Update from Tokyo: U.S.-Japan Relations

Ambassador John V. Roos offers his informal off-the-record remarks on current and future U.S. - Japan Relations.

On May 27, 2009, President Barack Obama nominated John V. Roos to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to Japan. He was confirmed by the Senate on August 7, 2009, and was sworn in on August 16, 2009. Prior to his appointment as ambassador, Mr. Roos served as Chief Executive Officer at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, a law firm headquartered in Silicon Valley which is known for its representation of technology, life sciences, and growth companies. Mr. Roos had been a partner at the firm since 1988 and also served in a number of other senior leadership roles including the firm's Board of Directors.

Mr. Roos helped lead the firm during the waves of innovation in Silicon Valley, from the growth of software and communications, to the Internet Age and the emergence of biotechnology, to today's focus on clean technology and renewable energy. He was a leader in cultivating the firm's diversity initiatives. Mr. Roos has been active in local government and served on national political campaigns for President Obama, former Vice President Walter Mondale and Senator Bill Bradley, among others.

Mr. Roos grew up in San Francisco and graduated from Lowell High School in 1973 before attending college at Stanford University, from which he graduated Phi Beta Kappa with honors and distinction in 1977. He then went on to Stanford Law School, where he was a member of the Stanford Law Review and Order of the Coif, earning his Juris Doctor in 1980.