Event Details
- IN-PERSON
- Fri 16 Feb 20248:30 – 9:30 a.m.
- 725 Park Ave, New York, NY 10021
- Click for directions; BUY TICKETS
NEW YORK: Last fall, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida made a significant move by appointing five women to his cabinet, notably including the first female foreign minister in over two decades. Demonstrating a commitment to gender diversity, Kishida has also set an ambitious target of achieving a 30% representation of women in executive positions within prime-listed companies by 2030. While these initiatives are welcome, persistent challenges and untapped opportunities remain for Japanese women in the workplace. They continue to face issues such as unequal pay, being hired for “temporary” jobs with fewer benefits, and enduring long hours, which make child-rearing more difficult, among other obstacles.
How can Japan effectively address these challenges, maximize the role of women, and harness their crucial contributions to the nation’s economic revitalization? Additionally, what insights and lessons can the U.S. or other societies offer Japan in this pursuit? What further steps could be taken by the government or in the workplace to promote gender diversity? To explore these critical questions, the Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI) invites you to join an engaging discussion featuring distinguished speakers, including Wendy Cutler, ASPI Vice President; Joshua Walker, President and CEO at the Japan Society; and Akiko Yamahara, General Counsel at Citi Private Bank. The discussion will be moderated by Rorry Daniels, ASPI Managing Director.
SPEAKERS
Wendy Cutler is Vice President at the Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI) and the managing director of the Washington, D.C. office. She joined ASPI following an illustrious career of nearly three decades as a diplomat and negotiator in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), where she also served as Acting Deputy U.S. Trade Representative. During her USTR career, she worked on a range of bilateral, regional, and multilateral trade negotiations and initiatives, including the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, U.S.-China negotiations, and the WTO Financial Services negotiations.
Joshua Walker serves as the President and CEO of the Japan Society. He brings more than two decades of international business diplomacy to this role, most recently serving as Global Head of Strategic Initiatives and Japan in the Office of the President at Eurasia Group the world’s leading political risk consultancy. Previous to that role, he was CEO and president of the USA Pavilion of the 2017 World Expo in Astana, Kazakhstan; founding dean of the APCO Institute; senior vice president of global programs at APCO Worldwide, and Senior Fellow at the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress. Before joining the private sector, he worked in numerous roles at various US government agencies, including the State Department and the Defense Department.
Akiko Yamahara is the Global General Counsel for Citi Global Wealth and Citi Private Bank, and a member of the Legal Management Committee. With over two decades of legal expertise, she initially joined Citigroup in 2003, focusing on investment banking. During her eight years in Tokyo, she expanded her role to become the General Counsel and Chief Legal Officer, overseeing Citi’s entire Japan franchise. She is a Steering Committee member for the Asian Heritage Network and represents Citi at the National Women’s Law Center. Additionally, she has served on the Board of Overseers at Temple University Japan since 2023.
Rorry Daniels (moderator) is the Managing Director of the Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI), where she leads and oversees strategy and operations for ASPI’s projects on security, climate change, and trade throughout Asia. She is also a Senior Fellow with ASPI’s Center for China Analysis. She was previously with the National Committee on American Foreign Policy where she managed the organization’s Track II and research portfolio on Asia security issues, with a particular focus on cross-Taiwan Strait relations, U.S.-China relations, and the North Korean nuclear program. Her most recent research project audited the U.S.-China Strategic & Economic Dialogue to evaluate its process and outcomes.
