Visit with the US Ambassador in Japan

Besides ending my first term of classes this week, I also had the opportunity to go to the US Embassy here in Tokyo and meet with US Ambassador to Japan Thomas Schieffer. He was first appointed US Ambassador to Australia in 2001, where he served for four years. He then came to Japan in early 2005 to serve as US Ambassador here. Ambassador Schieffer is a fellow Texan from my hometown in Arlington, and, in fact, I knew him before he became the US Ambassador to Japan! While I was in high school and part of the Richard Greene Scholar's Program in conjunction with the Texas Rangers baseball team, I attended a small leadership class that Ambassador Schieffer taught. In that course, Ambassador Schieffer read and discussed about some of his favorite leaders, their particular traits that helped them navigate through difficult periods, and how we can draw lessons from them to be better leaders. I was surprised to hear that Ambassador Schieffer still teaches that course with junior foreign services officers today.

While we talked about Texas, I used the chance to ask the Ambassador about his experience as a diplomat in this region. He expressed to me how important he sees the presence of the US in the Asian region, especially with vital security issues like in North Korea. He said the Six-Party talks (that includes the US, Japan, China, South Korea, North Korea and Russia) that have attempted to resolve nuclear issues in North Korea has been a great opportunity for countries in the region to work more closely together but that even more could be done in getting countries to do this more often. The Ambassador made an interesting observation about the region: he sees regional dynamics here in an hierarchy that often hinders regional cooperation. Unlike Europe, which has a history of strong powers jockeying for influence, and often using alliances to balance against other strong European powers (think of the five great European powers in the early 19th-century: Great Britain, France, Austria, Prussia, and Russia), the Asian region has a different history. Often it has been marked by one great power, like China or Japan, that influences other states from the top down. At the center of US diplomatic work is to get countries in Asia to work more in concert - like trying to connect the spokes of a hub to form a wheel.

It is an interesting way to think about the role of the US in the Asian region, and one that places a much greater importance on our work here than I think we realize back home in the states. The Ambassador has given me a new way to think about East Asia and the US, a perspective that I will surely keep in mind as I go forward with my research with the countries here. And despite the current media's attention on the US's growing role in the Middle East, we still have a lot of work to do in East Asia too. I hope to have a few more chances to interact with Ambassador Schieffer before his time ends in Japan next year!

JRG

PS - The Ambassador invited me to Thanksgiving dinner at his residence too! He always has people over, especially service men and women whose families are not with them. So rest assured America will be part of my Thanksgiving in Japan. And I will finally get to have turkey in Japan!