Photography by Hiromi Iguchi
Tadashi Yamamoto sits relaxed after a week helping to coordinate the influx of politicians that comes with a presidential visit. It is late November, the week following the first Japan trip since Barack Obama took office. The president is now in China following the two-day Japan leg of his Asia tour. Likewise, Yamamoto is now looking ahead.
2010 marks the 40th anniversary of Yamamoto’s organization, the not-for-profit Japan Center for International Exchange (JCIE) and the 73 year-old is once again drawing together the funds and the people needed to make international exchanges between not only the U.S. and Japan but also between leaders from Japan’s Asian neighbors, Australia and Europe.
Obama’s choice to put Japan first was symbolic. As China heads further along its path to economic dominance and the calls of “Japan passing” echo through halls of the Diet and White House, the American president’s message could not have been stronger. Okinawa and its bases are once again on the agenda and the U.S. and Japan’s roles within the region are being put under the microscope once more.
As the two nations’ relationship continues to evolve, Yamamoto sees a need for greater nongovernmental contributions to the region’s affairs as the demands of maintaining international relations become more complex and diverse.
“Before it was a simple relationship – one based on security and economic interests. But now we have to build a much broader base involving diverse sectors. Before it was focused primarily on bilateral issues but now there are a lot more global challenges that we should work together on, from issues like the environment to things such as HIV/AIDS.”
The Shimoda Conferences, the U.S.-Japan Parliamentary Exchange Program and the Trilateral Commission, three integral foreign exchange programs that helped shape Japan’s post-war internationalization all had deep involvement from Tadashi Yamamoto and JCIE.
After more than four decades creating exchanges between the two nations, Yamamoto now occupies a rare position. As one of the few independent “civilian” connectors the two nations have, he sits in the center, promoting not only political exchanges but also intellectual, business and cultural exchanges, in order to foster and strengthen relations between the world’s two biggest economic powers.
Tom Foley, former Speaker of the House of Representatives and Ambassador to Japan, counts Yamamoto as a crucial part of the equation.
“I know of no more important individual in Japan or the United States who is so effective in strengthening our bilateral ties. He is one of those rare individuals who knows both countries exceedingly well, not only the languages of both countries but the customs, institutions and culture of both.”
