Agenda

Thursday

7:00 – 8:30 AM

Board Breakfast | Roux Bistro private room (2F)

Working breakfast meeting of NAJAS board members

7:00 – 9:00 AM

Continental breakfast will be served

7:00 AM – 12:30 PM

Conference Registration

7:30 AM – 5:00 PM

Vendor Exhibiting | in Orpheus & Armstrong Ballroom foyer (combined) (8F)

Vendors are free to meet and network with guests during breaks.

8:40 – 9:00 AM

Opening Remarks from Conference Leadership

9:00 – 10:00 AM

Presentation: The Japan Foundation New York & Laurasian Institution

Hear from Director General Hiroyuki Kojima (Director General, Japan Foundation New York), Hiromi Zeppieri (Associate Program Officer, Japan Foundation New York), Kenta Yamashita (Deputy Director, Japan Foundation Los Angeles), and Gabriel Rebeck (Japan Programs Director, Laurasian Institution). Topics will include JFNY support to member societies and the Japan Outreach Initiative (JOI) program.

10:00 – 10:30 AM
Networking Break
Coffee, tea, and water will be provided.

10:30 – 11:30 AM

Workshops Round 1

Purposeful Boards Pt. I

Rooms: Endymion & Mid-City

Krewe of Japan Podcast

Rooms: Proteus & Zulu

The Principles of Fundraising

Rooms: Bacchus, Iris & Muses

11:30 – 11:45 AM

Break

11:45 AM – 12:30 PM
Lunch with Keynote Speaker: Matt Alt, author of Pure Invention: How Japan Made the Modern World

12:30 – 1:00 PM
Conference Spotlight: Volunteers & Volunteerism

Remarks from Ryan Shaffer (President, JASWDC) joined by Andrew Wylegala (President, NAJAS). Over lunch, Mr. Shaffer will discuss the challenges, rewards and best practices in supporting volunteers, while NAJAS will unveil the first winners of a new award series, “The Vollies,” which recognize peer nominated volunteers in the “individual” and “society categories from across our network. Air Canada will present this year’s awardee prizes: roundtrip tickets to Japan!

1:00 – 2 PM

Workshops Round 2

Purposeful Boards Pt. II

Rooms: Endymion & Mid-City

AI as a Force Multiplier for JAS

Rooms: Proteus & Zulu

Building a Fundraising Program: Practical Tools and Applications

Rooms: Bacchus, Iris & Muses

2:00 – 2:30 PM

Networking Break

Coffee, tea, and water will be provided.

2:30 – 3:30 PM
Workshops Round 3

Purposeful Boards Pt. III

Rooms: Endymion & Mid-City

Film Festivals

Rooms: Proteus & Zulu

Fundraising Q&A

Rooms: Bacchus, Iris & Muses

3:30 – 4:30 PM
Regular Members Meeting & Review of Annual Survey Results | in Armstrong Ballroom or other breakout space
JAS vote on Board slate matters for NAJAS. NAJAS presents a summary of results from the 2026 Annual Member Survey.

3:30 – 5 PM
Vendor Fair
Participants are invited to meet with Society Solutions Providers, who are small to medium-sized companies offering services to member societies. This overlaps the Regular Members Meeting and 2026 Member Survey Presentation.

4:45 – 5:20 PM
Presentation: Grassroot Summit Presentation with CIE-US and Japan-America Society of Greater Philadelphia
Jamie Kelly (USN, Ret., and Vice President of CIE-US), Kazumi Teune (Executive Director, JASGP), and Dr. Ricki Garrett (President & CEO, Sister Cities International) will talk about the Grassroots Summits of 2026 and 2027 and people-to-people grassroots relations.

5:20 – 5:40 PM
Speaker: Remarks by John Henry Jackson, Director of the U.S. Export Assistance Center, New Orleans, U.S. Department of Commerce

The presentation will share an overview of the trade and investment attraction resources in the New Orleans USEAC that are mirrored in over 100 centers across the U.S.

5:45 – 5:50 PM
Closing Remarks

6:00 PM Onwards
No-Host Dinners

All are invited to explore the great eateries New Orleans has to offer for no-host dinners. Our hosts recommend: Brennan's Restaurant, Napoleon House, Galerie de Galatoire's, Beachbum Berry’s Latitude 29, Sazerac House, New Orleans School of Cooking, and The Carousel Bar & Lounge at Hotel Monteleone!

6:45 – 9:00 PM

Sponsors' Dinner

Friday

7:00 – 9:00 AM
Continental Breakfast Buffet & Opening Remarks

7:00 AM – 12:30 PM
Conference Registration

7:30 AM – 3:30 PM
Vendor Exhibiting | in Orpheus & Armstrong Ballroom foyer (combined) (8F)

8:15 – 8:30 AM

Opening Remarks over Breakfast

JSNO President Mike Turner, NAJAS President Andrew Wylegala, and Director General Hiroyuki Kojima

8:30 – 9:30 AM
Panel: Global & Regional Security Context & U.S.-Japan Relations, 2027
Moderator: Emma Chanlett-Avery (Chairwoman, NAJAS)
Panelists: Admiral Dennis Blair (USN-Ret.), Wendy Cutler (Senior Vice President, Asia Society Policy Institute), and Ambassador Kurt Tong (Managing Partner, The Asia Group)

9:30 – 10:00 AM
Networking Break
Coffee, tea, and water will be provided.

10:00 – 11:00 AM
Panel: Framework and Policy Imperatives for Effective U.S.-Japan Collaboration in Pursuit of Energy & Economic Security

Moderator: Jane Nakano (Energy Security and Climate Change Program Senior Fellow, CSIS)
Panelists: Admiral Dennis Blair (USN-Ret.), Yuki Shimazu (Special Advisor, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry), and Naoki Tsutsumi (Chief Strategy Officer, JERA Americas Inc.)

11:00 – 11:30 AM
Break

11:30 AM – 12:30 PM
Panel: Louisiana’s Leadership of U.S.-Japan Energy Collaboration: Promotion & Marquis Projects
Moderator: Jane Nakano
Panelists: Tom Yura (President & CEO, UBE C1 Chemicals America), Jason Lanclos (Director of State Energy Development and Planning, Louisiana Economic Development), Ian Dickinson (CEO, LongPath Technologies Inc.), and Randolph Bell (Vice President of Government & Regulatory Affairs, JERA Americas Inc.)

12:30 – 1:30 PM
Lunch with Keynote Speaker: Sam Mihara, 51st Jefferson Lecturer in the Humanities named by the National Endowment for the Humanities

1:30 – 2:30 PM
Panel: The Well-Springs of the Relationship: What 150 Years of Ebb & Flow Mutual Attraction Tell Us About Our Future Ties
Moderator: Dr. Frank Feltens (Associate Director for Curatorial Affairs and Curator of Japanese Art, Smithsonian Institute’s National Museum of Asian Art)
Panelists: Steve Pollock (President, Japan Society of Northern California), Matthew Paul Smith (Lecturer, Tulane University), Alice Yelen Gitter (Senior Curator of Collections Research Emerita, New Orleans Museum of Art)

2:30 – 3:00 PM

Beignet Break | in Endymion, Mid-City, Proteus, & Zulu (combined) (8F)
Networking and snack break with musical interlude.
A brass band wraps up the break and leads people into Armstrong Ballroom.

3:00 – 4:00 PM
Panel: The Role for Societies & Japan Related Organizations in the Era of ‘Peak Japan’
Moderator: Matt Alt (Author of Pure Invention: How Japan Made the Modern World)
Panelists: Dr. Joshua Walker (President & CEO, Japan Society), Liseann Gouin (President, Japan America Society of Michigan & Southwestern Ontario), and Jennifer Torres (Vice President, Japan Society of New Orleans)

4:00 – 4:30 PM
Special Announcement
NAJAS President Andrew Wylegala and Dr. Atsuko Geiger (Managing Director of Operations and Programs, American Friends of the International House of Japan)

4:30 – 4:50 PM
Remarks by Ambassador Shigeo Yamada, Ambassador of Japan to the United States

6:00 – 8:00 PM
Japan Society of New Orleans & Consulate-General of Japan in Nashville Closing Reception
Hosted at Galeriè de Galatoire’s Restaurant with Lt. Governor of Louisiana, Billy Nungesser

Friday

7:00 – 9:00 AM

Continental Breakfast Buffet & Opening Remarks

7:00 AM – 12:30 PM
Conference Registration

7:30 AM – 3:30 PM
Vendor Exhibiting | in Orpheus & Armstrong Ballroom foyer (combined) (8F)

8:15 – 8:30 AM
Opening Remarks over Breakfast
JSNO President Mike Turner, NAJAS President Andrew Wylegala, and Director General Hiroyuki Kojima

8:30 – 9:30 AM

Panel: Global & Regional Security Context & U.S.-Japan Relations, 2027
Moderator: Emma Chanlett-Avery (Chairwoman, NAJAS)
Panelists: Admiral Dennis Blair (USN-Ret.), Wendy Cutler (Senior Vice President, Asia Society Policy Institute), and Ambassador Kurt Tong (Managing Partner, The Asia Group)

9:30 – 10:00 AM
Networking Break
Coffee, tea, and water will be provided.

10:00 – 11:00 AM

Panel: Framework and Policy Imperatives for Effective U.S.-Japan Collaboration in Pursuit of Energy & Economic Security
Moderator: Jane Nakano (Energy Security and Climate Change Program Senior Fellow, CSIS)
Panelists: Admiral Dennis Blair (USN-Ret.), Yuki Shimazu (Special Advisor, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry), and Naoki Tsutsumi (Chief Strategy Officer, JERA Americas Inc.)

11:00 – 11:30 AM
Break

11:30 AM – 12:30 PM
Panel: Louisiana's Leadership of U.S.-Japan Energy Collaboration: Promotion & Marquis Projects
Moderator: Jane Nakano
Panelists: Tom Yura (President & CEO, UBE C1 Chemicals America), Jason Lanclos (Director of State Energy Development and Planning, Louisiana Economic Development), Ian Dickinson (CEO, LongPath Technologies Inc.), and Randolph Bell (Vice President of Government & Regulatory Affairs, JERA Americas Inc.)

12:30 – 1:30 PM
Lunch with Keynote Speaker: Sam Mihara, 51st Jefferson Lecturer in the Humanities named by the National Endowment for the Humanities

2:30 – 3 PM
Beignet Break | in Endymion, Mid-City, Proteus, & Zulu (combined) (8F)
Networking and snack break with musical interlude.
A brass band wraps up the break and leads people into Armstrong Ballroom.

4:00 – 4:30 PM
Special Announcement
NAJAS President Andrew Wylegala and Dr. Atsuko Geiger (Managing Director of Operations and Programs, American Friends of the International House of Japan)

4:30 – 4:50 PM
Remarks by Ambassador Shigeo Yamada, Ambassador of Japan to the United States

6:00 – 8:00 PM
Japan Society of New Orleans & Consulate-General of Japan in Nashville Closing Reception

Hosted at Galeriè de Galatoire’s Restaurant with Lt. Governor of Louisiana, Billy Nungesser.

Conference Agenda

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General Program - For All Registered Attendees

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