made worse by all of the money being undocumented. This has led many factions within the LDP to announce that they are dissolving, leaving a large power vacuum as they struggle to re-organize. Many question if the LDP and the current Prime Minister, Fumiyo Kishida, will be able to retain power in the upcoming elections. Harris posited that this may lead to a free-for-all, as it seems that the current Prime Minister isn’t planning on running again. Harris ended by pointing out how these events are raising even more questions about democracy’s current instability in the world.
Once both presentations concluded, there was a moderated discussion led by Larry Greenwood, the Board Chair of the Japan Society of Northern California.
As we move forwards into the future, the Japan Society of Northern California will continue to host and support programs that cover important economic and political events. We extend a special thanks to our speakers for providing excellent insight on the political and economic issues facing both Japan and the U.S. We’d also like to thank our guests for attending and making this event possible.
We look forward to seeing you at more Japan Society of Northern California events in the future!
