Wednesday, December 10, 2008

With the rest of the world welcoming Barack Obama, why has Japan been so silent? As Washington prepares for its first Democratic president in 8 years, Japanese policymakers are worried Obama will rewrite the rules on everything from the balance of power with China to world trade. Is the US-Japan relationship due for an Obama revolution of its own? Two leading experts analyze the impact of a new administration in Washington D.C.

Dr. T.J. Pempel is a Professor of Political Science and former Director of the Institute of East Asian Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. Previously, he was Boeing Professor of International Studies at the University of Washington and Glen B. and Cleone Orr Hawkins Professor of Political Science and chairman of Asian Studies at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. His research and teaching focus on comparative politics, contemporary Japan, political economy, and Asian regionalism.

Mr. Ben Self is Takahashi Fellow in Japanese Studies at Stanford’s Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center. A graduate of Johns Hopkins University’s Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, from 1998 Self was Senior Associate at the Henry L. Stimson Center in Washington D.C., where he directed projects on Japan-China relations, fostering security cooperation between the US-Japan Alliance and the PRC, and Japan’s nuclear option. From 2003 until 2008, he lived in Malawi and Tanzania, and was a Visiting Research Fellow at Keio University from 1996 until 1998.

Time:
Check In: 6:00 PM
Program: 6:30-8:00 PM

Location:
World Affairs Council
312 Sutter Street, Suite 200
San Francisco [map]

Cost:
$5 Japan Society Members & Students
$15 General Admission

This is a lecture event sponsored by the Japan Society of Northern California. Guest passes issued by the Japan Society will be accepted at the door. Refunds will not be made after Monday, December 8.

Co-sponsored by USF Center for the Pacific Rim. The Japan Society kindly thanks the World Affairs Council for hosting this event.