{"id":53190,"date":"2024-11-21T15:58:36","date_gmt":"2024-11-21T15:58:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.usjapancouncil.org\/?post_type=news&p=53190"},"modified":"2025-02-25T16:13:44","modified_gmt":"2025-02-25T16:13:44","slug":"u-s-japan-council-returns-to-tokyo-annual-conference-to-explore-the-new-era-of-u-s-japan-relations","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.usjapancouncil.org\/ja\/news\/u-s-japan-council-returns-to-tokyo-annual-conference-to-explore-the-new-era-of-u-s-japan-relations\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S.-Japan Council Returns to Tokyo Annual Conference to Explore the New Era of U.S.-Japan Relations"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

From October 29 to November 1, over 700 individuals joined the U.S.-Japan Council (USJC) and the U.S.-Japan Council (Japan) for the thirteenth Annual Conference, titled, \u201cForging Our Future Together: The New Era of U.S.-Japan Relations.\u201d With the end of 2024 marking leadership transitions in both countries, programming highlighted the leadership required to address the most pressing challenges and opportunities of our future, including: security, sustainability, innovation, economic security, empowering women and building a global workforce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It was a special honor to feature Her Imperial Highness Princess Takamado of Japan for welcome remarks during the morning plenary. She underscored the strong friendship between the two countries and the importance of safeguarding U.S.-Japan relations for the future, saying, \u201cIt is imperative that we seize this opportunity to deepen our ties, explore new avenues of cooperation and address the challenges that lie ahead with courage and innovation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Special remarks were provided by Prime Minister ISHIBA Shigeru, which were read during the opening plenary by KOBAYASHI Maki, Cabinet Secretary for Public Affairs, Prime Minister’s Office of Japan. \u201cAs we are facing many complex challenges, the theme of today’s annual meeting, \u2018Forging Our Future Together: The New Era in U.S.-Japan Relations,\u2019 could not be more timely,\u201d the Prime Minister said in his remarks. \u201cJapan will continue to closely collaborate with the United States as a global partner at the core of a free and open international order, contributing together to the peace and prosperity of the world.\u201d

The U.S.-Japan Council was privileged to host an exceptional lineup of speakers, including many prominent leaders representing both the Japanese and United States governments. KONO Taro, Member of the House of Representatives, shared insights on emerging digital technologies and their potential in global security. Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike outlined her vision for the future of the city, emphasizing continued investment in innovation, including AI, to build a more connected metropolis. Regarding U.S.-Japan relations, she expressed her hopes, stating, \u201cI look forward to continued knowledge-sharing and collaboration between the United States and Japan.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lieutenant General Stephen F. Jost, Commander of U.S. Forces, Japan and Fifth Air Force, reiterated how critical the U.S.-Japan alliance is for stability in the Indo-Pacific Region. Ambassador Rahm Emanuel, United States Ambassador to Japan, also offered reflections on the bilateral partnership, stressing that no matter the leadership changes in the United States, \u201cthe relationship between the United States and Japan is firm, as the relationship between both peoples are firm, and by supporting people-to-people and university-to-university connections at the government level, we can make this relationship even stronger.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Business and economic partnerships were highlighted as another facet of the U.S.-Japan partnership, with a recurring theme of corporate leaders rising to meet challenges with innovative solutions.  In a fireside chat moderated by U.S.-Japan Council\u2019s President & CEO, Audrey Yamamoto, two of USJC\u2019s Board of Councilors, Takeshi Niinami (Representative Director, President & CEO, Suntory Holdings Limited) and Jun Sawada (Executive Chairman, NTT Corporation) shared challenges their companies were facing as well as arising opportunities, including sustainable energy and AI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Experts weighed in on the future of AI technologies in a plenary discussion with Board of Councilors Member Miki Tsusaka (Microsoft Japan) and Toshifumi Yoshizaki (NEC Corporation), moderated by Yutaka Matsuo (University of Tokyo, Graduate School of Engineering, Department of Technology Management for Innovation), sharing insights on the exponential growth and use of AI and its massive potential both in and beyond Japan. Ms. Tsusaka commented in particular about how technology has enabled more efficient use of time in the workplace and how she looks forward to Japan\u2019s evolution, saying, \u201c[Japan] will change because we have to change to keep growing. We have our moment, and organizations like this that bring companies together, people together, I think are extraordinarily important because it is about that human connection.\u201d

Breakout sessions additionally explored areas such as economic security amid geopolitical tensions, climate change and sustainability, U.S.-Japan Space cooperation and developing a global, diverse workforce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Council celebrated its fifteenth anniversary with a look at its legacy over the years, recognizing some of the leaders who shaped USJC into the organization it is today. A panel featuring founding board members Colbert Matsumoto (USJC President\u2019s Advisory Board Member, Tradewind Group, Inc.) and Masaaki (\u201cMasa\u201d) Tanaka (Vice Chair of the USJC Board of Councilors), as well as present Board Member and daughter of founding president Irene Hirano Inouye, Jennifer Hirano (Alphabet, Inc.), was moderated by President\u2019s Advisory Board Member Yuko Kaifu (JAPAN HOUSE Los Angeles). Reflecting on the Council\u2019s growth, Mr. Matsumoto commented, \u201c[The fact that] we have successfully organized\u2026 over a thousand members who are leaders in their very respective communities and well-respected citizens\u2026 who have engaged with this organization is something that would have made both Senator Inouye and Irene so proud.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next generation leadership was highlighted in the closing plenary. Richard Bissen, Mayor of Maui, offered special remarks on the Kibou for Maui Project, which was created by USJC with support from the Government of Japan following last year\u2019s tragic wildfires in Hawaii, and TOMODACHI Kibou for Maui Program 2024 alumnus M. Jee Abara shared his inspirational story. A panel of Japanese alumni further underscored the life-changing impact of the TOMODACHI Initiative, with a final speech by alumna Miku Narisawa (Odyssey Nature Japan), who has returned to the TOMODACHI Initiative after 13 years, this time as a key implementer of the TOMODACHI Kibou for Maui program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The U.S.-Japan Council would like to extend a special thanks to our generous sponsors and the members and other volunteers who worked tirelessly to make this event a success. We would like to give a special recognition to our Tokyo-based Host Committee, led by Aya Kameda, who not only offered tremendous assistance in the conference\u2019s coordination, but also coordinated USJC\u2019s first ever conference-adjacent GX-DX-AI Summit and Tradition and Innovation Soiree. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We invite the USJC community to mark their calendars for next year\u2019s Annual Conference, which will be held October 13-17, 2025 in Honolulu, Hawaii.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From October 29 to November 1, over 700 individuals joined the U.S.-Japan Council (USJC) and the U.S.-Japan Council (Japan) for the thirteenth Annual Conference, titled, \u201cForging Our Future Together: The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"class_list":["post-53190","news","type-news","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nU.S.-Japan Council Returns to Tokyo Annual Conference to Explore the New Era of U.S.-Japan Relations - U.S.-Japan Council<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usjapancouncil.org\/ja\/news\/u-s-japan-council-returns-to-tokyo-annual-conference-to-explore-the-new-era-of-u-s-japan-relations\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"ja_JP\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"U.S.-Japan Council Returns to Tokyo Annual Conference to Explore the New Era of U.S.-Japan Relations - 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