Understanding Japan's Defense Industry Renaissance

Name: Understanding Japan's Defense Industry Renaissance
Start: 2026-03-24T18:00:00+09:00
Location: Atago Green Hills Mori Tower

Schedule

Tue, 24 Mar, 2026 at 06:00 pm

UTC+09:00

Location

Atago Green Hills Mori Tower | Minato, TY

Understanding Japan's Defense Industry Renaissance - In an increasingly uncertain security environment, can Japan’s defense industry rise to meet the challenges of tomorrow? What stands in the way of Japan becoming a top global defense exporter? Will a revitalized Japanese defense industry mean a much-needed economic boom for the country? This panel will explore these issues through a holistic, expert-led dialogue that looks critically at the opportunities and challenges of a new era for the defense industry in Japan.

Panelists:
- Rear Admiral Naoya Hoshi – Director-General of Logistics Office, Maritime Staff Office, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force
- Professor Kazuto Suzuki – Director of Economic Security, Institute of Geoeconomics
- Mr. Matthew Finkel – Council on Foreign Relations-Hitachi Fellow, hosted by YCAPS
- Mr. Rob Moss – General Manager, Asia-Pacific, Nikon SLM Solutions
YCAPS is glad to partner with Kreab Tokyo to deliver this opportunity
Kreab is a world-class communications consulting firm founded in Stockholm, Sweden in 1970. Since its opening in 1985, Kreab Inc., the Tokyo office, has been providing consulting services to a wide range of clients, making full use of its network that connects 30 countries around the world. Kreab supports communications activities with three core business areas: public relations, government relations, and global risk management. This includes extensive experience helping the Japanese government with its global PR efforts. More information is available at https://kreab.com/tokyo/ja/
To RSVP for in-person attendance, please use this link: https://forms.gle/mTgp23QgnzeUGynn9
*RSVP and confirmation is mandatory for attendance

Schedule :
18:00-18:30: Light refreshments & Networking
18:30: Welcoming remarks
18:35-1905: Moderated panel discussion
19:05: Q&A with members of the audience
19:40: Final Remarks
19:45: Event Concludes

Date: Tuesday, March 24, 2026
Time: 18:00 refreshments, 18:30 Seminar start
Language: English
Venue: Kreab Tokyo: Atago Green Hills MORI Tower 11F, 2-5-1 Atago, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-6211
Google Maps: https://maps.app.goo.gl/eW37EsN43Kn6zFJh6
Speakers:
Rear Admiral Naoya Hoshi serves as Director General of the Logistics Department, Maritime Staff Office of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF), where he is responsible for logistics policy, sustainment planning, and readiness support for Japan’s naval forces. He leads initiatives to ensure fleet availability, maintenance strategy, supply chain resilience, and long-term lifecycle support for JMSDF platforms. His professional background combines operational experience, Director of the MSO C4I Division, Director of Project Management Division (Naval Ships) in ATLA, and advanced strategic and engineering education. Rear Admiral Hoshi holds a Master of Engineering from the National Defense Academy of Japan and a Master of Science in National Resource Strategy from the Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy at the National Defense University (United States).
Professor Kazuto Suzuki serves as the Director and Group Head of Economic Security at the Institute of Geoeconomics, and as Professor of Science and Technology Policy at the Graduate School of Public Policy at the University of Tokyo, Japan. He graduated from the Department of International Relations, Ritsumeikan University, and received his Ph.D. from Sussex European Institute, University of Sussex, England. He has worked for the Fondation pour la recherche stratégique in Paris, France as an assistant researcher, as an Associate Professor at the University of Tsukuba from 2000 to 2008, and served as Professor of International Politics at Hokkaido University until 2020. He also spent one year at the School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University from 2012 to 2013 as a visiting researcher. He served as an expert in the Panel of Experts for Iranian Sanction Committee under the United Nations Security Council from 2013 to July 2015. He has been the President of the Japan Association of International Security and Trade.
Matthew Finkel is a Council on Foreign Relations-Hitachi Fellow in Tokyo, where he conducts research on Japan’s changing defense and space industries, and a 2025-2026 Technology and Human Rights Fellow with the Harvard Kennedy School, where he researches and lectures on a variety of international technology policy issues. Matthew most recently served as Advisor to the United States Ambassador to the United Nations in New York, where he led diplomatic efforts relating to critical and emerging technologies, global food security, and other international policy issues. Prior to his appointment to the State Department, Matthew served as Policy Analyst to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs where he advised on issues pertaining to the Middle East and North Africa, global arms sales, and security assistance. A Chicago native, Matthew completed his undergraduate studies at Wesleyan University and his graduate education with Georgetown's School of Foreign Service.
Robert Moss is General Manager, Asia-Pacific for Nikon SLM Solutions, a global provider of integrated metal additive manufacturing solutions, headquartered in Lübeck, Germany, a Nikon Group Company. Prior to his current role, Rob held APAC leadership roles with Teledyne FLIR Defense, Collins Aerospace, Rockwell Collins, and Pall Aerospace, Defense, and Marine. Rob has been based in Tokyo, Japan and worked as a regional expert in Aerospace, Defense, and Marine businesses, and as a business development professional since retiring from the US Navy in 2014. Prior to coming to the private sector, Rob spent 24 years, as a commissioned officer and helicopter pilot in the United States Navy, spending 15 of those years in overseas assignments in Japan, Italy, and the Middle East. Rob holds Master’s Degrees in Systems Technology and Defense Analysis, and a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science. Rob has lived and worked in Japan for over nineteen years, sixteen of those in Tokyo.

Cost: Free of charge
Moderators: Jim Hartman – Senior Research Fellow, YCAPS
Format: This event will be off-the-record. Questions are encouraged.
Registration: Required. Link here: https://forms.gle/mTgp23QgnzeUGynn9
Co-Sponsors: Kreab Tokyo