(See earlier activities)

Tokyo American Center invites representatives from leading Japanese institutions in the news media, government, academia and elsewhere to attend seminars, lecture programs and small group discussions with American experts in fields of vital interest to the U.S. and Japan. As part of the Public Affairs section of the U.S. Embassy, we coordinate our efforts with the Embassy's Press Office, Cultural Affairs Office, as well as other American Centers in Japan to promote broad-based dialogue on subjects on the political, economic and social agenda of our two countries. In addition to hosting several events every month, Tokyo American Center also arranges for U.S. speakers to participate in programs sponsored by organizations in the seven prefectures of the Kanto area as well as Niigata and Yamanashi prefectures. Many of these outreach activities are conducted jointly with the U.S. Embassy Reference Service.

U.S. Economist Examines Options for Regional and Global Trade Deals June 5, 2007

Dr. Scott Bradford, Associate Professor of Economics at Brigham Young University, spoke to two Tokyo audiences on "Prospects for a U.S.-Japan Free Trade Agreement." On June 5, Keio University students of international political economy benefited from Bradford's analysis of the permanent gains to be made from trade liberalization and the implications of U.S.-Japan negotiations for strengthening multilateral and bilateral trade frameworks. Bradford noted that the economic timing is right for U.S.-Japan negotiations, but that political factors also need to be considered in any prospective trade deal. Representatives of Japanese economic agencies, business organizations, think tanks, and press outlets attended a June 6 program at Tokyo American Center, where Bradford and moderator Yorizumi Watanabe of Keio University led a discussion of U.S.-Japan economic relations and the potential of taking the next step of a free trade agreement. Bradford stressed the importance of achieving a U.S.-Japan trade liberalization that also enhances WTO frameworks being negotiated in the Doha Round. He also pointed to the role of other global players - the EU, China and Korea - and how their interactions with each other, and with the U.S. and Japan, will affect the global trade environment.

Blues Performance Caps Series on U.S. Regional History June 4, 2007 The audience at the third and last session in Tokyo American Center's series on "Living American History: Regional Cultures Today" was treated to the lagniappe of a guitar and vocal performance by blues musician Steve Gardner. Gardner traced the history of blues music from its roots in the South and its evolution as it moved to cities such as New Orleans and northward to Memphis, St. Louis, Kansas City and Chicago. In addition to sharing songs and stories, Gardner passed around several homemade instruments and encouraged audience participation in order to provide a hands-on experience of the musical heritage of the American South. Gardner's June 4 performance concluded a series that began in April with a presentation on "Route 66: Lessons from America's 'Mother Road'" by Tokyo University Visiting Professor Chester Liebs. Liebs led a discussion on the cultural and social importance of Route 66 and current efforts to preserve historic sites in the American Southwest. The May installment of the series focused on the American South, with a presentation by Doshisha University American Studies Professor Gavin James Campbell on "The Continued Importance of the American South," which examined the role of the South in different periods of U.S. history.

Generating Ideas for Economic Innovation May 25, 2007 Dr. Suzanne Berger, Director of MIT's International Science and Technology Initiative, kicked off a conference at Keio University with a presentation on successful strategies used by traditional industries in the new global economic environment. A four-way video link-up allowed other participants, including Fukuoka Governor Wataru Aso and business and government leaders in Toho Village (Fukuoka), to describe their own revitalization projects, invite comment from Berger, and formulate ideas for future steps. More information available from Keio University (Japanese). Innovation strategies were also at the heart of a May 14 TAC program with journalist Daniel Pink, acclaimed author of A Whole New Mind and Free Agent Nation. Pink shared his vision of global economic competition that will require countries, industries, companies and individuals to nurture "right-brained" capacities of design, creativity and empathy alongside "left-brained" logic and reasoning. The audience of 30 probed Pink on many of his examples and developed a better appreciation of how the U.S. and Japan can and must adapt to changing circumstances.

Scholars Look at U.S.-Japan Relations in a Global Context May 11, 2007

Recent months have seen several U.S. scholars offering analysis and commentary on international politics at Tokyo American Center. On March 5, Georgetown University Professor Robert Lieber outlined the argument of his latest book, The American Era: Power and Strategy for the 21st Century, which focuses on the role of the U.S. in fostering international security in the face of challenges such as terrorism and extremist ideologies. Casimir Yost, Director of Georgetown's Institute for the Study of Diplomacy, used an April 6 program to discuss probable outcomes in debates over U.S. foreign policy in the aftermath of Democratic Party victories in the 2006 congressional elections and in the lead-up to the 2008 presidential election. George Washington University's Mike Mochizuki drew his May 11 audience's attention to developments in Asia, with his insights on prospects for the Six-Party Talks and progress on security challenges involving Japan, China and the U.S.