Under the Trump administration, the U.S. appears to have turned against the multilateral institutions, alliances, partnerships and policies that for 75 years have shaped the U.S. approach to Asia and the Pacific. The Obama administration’s “Pivot to Asia” has been abandoned. Meanwhile, China is more assertive, North Korea moves closer to the acquisition of nuclear weapons, and Putin’s Russia seeks to reassert itself. Japan, long the linchpin of U.S. security in East Asia, feels increasingly threatened by these developments. In the context of this uncertain and evolving international environment, we will consider challenges to U.S. policy, with primary emphasis on Japan and North Korea. Speaker and career diplomat Lawrence Farrar was posted to Japan five times. During his final Japan tour, he served as Minister of Political Affairs for Ambassador Walter Mondale.