In an era of heightened geopolitical uncertainty, persistent supply chain disruptions, and growing concerns over global food security, the stability and resilience of food systems have assumed growing strategic importance. Shifts in trade patterns, climate-related risks, and intensifying strategic competition, particularly between the United States and China, are reshaping global food production and distribution. Against this backdrop, closer cooperation between Japan and Latin America can help to promote more reliable, diversified, and sustainable global food supply chains.
This hybrid event will consider new developments in the Japan-Latin America agricultural dynamic, while also exploring the long-standing and multifaceted food and agricultural relationship between Japan and LAC, grounded in decades of economic cooperation, development assistance, private-sector engagement, and people-to-people and culinary exchange.
Join us in person or online on Tuesday March 3, 2026 from 9:00 AM to 12:15 PM ET for this eleventh in a series of events co-organized by the Inter-American Dialogue’s Asia & Latin America Program and the Japan Association of Latin America and the Caribbean (JALAC). A luncheon featuring Japanese cuisine will follow the event.
Follow this event on X (formerly Twitter) @The_Dialogue.
The event will be held in English with simultaneous interpretation into Spanish for online participants only.
9:00 AM ET |
OPENING REMARKS |
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Rebecca Bill Chavez, President & CEO, Inter-American Dialogue (@RebeccaBillChav) |
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9:10 AM ET |
Panel 1—Securing Agricultural Supply Chains: Japan–Latin America Cooperation in a Shifting Global Landscape |
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Akiyoshi Miyasaka, President & CEO, Agrex Inc. (a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Corporation) |
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Keisuke Ito, Director General, Latin America and the Caribbean Department, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) |
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Satoshi Ogawa, Science and Technology Advisor, Nosho Navi Co., Ltd. |
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Eugenio Díaz-Bonilla, Special Advisor, Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) (@bonilla_daz) |
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Alexandre Varella, Labex North America Program Coordinator, Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa) |
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| Moderator |
Margaret Myers, Senior Advisor, Asia and Latin America Program, Inter-American Dialogue (@MyersMargaret) |
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10:30 AM ET |
Panel 2—Tastes, Brands, and Markets: Japanese Cuisine in the Americas |
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Akira Yamada, Managing Director, JALAC |
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Takeshi Nishigawa, President, Encounter JAPAN Inc. |
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Nobu Yamazaki, Chef-Owner, Sushi Taro |
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Millie Creighton, Associate Professor, University of British Columbia |
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| Moderator |
Margaret Myers, Senior Advisor, Asia and Latin America Program, Inter-American Dialogue (@MyersMargaret) |
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11:45 AM ET |
Fireside Chat with Director General Motoyuki Ishize, Japan Ministry of Foreign Affairs |
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Motoyuki Ishize, Director General, Latin American and Caribbean Affairs Bureau, Japan Ministry of Foreign Affairs |
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Kellie Meiman Hock, Board Member, Inter-American Dialogue; Senior Counselor, McLarty Associates (@KellieMeimanH) |
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12:15 PM ET |
LUNCHEON |
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