Yuko Nakano

Yuko Nakano is a fellow of Japan Chair and associate director of the U.S.-Japan Strategic Leadership Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Her research focuses on U.S.-Japan relations and legislative affairs. Until the fall of 2005, she worked in the CSIS Office of the Director of Studies, where she assisted the senior vice president and director of studies with projects on Asian security and launched the U.S.-Japan Strategic Leadership Program which brings together outside experts with Japanese Diet members for closed strategic discussions on current issues facing the U.S.-Japan alliance. Prior to joining CSIS, she was an adjunct associate producer with NHK Japan Broadcasting Corporation’s Washington, D.C. bureau. She also worked with a nongovernmental organization in Macedonia and Kosovo during the summer of 1999, where she was responsible for peacebuilding projects as a regional community service coordinator. She holds a B.A. in law from Keio University in Tokyo, Japan, and an M.A. in international relations and international economics, with a concentration in strategic studies, from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).
Areas of Expertise
In the News
قفزة كبيرة في سياستها الدفاعية.. هل تصبح اليابان رأس حربة في مواجهة أميركا للصين؟
Yuko Nakano in Al Jazeera — January 14, 2023
Biden and Kishida pledge to strengthen US-Japan ties as a counter to China
Yuko Nakano in South China Morning Post — January 14, 2023
Japan prepares its armed forces for a hostile future
Yuko Nakano in ABC International — August 22, 2022
미 전문가들 “윤 대통령 한일관계 개선 의지 ‘긍정적’…양국 실질적 상응 조치 필요”
Yuko Nakano in Voice of America Korea — August 19, 2022
South Korea seeks to kickstart talks to resolve historical feuds with Japan
Yuko Nakano in Reuters — July 15, 2022
Biden’s Asia trip shifts focus to China
Yuko Nakano and Scott Kennedy in The Hill — May 18, 2022
Police shooting looms over Emanuel in confirmation battle
Yuko Nakano in AP News — October 19, 2021
All content by Yuko Nakano
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Indo-Pacific Forecast 2023
Event by Victor Cha , Emily Benson , Jude Blanchette , Charles Edel , Matthew P. Goodman , Christopher B. Johnstone , Scott Kennedy , Ellen Kim , and Bonny Lin , Lily McElwee , Erin L. Murphy , Yuko Nakano , Gregory B. Poling , William Alan Reinsch , Nicholas Szechenyi , Raymond Vickery , Kurt Campbell , Ambassador Taeyong Cho , Ambassador Jose Manuel G. Romualdez — January 12, 2023

The Biden-Kishida Summit Meeting
Critical Questions by Nicholas Szechenyi , Yuko Nakano , and Matthew P. Goodman — January 10, 2023

Japan’s Upper House Election: Kishida Clears Another Hurdle
Critical Questions by Christopher B. Johnstone , Nicholas Szechenyi , and Yuko Nakano — July 11, 2022

The Assassination of Shinzo Abe
Critical Questions by Christopher B. Johnstone , Nicholas Szechenyi , and Yuko Nakano — July 8, 2022

Press Briefing: Previewing Biden's Trip to Asia, Pt. 2 - Quadrilateral Security Dialogue
Event by Charles Edel , Richard M. Rossow , Nicholas Szechenyi , and Yuko Nakano — May 18, 2022

Asia Forecast 2022
Event by Michael J. Green , Victor Cha , and Charles Edel , Yuko Nakano , Richard M. Rossow , Jude Blanchette , Bonny Lin , Gregory B. Poling , Nicholas Szechenyi , Matthew P. Goodman , Scott Kennedy , William Alan Reinsch , Stephanie Segal — January 27, 2022

RESOLVED: The Lower House Election Is a Warning Sign for the LDP
Newsletter by Yuko Nakano — November 29, 2021

Japan’s Lower House Election: Kishida Gets a Mandate for Now
Critical Questions by Michael J. Green , Nicholas Szechenyi , and Yuko Nakano — November 1, 2021

Japan’s Ruling Party Elects a New Leader
Critical Questions by Michael J. Green , Nicholas Szechenyi , and Yuko Nakano — September 29, 2021

Previewing Japan’s Leadership Election and Implications for U.S.-Japan Relations
Event by Michael J. Green , Nicholas Szechenyi , and Yuko Nakano — September 28, 2021
