2026.02.23
【Event Report】Sedona Forum Tokyo – The U.S.–Japan Alliance: Advancing Freedom, Innovation, and Security in Asia and the World
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On January 15, 2026, the Sedona Forum Tokyo was convened at the International House of Japan (IHJ), marking the first international edition of the McCain Institute’s flagship annual conference, the Sedona Forum. Co-hosted by the McCain Institute at Arizona State University and the International House of Japan, the forum brought together more than 120
leaders and experts from Japan, the United States, and across the Asia-Pacific region.
Amid intensifying geopolitical competition, growing Indo-Pacific uncertainty, and increasingly complex shared U.S.–Japan challenges, the Forum provided a timely platform for dialogue by convening U.S., Japanese, and international lawmakers and senior public and business figures. Discussions covered global and regional security, AI-related issues including energy and raw materials—the Taiwan Strait, sports and culture in diplomacy, and developments in global and Japanese finance. IHJ was honored to host this inaugural gathering and to contribute to candid, forward-looking exchanges on diplomacy, technological and energy resilience, and the evolving international order.
Opening Remarks
The forum opened with remarks from Jack McCain, Founder and CEO of McCain Advisory KK and Board Member of the McCain Institute, who expressed appreciation to the International House of Japan for hosting the first international expansion of the Sedona Forum. He emphasized the value of bringing the Sedona Forum’s tradition of frank and bipartisan dialogue to Tokyo at a critical moment for the Indo-Pacific.
Following introductory remarks from Jack McCain, Founder and CEO of McCain Advisory KK and McCain Institute Board Member, James Kondo, Chairman of the International House of Japan (I-House) and Dr. Evelyn Farkas, Executive Director of the McCain Institute, the 5 sessions began with the topic of global security.
Session 1: Asian Perspectives on Global Security Challenges
・Taro Kono, Member of the House of Representatives of Japan
・Holmes Liao, Senior Advisor at the Taiwan Space Agency
・GEN (Ret.) Yoshihide Yoshida, former Chief of Staff of the Japan Joint Staff
Moderated by:
・Josh Rogin, Lead Global Security Analyst at Washington Post Intelligence
Starting from the current relations between the Japanese Government and the Trump Administration, speakers presented a variety of points of interest, including: the importance of US-Japan military-to-military cooperation, the need for stronger Japan-Taiwan ties, the impact of Venezuela on strategic calculations in the Taiwan Strait and the impact of continuing grey zone tactics affecting our political systems.