2026 International Conference

2026 International Conference on “Japan-Europe-U.S. Relations in Turbulent Times” (Berlin, Germany)

**This page is an archive of information about 21JPSI’s May 2026 conference in Berlin, Germany on “Japan-Europe-U.S. Relations in Turbulent Times.” A full recap can be found here.**

On Monday, May 18, 2026, the Hamilton Lugar School's (HLS)21st Century Japan Politics and Society Initiative (21JPSI)* convened seven experts from across Europe and the United States for an international public policy conference on “Japan-Europe-U.S. Relations in Turbulent Times.”

The afternoon public policy conference was held at the Japanese-German Center in Berlin (JDZB) and featured two panels and a keynote address by Japan’s Ambassador to Germany, H.E. Mitsuko Shino. Speakers offered diverse perspectives from Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. A combined total of roughly 200 community members, students, scholars, military officers, and government officials from Berlin and beyond were in attendance.

Welcome Remarks (1:30PM-1:40pm):

Julia Münch (Secretary General, Japanese-German Center Berlin; Germany)
Adam P. Liff (Professor of East Asian International Relations and Founding Director, 21st Century Japan Politics & Society Initiative, Indiana University; Indiana, USA)

Panel Discussion #1 (1:40PM-2:40PM): “State of Play: Assessing Japan-Europe-U.S. Strategic Alignment in the Indo-Pacific”

Marina Henke (Professor of International Relations and Director of the Centre for International Security, Hertie School; Berlin, Germany)
Céline Pajon (Research Fellow, Head of Japan and Indo-Pacific Research, Institut français des relations internationals (IFRI); Paris, France)
Giulio Pugliese (Lecturer in Strategic Communications at King’s College London; Director of the EU-Asia Project at the European University Institute; Florence, Italy)
Angela Stanzel (Senior Associate, Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP); Berlin, Germany)
Lora Anne Viola (Professor of North American Foreign Policy and Institute Director, John F. Kennedy Institute; Freie Universität Berlin; Germany)
Chair/Moderator: Adam P. Liff (Indiana University; USA)

Keynote Address (2:50PM-3:30PM) “Japan-Europe-US Relations in Turbulent Times: Towards a Respectful and Resilient World Based on Basic Values”

E. Mitsuko Shino (Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Germany)
Chair/Moderator: Adam P. Liff (Indiana University; USA)

Panel Discussion #2 (3:35PM-4:35PM): “Japan as the Security Partner of Choice for the U.S. and Europe: Challenges and Opportunities”

Adam P. Liff (Professor of East Asian International Relations and Founding Director, 21st Century Japan Politics & Society Initiative, Indiana University; Indiana, USA)
John Nilsson-Wright (Fuji Bank Professor of Japanese Politics and the International Relations of East Asia, University of Cambridge; Cambridge, UK)
Eva Pejsova (Japan Chair at the Centre for Security, Diplomacy and Strategy, Brussels School of Governance; Brussels, Belgium)
Alexandra Sakaki (Deputy Head of Research Division (Asia), Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP); Berlin, Germany
Chair/Moderator: Adam P. Liff (Indiana University; USA)

21st Century Japan Politics and Society Initiative

2026 International Conference