The State Department intelligence bureau recently held a confidential conference on Japan's rising nationalism and its effects on the country's foreign, security and economic policies, according to participants and U.S. government officials.
Japan experts within and outside the U.S. government, including analysts from the CIA, participated in the Sept. 26 meeting titled "Conference on Nationalism and Identity in Japan" in Washington, according to documents obtained by Kyodo News and accounts by participants.
The State Department made no official announcement of the meeting or its date and venue, following similar moves in the case of a controversial conference on "Anti-Americanism," which is also said to have included both government and academic experts in early September.
"It's part of a series of conferences that our Intelligence and Research Bureau holds," a State Department official said on condition of anonymity. "It is not that Japan was singled out.