The U.S.-Japan Partnership on Energy, Business and the Challenges of China & North Korea

In the face of growing threats from North Korea and an increasingly assertive China, the U.S.-Japan alliance plays a clear and vital role in the Asia-Pacific region to defend the interests and values of the United States and its allies against these challenges. This alliance has also served as a foundation for strengthening other areas of U.S.-Japan relations to protect U.S. economic and energy interests, among others, which in turn has enhanced and supported the security alliance, as well as U.S. global leadership. Through expert analyses and data, this event will provide a comprehensive view of how U.S. interests and values are served by strong U.S.-Japan relations, and how various sectors contribute to strengthening the U.S.-Japan relationship. In particular, our event in Houston, Texas will explore a couple of key areas such as energy, where U.S.-Japan ties make significant contributions to national security as well as the state and local community.

Ambassador James P. Zumwalt - CEO Sasakawa USA

Ambassador Zumwalt became Chief Executive Officer of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA in February 2017. Ambassador Zumwalt was the United States Ambassador to the Republic of Senegal and the Republic of Guinea Bissau from 2015 to January 2017. Previously, he was responsible for policy toward Japan and Korea as Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of East Asia Affairs. When the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami struck Japan in 2011, Ambassador Zumwalt was serving as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, where he coordinated the United States’ support for the Japanese Government’s response to that crisis.

During his 36-year Foreign Service career, Ambassador Zumwalt has served in a variety of assignments with a focus on Asia and international economics in Washington, Tokyo, Beijing, Kinshasa, Dakar, and Bissau. In Washington, D.C., he worked in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Japan, Korea, and Philippines desks and also at the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs and the United States Trade Representative’s Office. He speaks Japanese, French, and some Chinese.

Ambassador David Shear - Former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asia-Pacific Security Affairs, Department of State

Ambassador Shear is the former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs, with responsibility for defense and security policy in the Asia and Pacific region.He is currently a Senior Advisor for Asia-Pacific and Southeast Asia Practices at McLarty Associates.

Prior to his confirmation in July 2014, Mr. Shear served for 32 years in the Foreign Service, most recently as the United States Ambassador to Vietnam. He has also served in Sapporo, Beijing, Tokyo, and Kuala Lumpur. In Washington, he has served in the Offices of Japanese, Chinese, and Korean Affairs and as the Special Assistant to the Under Secretary for Political Affairs. He was Director of the Office of Chinese and Mongolian Affairs in 2008-2009 and served as Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs in 2009-2011.

Mr. Shear was a Rusk Fellow at Georgetown University’s institute for the Study of Diplomacy 1998-99. He is the recipient of the State Department’s Superior Honor Award and the Defense Department’s Civilian Meritorious Service Award for his work in U.S.-Japan defense relations.

Dr. Satu Limaye - Director, East West Center in Washington

Dr. Satu Limaye is also a Senior Advisor at the CNA Corporation, a non-profit research and analysis organization located in Arlington, VA. He is the creator and director of the Asia Matters for America initiative, an interactive resource for credible, non-partisan information, graphics, analysis and news on US-Asia Pacific relations and the national, state and local levels; Founding Editor of the Asia-Pacific Bulletin series, an editor of the journal Global Asia and on the international advisory council of the journal Contemporary Southeast Asia.

Dr. Limaye publishes and speaks on U.S.-Asia relations and is a reviewer for numerous publications, foundations and fellowship programs. Previously, he was a Research Staff Member of the Strategy and Resources Division at the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA) and Director of Research and Publications at the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies (APCSS), a direct reporting unit of U.S. Pacific Command.

He has been an Abe Fellow at the National Endowment for Democracy and a Henry Luce Scholar and Research Fellow at the Japan Institute of International Affairs (JIIA) in Tokyo.

In partnership with Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA and The East-West Center