Rising Japan scholars examine the future of U.S.-Japan relations

Lipscy JIIA NEWSFEED Phillip Lipscy presenting during the JIIA conference in Kanazawa, Japan, Jan. 2012.

The decades-old U.S.-Japan alliance remains a stabilizing force in the Asia-Pacific region, but it continues to evolve with changes in both countries and in the region. In January, Kenji E. Kushida and Phillip Lipscy joined other rising Japan studies scholars for discussions about issues confronting the relationship.

Kushida, the Takahashi Research Associate in Japanese Studies at Stanford’s Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (Shorenstein APARC), and Lipscy, a Stanford professor of political science and a Center Fellow at Shorenstein APARC, joined fellow members of the U.S.-Japan Network for the Future in Washington, DC, for the Japan Moves Forward forum on Jan. 13. Kushida is a current member of the network, and Lipscy is an alumnus of the inaugural 2010–2012 group. The Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation, which established the network in 2009, recently published an edited volume of papers from the first cohort. The network also includes several former Shorenstein APARC affiliates: Kenneth McElwain (University of Michigan), Gene Park (Loyola Marymount University), and Kay Shimizu (Columbia University).

Lipscy also participated in a conference, held Jan. 21 to 23 in Kanazawa, Japan, on the future of the U.S.-Japan relationship. The event, organized by the Japan Institute of International Affairs and co-sponsored by Ishikawa Prefecture, examined factors such as security issues, economic relations, and the role of international institutions. Former Shorenstein APARC affiliate M. Taylor Fravel (MIT) also participated in the conference.