The public is invited to attend an Ambassadors’ Roundtable series breakfast presentation by Sheila Smith, PhD on “Intimate Rivals: Japanese Domestic Politics and A Rising China”. This event will take place at the Stamford Yacht Club on April 15, 2015.

Dr. Smith is a senior fellow for Japan Studies, at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). She joined CFR from the East-West Center in 2007, where she specialized in Asia-Pacific international relations and U.S. policy toward Asia. From 2004 to 2007, she directed a multinational research team in a cross-national study of the domestic politics of the U.S. military presence in Japan, South Korea, and the Philippines.

Prior to joining the East-West Center, Dr. Smith was on the faculty of the Department of International Relations at Boston University (1994-2000), and on the staff of the Social Science Research Council (1992-1993). She has been a visiting researcher at two leading Japanese foreign and security policy think tanks, the Japan Institute of International Affairs and the Research Institute for Peace and Security, and at the University of Tokyo and the University of the Ryukyus.

Dr. Smith has authored numerous publications and her most recent book is on Intimate Rivals: Japanese Domestic Politics and A Rising China. She is a trustee for Japan-America Society of Washington, DC, and an executive committee member for the National Association of Japan-America Societies.

Dr. Smith earned her MA and PhD degrees from the Department of Political Science at Columbia University.

The cost for the breakfast and presentation is free for AR series members, $30 for Forum members and $50 for the general public. The event will start at 7:00 A.M. with coffee and networking followed by a full breakfast buffet at 7:30. The presentation will begin at 8 A.M. and Dr. Smith will take questions.

Reservations and advance payment are required. Space is limited. Please contact the World Affairs Forum at 203-356-0340 or E-mail: info@worldaffairsforum.org to reserve.

The World Affairs Forum is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to expanding understanding of global affairs and America’s role in the world. The Forum is an affiliate of the World Affairs Councils of America.