Dr. William Chou is Senior Fellow and Deputy Director of the Japan Chair at Hudson Institute, where his research focuses on U.S.-Japan relations and the Indo-Pacific, emphasizing regional partnerships, defense innovation, trade, and technology. His forthcoming book, Made for America: Postwar Japanese Exports and the Evolution of US-Japanese Relations, explores the intersection of security, business, and cultural ties between the two nations. Dr. Chou previously held fellowships at the Ronald Reagan Institute and the Clements Center at the University of Texas at Austin, and served as a researcher at the U.S. Army’s Center for Military History and the Institute for Defense Analyses. He earned his BA from Yale University and his MA and PhD from The Ohio State University, and conducted research in Japan at the Inter-University Center and the University of Tokyo. A native New Yorker, he has received numerous prestigious fellowships and is also a former Jeopardy! champion.
Dr. John D. Ciorciari is Dean of the Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies and Professor of International Studies at Indiana University Bloomington. His research centers on international politics and law, with a focus on the Indo-Pacific region. He has authored and co-edited several influential books, including The Limits of Alignment, Hybrid Justice, Sovereignty Sharing in Fragile States, and The Courteous Power. Prior to joining IU, Dr. Ciorciari held leadership roles at the University of Michigan’s Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy and directed the Weiser Diplomacy Center. His career spans academia, government, and legal practice, including service at the U.S. Treasury Department and Davis Polk & Wardwell. He holds degrees from Harvard College, Harvard Law School, and the University of Oxford, and has been recognized as an Andrew Carnegie Fellow and Asia Society Fellow.
Dr. Leif-Eric Easley is a Professor in the Department of International Studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, South Korea. His research and teaching focus on international relations and political science, with particular emphasis on diplomacy, democracy, nationalism, foreign policy, and security issues in East Asia. Dr. Easley is an active contributor to scholarly journals, with recent publications addressing topics such as China’s economic coercion, Japan-Korea relations, and geopolitical dynamics involving North Korea and Russia. He regularly participates in international conferences and Track II diplomacy initiatives, collaborating with institutions such as the Asan Institute for Policy Studies and the Pacific Forum-CSIS. Dr. Easley holds a Ph.D. from Harvard University and maintains a strong presence in both academic and policy circles.
Dr. Hilary J. Holbrow is Assistant Professor of Japanese Politics and Society at Indiana University’s Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies. A sociologist by training, her research explores social and economic inequality, work and organizations, immigration, and the intersections of gender, race, and ethnicity in contemporary Japan. She is an International Research Fellow at the Canon Institute for Global Studies in Tokyo, an Associate in Research at Harvard’s Reischauer Institute, and a member of the US-Japan Network for the Future. Her current projects include survey and interview-based studies on gender inequality in Japanese white-collar workplaces, the experiences of professional Asian migrants, and the impact of Japan’s trainee system. Her work has appeared in leading journals such as International Migration Review, Work and Occupations, and the Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies Jeffrey Hornung is Japan Lead and Senior Political Scientist, RAND Corporation.
Dr. Jeffrey W. Hornung is the Japan Lead for the RAND National Security Research Division and a Senior Political Scientist at RAND, where he specializes in Japanese security and foreign policy, East Asian regional dynamics, and U.S. defense strategy in the Indo-Pacific. He is also an adjunct professor at Georgetown University. Prior to joining RAND in 2017, he held research and teaching positions at Sasakawa USA and the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies. Dr. Hornung has authored numerous publications on Japan’s evolving defense posture, alliance management, and regional security challenges, contributing to outlets such as Foreign Policy, Washington Quarterly, and Asian Survey. He earned his Ph.D. in political science from The George Washington University and conducted doctoral research in Japan as a Fulbright Fellow.
Ambassador (ret.) Hans G. Klemm is a member of the Board of Councilors of the U.S.-Japan Council (USJC), an organization that seeks to develop and connect global leaders to create a stronger U.S.-Japan relationship. The members of the USJC believe people-to-people relationships are a powerful way to bring together leaders in the U.S. and Japan to address and create solutions to mutual concerns. From 2022-2025 Ambassador Klemm served as the Japan Representative for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), leading government, policy and public affairs for PhRMA in Japan. Previously, Ambassador Klemm worked for nearly four decades as an American diplomat. During his U.S. Foreign Service career, he was appointed as ambassador to Romania and to Timor-Leste, and served as chief human resources officer for the U.S. Department of State. In addition to representing the U.S. as coordinator for Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), Ambassador Klemm worked at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo on multiple occasions, and served at U.S. embassies in Afghanistan, Korea, Germany and Trinidad and Tobago. He is a graduate of Stanford University (M.A.) and Indiana University (B.A.).
Dr. Adam P. Liff is Professor of East Asian International Relations at Indiana University’s Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies and Founding Director of the 21st Century Japan Politics and Society Initiative (21JPSI). His research focuses on international security and politics in the Indo-Pacific, particularly Japan, China, and U.S. alliances. Dr. Liff has published extensively in leading academic and policy journals, and his work has been cited widely in scholarly and governmental circles. He is a contributing expert to various international forums and has held fellowships at institutions including Princeton University, Harvard University, and the University of Tokyo. His scholarship bridges academic rigor and policy relevance, and he is committed to fostering public understanding of East Asian international affairs.
Mr. Hiroyuki Nakashima serves as the Resident Managing Officer and Regional Head for the Americas at the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC). In this role, he oversees JBIC’s strategic financial operations and partnerships across North, Central, and South America, supporting Japanese enterprises in their overseas development and promoting international economic cooperation. His leadership contributes to JBIC’s mission of advancing sustainable growth and global collaboration through infrastructure, energy, and industrial finance initiatives.
Ambassador David B. Shear is a Senior Advisor at the Edwin O. Reischauer Center for East Asian Studies and an Adjunct Lecturer at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). He previously served as U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs (2014–2016) and as U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam (2011–2013), concluding a distinguished 32-year career in the American Foreign Service. His overseas postings included Sapporo, Beijing, Tokyo, and Kuala Lumpur, and in Washington he held key roles in the Offices of Japanese, Chinese, and Korean Affairs, among others. Ambassador Shear is a recipient of the State Department’s Superior Honor Award and the Defense Department’s Civilian Meritorious Service Award for his contributions to U.S.-Japan defense relations. He holds degrees from Earlham College and Johns Hopkins SAIS, and has studied at Waseda University, Taiwan National University, and Nanjing University. He speaks Chinese and Japanese and practices Kendo with a first-degree rank.
Dr. Kristin Vekasi is Associate Professor and the inaugural Mansfield Chair of Japanese and Indo-Pacific Affairs at the University of Montana. Her research focuses on political risk and economic security in Northeast Asia, particularly the management of complex supply chains involving Japan, China, and the United States. She specializes in trade and investment strategies in shifting geopolitical environments, with a current emphasis on critical minerals essential to clean energy and advanced technologies. Dr. Vekasi has conducted extensive fieldwork in China, Japan, and South Korea, and previously held academic positions at the University of Maine and New College of Florida. She earned her Ph.D. in political science from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and has held fellowships at the University of Tokyo, Tohoku University, Harvard University’s US-Japan Program, and the National Bureau of Asian Research. She is also a member of the Mansfield Foundation’s US-Japan Network for the Future and the Mansfield-Luce Scholars Network.
