U.S.-Japan Initiative Inaugural Program

Building off the success of Asia Society Global's "Year of Japan," Asia Society Southern California (ASSC) is excited to announce the launching of an initiative dedicated to exploring the vital and ever-growing U.S.-Japan relationship. The inaugural U.S.-Japan Initiative (USJI) program on January 29, 2025, will include a series of conversations focused on the countries' economic and cultural ties. A private luncheon with speakers and sponsors will be held prior to the public program.

The program will include "Baseball Diplomacy: Building Bridges Across the Pacific," a fireside chat with the Commissioner of Major League Baseball, Rob Manfred, moderated by Vice Chairman of J.P. Morgan Private Bank and former Los Angeles Dodgers President, Bob Graziano. With the MLB opening the 2025 baseball season in March at the Tokyo Dome in Japan, the conversation will address the growing gravitational pull of baseball in cementing cultural ties, bringing together fans on both sides of the Pacific.
Following the fireside chat with Commissioner Manfred, there will be two panels: one focusing on entertainment & sports and the other addressing the investment milieu. With respect to the former, "Entertainment & Sports at the Apex of Cultural Exchange" the Chairman of FX, John Landgraf, who spearheaded the record-breaking 18 Emmy Award-winning epic drama Shōgun, will discuss the show's international partnership in production, moderated by Financial Times Los Angeles Bureau Chief, Christopher Grimes. (For context on Shōgun, check out co-creators of the series Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo's honoree acceptance speech from our 15th U.S.-Asia Entertainment Summit & Game Changer Awards here.) The panel, "Investing in Economic Partnership," will examine Japan's inbound and outbound investment climate featuring Portfolio Manager at Capital Group, Noriko Honda Chen, and will be moderated by the Co-Head of Japan practice at O'Melveny, Scott Sugino. Additional speakers for the two panels to be announced soon.

Learn more about the speakers from their bios here and stay tuned for updates.

Contact [email protected] for information on becoming a sponsor.

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