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Japan honors Dr. James Auer, Director of the Center for U.S.-Japan Studies and Cooperation at Vanderbilt University

On November 3, the Government of Japan officially announced that Dr. James E. Auer will be honored with a prestigious decoration, the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon, in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the mutual understanding and friendship between Japan and the United States. The decoration is conferred by His Majesty the Emperor of Japan.

The Order of the Rising Sun was established in 1875 as the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese Government. The decoration is bestowed upon individuals who have made significant contributions to positive relations between Japan and other countries. Dr. Auer is recognized primarily for his abiding dedication to the promotion of strong relations between Japan and the United States.

Dr. Auer established the Center for U.S.-Japan Studies and Cooperation at the Vanderbilt Institute for Public Policy Studies (VIPPS) in 1988. From the time of its inception, the Center has facilitated public discussion of issues of mutual interest to Japan and the Unite States and has played a central role in multiple forms of cooperation between the two countries.

As director of the Center for U.S.-Japan Studies and Cooperation, Dr. Auer has conducted extensive research on a number of topics on U.S.-Japan relations, including national security, trade, technology transfer, and critical infrastructure protection. Under his excellent leadership, the center organizes a variety of meetings and publications featuring the research of government, business, and academic leaders of both countries. The Center has also hosted more than 90 research fellows from Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the Ministry of Defense, the National Police Agency, major Japanese newspapers, and the Fulbright Program. The Center marked its 20th anniversary in September 2008.

As a policy expert and opinion leader, Dr. Auer is a frequent contributor to discussions of U.S.-Japan defense cooperation at academic conferences in the United States and Japan, as well as in the Japanese and American media.

Dr. Auer entered the U.S. Navy in 1963 and served on four ships based in Japan. He obtained a doctoral degree in international relations at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy co-founded by Tufts and Harvard Universities and holds the distinction of being the first officer of the U.S. Navy to study with Japanese officers at the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Staff College in Tokyo. From 1979 to 1988, he served as the Special Assistant for Japan in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, acting as a bridge between the Japanese Defense Agency (now the Ministry of Defense) and the U.S. Department of Defense.