U.S.-Japan Initiative Program II: Expanding Frontiers of Collaboration

🌏 U.S.-Japan Initiative Program II: Expanding Frontiers of Collaboration

Join Asia Society Southern California (ASSC) for the second program of its U.S.-Japan Initiative (USJI) — a dynamic series bringing together innovators and leaders shaping the future of U.S.-Japan relations.

This event convenes distinguished speakers from across industries to explore how Japan and the United States are driving global collaboration and growth. Discussions will span pioneering advances in commercial space exploration, investment outlooks under newly elected Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and U.S. President Donald Trump, and the cultural and business influence of the wine and spirits sector.

Featured speakers include executives from ispace, Geodesic Capital, The House of Suntory, and more.

SPEAKERS:

📈 Capital at a Crossroads: Opportunities and Risks in a Shifting Global Landscape

• Rayfe Gaspar-Asaoka, Partner, Geodesic Capital
• Mark Okada, Co-Founder & CEO, Sycamore Tree Capital Partners
• Akira Shiraishi, Portfolio Manager, Capital Group (moderator)

🚀 Expanding Access: Innovation and Commercialization in Space

• Keiji Atsuta, Board Director & COO, Interstellar Technologies
• Justin Fiaschetti, Co-Founder & CEO, Inversion
• Takeshi Hakamada, Founder & CEO, ispace
• Wendy Shimata, VP Autonomous Systems, Varda Space Industries
• Takuto Ueha, Partner, McKinsey & Company (moderator)

🛰️ Sustaining the Future: Robotics, Safety, and the Next Era of Space Infrastructure

• Chris Blackerby, Group COO, Astroscale Holdings
• Philip Hover-Smoot, CEO, Scout Space
• Sho Nakanose, Founder & CEO, GITAI
• Masahiro Ono, Group Supervisor, Robotic Mobility Group, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
• Takuto Ueha, Partner, McKinsey & Company (moderator)

🥃 Spirits & Wine

• Casey Bradford, Sake Sommelier, Sake Secret
• Akiko Freeman, Winemaker, Freeman Vineyard & Winery
• Masaki Morimoto, President, The House of Suntory

Read speaker bios here.

Attendees to the Program may be photographed, videotaped, or otherwise recorded. Attendees grant Asia Society permission to use photographs and/or audiovisual recordings in which attendees appear for archival, documentary, publicity, advertising, or other purposes.

SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES:

Contact info_LA@asiasociety.org for information on becoming a sponsor.