WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 20th, 2021
An outdoor full-moon celebration at Hillwood Estate.
On Wednesday, October 22, 2021 the Japan-America Society of Washington DC was proud to host our 35th annual US-Japan Capital Gala and Silent Auction at DC’s spectacular Hillwood Estate. We held the event outdoors, under the full moon, in celebration of Otsukimi.
With over 250 friends and colleagues from across Washington DC government, academia, and the private sector in attendance, the Gala served as a celebration not only of the United States-Japan partnership and its leaders, young and old, but also of the important role that the bilateral relationship plays in our two countries and for our partners around the world. Over the years, the Gala has welcomed some of America and Japan’s most distinguished leaders. This year it was also our honor to host esteemed guests including Ambassador Koji Tomita, Congresswoman Diana DeGette, Senator Bill Hagerty, and Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Kritenbrink, among others.
The US-Japan Capital Gala and Silent Auction are a primary source of support for the Japan-America Society of Washington DC’s hundreds of annual educational, cultural and networking activities, including the National Japan Bowl and Washington, DC’s Sakura Matsuri – Japanese Street Festival. This year’s Gala also presented exciting new opportunities to collaborate with over 27 partners from the National Capital Region’s Japan cultural community, from Sushi Ogawa and Sushi Taro, who put food on the table, to Kirin Beer and eight American and Japanese Sake brewers who provided drinks.
For sponsor information please contact Olivia Kent at okent@jaswdc.org.
The Society’s US-Japan Capital Gala (previously named Annual Dinner) and Silent Auction, usually held in the fall, is one of the Society’s signature national programs. Over the years the Gala has welcomed and honored some of America’s and Japan’s most distinguished leaders.
The Gala and Silent Auction are a primary source of support for the Japan-America Society’s many educational and cultural activities, which introduce Japan and Japanese culture to the residents of the Nation’s Capital Region.
2020: The 34th Annual US-Japan Capital Gala
The 2020 US-Japan Capital Gala was held virtually on Tuesday, November 17 and featured a live discussion with Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike and Ambassador Caroline Kennedy, moderated by Ms. Wendy Cutler. The US-Japan Capital Gala reception and silent auction also featured dinner & sake from Washington D.C.’s finest Japanese chefs. To view the full program for the 34th Annual US-Japan Capital Gala click here.
Our 2020 Sponsors
Tsubaki (Camellia)
Aflac
Astellas US LLC
Mitsubishi Corporation (Americas)
S&R Foundation
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America, Inc.
Akizakura (Cosmos)
Daikin Industries, Ltd.
The Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation
McLarty Associates
Mitsui & Co. (U.S.A.), Inc.
MUFG Bank, Ltd.
Sumitomo Corporation of Americas
Toyota Motor North America, Inc.
Momiji (Maple)
The Asia Group, LLC
Hitachi, Ltd.
NEC Corporation of America
Marubeni America Corporation
Toshiba America, Inc.
US-Japan Capital Gala
| 1987 | Senator John D. Rockefeller IV |
| 1988 | Ezra Vogel, Professor, Harvard University |
| 1989 | Yotaro Kobayashi, Chairman, Fuji Xerox |
| Hon. Dick Gephardt, House Majority Leader | |
| 1990 | Hon. Tom Foley, Speaker of the House |
| 1991 | Yasuhiro Nakasone, Former Prime Minister |
| 1992 | Hon. Paul A. Volcker, Former Chairman of the Federal Reserve |
| 1993 | Toyoo Gyoten, Chairman, Bank of Tokyo and former Vice Minister of Finance |
| 1994 | Hon. Mike Mansfield, former US Ambassador to Japan and former Senate Majority Leader |
| 1995 | Dr. Shoichiro Toyoda, Chairman, Toyota Motors & Chairman, Keidanren |
| 1996 | Hon. Tony Lake, Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs |
| 1997 | Hon. Tom Foley, Ambassador to Japan |
| 1998 | Hon. Stuart Eizenstadt, Under Secretary of State for Economic, Business & Agricultural Affairs |
| 1999 | Minoru Makihara, Chairman, Mitsubishi Corporation |
| 2000 | Tom Friedman, New York Times |
| 2001 | Hon. Tom Foley, Former US Ambassador to Japan |
| 2002 | Sadako Ogata, former United Nations |
| 2003 | No Dinner was held |
| 2004 | Hon. Norman Mineta, Secretary of Transportation and former Secretary of Commerce |
| 2005 | Taizo Nishimuro, Chairman, Toshiba Corporation and Chairman, US-Japan Business Council |
| Hon. Howard Baker, former US Ambassador to Japan, former Senate Majority Leader, and former White House Chief of Staff | |
| 2006 | No Dinner was held |
| 2007 | Senator Daniel K. Inouye |
| 2008 | Mr. Yuzaburo Mogi, Chairman and CEO, The Kikkoman Corporation |
| 2009 | Senator Jim Webb from Virginia |
| 2010 | Ambassador Tom Schieffer, Former US Ambassador to Japan |
| 2011 | Professor Gerald Curtis, Burgess Professor of Political Science at Columbia University |
| 2012 | Hon. Kurt Campbell, Chairman & CEO of the Asia Group, LLC & Former Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs |
| 2013 | Dr. Michael J. Green, Senior Vice President for Asia and Japan Chair, CSIS & Associate Professor at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University |
| 2014 | Dr. George R. Packard, President of the United States – Japan Foundation & Adjunct Professor, Department of Political Science at Columbia University |
| 2015 | Congressman Joaquin Castro, U.S House of Representatives (TX), Co-chair of U.S.-Japan Congressional Caucus |
| 2016 | Special Guest Panel: David E. Sanger (The New York Times), Jacob Schlesinger (The Wall Street Journal), Sheila Smith (Council on Foreign Relations, Moderator) |
| 2017 | Deputy Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan |
| 2018 | Special Guest Panel: Congressman Joaquin Castro (Texas), Congressman French Hill (Arkansas) |
| 2019 | Special Guest Panel: Richard Fontaine (President, CNAS), Sheila Smith (Senior Fellow for Japan Studies, CFR), and Mike Green (Japan Chair, CSIS) and JASWDC Co-Vice Chair Emma Chanlett-Avery (Specialist in Asian Affairs, Congressional Research Service) |
| 2020 | Special Guest Panel: Yuriko Koike (Tokyo Governor), Caroline Kennedy (Former Ambassador to Japan), and Ms. Wendy Cutler (Asia Society Policy Institute) |
The Marshall Green Award
The JASWDC Board of Trustees established the Marshall Green Award in 2011 to recognize “an individual or a group that has made a sustained and significant contribution to strengthening relations between the United States and Japan, and/or to increasing understanding between the American and Japanese people.”
| 2011 | Dr. Gerlad L. Curtis Amb. Thomas S. Foley Amb. William C. Sherman |
| 2012 | Dr. George R. Packard Amb. Yoshio Okawara |
| 2013 | Amb. Ichiro Fujisaki Mr. William Breer & Mrs. Peggy Breer |
| 2014 | Washington Toho Koto Society 100th Infantry Battalion, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team and the Nisei who served in the Military Intelligence Service |
| 2015 | Prime Minister Yashuiro Nakasone Ms. Wendy Cutler |
| 2016 | Amb. Rust M. Deming & Mrs. Kristen Deming The American Association for Teachers of Japanese (AATJ) |
| 2017 | Amb. Walter F. Mondale Amb. Michael H. Armacost Dr. Sachiko Kuno |
| 2018 |
The Honorable Norman Y. Mineta Mrs. Nobuko Sasae |
| 2019 | The Honorable Taro Kono |
| 2020 | Mr. John Gauntner |
| 2021 | Congresswoman Diana DeGette (D-CO) |
The John & Hiroko Malott Leadership Award
The John and Hiroko Malott Leadership Award is presented annually by the Japan-America Society of Washington DC to an individual or a group that is making a significant contribution to the future of US-Japan relations by increasing mutual understanding and cooperation between the next generation of Americans and Japanese. The Society is honored to recognize the recipients and is confident that their efforts will continue to enhance our relationship in the years to come.
| 2019 | Individual: Joshua Beatty Group: Kizuna Across Cultures |
| 2020 | Individual: Sherry Martin Group: Globalize DC |
| 2021 | Individual: Dr. Mya Fisher Group: Japan-America Student Conference |