The Asia Society aims to create a new Tokyo facility, slated to open later this year, where experts and policymakers can come together to discuss domestic and international affairs, including North Korea's security threats and trade, an issue crucial to the region, an executive of the nonprofit organization said Friday.
"We don't want to bring people together to just talk, we want to convene discussions that advance policy," Tom Nagorski, the society's executive vice president, said in an interview.
On Friday, the society, a New York-based organization, said it plans to launch the new center in Tokyo by summer in partnership with the International House of Japan.
"Whether you're talking about security issues, trade or arts and culture in Asia, many routes run through Japan. That is why it is important for us to open a center here," Nagorski said.
Nagorski added that he expects the Tokyo center to be operational by late spring at the earliest. The organization will also host cultural and art-focused events.
Created in 1956 by John D. Rockefeller, the grandson of the famed industrial titan of the same name, the Asia Society has opened a number of centers across the United States and Asia, including in Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Manila and Seoul.
The creation of the Tokyo center was spearheaded by James Kondo, a senior adviser to Geodesic Capital, and Thierry Porte, managing director of private equity firm J.C. Flowers.
"It is long overdue for these institutions to come closer together," Kondo said Saturday as he spoke at the Asia Pacific Young Leaders Program, an event also sponsored by the two organizations.