Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA (SPFUSA)

Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA is an independent American non-profit, non-partisan institution devoted to research, analysis and better understanding of the U.S.-Japan relationship. Research programs focus on security, diplomacy, economics, business, trade, technology and other matters of common concern. Education programs facilitate people-to-people exchange and dialogue on these issues with American and Japanese policymakers, influential citizens and the broader public.

Admiral Dennis Blair became Sasakawa USA’s first American Chairman of the Board and CEO in 2014 and refocused the foundation's mission and expanded its staff. As a result of these efforts, Sasakawa USA has become a major hub for information, news and commentary on U.S.-Japan affairs, building relationships between current and future leaders of both countries and offering a venue for dialogue and discussion. Blair now serves as Chairman of the Board and Distinguished Senior Fellow (Non-Resident), and Ambassador James P. Zumwalt leads the foundation as CEO.

Sasakawa USA has been active in Washington, DC for over 20 years.

Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA was established in 1990 through an endowment from Sasakawa Peace Foundation in Tokyo. Both Foundations get their names from Ryoichi Sasakawa, a Japanese philanthropist. Two years later, Sasakawa USA opened a public art gallery and Japanese library as a way to carry out the initial mission of the Foundation, to promote understanding between the United States and Japan.

In 1997, Sasakawa USA closed the art gallery and shifted its focus to programs and activities that would generate a greater awareness of the Asia Pacific region. Programs from this period, such as “Culture and Identity” and “Asian Voices” were among the first to explore topics of growing importance, such as ethnic coexistence and the Asian identity alongside other geopolitical issues.

The library remained open until 2013, acting as the Foundation’s liaison to local Japanese and interested public. A year later, Sasakawa USA welcomed its first American Chairman, refocused its mission and expanded its staff to provide timely research, outreach and analysis on key policy issues facing the United States and Japan.

Their MISSION:

Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA is dedicated to research, analysis and better public understanding of the U.S.-Japan relationship.