US-Japan Women Leaders Dialogue

September 15–17, 2017
Tarrytown, NY

JCIE held the first US-Japan Women Leaders Dialogue to convene top women leaders from varying walks of life in both countries at the beautiful Pocantico Conference Center of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. This included four members of a Diet delegation traveling to the United States on JCIE’s Parliamentary Exchange Program, as well as Internal Affairs Minister Seiko Noda, the highest-ranking woman presently serving in the Japanese Cabinet.

A group of 25 inspirational women (and a few men) from the political, business, think tank, academic, media, and philanthropic sectors joined to discuss ways to advance women’s leadership in domestic politics and business, work-life balance, and broader issues of policy concern: the US-Japan alliance and promoting stability in Asia Pacific, US-Japan cooperation in supporting the international order, and the shared challenges of globalization and economic populism.

The dialogue was made possible through the generous support of the Henry Luce Foundation and the Japan-US Friendship Commission.

 

Friday, September 15

 

Opening Reception

Dinner

[Welcoming remarks]
Ms. Peggy Blumenthal, Chair, JCIE/USA; Senior Counselor to the President, Institute of International Education
Ms. Hideko Katsumata, Executive Director & COO, JCIE/Japan

[Opening keynote]
Hon. Seiko Noda, Minister of Internal Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan; Minister in Charge of Women’s Empowerment; Member, House of Representatives of Japan

 

Saturday, September 16

 

Advancing Women’s Leadership in Domestic Politics

[Initial comments]
Hon Kuniko Inoguchi, Member, House of Councillors of Japan; former Minister of State for Gender Equality and Social Affairs

The US-Japan Alliance & Asia Pacific Stability

[Initial comments]
Amb. Rosemary DiCarlo, President, National Committee on American Foreign Policy; former US Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations
Dr. Takako Hikotani, Columbia University

US-Japan Cooperation in Supporting the Liberal International Order

[Initial comments]
Ms. Aiko Doden, Senior Commentator on International Affairs, NHK Broadcasting
Ms. Susan Berresford, former President, Ford Foundation

Shared Challenges of Globalization and Economic Populism 

[Initial comments]
Ms. Wendy Cutler, Vice President & Managing Director, Washington DC Office, Asia Society; former Acting Deputy US Trade Representative
Hon. Toshiko Takeya, Member, House of Councillors

 

Sunday, September 17

 

Women and Work: Meeting the Challenges of Work-Life Balance, Healthcare, and Aging

[Initial comments]
Claire Chino, Executive Officer and General Counsel, Itochu Corporation

Wrap-up Session

[Reflections]
Hon. Seiko Noda, Minister of Internal Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan; Minister in Charge of Women’s Empowerment; Member, House of Representatives of Japan
Ms. Peggy Blumenthal, Chair, JCIE/USA; Senior Counselor to the President, institute of International Education
Ms. Hideko Katsumata, Executive Director & COO, JCIE/Japan

Susan Berresford

Former President, Ford Foundation; Board Member, JCIE/USA

Peggy Blumenthal

Board Chair, JCIE/USA; Senior Counselor to the President, Institute of International Education (IIE)

Claire Chino

Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer, Itochu International

Wendy Cutler

Vice President and Managing Director, Washington DC office, Asia Society; former Acting Assistant US Trade Representative

Leigh Devine

Editorial Director, Medscape TV/WebMD; Creative Producer and Content Creator, Divinepix

Rosemary DiCarlo

 President, National Committee on American Foreign Policy, former US Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations

Aiko Doden

Senior Commentator on International Affairs, NHK Broadcasting; Special Affairs Commentator, NHK World

Atsuko Toko Fish

 Founder, Japan Women’s Leadership Initiative; Trustee, Fish Family Foundation

James Gannon

Executive Director, JCIE/USA

Shihoko Goto

Senior Associate, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

Kim Gould Ashizawa

Senior Associate, Japan Center for International Exchange (JCIE/USA)

Takako Hikotani

Associate Professor of Modern Japanese Politics and Foreign Policy, Columbia University

Kuniko Inoguchi

Member, House of Councillors; former Minister of State for Gender Equality

Takae Ito

Member, House of Councillors of Japan (Democratic Party)

Takae Ito

Member , House of Councillors of Japan (Komeito)

Merit Janow

 Dean, Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs; former Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Japan and China

Claudia Juech

Executive Director, The Cloudera Foundation; former Associate Vice President and Managing Director for Strategic Insights, Rockefeller Foundation

Hideko Katsumata

 Executive Director & Chief Operating Officer, Japan Center for International Exchange (JCIE/Japan)

Marie Louise Keen

Program Assistant, Japan Center for International Exchange (JCIE/USA)

Helena Kolenda

Program Director for Asia, Henry Luce Foundation

Ling Li

 Program Director for Luce Scholars and Program Officer for Asia, Henry Luce Foundation

Seiko Noda

 Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan; Minister in Charge of Women’s Empowerment; Member, House of Representatives (Liberal Democratic Party)

Alicia Ogawa

 Director, Program on Alternative Investments, Center on Japanese Economy and Business, Columbia Business School

Toshiko Takeya

 Member, House of Councillors of Japan (Komeito)

David Janes

 Director of Foundation Grants, US-Japan Foundation

Hiroko Murase

 Trustee, The Noguchi Museum

Satoru Murase

 Partner, Morgan Lewis; Board Member, JCIE/USA

Allan Song

 Senior Program Officer, Smith Richardson Foundation

 

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