Japan Outlook 2024

*Online Event

**English Program

Please join us for the Japan Society of Northern California’s annual Japan Outlook program that looks at the hot topics for the coming year in Japan and US-Japan relations. Many observers are predicting an unprecedented year of tumult and uncertainty as 4 billion people head to the polls in national elections, wars with global impact rage in Ukraine and Gaza, and geopolitical tensions continue to mount in the Asia Pacific region. Come hear how Japan is expected to navigate these challenging times in 2024!

We are delighted to have two outstanding speakers to help make sense of these complicated issues. Akio Fujii is the chair of the Nikkei Editorial Board, a veteran journalist and one of Japan’s top foreign policy experts, whose previous positions include a stint as Bureau Chief in Washington on DC. Tobias Harris is a well-known expert on Japanese domestic politics and author of a critically acclaimed book on the late Prime Minister Abe. Don’t miss this online program on January 25 at 4:30 (PT).

毎年恒例となりました Japan Outlook 2024のオンライン開催のお知らせです 能登地震、海保機の事故、自民党の裏金スキャンダルと日本は厳しい年明けとなりました。今年、アメリカももちろんのこと、世界各地で選挙イヤーでもあります。ウクライナやガザでは世界的な影響を及ぼす戦争が勃発し、アジア太平洋地域では地政学的緊張が高まり続けています。経済・金融問題を長年取材し、ワシントン、ニューヨーク、ロンドンなどに駐在経験があり、日経新聞の論説委員長、また、慶応大学総合政策学部特別招聘教授でもある藤井 彰夫氏、そして、ジャーマン・マーシャル基金のインド太平洋プログラム副ディレクター、『The Iconoclast： The Iconoclast: Shinzo Abe and the New Japan』の著者でもあり、ニューヨーク・タイムズ紙、ワシントン・ポスト紙、ウォール・ストリート・ジャーナル紙、フォーリン・ポリシー紙など、世界の主要メディアや放送局で日本の政治について定期的にコメンテーターを務めるトビアス・ハリス氏のお二人に解説いただきます。（英語プログラム）

Date & Time:
Thursday, January 25, 2024 at 4:30 PM (PST)
Friday, January 26, 2024 at 9:30 AM (JST)

Agenda:
4:30 – 4:34 Welcome by Larry Greenwood | Board Chair, Japan Society of Northern California & Senior Advisor, BowerGroupAsia
4:34 – 4:42 Presentation by Akio Fujii | Chair, Nikkei Editorial Board
4:42 – 4:50 Presentation by Tobias Harris | Deputy Managing Director, Indo Pacific Program, German Marshall Fund
4:50 – 5:15 Moderated discussion led by Larry Greenwood
5:15 – 5:30 Audience Q&A
5:30– Closing Steve Pollock | President, Japan Society of Northern California

Venue:
Online via Zoom

Price: FREE!

Our Amazing Speakers

Akio Fujii | Chair, Nikkei Editorial Board 

Since he joined in 1985, Akio Fujii has held various positions with Nikkei, including being the Bank of Japan and Ministry of Finance correspondent, New York Bureau Correspondent, Chief Correspondent for economic affairs at Washington Bureau from 1998 to 2002, London based Senior Writer from 2009 to 2011 and Washington Bureau Chief from 2012 to 2014.
He has also served as Senior Editor for International News Department, Editor-in-Chief for Nikkei Asian Review from 2015 to 2016, Senior Managing Editor, Head of Global News Operations from 2016 to 2017, Senior Editorial Writer from 2017 to 2020.
He covered issues related to global governance, economic policy and international finance.
Fujii obtained his BA in Economics from Waseda University in Tokyo.

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Tobias Harris | Deputy Managing Director, Indo Pacific Program, German Marshall Fund

Tobias S. Harris is Deputy Director of the Indo-Pacific Program at the German Marshall Fund of the United States. He is the author of The Iconoclast: Shinzo Abe and the New Japan, published in paperback in 2023. A regular commentator on Japanese politics for broadcast media and major world publications, which have included The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal and Foreign Policy, he also writes the Observing Japan newsletter.

Moderator: Larry Greenwood | Board Chair, Japan Society of Northern California & Senior Advisor, BowerGroupAsia

Larry Greenwood is a consultant advising on government relations and international economic policy, with expertise in trade, finance, development, and Asia. Larry was a career diplomat from 1976 to 2006 and served in a variety of positions in the State Department in Washington, D.C., and at U.S. embassies in Manila, Dakar, Tokyo, and Singapore. After retiring from the Foreign Service, he worked as vice president at the Asian Development Bank in Manila, Philippines, where he oversaw loan and grant operations in East and Southeast Asia and the Pacific Island countries, and as Senior Managing Director for government relations in Asia for MetLife based in Tokyo. After moving to the Bay Area in 2015 he joined the BowerGroupAsia and served as President of the Japan Society of Northern California from 2016-2019.