WASHINGTON, D.C. (January 26, 2026) — Following the McCain Institute’s inaugural Sedona Forum – Tokyo on January 15, 2026, Washington Post Intelligence’s Josh Rogin wrote about how the McCain Institute united U.S. and international experts with Japanese officials, lawmakers, journalists, and academics to discuss the U.S.-Japan economic relationship at a pivotal moment for Washington D.C. and Tokyo’s relationship.
Read the full column HERE and view excerpts below.
Japan’s new government is adapting to Trump’s new world order
Reporting from the McCain Institute Sedona Forum Tokyo
Washington Post Intelligence
By Josh Rogin
January 25, 2026
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Key Takeaways: At a high-level conference in Tokyo last week that I attended, the …McCain Institute and the Tokyo-based International House of Japan brought together U.S. and international experts with Japanese officials, lawmakers, journalists, and academics to compare notes on the U.S.-Japan economic relationship, shifts in the global order, technology policy, energy, supply chains, and more.
What emerged in panels and private conversations was a near-consensus that while military-to-military bilateral relations are good, the Trump administration’s chaotic and unpredictable approach is pushing allies to develop more resilience and less dependence on both China and the United States.
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Kono Taro, a member of Japan’s parliament from the ruling LDP, said at the McCain Institute conference that Trump’s erratic style and desire to make a deal with Beijing created problems for allies such as Japan.
“If the U.S had the upper hand dealing with China, Xi Jinping wouldn’t be treating Japan this way now,” Kono said.
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Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama addressed the McCain Institute conference and defended the pro-growth policies and spending despite Japan’s growing debt problem. Japan remains the lowest deficit-to-GDP ratio of all the Group of Seven countries, she said. Japan’s dependency on public bonds is also among the lowest of the G-7 countries, she said, currently at about 24 percent. Investments in shipbuilding, nuclear fusion, AI and semiconductors will go up in Japan but will produce future revenue, she said.
“We’ve clearly shown that you need fiscal stimulus to grow the economy,” she said. “The budget structure has evolved and progressed, and this is something we will [remind] the Japanese people during this election campaign.”
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