Former US ambassador to Japan shares lessons on politics, entrepreneurism

In March 2011, an earthquake and tsunami hit the eastern coast of Japan and caused one of the worst nuclear meltdowns ever seen. In the lead-up to that week, U.S. officials there were bracing themselves for a media firestorm following a controversial Wikileaks release, Japan’s new foreign minister was ushered into office, and an apology statement was delivered on behalf of the United States in Okinawa, explained the top U.S. diplomat who was posted there at the time.

“And that, was just a microcosm of all kinds of things going on during my tenure there,” said John Roos, who served as the U.S. ambassador to Japan from 2009 to 2013.

Speaking at Stanford, Ambassador Roos offered views on his tenure as ambassador at a seminar led by the Japan Program at the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC). The diplomatic posting, underpinned by the strong U.S.-Japan alliance, proved an essential role for coordination of U.S. aid when the disaster struck.

Roos spoke in conversation with Ambassador Michael Armacost, his counterpart who served in the same position from 1989 to 1993, who is now a distinguished fellow at Shorenstein APARC.

“By far, [it was] the biggest crisis I had to deal with in my career,” said Roos, who has years of experience in business and law, and is now the CEO of the Roos Group.

Roos said he first took steps to open lines of communication between local staff, and the Japanese and U.S. military commands there. He went with his team on a dozen trips across the country. Fact-finding missions were necessary to assess the situation, as much as they were symbolic in showing a commitment to the people of Japan, he said.

Asked about his background, Roos said his academic training was valuable throughout his career. He is a graduate of Stanford University and Stanford Law School.

Leaders tasked to coordinate response crisis efforts, especially those concerned with nuclear issues, are often across many intergovernmental organizations and in turn, lead to a conflicting set of opinions. He said his ability to navigate tough situations harkens back to his training at Stanford, which emphasized building consensus and thinking critically.

Later, Armacost also underscored the role of people – who’s involved and their individual personalities – and their influence on policy decisions.

“Personal relationships are so important,” Roos said, “they drive everything.”

People-to-people connections were a similar theme mirrored in Roos’ perspectives on the future of the Japanese economy and the country’s relations with neighboring countries. As ambassador, Roos started the Tomodachi Initiative, an educational exchange program linking young leaders from the United States and Japan.

Following the crisis, in 2012, Japan ushered in Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) became the ruling majority party. One facet of Abe’s vision includes a stimulus package, commonly referred to as ‘Abenomics,’ intended to restore the country’s economy after more than a decade of slow growth.

Roos said most Japanese have a tepid attitude toward Abe’s policy ever since implementation of the final round of policies which are intensely focused on structural reforms. The reforms are necessary to restart growth, he said, but the average citizen will likely feel an impact due to a paring down of resources across public services.

But, entrepreneurism provides a credible direction for the country’s economic revival, and could help carve out a defined role for Japan in the global marketplace.  

In Japan, “there is incredible innovation going on,” he said. Individuals and universities are producing a myriad of cutting-edge technologies, and the ecosystem to support this is growing, but not yet fully adopted.

He said a key driver behind Silicon Valley’s success is the spirit of entrepreneurism widely shared there. People actively take risks, exchange ideas, and most importantly, embrace failure.

Roos said he carried that message with him wherever he went in Japan, often referencing the example of Mr. Abe who came back for a second term as prime minister. “That’s the culture of Silicon Valley, and that’s the culture that we want to promote in Japan.”