Shimoda Conference (previously Japanese-American Assembly) was a series of unofficial dialogues between representatives of the United States and Japan that first began in 1967 and continued every 2–4 years until 1994. In 2011, representatives from the United States and Japan gathered to hold the New Shimoda Conference in order to revive these dialogues.
Kyodo News.
History
The first conference took place in 1967 and was the first forum for serious, but unofficial discussion between the two nations since World War II.
Hosted by the Japan Council for International Understanding (JCIE's predecessor) and the American Assembly of Columbia University the conference was attended by several Congressional members, including then Senate Majority Leader
Mike Mansfield
Michael Joseph Mansfield (March 16, 1903 – October 5, 2001) was an American politician and diplomat. A Democrat, he served as a U.S. representative (1943–1953) and a U.S. senator (1953–1977) from Montana. He was the longest-serving Sen ...
, Senator
Edmund Muskie (later secretary of state), Representative
Tom Foley
Thomas Stephen Foley (March 6, 1929 – October 18, 2013) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 49th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1989 to 1995. A member of the Democratic Party, Foley represen ...
(later Speaker of the House), and Representative
Donald Rumsfeld (later secretary of defense), as well as Japanese diet members
Yasuhiro Nakasone
was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party from 1982 to 1987. He was a member of the House of Representatives for more than 50 years. He was best known for pushing through the ...
(later prime minister) and
Eiichi Nagasue (later chairman of the Democratic Socialist Party).
New Shimoda Conference
On February 22, 2011 about 50 representatives from the United States and Japan gathered at the Tokyo hotel for the New Shimoda Conference in order to revive the historic forum between the two nations.
The conference commemorates the 40th anniversary of the Japan Center for International Exchange(JCIE), the independent organization that hosts the event.
;Attendees
*
Jim Webb
James Henry Webb Jr. (born February 9, 1946) is an American politician and author. He has served as a United States senator from Virginia, Secretary of the Navy, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs, Counsel for the United States ...
, Member, US Senate; Chairman, US Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs; Chairman, Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel
*
Diana DeGette
Diana Louise DeGette (; born July 29, 1957) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 1997. A member of the Democratic Party, her district is based in Denver. DeGette was a Chief Deputy Whip from 2005 ...
, Member, US House of Representatives
*
Motohisa Furukawa, Member, House of Representatives of Japan; former Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary
*
Tadashi Yamamoto, President, Japan Center for International Exchange
*
Hitoshi Tanaka, Senior Fellow, Japan Center for International Exchange; Chairman, Institute for International Strategy; former Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan
*
Ichiro Fujisaki, Ambassador of Japan to the United States
*
Seiji Maehara
is a Japanese politician and was the leader of the Democratic Party from 1 September 2017 until its dissolution later that month. , Foreign Minister of Japan
*...
Conferences
*First Shimoda Conference (1967)
*Second Shimoda Conference (1969)
*Third Shimoda Conference (1972)
*Fourth Shimoda Conference (1977)
*Fifth Shimoda Conference (1981)
*Sixth Shimoda Conference (1983)
*Seventh Shimoda Conference (1987)
*Eighth Shimoda Conference (1990)
*Ninth Shimoda Conference (1994)
*New Shimoda Conference (2011)
Publications
In addition to analysis and coverage of the forum, most of the discussions at the Shimoda Conferences are available in bilingual copies.
*Discord in the Pacific: Challenges to the Japanese-American Alliance, 1972 (3rd Shimoda Conference)
*The United States and Japan, 1975
*Encounter at Shimoda: Search for a New Pacific Partnership, 1979 (Fourth Shimoda Conference)
*The Fifth Shimoda Conference, 1981
*Shimoda Report: A Continuing Dialogue on Critical Issues in U.S.-Japan Relations, 1982
*Report of the 6th Shimoda Conference, 1983
*Report of the 7th Shimoda Conference, 1987
*Report of the 8th Shimoda Conference, 1990
*Japan and the United States in Asia Pacific: The Challenges for Japan in Asia (Final Report of the Shimoda '94), 1995
*Japan and the United States in Asia Pacific: The Challenges for Japan in Asia (Background Papers for the Shimoda '94), 1995
References
Further reading
*
External links
Shimoda Conference Japan Center for International Exchange
Japan Center for International Exchange
:;Opening Remarks
Tadashi Yamamoto President, Japan Center for International Exchange (JCIE)
Hon. Diana DeGette Member, US House of Representatives
Hon. Motohisa Furukawa Member, House of Representatives of Japan; former Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary
:;Keynote Speech
Hon. Jim Webb Member, US Senate; Chairman, US Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs; Chairman, Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel
:;Special Address for New Shimoda Conference
Foreign Minister of Japan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Japan - United States Relations
Japan–United States relations
20th-century diplomatic conferences
20th century in international relations
21st-century diplomatic conferences (Asia-Pacific)
21st century in international relations
Diplomatic conferences in Japan