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ESUJ
Lecture (in English)
Lecture by Mr. Glen S. Fukushima
U.S.-Japan Relations in the Next Decade
On June 26, Mr. Glen S. Fukushima spoke to ESUJ members at
the International House with about 100 people in attendance.
Mr. Fukushima is a key person in the US-Japan relationship
who served as President of the American Chamber of Commerce
in Japan and other important posts. This time he gave us the
following lecture under the theme of relations between the
US and Japan in the next decade.
Postwar US-Japan relations have been based on the three pillars
of security, politics and economics, and the weight of emphasis
placed on each has been influenced by the environment. For
example, in the Clinton Administration, the key issue was
trade in the first phase, but turned to security in the second
phase due to the US economic recovery, Japanese recession,
and threats to security in the region. In the third phase,
the stress was on macroeconomic policy as a result of the
Asian financial crisis, and in the fourth phase moved to policy
coordination toward China and Korea. While it is generally
expected that the Bush Administration, with its hiring of
several Japan security experts, will take a cooperative policy
toward Japan, Mr. Fukushima is concerned about the "expectation
gap" between the two countries. Based on this, he pointed
out that US-Japan relations over the next decade would be
characterized by 16 trends, by becoming more mature, equal,
independent, diverse, harmonized, deep, and so forth. These
trends provide us with optimism about the development of positive
relations growing between the two. In this evolution of the
relationship, he pointed out that the private sector--including
corporations, "civil society" actors such as NPOs / NGOs,
and local communities will play ever-increasing roles. In
conclusion, Mr. Fukushima stated that problems are bound to
exist between the two countries, but what is vitally important
is how to solve these problems. There will be both convergence
and divergence, and IT (Information Technology) will have
much greater influence on the US-Japan relationship over the
next decade as a medium to deepen mutual understanding and
expand interaction. Lastly, he touched on the role of English.
Although he doesn't necessarily believe that Japan should
adopt English as the second official language, he thinks it
is important for Japan to enhance its ability to communicate
more effectively with the outside world. During the Asian
financial crisis, Japan lost some credibility abroad partly
because of its inability to explain its policy effectively
to the outside world. Japan is also depriving itself of the
opportunity to employ non-Japanese people more effectively.
In this connection, he applauded ESUJ for its important role
in spreading the use of English in Japan.
The audience listened eagerly to Mr. Fukushima's very instructive
lecture based on his wealth of international experience.
Mr. Glen S.Fukushima
Born in California in September 1949. Japanese American (third-generation
Japanese American). Graduated Stanford University, Harvard
University Graduate School, Business School, Law School. Join
the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, Executive Office
of the President, dealing with trade affairs with Japan and
China. After serving as Vice President of AT&T Japan Ltd.
and as President of Arthur D Little, Inc (Japan), he became
President and CEO of Cadence Design Systems, Japan in October
2000. He was elected President of the American Chamber of
Commerce in Japan for two terms,1998 and 1999. At present,
he serves as an officer of various organizations such as Japan-U.S.
Friendship Commission, Joint Committee on U.S.-Japan Cultural
and Educational Interchange, etc. He has published many books
and articles.
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