Japanese Ambassador To Visit SMU
Koji Tomita, ambassador of Japan to the United States, will discuss the state of U.S.-Japan relations, including its strong foundations and the promise of future cooperation, at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 28, in SMU’s Crum Auditorium.
Hosted by SMU’s John Goodwin Tower Center for Public Policy and International Affairs, the discussion will be moderated by Hiroki Takeuchi, director of the Tower Center’s Sun and Star Program on Japan and East Asia.
Register here to attend the free event.
Other topics will include:
• Japan’s view of the political challenges facing the Biden administration.
• How Japan is confronting the issue of climate change.
Tomita’s discussion comes a little more than a month after Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s Jan. 13 meeting with President Joe Biden in Washington.
An analysis by the Brookings Institution labeled the meeting a major transformation in the alliance between the two countries, noting that “Japan’s new security reforms and Tokyo’s proactive response to the Ukraine crisis have been warmly received in Washington.”
Tomita’s diplomatic career in the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spans 40 years. Most recently, he served as Japan’s Ambassador to Korea, as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Personal Representative for the G20 Summit in Osaka, and Ambassador to Israel. His other overseas postings have included London and Paris.
This luncheon is part of SMU Tower Center’s Sun and Star Japan and East Asia program which aims to increase awareness of Japanese and East Asian economic, historical, political, and social trends that affect the future of China, Japan, Korea, East Asia, and the world, including the U.S.
