US-Japan Cooperation on the Japan Disaster:

• What is the current state of affairs in the disaster zone? What is the state of civil society organizations in the Tohoku region?  How much of a role are they playing and how do they interact with government and business? How many are local organizations and how many come from outside of Tohoku?

• What are Japanese civil society organizations doing to respond to the disaster? How is their response changing?

• What is the role of networks of civil society organizations in helping coordinate the response in Japan?

• What is being done on the philanthropic side in Japan? What imbalances have emerged in the response?

• What are the greatest needs now and in the future?

• Where are the likely gaps in the response? Are there issue areas and geographic regions that are likely to be neglected?

• Now that we are transitioning from emergency relief to long-term recovery, how are US organizations that are managing “Japan funds” identifying organizations to support? How are US organizations getting information on potential recipients in Japan, and what gaps are there in the information?

• What do US groups wish to see on the part of Japanese organizations that they may support, both programmatically and in terms of administration? What criteria do they feel they need to see in potential recipients? What do their donors demand in terms of accountability as they channel funds into Japan?

• What challenges have they faced in finding appropriate organizations to fund in Japan, and how have they dealt with this? (Linguistic, cultural, institutional capacity, operating procedures, etc.) Where have there been mismatches between the expectations of US funders and their Japanese partners?

• What might make it easier for US organizations to channel funds to effective groups in Japan?

• Is it easier for US organizations to fund directly or to work through local networks or intermediaries?

• What concrete steps can Japanese and US organizations take together to make funding flow more smoothly? How can we avoid imbalances and overlap in funding? In particular, what lessons can we draw from previous experiences with the Kobe earthquake, as well as Hurricane Katrina?

• How should we reconcile the trade-offs between the wishes of donors for clearly defined projects and the need on the part of recipient organizations for flexibility in a fluid environment?

• How can we help overcome the capacity restraints of many of the potential recipient organizations in Japan? How can US organizations avoid overburdening Japanese groups with limited capacity?

• What kind of information sharing can help US funders, and how can this be most efficiently provided?

• Is there a need for coordination among networks of funders in Japan or the United States? Is there utility in pooling funds inside Japan? Are there innovative approaches worth considering to ensure that funding goes to the areas of greatest need rather than just for the problems that are simplest to grasp, the locations where it is easiest to operate, and the groups that are strongest on public relations?

Participants

Yoichiro Abe

Deputy Director (Planning and External Relations), Central Community Chest of Japan (CCCJ); Executive Member, Joint Committee for Coordinating and Supporting Voluntary Disaster Relief Activities

Benjamin Barrows   

Emergency Economic Recovery and Development Advisor, International Rescue Committee

Peggy Blumenthal

Senior Counselor to the President, Institute of International Education

Betty Borden

Director of Policy Projects, Japan Society

Tref Borden

Advisory Committee Member, Japanese Disaster Relief Fund of Boston (JDRFB); Executive Director, Fish Family Foundation

Paige Cottingham-Streater

Executive Director, Japan-US Friendship Commission

Laura Cronin

Former Director, Toshiba America Foundation

Pamela Fields

Assistant Executive Director for CULCON, Japan-US Friendship Commission

Atsuko Toko Fish

Co-Founder, Japanese Disaster Relief Fund of Boston (JDRFB); Trustee, Fish Family Foundation

James Gannon

Executive Director, Japan Center for International Exchange (JCIE/USA)

Beth Gilroy

Vice President, Corporate Communications Group, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ

Peter Grilli

President, Japan Society of Boston; Advisory Committee Member, Japanese Disaster Relief Fund of Boston (JDRFB)

Ella Gudman   

Vice President for Emergency Response, AmeriCares

Noboru Hayase

Chief Executive Officer, Osaka Voluntary Action Center; Vice President, Japan NPO Center

Thomas Hedberg

Director, Noveida International Medical Crisis Response Alliance - Japan Outreach; Scientific Supervisor, Noveida Health; Managing Editor, Psychclinican.com

Irene Hirano Inouye

President, US-Japan Council

Renata Hron Gomez

Senior Program Officer, The Hitachi Foundation

Misa Imanaka-Miller

Office Manager, Sasakawa Peace Foundation

Fukiko Ishii

Executive Member, Joint Committee for Coordinating and Supporting Voluntary Disaster Relief Activities; President, Sakura Net

Satoko Itoh

Chief Program Officer, Japan Center for International Exchange (JCIE)

Keiji Iwatake

Director, Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA

Tsutomu Karino

Executive Director & Secretary, Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of New York; Executive Vice President & Secretary, The Nippon Club

Fred Katayama

Anchor, Reuters Television; Board Member, Japan Society, US-Japan Council

Hideko Katsumata

Managing Director and Executive Secretary, Japan Center for International Exchange (JCIE)

Peter Kelley

President, National Association of Japan-America Societies

Tatsuaki Kobayashi

Deputy Director General, Japan Foundation; Program Director, Grassroots Exchange & Education, Center for Global Partnership

Wakao Koike

Assistant Director, Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership Tokyo Office

Helena Kolenda

Program Director for Asia, Henry Luce Foundation

Joseph Kressaty

Vice President, Business Development & Television Relations, Kuma Games; Board of Directors, Sister Cities International

Kazuaki Kubo

Regional Director for the Americas & Director General, Japan Foundation; Director, Center for Global Partnership

Mari Kuraishi

Co-Founder and President, GlobalGiving

Britt Lake

Director of Programs, GlobalGiving

Leah Markham

Program Officer, Mizuho USA Foundation

Kathleen McLaughlin

Development and Communications Manager, Sister Cities International

Margaret Mihori

Assistant Executive Director, Japan-US Friendship Commission

Gary Moriwaki

President, Japanese American Association of New York; Partner, Fox Rothschild

Yuka Nakamura

Assistant Vice President, Corporate Communications Group, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ

Masazumi Nakayama

Managing Director, Citigroup

Tae Namba

Board Member and Director of President’s Office, Association of Medical Doctors of Asia (AMDA)

Cao K. O

Executive Director, Asian American Federation

Pennie Ojeda

Director of International Activities, National Endowment for the Arts

Susan Onuma

Past President, Japanese American Association of New York; Partner, Kelley Drye

Jennifer Quiambao

Program Officer, Asian Cultural Council

Daniel Rosenblum

Vice President, External Relations, Japan Society

Scott Sugiura

Senior Program Officer, Give2Asia

Yoshifumi Tajiri

Managing Director and Secretary General, Japan NPO Center; Co-Chair, Japan Civil Network for Disaster Relief in East Japan (JCN)

Tomoko Wakabayashi

Deputy Executive Secretary and Senior Program Officer, Association for Corporate Support of the Arts, Japan

Robert Yanagisawa

Vice President, Japanese Medical Society of America

Observers

Bhaird Campbell

Program Manager, Japan Society of Boston

Kirsten Homma

Dartmouth College; Columbians for Japan Relief

Steven Horowitz

Member, JETAA USA [JET Program Alumni Association-USA] Earthquake Relief Fund Committee

Emily Kidder

Project Coordinator, Columbians for Japan Relief; Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health

Kiichiro Sato

President, JETRO New York

Jonathan Schwab

Manager, Public Relations, Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of New York

Daiichiro Takeuchi

Consul, Consulate General of Japan in New York

JCIE and CGP

Lilian Haney

Associate Program Officer, Japan Center for International Exchange (JCIE/USA)

Renay Loper

Associate Program Officer, Grassroots Exchange & Education, The Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership

Maya Wedemeyer

Assistant Program Officer, Japan Center for International Exchange (JCIE/USA)

Lesley Wynn

Assistant, Grassroots Exchange & Education, The Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership