We are thrilled to report that the Brad Richardson Memorial Lecture 2021, “The Challenge of Global Governance and Japan’s Role" by Christina Davis, Director, Program on U.S.-Japan Relations, and Professor of Government, Harvard University had a great turnout with over 70 attendants on Monday, February 22.   The audience was quite diverse, with 34 students, 17 educators, and 22 members of the community.  The post-lecture discussants from The Ohio State University, Mitch Lerner, Alexander Thompson, and William Chou set up a very informative question and answer session with the attendees. 

Thanks to everyone who has donated so far, we have reached almost half of our goal with $1,235! As we approach the home stretch, we hope to translate the enthusiasm from the lecture into crowd-funding strengths for the Brad Richardson Memorial Fund.  Our crowd funding closes Sunday, February 28.  Brad Richardson made great contributions to OSU, the State of Ohio, the community of scholars and professionals, and the Ohio-Japan relations and we seek to elevate the Brad Richardson Memorial Fund to the endowment level.  The Fund supports academic programs and outreach activities that can enhance the interest, knowledge and discourse on Japan among the campus and general public. 

Please consider supporting events such as the Brad Richardson Memorial Lecture with a donation before February 28 to help reach the $3,000 goal online at the Buckeye Funder website or by check. Checks should be made payable to The Ohio State University. Be sure to include "Buckeye Funder: Richardson" in the memo field and send to: The Ohio State University Foundation, PO Box 710811, Columbus, OH 43271-0811.

The Institute for Japanese Studies presents:

“The Challenge of Global Governance and Japan’s Role"

Monday, February 22, 20215:00 - 7:00pm (online, registration required)

Christina Davis Director, Program on U.S.-Japan Relations, and Professor of Government, Harvard University

With post-lecture discussants: 

• Mitch Lerner  Professor, Department of History, OSU; Director, East Asian Studies Center, The Ohio State University
• Alexander Thompson  Professor, Department of Political Science, The Ohio State University
• William Chou  Fulbright-Hays Scholar, Department of History, The Ohio State University

Flyer: Christina Davis Flyer [PDF]

Registration (required): Link

Abstract: Nationalist populism pushes against liberal internationalism even while economic and health crises demand international cooperation.  The core pillars of Japanese foreign policy -- multilateralism, the US-Japan alliance, and engagement in Asia – remain central to how Japan can contribute to global governance. First, Japan must reinforce multilateralism. International organizations support cooperation when peer pressure and enforcement mechanisms uphold compliance.  Japan’s experience as a member of international organizations offers lessons for how to use multilateralism to induce reforms.  Second, strong U.S.-Japan relations defend principles of free markets and democracy.  New leaders in the US and Japan must rebuild confidence in these ideals both at home and in their alliance. Finally, Japan lies at the hub of the trade regime complex. It can balance US and Chinese rivalries through skillful diplomacy with other states in Asia to set a middle path for open engagement. 

Bio: Christina L. Davis is a Professor of Government in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and Susan S. and Kenneth L. Wallach Professor at the Radcliffe Institute. She is the Director of the Program on U.S.-Japan Relations at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs and serves as co-executive editor of the Japanese Journal of Political Science.

Her research interests include the politics and foreign policy of Japan and East Asia and the study of international organizations, with a focus on trade policy, and her research has been published in leading political science journals. Professor Davis is the author of Food Fights over Free Trade: How International Institutions Promote Agricultural Trade Liberalization (Princeton University Press, 2003) and Why Adjudicate? Enforcing Trade Rules in the WTO (Princeton University Press, 2012), which won the International Law Book Award and Chadwick F. Alger Prize from the International Studies Association, as well as the Masayoshi Ohira Memorial Prize. Currently, she is writing a book on the politics of exit and entry into international organizations and conducting research for several projects on the evolving trade order.

Professor Davis received her A.B. in East Asian studies and her Ph.D. in government from Harvard, and she returned to Harvard in 2018 after 16 years on the faculty of Princeton University.

Free and Open to the Public

If you require an accommodation, such as live captioning, to participate in this event, please contact Stephanie Metzger at metzger.235@osu.edu or 614-247-4725. Requests made at least two weeks in advance of the event will generally allow us to provide seamless access, but the university will make every effort to meet requests made after this date. 

This event is supported by the Brad Richardson Memorial Lecture Fund and a U.S. Department of Education Title VI grant to The Ohio State University East Asian Studies Center.

The Brad Richardson Memorial Fund Lectures were inaugurated in 2016 to address higher contemporary issues in Japanese studies and Japan’s international relations. 

• 2021 Brad Richardson Memorial Lecture: "The Challenge of Global Governance and Japan's Role" by Christina Davis, Director, Program on U.S.-Japan Relations, and Professor of Government, Harvard University. Discussants: Mitch Lerner, Professor, Department of History, Ohio State; Director, East Asian Studies Center, The Ohio State University and Alexander Thompson, Professor, Department of Political Science, The Ohio State University and William Chou, Fulbright-Hays Scholar, Department of History, The Ohio State University. February 22, 2021, 5:00pm. 

• 2020 Brad Richardson Memorial Lecture: "Effective Leadership in Japan: The Case of Shibusawa Eiichi, Entrepreneur and Philanthropist" by Gil Latz, Vice Provost for Global Strategies and International Affairs and Professor, Department of Geography, The Ohio State University, Discussant: David Welch, Department of Political Science, The University of Waterloo, February 28, 2020.

• 2019 Brad Richardson Memorial Lecture: "Abenomics: Escape from the Lost Two Decades of the Japanese Economy,” by Takatoshi Ito, Professor, International Public Affairs, Columbia University, February 22, 2019.

• 2018 Brad Richardson Memorial Lecture: "Has Abenomics Revived the Japanese Economy? Comparative Macroeconomic Perspectives with the US Economy," by Takeo Hoshi, Henri and Tomoye Takahashi Senior Fellow, Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center & Professor of Finance, Stanford Graduate School of Business, Stanford University, February 26, 2018. 

• 2017 Brad Richardson Memorial Lecture: "Japan’s Grand Strategy and the US-Japan Alliance," by Richard J. Samuels, Ford International Professor of Political Science and Director, Center for International Studies Massachusetts Institute of Technology, February 17, 2017.

• 2016 Brad Richardson Memorial Lecture: “Natural and Unnatural Disasters in the U.S.-Japan Comparative Perspectives: 3/11, 9/11, Asbestos, and the Unmaking of Japan’s Modern World,” by Brett Walker, Regents Professor and Malone Memorial Professor of History, Montana State University, and 2015-16 Edwin O. Reischauer Visiting Professor of Japanese Studies, Harvard University, March 4, 2016. 

Other lectures that have been or will be supported by the Brad Richardson Memorial Fund:

• IJS Lecture Series: “China’s Hot-Button Maritime and Territorial Claims: A Role for Japan” by David Welch, Research Chair and Professor of Political Science, University of Waterloo, February 27, 2020. 

• IJS Lecture Series: “Abenomics and Monetary Policy” by Joshua Hausman, Assistant Professor, University of Michigan and faculty research fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research, February 14, 2020.

• IJS Lecture Series: "Patsy Takemoto Mink and Anti-Nuclear Politics:  Atomic Testing in the Pacific during the Cold War" by Judy Tzu-Chun Wu, Professor and Chair, Department of Asian American Studies, University of California, Irvine, April 3, 2017.

Bradley M. Richardson, Professor Emeritus in Political Science, the founding Director of the OSU Institute for Japanese Studies and a former Honorary Consul General of Japan for Ohio who continually tried to raise awareness of Japanese studies and U.S./Japan relations. We seek to continue his legacy through various academic, educational and outreach programs made possible with this funding. 

Order of the Rising Sun Award (2008): Brad Richardson was honored with the Order of the Rising Sun, a national decoration that the Japanese government awards to individuals who have contributed greatly to the nation and the public in politics, business, culture and the arts. Brad Richardson was recognized for his outstanding accomplishments in Ohio State’s goals in international relations, education and exchange that relate to Japan to the U.S, Ohio and local communities. 

Honorary Consul General of Japan for Ohio: Brad Richardson was Honorary Consul General of Japan for Ohio from 1999- 2004 to strengthen the U.S.–Japan relations, especially through Japan’s growing ties with the State of Ohio.  

Japan-America Society of Central Ohio (JASCO): Bard Richardson was a founding member of the Executive Board of the Japan-America Society of Central Ohio (JASCO) in 1997 and served many roles on its board and programming committee through 2015.

Ohio-Saitama Sister State Relationship: Through the Ohio-Saitama Sister State relationship, he established the Ohio-Saitama Company Internship program in which 88 Ohio students from 13 universities and 29 students from Saitama universities participated during 1991-2014.   

Leadership on campus: Brad Richardson was the Founding Director of the Institute for Japanese Studies (IJS) from its inception in 1985 until 2002.   He also was the Director of the East Asian Studies Center (EASC) during 1977-1980 and 1999-2002.

Scholarly pursuits: Brad Richardson was a leading scholar in Japanese politics as well as a notable academician, lecturer and author on Japanese culture, business and politics, and received the Ohio State University Distinguished Scholar Award in 1996.  

Education: Brad Richardson received his PhD from University of California at Berkeley, his MA from Columbia University and his AB from Harvard College. His languages included Japanese, Spanish, German, and French.  At OSU, he taught Government and Politics of Japan, including comparative political behavior. He had over 20 publications, such as, “Political Parties in Japan,” and “Japan’s 1955 System and Beyond,” in Political Parties and Democracy, eds. L. Diamond and R. Gunther, John Hopkins University Press, 2002; and “Political Traditions and Political Change: The Significance of Postwar Japanese politics for Political science,” Annual Review of Political Science, (with D. Patterson) 4, 93-115, 2001.