home > the cfr think tank > experts > sheila a. smith
Senior Fellow for Japan Studies
Contact Info:
E-mail: ssmith@cfr.org
Location:
Washington, DC
Media downloads:
High-resolution photo (JPG, 149K)
One-page bio (PDF, 50K)
Expert on Japan and Asian international relations. Currently directing the New Regional Security Architecture for Asia program.
CFR experts give their take on the cutting-edge issues emerging in Asia today.
Read the Blog Asia Unbound
Japanese domestic politics and foreign policy; Northeast Asia regional security; international relations of the Asia Pacific.
Experience:Research Fellow, Politics, Governance and Security, East-West Center (2001-2007); Assistant Professor, Department of International Relations, Boston University (1994-2000); Visiting Associate Professor, International Institute for Japanese Studies, Kyoto, Japan (1998-1999); Visiting Research Fellow, College of Law and Letters, University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa, Japan (1998); Research Fellow (1993-1994) and Japan Fellow (1991-1992), East Asian Institute, Columbia University.
Languages:Japanese (fluent), French (reading).
Selected Publications:“Shifting Terrain: The Domestic Politics of the U.S. Military in Asia,” East-West Center Special Report No. 8 (East-WestCenter, 2006), “A Place Apart: Okinawa in Japan’s Postwar Peace” in Partnership: The United States and Japan, 1951-2001 (Kodansha International, 2001); Local Voices, National Issues: Local Initiative in Japanese Policymaking (University of Michigan Press, 2000).
Panels:
Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS): The Fourth Annual CSIS-JETRO Conference on East Asian Economic Integration and U.S.-Japan Relations, Regional Cooperation and the Role of the United States (March 4, 2009)
The Brookings Institution: East Asia in the Spotlight - Secretary of State Clinton's First Trip Abroad (February 12, 2009)
Interviews:
Washington Monthly: "The Environmental Consequences of War" (January/February 2010)
Mainichi Shimbun: 日米安保条約改定から50年 (January 15, 2010, in Japanese)
Voice of America: "US, Japan Seek to Strengthen Alliance" (January 12, 2010)
Xinhua News: "Stronger alliance with U.S. after Japan's political transition: expert" (January 11, 2010)
Sankei Shimbun: 問われる日米同盟５０周年 影おとす「普天間」問題 「新宣言」への機運なく (January 1, 2010; in Japanese)
Nikkei: 普天間先送り(December 18, 2009; in Japanese)
Sankei Shimbun: 「安保五十年」なお火種 (November 14, 2009; in Japanese)
Asahi Shimbun: 日米関係の今後はオバマ氏きょう訪日、3氏に聞く (November 13, 2009; in Japanese)
Asahi Shimbun: 「日米関係、９０年代以降で最も対立的」 米紙報じ (November 13, 2009; in Japanese)
The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer: “On Asia Tour, Obama Tests New Dynamic with Japan” (November 13, 2009)
NHK: おはよう世界: 「鳩山新政権 発足」 (September 18, 2009)
Global International: "Resultado das eleições japonesas sinaliza mudanças" (September 3, 2009; in English and Portuguese)
Global Journalist Radio: "New Prime Minister in Japan Could Bring Changes to the Region" (September 3, 2009)
Hokkaido Shimbun: 安保見直しは対話前提 (September 1, 2009; in Japanese)
KQED Forum: "Election in Japan" (September 1, 2009)
Sankei Shimbun: 鳩山政権「反米的」 (September 1, 2009; in Japanese)
Asahi Shimbun: 政治的活力示した (September 1, 2009; in Japanese)
TV Asahi ANN News: 「オバマ大統領は歓迎も」 (August 31, 2009)
The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer: "Japan Braces for New Political Landscape" (August 31, 2009)
Bloomberg: "Outlook on Japan Post Election" (August 31, 2009)
La Stampa: "Il Kennedy del Sol Levante" (August 31, 2009; in Italian)
NPR: "Will Japanese Power Shift Change U.S. Relations?" (August 30, 2009)
Reuters: "Japan Democrats take power, tough challenges loom" (August 30, 2009)
Al Jazeera English: "Japanese Elections: LDP Likely to Struggle in Polls" (August 29, 2009)
Toronto Star: "Voters set to shake up Japanese politics" (August 29, 2009)
Asahi Shimbun: 米紙に寄稿の「鳩山論文」相次ぎ批判 米国内の専門家ら (August 29, 2009; in Japanese)
Fox Business Network: "Impact of Japan's Elections" (August 28, 2009)
Yomiuri Shimbun: 衆院選、米でも関心...３紙が「政権交代の見通し」(August 28, 2009; in Japanese)
The Wall Street Journal: "Likely Japan Leaders to Focus on Asian Ties" (August 27, 2009)
ShortList, "What Is He Really Capable Of?" (June 18, 2009)
The Asahi Shimbun Globe, “Can We Rely on the DPJ?” (June 8, 2009)
The Christian Science Monitor, "How big a threat is North Korea?" (May 28, 2009)
1150AM WDEL Delaware News at Noon: "North Korean nuclear crisis" (May 27, 2009)
PBS World Focus: "North Korea pushes further toward global confrontation" (May 26, 2009)
NPR World: "A U.S., China Partnership on North Korea?" (May 26, 2009)
CBS Evening News: "Clinton and Asia's Economy" (February 17, 2009)
PBS World Focus: "Clinton makes Tokyo the first stop on her Asian tour" (February 16, 2009)
PRI The World: "Japan's Lost Decade" (January 26, 2009)
Japanese Publications:
Keizai Koho Center (Japan Institute for Social and Economic Affairs): "The U.S.-Japan Partnership in a New Era: Under Fire or Looking Forward?" (January 2010)
Nikkei: 米オバマ次期政権の対日政策 (December 11, 2008)
Related Links:
CFR's International Institutions and Global Governance Program
Current Research Projects
Past Research Project
February 1, 2010
Interview
CFR Senior Fellow Sheila Smith says the Six Party Talks have built cooperation among Northeast Asian countries, which need to work together, particulary on North Korea, but also on growing tension between the United States and China over planned U.S. arms sales to Taiwan.
See more in Northeast Asia, International Peace and Security, Diplomacy
November 12, 2009
Transcript
Evan Feigenbaum and Joshua Kurlantzick discuss President Obama's tour of Asia and U.S. policy in the region.
November 12, 2009
Op-Ed
Washington Post
President Obama's trip to Asia offers an opportunity for the United States to reshape its relationship with Japan in the face of "historic" political change, writes Sheila Smith.
See more in Japan, Elections, Diplomacy
November 11, 2009
Audio
Ahead of President Obama's trip to Asia to participate in summits with the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum (APEC) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), as well as bilateral meetings in Tokyo, Beijing, and Seoul, CFR Fellows Evan Feigenbaum, Joshua Kurlantzick, and Sheila Smith discuss the security and economic issues that will dominate his agenda.
See more in Asia, U.S. Strategy and Politics
November 3, 2009
Interview
Ahead of President Obama's Asia trip, CFR experts Sheila Smith, Joshua Kurlantzick, Elizabeth Economy, and Scott Snyder discuss what the president should focus on during his visit to Japan, Singapore, China, and South Korea.
See more in Asia, U.S. Strategy and Politics
October 19, 2009
Video
Watch experts as they examine China's future global outlook.
This session was part of a CFR symposium, China 2025, which was cosponsored with the Project 2049 Institute.
See more in China, International Peace and Security, Grand Strategy
October 19, 2009
Audio
Listen to experts as they examine China's future global outlook.
This session was part of a CFR symposium, China 2025, which was cosponsored with the Project 2049 Institute.
See more in China, International Peace and Security, Grand Strategy
September 17, 2009
Podcast
CFR's Japan expert Sheila Smith says U.S.-Japan relations remain important for both governments, but the issue of realigning U.S. military forces in Japan will continue to be a difficult challenge.
See more in Japan
September 6, 2009
Op-Ed
Honolulu Advertiser
Sheila A. Smith argues that Japan's foreign policy stance under the new Democratic Party of Japan leadership now tops the list of concerns in the United States and elsewhere.
See more in Japan, U.S. Strategy and Politics
September 14, 2009
Op-Ed
Newsweek
Sheila A. Smith says that arguments portraying the new, leading Democratic Party of Japan as inexperienced are overstatements.
See more in Japan
August 30, 2009
Expert Brief
Electoral politics in Japan have been upended with the defeat of the long-governing Liberal Democratic Party. CFR's Sheila Smith says the rise of the Democratic Party of Japan could test the U.S.-Japan alliance and advises U.S. policymakers to focus on economic and energy-related cooperation.
August 27, 2009
Audio
Listen to Senior Fellow for Japan Studies Sheila Smith give a preview of the parliamentary election to take place in Japan on August 30, and discuss its potential outcomes for both Japan and the United States.
See more in United States, China, Japan, Elections
August 27, 2009, New York
Transcript
Sheila Smith previews Japan's August 30th parliamentary election and the prospect of an historical win by the opposition DPJ.
June 10, 2009
Expert Brief
Northeast Asian regional security talks appear increasingly doomed since North Korea's latest missile and nuclear tests. CFR's Sheila Smith argues the talks are worth reviving.
See more in North Korea, Proliferation
June 3, 2009
Audio
Listen to experts discuss the implications of North Korea’s recent nuclear tests and the available policy options for the Obama administration and the international community.
See more in North Korea, Arms Control and Disarmament
June 3, 2009, Washington D.C.
Transcript
Sheila Smith and Scott Snyder discuss the reasons behind North Korea's provocative actions, and the implications for its neighbors in the region as well as the United States.
See more in North Korea, Proliferation
May 25, 2009
Interview
CFR's Northeast Asia expert Sheila A. Smith says it is imperative for the United States to make it clear that it will not accept a nuclear North Korea. The UN's nonproliferation regime is also facing a moment of truth, she says.
See more in United States, North Korea, Proliferation
April 6, 2009
Interview
CFR's Sheila Smith says Pyongyang's latest attempt at a rocket launch shows the regime is clearly bent on acquiring a nuclear delivery capability. She says Washington must reassure North Korea that diplomacy is the only way forward.
See more in North Korea, Proliferation
February 12, 2009
Transcript
CFR Fellows Paul Stares, Sheila Smith, and Elizabeth Economy discuss Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's upcoming trip to Asia, her first trip in her new role.
See more in China, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, Public Diplomacy
February 12, 2009
Audio
Listen to CFR experts Elizabeth C. Economy, Sheila A. Smith and Paul B. Stares discuss U.S. foreign policy toward Asia, in advance of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's trip to the region.
Explore the international oceans regime with a new interactive from CFR's program on International Institutions and Global Governance.
This report explores how international legal rules regarding military force might evolve to better meet the challenges of mass atrocities.
The authors of this CSR explain why the United States needs to place greater emphasis on preventive action and how current organizational arrangements can be changed to meet that need.
This report addresses pan-Asian and trans-Pacific architectures and guidelines for how the United States can revise its approach in order to consolidate and improve the efficacy of these Asian institutions.
Complete list of Council Special Reports
Through compelling analysis and rich historical examples that span the globe and range from the thirteenth century through the present, Charles A. Kupchan explores how adversaries can transform enmity into amity, and exposes prevalent myths about the causes of peace.
With the insights of geopolitical experts and investors, the authors examine Israel's adversity-driven culture to offer prescriptions for a global economy on the rebound.
Vali Nasr reveals that there is a vital but unseen rising force in the Islamic world—a new business-minded middle class—that is building a vibrant new Muslim world economy and that holds the key to winning the cold war against Iran and extremists.
Complete list of CFR Books
For more information on the David Rockefeller Studies Program, contact:
James M. Lindsay
Senior Vice President, Director of Studies, and Maurice R. Greenberg Chair
+1.212.434.9626 (NY); +1.202.509.8405 (DC)
jlindsay@cfr.org
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