As the United States undertakes a significant recalibration of its foreign aid programs, the report examines the far-reaching effects of the 2025 suspension of aid and the dismantling of the programs that oversee this aid, including USAID. Drawing on analysis from policy experts and insights from communities affected by these changes, the study outlines how the retrenchment has disrupted development and humanitarian systems worldwide. It also underscores how these changes carry wide-ranging implications for Japanese interests and for the future of Japan-U.S. collaboration in advancing shared values and development goals.
On October 8, USJF President and CEO Jacob M. Schlesinger and Peace Winds America CEO James Gannon met with Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Eri Arfiya to exchange views on the current and future outlook for international development assistance. Vice-Minister Eri, a 2018-2019 Fellow of the U.S.-Japan Leadership Program (USJLP) and a former member of the USJF Board of Trustees, welcomed both leaders to her office and commended them both for their contributions to international cooperation. On October 8 and 9, Gannon and Schlesinger also presented the report to two different groups of Diet members.
A press conference presenting the report’s findings was held at the Japan National Press Club on October 10. Schlesinger and Gannon discussed the report’s conclusions in light of the recent suspension of U.S. foreign aid programs and reflected on the importance of deepening Japan-U.S. cooperation in global development and humanitarian assistance. The recording is available on YouTube.
Image credit: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan (left),
Japan Center for International Exchange (middle), Japan National Press Club (right)
The report and the press conference received wide media coverage, including articles in Nikkei, Asahi Shimbun, Jiji Press, NHK, and JANIC, with NHK quoting Schlesinger’s statement that “Japan should play a leading role alongside the United States in advancing shared values critical to both nations’ interests.” The report’s themes were further explored in an op-ed co-authored by Gannon and Schiffer, published in The Mainichi on the occasion of the U.S.-Japan summit.
America’s Foreign Aid Retrenchment: Implications for U.S.-Japan Cooperation was commissioned as part of the new USJF Research series, which brings together independent research to advance new ideas and perspectives on the forces shaping U.S.-Japan relations. Each paper is developed in collaboration with leading scholars and practitioners and shared as part of USJF’s commitment to open knowledge and dialogue.