2025 Asia-Pacific Economic Integration Seminar held in the US 

December 2025

On December 9, 2025, JETRO and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) co-hosted the "Asia-Pacific Economic Integration Seminar: Building a Golden Age for the U.S.-Japan Economic Partnership: Ensuring Security, Stability, and Prosperity in the Indo-Pacific" in Washington, DC, in a hybrid format. The seminar focused on themes including strengthening Japan-U.S. economic relations and cooperation toward developing an international trade system.

Following welcoming remarks by CSIS President John Hamre and opening remarks by former Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel J. Kritenbrink, JETRO Chairman and CEO Ishiguro Norihiko delivered the keynote address. He pointed out that the pressing question in this era of change was “Who will design the rules and advance them while building trust?”. The Chairman also emphasized that, as the only robust alliance capable of demonstrating to the world a new order in the Indo-Pacific region, Japan and the United States needed to work together to strengthen supply chains, enhance U.S. industrial competitiveness, and continue without hesitation to deliver proposals to policymakers, for building a new trade order in the Indo-Pacific region .

The panel discussion was moderated by Kristi Govella, Senior Adviser and Japan Chair, CSIS. The speaker roster included experts from Japan and the United States: Kawase Tsuyoshi, Professor at the Faculty of Law of Sophia University; Robert D. Atkinson, President of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF); Barbara Weisel, Nonresident Scholar, Asia Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and Shay Wester, Director of Asian Economic Affairs, Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI). Discussions highlighted the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) as the focal point for the future global trading system, noting expectations for Japan to play a leading role in expanding the agreement and advancing WTO reforms. In contrast, while the United States currently shows diminished interest in the international trade system, the panel noted that, given the increasingly complex landscape created by the proliferation of bilateral agreements, the need for regional frameworks is likely to be recognized anew. The future of the international trade system was thus actively debated.