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The United States-Japan Foundation (USJF) has published a new paper by Dr. Adam P. Liff, titled “Japan: the Indispensable Ally, Except in U.S. Academia…,” exploring the accelerating disappearance of expertise on Japanese foreign policy and U.S.-Japan relations at major U.S. research universities and calling for renewed investment in future generations of scholars and opportunities for students. Read the report in English or Japanese.
Dr. Liff’s report highlights a growing disconnect between Japan’s strategic importance to the United States and the declining presence of U.S.-Japan relations-related expertise in major American universities. Despite bipartisan recognition in Washington that Japan is an “indispensable ally” in confronting global challenges, Liff warns that faculty expertise and course offerings on Japan’s foreign and security policy “are on the verge of generational collapse.” He calls for urgent action—particularly external funding—to inspire and sustain the next generation of scholars and practitioners who understand U.S.-Japan relations across all levels of American government and society.
“As former Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emmanuel once said,” noted Dr. Liff, “now is the time for U.S. universities to ‘double down on Japan and Japanese studies.’ I could not agree more, and it has long troubled me that—despite Japan’s increasingly critical importance to the United States—the exact opposite has been happening in U.S. academia for many years. This is especially true in middle America and as it concerns expertise on Japanese foreign policy and the U.S.-Japan alliance. Sadly, for reasons I highlight in the report, it seems clear that universities are not going to solve this problem on their own. I wrote this paper hoping to raise awareness and catalyze a broader bilateral discussion about how best to address this unfortunate situation. I’m grateful to Jake Schlesinger and the wonderful team at USJF for the opportunity to share my concerns with, and issue a call for reinforcements to, a wider audience.”
Dr. Liff is a professor of East Asian international relations at Indiana University’s Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies and founding director of its 21st Century Japan Politics and Society Initiative. He is also a nonresident senior fellow with the Brookings Institution and has held appointments at Harvard University, Georgetown University, and the University of Tokyo, among others. For more on his background and research, read his full bio.
The paper is part of the USJF Research series, launched recently to share research commissioned by the Foundation in pursuit of new ideas, evidence, and perspectives on the forces shaping U.S.-Japan relations. Each paper is independently developed under the USJF commission, often in collaboration with USJF fellows and partners, and shared to stimulate exchange and invite reflection.
