WASHINGTON, D.C. The Japan-America Society of Washington DC is pleased to announce that its Board of Trustees has elected Michael Beeman, Brent Bombach, Yuki Sako, Hiroko Tada, and Kenneth Weinstein as Trustees of the Society.

Ambassador James P. Zumwalt, Chairman of the Japan-America Society of Washington DC, emphasized the wealth of knowledge and experience these Trustees bring to the Society:

“The Society is privileged to have a Board with such breadth of knowledge and enthusiasm for the Society’s work at the grassroots of the US-Japan bilateral relationship. This year, welcoming Michael Beeman, Brent Bombach, Yuki Sako, Hiroko Tada, and Kenneth Weinstein to the board is a tremendous privilege. We are fortunate to see the board continue to grow with the addition of these five notable individuals. This fresh perspective will serve the Society well in the coming years.”

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Michael Beeman is a visiting scholar at Stanford University. He served as Assistant U.S. Trade Representative (AUSTR) for Japan, Korea, and APEC. From 2004-14, he served in various positions at USTR, including Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Japan and Acting AUSTR for Japan, Korea, and APEC. From 2015-16, he was Senior Advisor to the U.S.-Japan Business Council and the U.S.-Korea Business Council, where he supported the promotion of American goods and services exports.

He began his Federal Government service in 1998 at the U.S. Department of Commerce, where he served from 2001-03 as Special Advisor to the Assistant Secretary for Trade Development. He was an Advisor to the U.S. Executive Director of the World Bank from 2003-04.

Brent Bombach is Vice President and Head of Government Relations and Public Policy for NEC Corporation of America. In this role, he oversees the Government Relations and Public Policy team. He manages NEC’s public policy development and engagement with the U.S. Congress, executive branch agencies, state and local leaders, and other stakeholders to advance these policy goals.

Before joining NEC, Mr. Bombach held several roles in the U.S. Senate, including staff director and policy director for the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee subcommittees. He also served as a senior advisor to Senator Rob Portman, supporting his work on the Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees. In industry, Mr. Bombach managed the federal government business for an internet-of-things technology start-up. He was a consultant with Whitney, Bradley & Brown Inc., where he led studies and analysis focusing on concept and requirements development of emerging technologies and capabilities for the Department of Defense and other federal agencies. Mr. Bombach began his career as an infantry officer in the U.S. Marine Corps with operational assignments in II Marine Expeditionary Force and service as the Marine Corps White House Liaison on the staff of the Secretary of the Navy. He received a B.S. in Economics from the U.S. Naval Academy and an M.A. in International Security Studies from Georgetown University. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Global Business Alliance and the International Biometrics and Identity Association.

Yuki Sako is a Counsel at K&L Gates, Washington, D.C. Ms. Sako advises global banking institutions, asset managers, and payment services on various Japanese financial services regulatory and compliance issues. She counsels clients on offering and structuring various investment products and services and represents clients before Japanese regulatory agencies.

She also advises global financial institutions on various bank regulatory issues under the U.S. federal and state banking and trust company laws. She regularly represents clients before the Federal Reserve Banks, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the New York Department of Financial Services, and other state banking regulators.

Hiroko Tada is the Senior Vice President and General Manager at the Washington, DC office of ITOCHU International, Inc. Ms. Tada joined ITOCHU Corporation in April 2007 after a decade of public service at the Cabinet Office and Bank of Japan. Before her current position, she was Deputy General Manager at ITOCHU Europe in London, following an assignment as General Manager of the Export Control and Sanction Department at ITOCHU Legal Department in Tokyo.

Kenneth Weinstein is the Walter P. Stern distinguished fellow at Hudson Institute.

From 2011 through 2020, Dr. Weinstein served as Hudson’s president and chief executive officer. In December 2019, he became the inaugural holder of the Walter P. Stern Chair. He joined the Institute in 1991, was appointed CEO in June 2005, and was named president and CEO in March 2011.

From 2017 until 2020, Dr. Weinstein chaired the Broadcasting Board of Governors, the oversight body for the US Agency for Global Media, and was chair of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, Middle East Broadcasting, and the Open Technology Fund. He previously was a member of the National Humanities Council, the governing body of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Dr. Weinstein serves on the Advisory Committee on Trade Policy and Negotiations, which provides counsel on trade agreements to the United States Trade Representative. In March 2020, he was nominated by President Trump to serve as US ambassador to Japan. His nomination was reported unanimously by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in September 2020.

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The five new members joined the Society’s 30-member Board of Trustees, which comprises business leaders, thought leaders, and current and former government officials from the U.S.-Japan policy community in the Nation’s Capital Region. The Japan-America Society of Washington DC is a non-partisan, non-profit organization based in the US capital of Washington, DC. It fosters the grassroots relationship between the United States, Japan, and its citizens. The Society promotes this friendship through more than 70 annual programs and events, from cultural activities such as the Sakura Matsuri – Japanese Street Festival, the nation’s largest celebration of Japanese culture, to educational events such as the National Japan Bowl, America’s premier Japanese language competition for high school students.

About the Japan-America Society of Washington DC
The Japan-America Society of Washington DC is a non-partisan, non-profit organization based in the US capital of Washington, DC, which fosters the grassroots relationship between the United States and Japan and its citizens. The Society promotes this friendship through more than 70 annual programs and events from cultural activities such as the Sakura Matsuri – Japanese Street Festival, the nation’s largest celebration of Japanese culture, to educational events such as the National Japan Bowl, an annual Japanese language competition.

Press Contacts
For more information, please get in touch with Olivia Kent at [email protected].