Prospects for Japan-Russia Relations and Implications for the U.S.-Japan Alliance

Japan-Russia relations have received a flurry of attention in both countries’ capitals since 2013, and rumors of possible progress toward a long-pursued peace treaty persist. More recently, however, the process has stalled amid an intractable territorial dispute and other tensions. Sasakawa USA and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace will host a public forum on outstanding historical issues between Japan and Russia, prospects for cooperation in the fields of security, energy, trade, and investment, and the impact of these relations on the U.S.-Japan alliance.

This event is cosponsored by Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA. 

Agenda

8:45 to 9:15 a.m.
Registration and Seating 

9:15 to 9:30 a.m.
Introduction and Opening Remarks 
Douglas H. Paal, Dennis Blair

9:30 to 10:45 a.m. 
Historical Background and Outstanding Issues in Japan-Russia Relations: Views from Moscow and Tokyo
Kazuhiko Togo, Alexander Nikolayevich Panov
Moderator: Jeffrey Hornung

11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. 
Japanese and Russian Perceptions and Priorities for Security and Foreign Policy in the Asia Pacific
Yasuhiro Izumikawa, Vasiliy Kashin, Georgy Toloraya 
Moderator: Andrew S. Weiss

12:30 to 1:15 p.m. 
Lunch

1:15 to 2:00 p.m. 
Luncheon Address: Strategic Implications of Japan-Russia Relations
Eugene Rumer 
Moderator: Dennis Blair 

2:00 to 3:30 p.m. 
Energy, Trade, and Investment Issues in the Asia Pacific
Edward Chow, Alexander Gabuev, Irina Timonina, Taisuke Abiru
Moderator: Daniel Bob

3:45 to 5:15 p.m. 
Implications for the Region and the U.S.-Japan Alliance
Frank Jannuzi, Narushige Michishita, Dmitry Streltsov 
Moderator: James L. Schoff 

5:15 to 5:30 p.m.
Closing Remarks 
William J. Burns, Dennis Blair

Douglas H. Paal

Douglas H. Paal is vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He previously served as vice chairman of JPMorgan Chase International and as unofficial U.S. representative to Taiwan as director of the American Institute in Taiwan.

Dennis Blair

Dennis Blair is chairman and CEO of Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA. He previously served as U.S. director of national intelligence.

Kazuhiko Togo

Kazuhiko Togo is director of the Institute for World Affairs at Kyoto Sangyo University. He previously served as Japan’s ambassador to the Netherlands.

Alexander Nikolayevich Panov

Alexander Nikolayevich Panov is head of the department of diplomacy at Moscow State Institute of International Relations. He previously served as the Russian Federation’s ambassador to Norway and Japan.

Jeffrey Hornung

Jeffrey Hornung is a fellow for the security and foreign affairs program at Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA. He previously worked as an associate professor at the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies.

Yasuhiro Izumikawa

Yasuhiro Izumikawa is a professor on the Faculty of Policy Studies at Chuo University in Japan where he lectures on international relations, East Asian security, and Japanese foreign policy. 

Vasily Kashin

Vasily Kashin is a senior researcher at the Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies and the Far Eastern Studies Institute Northeast Asia Center. 

Georgy Toloraya

Georgy Toloraya is director of the Asian Strategy Center at the Institute of Economics of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Andrew S. Weiss

Andrew S. Weiss is vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment, where he oversees research in Washington and Moscow on Russia and Eurasia.

Eugene Rumer

Eugen Rumer is a senior associate and the director of Carnegie’s Russia and Eurasia Program. He previously served as a national intelligence officer for Russia and Eurasia at the U.S. National Intelligence Council.

Edward Chow

Edward Chow is a senior fellow in the Energy and National Security Program at CSIS.Before joining CSIS, he spent 20 years with the Chevron Corporation.

Alexander Gabuev

Alexander Gabuev is a senior associate and the chair of the Russia in the Asia-Pacific Program at the Carnegie Moscow Center.

Irina Timonina

Irina Timonina is a professor at the Institute of Business Studies in Moscow. 

Taisuke Abiru 

Taisuke Abiru is a research fellow and project manager at the Tokyo Foundation. He specializes in Russian politics and energy strategy, Japan-Russia relations, and Eurasian geopolitics.

Daniel Bob

Daniel Bob is director of programs and senior fellow at the Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA. He previously worked on the Senate Finance and House Foreign Affairs Committees handling Asia Pacific issues.

Frank Jannuzi

Frank Jannuzi is president and chief executive officer of the Mike and Maureen Mansfield Foundation. He previously served as deputy executive director at Amnesty International, USA, and policy director, East Asian and Pacific affairs, for the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Narushige Michishita

Narushige Michishita is Japan Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center’s Asia Program and simultaneously professor at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS) in Tokyo.

Dmitry Streltsov 

Dmitry Streltsov is a professor the head of the Afro-Asian Department at Moscow State Institute of International Relations. He concurrently serves as leading research fellow of the Center of Japanese Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences.

James L. Schoff 

James L. Schoff is a senior associate in the Carnegie’s Asia Program. His research focuses on U.S.-Japanese relations and regional engagement, Japanese politics and security, and the private sector’s role in Japanese policymaking.

William J. Burns

William J. Burns is president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He previously served as U.S. deputy secretary of state.