This Week in Washington, January 5, 2015

Washington returns to work this week. The 114th Congress begins on January 6th and the rest of the month will be meetings and briefings. The policy community will be designing opportunities to spotlight themselves as potential advisers to presidential candidates. On Wednesday, the 7th the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) issues the minutes from its December 16-17, 2014 meeting.

The year is one of anniversaries: included the 20th anniversaries of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake on January 17 and the Tokyo subway sarin gas attack by the Aum Shinrikyo cult group on March 20, the 40th anniversary of the fall of Saigon on April 30, the 50th anniversary of the diplomatic normalization between Japan and South Korea on June 22, the 30th anniversary of the JAL passenger jet crash in the mountains of Gunma on August 12, the 70th anniversary of the end of WWII on August 15, the 110th anniversary of the end of the Russo-Japan War on September 5, and the 30th anniversary of the Plaza Accord on September 22.

The following are some of the Asia-relevant events this week:
ASIA PIVOT 2.0.1/5, 10:00-11:00am. Sponsor: CSIS Asia Program. Speakers: Michael J. Green, Senior Vice President for Asia and Japan Chair, CSIS; Ernest Z. Bower, Senior Adviser and Sumitro Chair for Southeast Asia Studies, CSIS; Victor Cha, Senior Adviser and Korea Chair, CSIS; Bonnie S. Glaser, Senior Adviser for Asia, Freeman Chair in China Studies and Senior Associate, Pacific Forum, CSIS; Matthew P. Goodman, William E. Simon Chair in Political Economy and Senior Adviser for Asian Economics, CSIS; Christopher K. Johnson, Senior Adviser and Freeman Chair in China Studies, CSIS; Scott Miller, Senior Adviser and Scholl Chair in International Business, CSIS; Richard M. Rossow, Senior Fellow and Wadhwani Chair in U.S.-India Policy Studies, CSIS.

4TH ANNUAL DEFENSE, NATIONAL SECURITY & CLIMATE CHANGE SYMPOSIUM. 1/7-8. Sponsor: Association of Climate Change Officers (ACCO). Speakers: Miranda Ballentine, Assistant Secretary for Installations, Environment & Energy, U.S. Air Force; Kate Brandt, Federal Environmental Executive, White House Council on Environmental Quality; John Conger, Acting Deputy Under Secretary of Defense, Installations & Environment, U.S. Department of Defense; Katherine Hammack, Asst. Secretary of the Army (Installations, Energy & Environment), U.S. Army; Dennis McGinn, Asst. Secretary of the Navy (Installations, Energy & Environment), U.S. Navy.

3RD JASC-KASC TRILATERAL SYMPOSIUM. 1/8, 9:00am-2:00pm. Sponsors: Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA; International Student Conferences, Inc. Speakers: Adm. Dennis C. Blair, USN (ret.) Chairman & CEO, Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA; Sheila A. Smith, Senior Fellow for Japan Studies, Council on Foreign Relations; Thomas C. Hubbard, Former U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines and South Korea, Senior Director for Asia, McLarty Associates; Erin Chung, Professor of East Asian Politics, Johns Hopkins University, Director, Program in East Asian Studies; Junya Nishino, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, Keio University; Andrew Oros, Associate Professor of Political Science and International Studies, Washington College; Danny Leipziger, Managing Director of Growth Dialogue, Professor of Practice in International Business, George Washington University.

JAPAN-ROK RELATIONS: FIFTY YEARS AFTER NORMALIZATION. 1/9, Noon-1:30pm. Sponsor: Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA. Speaker: Dr. Junya Nishino, Associate Professor of Korean Politics and International Politics, Keio University.