China's Rise and the US-Japan Alliance
Regional experts joined the Council to examine the opportunities and challenges the United States, Japan, and South Korea will face as their trilateral relationship is tested.
About This Event
Amidst an escalating trade war with the United States, China’s influence continues to grow across the Asia-Pacific. Questions about China’s goals, strategies, and long-term prospects dominate global conversations and steadily put pressure on the United States and its key regional allies, Japan and South Korea. Each country must grapple with their individual interests in the region and determine how they might cooperate to compete with China’s rise. Join the Council for a discussion with regional experts to examine the opportunities and challenges the United States, Japan, and South Korea will face as their trilateral relationship is tested.
This half-day symposium was made possible with the generous support of the Consulate General of Japan in Chicago.
About the Speakers
CEO, Chicago Council on Global Affairs
Ivo H. Daalder served as the US ambassador to NATO from 2009 to 2013. He joined the Council as president in 2013 and took on the new role of CEO in 2023. Previously, he was a senior fellow in foreign policy studies at the Brookings Institution and served as director for European affairs on President Bill Clinton’s National Security Council. He is the author or editor of 10 books.
Evan A. Feigenbaum
Vice President for Studies, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
At the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Evan A. Feigenbaum oversees research in Washington, Beijing, and New Delhi on a region encompassing both East and South Asia. He has served at the US State Department as deputy assistant secretary of state for South Asia and deputy assistant secretary of state for Central Asia.
Marshall M. Bouton Fellow for Asia Studies
Karl Friedhoff was a Korea Foundation-Mansfield Foundation US-Korea Nexus Scholar and a member of the Mansfield Foundation’s Trilateral Working Group prior to joining the Council. Previously, he was a program officer in the Public Opinion Studies Program at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies based in Seoul, South Korea.
Ichiro Fujisaki
Former Ambassador of Japan to the United States
Ichiro Fujisaki is currently president of the Nakasone Peace Institute and chairman for International Strategies of Sophia University. Previously he served as deputy director general for Asian Affairs, political minister at the Embassy of Japan, director general for North American Affairs, deputy foreign minister, and ambassador to the UN and WTO in Geneva.
Tobias Harris
Fellow for Economy, Trade, and Business, Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA
Director of Public Opinion and Foreign Policy
Craig Kafura is the director of public opinion and foreign policy at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, a Security Fellow with the Truman National Security Project, and a Pacific Forum Young Leader. At the Council, he coordinates work on public opinion and foreign policy and is a regular contributor to the public opinion and foreign policy blog Running Numbers.
Yoichi Kato
Nonresident Adjunct Fellow, Japan Chair, Center for Strategic and International Studies
Shin Kawashima
Professor, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, University of Tokyo
Nonresident Senior Fellow, Global Security and Diplomacy
Cécile Shea is a nonresident senior fellow on security and diplomacy at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. She is the president of Wakaru Communications and a special advisor to the Council’s Next Generation programs.
Vice President, Public Opinion and Foreign Policy
Dina Smeltz, a polling expert, has more than 25 years of experience designing and fielding international social and political surveys. Prior to joining the Council to lead its annual survey of American attitudes on US foreign policy, she served in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research at the US State Department's Office of Research from 1992 to 2008.
Ali Wyne
Policy Analyst, RAND Corporation
Ali Wyne is a Policy Analyst at the RAND Corporation. He's also a nonresident senior fellow at the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security.