{"id":63561,"date":"2026-06-12T22:19:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T22:19:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.usjapancouncil.org\/?post_type=news&p=63561"},"modified":"2026-06-12T22:19:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T22:19:12","slug":"39th-bab-meeting-honoring-masaaki-tanaka-featuring-glen-s-fukushima","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.usjapancouncil.org\/ja\/news\/39th-bab-meeting-honoring-masaaki-tanaka-featuring-glen-s-fukushima\/","title":{"rendered":"39th BAB Meeting: Honoring Masaaki Tanaka & Featuring Glen S. Fukushima"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

On May 26, the U.S.-Japan Council (USJC) hosted the 39th Business Advisory Board (BAB) Meeting at the Tokyo American Club, welcoming Glen S. Fukushima<\/strong>, Visiting Fellow at Stanford University, as the keynote speaker. His presentation, \u201cU.S.-Japan Relations Under President Trump and Prime Minister Takaichi: Issues and Prospects\u201d<\/em>, drew more than 120 senior business leaders. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scott Sato<\/strong>, a member of the Board of Councilors of USJC, served as emcee. Fred Katayama<\/strong>, Executive Vice President of USJC and Chair of the Business Advisory Board, gave opening remarks, followed by special tributes to Masaaki Tanaka<\/strong>, former chair of BAB, who has led this initiative since its inception in 2014. Representing USJC\u2019s Board of Directors, Jennifer Hirano<\/strong>, a daughter of our founder Irene Hirano Inouye<\/strong>, and Ernie Higa<\/strong>, Chair of the Board of Councilors, gave special remarks expressing their appreciation to Mr. Tanaka\u2019s incredible leadership and dedication. Audrey Yamamoto, President & CEO of USJC,<\/strong> then presented Mr. Tanaka with an award for his transformational leadership and legacy. Reflecting on his journey with USJC, Mr. Tanaka concluded that \u201chuman connection is more important today than ever.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the keynote, Glen S. Fukushima explained that there continues to be a stable and positive military, political, and economic relationship between the United States and Japan, following the two summit meetings between President Trump and Prime Minister Takaichi in October 2025 and March 2026. He pointed out that changes may result if Democrats win at least one house in the November 3 midterm elections, but it should not affect the importance of U.S.-Japan relations. But with uncertainty and unpredictability in the U.S. federal government, he argued that strengthening the U.S.-Japan relationship requires efforts not only at the level of the national government between Washington, DC and Tokyo but also at the subnational government level (states, prefectures, and cities) and non-governmental level, including corporations, NGOs, NPOs, and cultural institutions engaged in art, music, films, dance, sports, wine, food, etc. He stated that California, the largest state with a population of 40 million and the world\u2019s fourth largest economy, presents a model for the future of U.S.-Japan relations with its vibrant economy comprising agriculture, high tech, biotech, Hollywood, etc., and a focus on international trade, investment, immigration from Asia and Latin America, and investment in education and workforce training.\u3000<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A networking dinner followed the keynote, providing participants with additional opportunities for dialogue and exchange.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Toshinobu Sasazu, TOMODACHI alumnus (TOMODACHI Microsoft iLEAP Social Innovation and Leadership Program \u201818) commented, \u201cWe need to intentionally strengthen \u2018multi-layered relationships\u2019 (private sector, local governments and NGOs). I deeply realize how crucial it is for the private sector to anchor the relationship by building a rock-solid foundation of mutual trust, dialogue, and shared purpose, one that remains entirely unshakeable amidst unpredictable political storms.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article was written by Takumi Osumi, a TOMODACHI Program Intern at the TOMODACHI Initiative who attended the 39th BAB.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On May 26, the U.S.-Japan Council (USJC) hosted the 39th Business Advisory Board (BAB) Meeting at the Tokyo American Club, welcoming Glen S. Fukushima, Visiting Fellow at Stanford University, as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"class_list":["post-63561","news","type-news","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n39th BAB Meeting: Honoring Masaaki Tanaka & Featuring Glen S. Fukushima - 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\/39th-bab-meeting-honoring-masaaki-tanaka-featuring-glen-s-fukushima\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"ja_JP\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"39th BAB Meeting: Honoring Masaaki Tanaka & Featuring Glen S. 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