Two YCAPS members participated in the first ever Next Generation Roundtable in Tokyo held by the American-Japan Society Oct. 25 at the Roppongi Hills Club. The roundtable was started by AJS to bring together Japanese and American professionals under the age of 40 for networking purposes.
The AJS aims to bring the group together once a month to discuss such topics as politics, diplomacy, security, economics, environmental issues, and cultural relations with established experts. AJS was formed in 1917 and seeks to establish and maintain good relations between the U.S. and Japan.
The guest speaker for the first meeting was Daisuke Roberto Kido, the Principal Deputy Director for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ North American Affairs Bureau. The evening’s discussion covered the economic relationship between the United States and Japan and how policies of President Donald Trump may affect the economies of both countries. Kido gave an approximately 30-minute presentation detailing the economic relationship between the U.S. and Japan and then the roundtable members spent the rest of the evening engaging in a group discussion analyzing Kido’s presentation.
YCAPS Tokyo Fellow Thomas Lattanzio said the roundtable meeting accomplished its goal of helping build bonds between Americans and Japanese. “I’m grateful for the opportunity to represent YCAPS and the Navy community while exchanging ideas and building relationships with Japanese citizens,” he said.
The next roundtable meeting will be held Nov. 13 and will discuss the recent Party Congress in China. The speaker will be Atsuyuki Fujinuma, the deputy director for MOFA’s First China and Mongolia Division.