Led by Alan Liu 🇺🇸 & Karin Suzuki 🇯🇵

Artificial intelligence is rapidly changing how we work, learn, create, and communicate. As AI becomes increasingly integrated into everyday life, it offers new possibilities while raising difficult questions about its environmental, social, and ethical impacts.

In this roundtable, delegates will explore how AI is reshaping fields such as education, media, art, government, and the environment. They will consider how cultural and ethical standards may evolve alongside the technology and examine the consequences of both responsible and irresponsible uses of AI.

Through perspectives from the U.S., Japan, and beyond, delegates will consider how different societies understand, adopt, and challenge AI. As the technology becomes more powerful, how can we ensure that AI remains a tool we shape rather than one that shapes us?

Led by Zaac Russell 🇺🇸 & Riko Hasegawa 🇯🇵

Who has the power to shape international relations? Governments and political leaders play a central role in diplomacy, but they are not the only actors influencing how countries understand one another or how relationships between nations evolve.

In this roundtable, delegates will examine international affairs from the perspectives of governments, institutions, and ordinary citizens. Through the lens of the U.S.-Japan relationship, they will explore how different actors exercise influence, how national and individual interests intersect, and what role citizens can play in diplomacy.

As the international landscape evolves, delegates will consider their own place within it. How can individuals — and especially young people — contribute to the future of U.S.-Japan relations and help shape the world around them?

Led by Yuika Ohtaki 🇺🇸 & Minato Takaesu 🇯🇵

What role should art play in society? Japan has increasingly prioritized the arts as part of its national strategy, while support for arts and cultural institutions in the U.S. has become more contested. These different approaches raise a larger question about how societies understand and value art.

In this roundtable, delegates will explore how the role and value of art are shaped by culture, public policy, and a rapidly changing digital world. Through perspectives from the U.S. and Japan, they will challenge their own assumptions and consider why societies choose to create, preserve, and support art.

Regardless of their background or area of study, delegates will consider how art can bridge cultural differences, encourage dialogue, and foster mutual understanding — and what role it should play in the societies of the future.

Led by Olivia Peltier 🇺🇸 & Takaho Matsuda 🇯🇵

Language does more than help us communicate — it shapes how we understand the world, share ideas, and participate in society. From literature and media to laws and public debate, the words we use influence our institutions, communities, and relationships.

In this roundtable, delegates will explore language through intercultural narratives, language exchange, and research across disciplines. They will examine what it means to be literate and informed in a rapidly changing world and consider how literature, media, and conversation shape the stories we tell about ourselves and others.

Through perspectives from the U.S. and Japan, delegates will consider the relationship between language and citizenship. How do the words and narratives we encounter shape our values, identities, and understanding of the world — and what responsibility do we have to question them?

Led by Abdullah Abdulaziz 🇺🇸 & Komari Nakamura 🇯🇵

Economic growth can create new opportunities — but who benefits from them? As AI transforms the workplace, globalization reshapes economies, and Japan faces an aging population and labor shortages, both Japan and the U.S. are confronting questions about access to jobs, education, and economic opportunity.

In this roundtable, delegates will explore how businesses, workers, and communities respond to economic change. They will examine how technology affects employment, how globalization and foreign investment shape different communities, and how businesses respond to challenges such as labor shortages and immigration.

By comparing Japan and the U.S., delegates will consider the relationship between economic growth and socioeconomic mobility. How can economies continue to grow while ensuring that opportunities, benefits, and responsibilities are shared more equitably?

Led by Perla Santos 🇺🇸 & Kosei Miyamoto 🇯🇵

Who owns the ocean, polar regions, or even the moon? As countries draw boundaries and compete for access to shared spaces and natural resources, fundamental questions emerge about who has the right to use them — and who is responsible for protecting them.

In this roundtable, delegates will explore how the U.S. and Japan approach the global commons through political, scientific, technological, economic, security, and social perspectives. They will examine why countries sometimes disagree over boundaries, resources, and environmental stewardship, even when they share many of the same interests and values.

Drawing on their own fields of study and perspectives, delegates will consider how shared spaces and resources should be governed when there is no single right answer — and what these debates can tell us about the future of U.S.-Japan relations and the international order.

Led by Alexandra Lai 🇺🇸 & Wataru Kohashiguchi 🇯🇵

Why do people behave the way they do? Why do some take extraordinary risks, follow deeply held traditions, or break established rules? Human behavior is shaped by our motivations, values, and lived experiences — all of which evolve as societies change.

In this roundtable, delegates will explore human behavior through case studies and research spanning criminology, media studies, psychology, public policy, and other fields. They will examine how modernization, policy changes, and digitalization challenge established norms, traditions, and value systems.

Through comparisons between the U.S. and Japan, delegates will consider how values form and transform, gaining a deeper understanding of the social and psychological forces that shape human behavior.