Professional Affiliation

Research Associate, Program on U.S.-Japan Relations, Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University

Expert Bio

Mr. Futori has been a Research Associate for the Program on U.S.-Japan Relations at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University from 2011 to 2012. And he was a chairman of the Harvard Commemorative Cherry Tree Planting Initiative for the 100th anniversary of cherry trees given to the United States from Japan. During 2009-2011, Mr. Futori worked as a Visiting Fellow at the Center for U.S.-Japan Studies and Cooperation at Vanderbilt University. Also he was a Sasakawa Peace Foundation Research Fellow at the Pacific Forum CSIS and a Japan Studies Fellow at the East-West Center in Washington in 2012. Prior to his fellowship in the United States, Mr. Futori served as Chief of Staff at the office of Akihisa Nagashima, a House of Representatives member and former Senior Vice-Minister of Defense. Mr. Futori earned his Bachelor of Laws and M.A. in Political Science from Chuo University, Tokyo, Japan.

Wilson Center Project

"U.S.-Japan Alliance and the Rise of China"

Project Summary

Mr. Futori ’s current research specializes on Japan’s Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HA/DR) in the Context of the Rise of China. Japan will be able to contribute to the world through HA/DR missions. In an age of fiscal austerity, Japan and the United States need to exercise joint HA/DR missions to effectively use the resources of both countries. In order to emphasize the importance of U.S.-Japan cooperation in the missions, he will focus on the element of growing Chinese maritime HA/DR capabilities. The HA/DR mission is a rare chance to engage in military cooperation with China, and the United States and Japan would be able to counterbalance China’s influence in the world through promoting joint HA/DR missions. The U.S.-Japan alliance should work to make sure the rise of China will progress toward a peaceful and prosperous future for the United States, Japan, China, and the rest of the world.

Read Mr. Futori's recent essay, Japan's Role in Asia's Nuclear Security.

Major Publications

“U.S.-Japan Alliance and Rising China’s Naval Power” (Forthcoming, 2012), USJP Occasional Paper 12-04, Program on U.S.-Japan Relations, Harvard University