Indiana University’s Adam Liff’s recent report for the U.S.–Japan Foundation is making waves worldwide, drawing attention from leading international media. The report, “Japan: The Indispensable Ally, Except in U.S. Academia,” warns of a troubling trend. It states, “Just as recognition of Japan’s unique importance has reached a historic peak in Washington, there is an inconspicuous but looming crisis facing the bilateral relationship: the accelerating disappearance at major American research universities of faculty expertise and courses focused on contemporary U.S.–Japan relations and Japanese foreign and security policy.”
Global media amplify Liff’s warning on U.S.–Japan expertise decline
Coverage by major outlets – including the South China Morning Post, ,JAPAN Forward, Vietnam’s Báo Lao Ðông, Sweden’s Dagens Industri, and University World News – underscoresthe urgency of Liff’s call for action. The Japanese translation of the report—which Liff also worked on—has also made major waves in Japan, going viral on social media, and being the focus of articles in the Japanese language press (e.g., Sankei Shimbun)additionally featured in Japanese media
Liff, a leading scholar of East Asia security affairs and Japanese politics and foreign policy, is a professor of East Asian international relations and founding director of the 21st Century Japan Politics and Society Initiative at the Hamilton Lugar School. He also serves as a non-resident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution’s Center for Asia Policy Studies.
The South China Morning Post highlighted Liff’s warning about a “precipitous drop-off” in U.S. universities’ teaching and research on contemporary U.S.–Japan relations and Japanese foreign and security policy—trends that could have serious consequences for Washington’s ties with its most important Indo-Pacific ally. Meanwhile, University World News cited his warnings of a “a quiet but looming crisis in US-Japan relations.”
The Japan Forward coverage focused on Liff’s warnings about dwindling numbers of Japanese specialists, particularly in fields such as Japanese diplomacy. It also cited his recommendation that private endowments may be the key to the long-term success of Japanese studies.
At Indiana University’s Hamilton Lugar School, Japanese language and area studies are currently strong but many of these strengths and opportunities for students rely on external grant support to survive—with the 21st Century Japan Politics and Society Initiative’s (21JPSI) activities a key example.
21JPSI, led by Liff, fosters interdisciplinary discussions of current policy challenges. In addition to occasional manuscript workshops and networking events, 21JPSI also organizes public-facing event series; a “Japan Politics and Society” speaker series that hosts events regularly throughout each academic year, and a national conference on U.S.-Japan Relations.
In November 2025, the school hosted Japan’s Consul-General Masashi Mizobuchi for a campus visit and public lecture. In December, it hosted a conference on “Japan, the United States, and the World.”
Read the full report in English or Japanese to learn why Liff calls this an “all-hands-on-deck” moment for U.S.-Japan relations. Explore the full report to understand the stakes for U.S.–Japan relations and higher education.