The U.S.-Japan Alliance

Beyond consular duties, Murota plans to strengthen economic ties by promoting cooperation in environmental and energy sectors, including Japan's hydrogen technology, while encouraging investment in and tourism to Japan. He also intends to leverage Los Angeles's position as the entertainment capital to promote Japanese culture through partnerships with JAPAN HOUSE Los Angeles and the Japan Foundation, particularly as interest in Japanese content continues to grow. Recognizing the importance of the region's Japanese American community of over 280,000—the largest in North America—he is committed to deepening relationships with this community and traveling extensively throughout Southern California and Arizona to strengthen Japan-U.S. relations.

In 2007, she left the government to work at the Japanese American National Museum as the Vice President, and then at MUFG Union Bank as a Managing Director of Corporate Communications from 2009 to 2016. She joined Japan House Los Angeles in January 2016 to start up the organization. She serves on the boards of the US-Japan Council, Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, and the Advisory Board of UCLA Terasaki Center for Japanese Studies as well as many Japanese cultural and business associations. She graduated from Nara Women’s University and received M.A. in Sociology from Queen’s University in Canada.

Mr. Yachi, born in 1944 and raised in Toyama Prefecture, earned both his undergraduate and master's degrees in law from the University of Tokyo. He furthered his studies at the Fletcher School, Tufts University, and served as a research fellow at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University.

Prior to joining RAND, Mr. Beauchamp-Mustafaga was the editor of China Brief at The Jamestown Foundation. He has also spent time with the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, the Center for International and Strategic Studies at Peking University, and the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission.

Mr. Beauchamp-Mustafaga graduated from the dual-degree M.Sc. in International Affairs program at the London School of Economics and Peking University, and earned a bachelor’s degree in international affairs and Chinese language and literature from the Elliott School of International Affairs at The George Washington University. He is a member of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations and a Nonresident Fellow at the National Bureau of Asian Research. In total, Mr. Beauchamp-Mustafaga lived in China for over three years and completed a year each of high school, university and master's education at seven schools in five cities throughout China.

Ms. Curtis received the Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service in December 2020 in recognition of her work at the NSC. She is currently Board Chair of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Board Member of Women for Afghanistan, and a Member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

From 2022-2024, Mr. Fedasiuk was an Advisor for U.S.-China Bilateral Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, where he helped launch the Office of China Coordination and served as the U.S. government’s main point of contact with the Chinese Embassy in Washington. Before that, he was a Senior Research Analyst with the Center for Security and Emerging Technology, leading open-source investigations into military applications of AI and U.S. security posture in East Asia.

Mr. Fedasiuk holds an M.A. in Security Studies from Georgetown University and a B.A. in International Studies and Russian language from American University.

Mr. Murano has more than fifteen years of experience in research, analysis, tabletop exercises, and facilitation of numerous classified products related to strategic intelligence assessment and policy planning for the Japanese government.

Prior to joining Hudson, Mr. Murano was a fellow at the Okazaki Institute, a Tokyo-based think tank. He has also been a member of several government grant research programs, including the subcommittee on Security Issues in New Domains and the Government Grant Research Program for Foreign Affairs and Security Studies hosted by the University of Tokyo Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology.

Mr. Murano received both his master’s and bachelor’s degrees from Takushoku University in Tokyo.

Dr. Rapp-Hooper most recently served as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for East Asia and Oceania at the White House National Security Council, where she was the top White House advisor on the region. From 2021 to 2023, she served as Director for Indo-Pacific Strategy at the NSC, shaping the Biden administration’s Indo-Pacific Strategy and managing key initiatives including the Quad, U.S.-Japan-ROK trilateral cooperation, and regional economic and security frameworks.

Previously, Dr. Rapp-Hooper held senior fellowships at the Center for a New American Security and the Center for Strategic and International Studies, where she led the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative. She also served on the Secretary of State’s Policy Planning Staff and as Asia Policy Coordinator for the 2016 Clinton campaign.

Dr. Rapp-Hooper holds a B.A. from Stanford University and a Ph.D. from Columbia University.

Mr. Szechenyi holds an MA in international economics and Japan studies from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and a BA in Asian studies from Connecticut College. He lived in Japan for six years and speaks fluent Japanese.

Prior to joining RAND in April 2017, Hornung was the fellow for the Security and Foreign Affairs Program at Sasakawa USA from 2015 until 2017. From 2010 until 2015, Hornung worked as an associate professor for the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies, a Department of Defense education facility in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Hornung received his Ph.D. in political science from The George Washington University. During 2005–2006, Hornung was also a visiting scholar at the University of Tokyo where he conducted his doctoral research as a Fulbright Fellow. He also holds an M.A. in international relations with a concentration in Japan studies from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).