This conference convenes experts to discuss the history and future of the US-Japan relations, arguably the most important bilateral relationship in the world in the last century and a half. Drawing on the book, "The History of US-Japan Relations: From Perry to the Present", but going beyond what is covered in the book, the three panels examine US-Japan relations in different historical periods and in different policy arenas, with a view to producing insights into how this bilateral relationship has shaped and will shape the Asia-Pacific region and beyond.

Welcome & Introductory Remarks (10:00am)

Kiyoteru Tsutsui, University of Michigan

Panel 1: US-Japan Relations from the Late 19th to Mid-20th Century (10:15am-12:15pm)

Facilitator: Mary Gallagher, University of Michigan

Kaoru Iokibe, University of Tokyo; “Japanese Modernization under American Intervention and Isolation”

Frederick Dickinson, University of Pennsylvania; “Asian-American Century: 1920s Japan, 21st Century China and the Rise and Fall of a Global America”

Fumiaki Kubo, University of Tokyo; “From Rivals, Enemies, to Allies: US-Japan Relations from 1920s to 1940s”

Adam Liff, Indiana University; “The Power of Example and the Changing Nature of Power”

Panel 2: US-Japan Economic Relations and Multilateral Frameworks (1:30-3:30pm)

Facilitator: Alan Deardorff, University of Michigan

Masayuki Tadokoro, Keio University; “Economic Rivalries between Allies: The US-Japan Economic Frictions in the 1980s”

Wendy Cutler, Asia Society; “Prospects for U.S. Return to TPP-11”

Christina Davis, Princeton University; “Japan and the Multilateral Trade Regime”

Takako Hikotani, Columbia University; “Stepping Up: Japan’s Contributions to the Liberal Democratic Order”

Panel 3: US-Japan Alliance and Security in East Asia (3:45-5:45 pm)

Facilitator: Melvyn Levitsky, University of Michigan

Sheila Smith, Council on Foreign Relations; “North Korea and U.S. Alliance Responses in Asia”

Andrew Oros, Washington College; “The Alliance Role in Managing Uncertainty in East Asia’s New Security Environment”

Koji Murata, Doshisha University; “Japanese Domestic Politics and US-Japan Relations”

Makoto Iokibe, Kobe University; “US-Japan Leadership in the Post-9/11 East Asia”

Concluding Remarks (5:45pm)

John Ciorciari, University of Michigan

Reception (6:00-7:00 pm)

Organized by the Center for Japanese Studies and International Policy Center, University of Michigan.