Glen Fukushima

Glen Shigeru Fukushima (born 1949) is a third-generation American of Japanese ancestry who has worked in academia, journalism, law, government, business, and in the nonprofit sector.

He is fluent in both English and Japanese.

He completed an exchange year at Keio University in Tokyo during the 1971–1972 school year.

After completing undergrad, Fukushima worked in Tokyo from 1972 to 1974 working for The Asahi Shimbun and the Law Firm of Hamada and Yanagida.

He also studied at the University of Tokyo as a Fulbright Fellow while living in Japan.

Fukushima returned to the United States in 1974 and was a graduate and professional student at Harvard University from 1974 to 1982.

While at Harvard, he earned a M.A. in Regional Studies—East Asia while completing all coursework necessary for a PhD except his dissertation on comparative U.S.-Japan antitrust policy.

He also was awarded a J.D. degree and an MBA.

While at Harvard, Fukushima lectured as an assistant to influential Japanologists David Riesman, Ezra Vogel, and Edwin Reischauer.

He was a contemporary of Francis Fukuyama.

Among Fukushima's academic distinctions at Harvard was a National Science Foundation fellowship, a Fulbright Fellowship, and a Japan Foundation fellowship completed at the University of Tokyo.

After departing Harvard, Fukushima began his career as an attorney at the law firm of Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker (now Paul Hastings) in Los Angeles from 1982 to 1985.

Prior to that, he served as Director for Japanese Affairs (1985–1988) at the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR).

During his time at USTR, Fukushima gained a reputation as one of the most effective trade negotiators between the US and Japan and was instrumental in opening up markets for a variety of American industries.

He was largely responsible for the success in opening Japanese markets to US products and services during that period.

Fukushima served as Deputy Assistant United States Trade Representative for Japan and China from 1988 to 1990.

After leaving government, Fukushima was a senior business executive based in Asia from 1990 to 2012.

He entered the Japanese corporate world at AT&T Japan in 1990, eventually becoming vice president while leading the company's efforts to develop new business in Japan.

He was offered the position of U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for International Economic Policy in 1993, but declined.

Fukushima served as vice president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan from 1993 to 1997 before serving as its president for two consecutive terms.

At the time, the Japan Times noted his contributions towards modernizing the Japanese business environment during his tenure at the Chamber.

In a notable moment, a memo he wrote (Repairing the U.S.-Japan Relationship, January 4, 1994) ended up on the desk of U.S. President Bill Clinton.

Clinton added favorable annotations and circulated it widely, along with other memos he received that day.

The man who was eventually confirmed, Chuck Meissner, was one of the casualties in the 1996 Croatia USAF CT-43 crash.

He served as president and CEO of Arthur D. Little Japan from 1998 to 2000, President & CEO of Cadence Design Systems Japan from 2000 to 2004, co-president of NCR Japan from 2004 to 2005.

In 2001, he became the first American to serve on the board of Mizuho Financial Group, then the largest banking group in Japan.

Prior to Mizuho, he represented Cadence Design Systems on the board of Innotech Corp which it owned an interest in.

He has also served on the boards of companies such as the Industrial Bank of Japan, Daiwa Securities Group, Nissho Iwai, and Fidelity International.

In 2005, he became President & CEO of Airbus Japan, a position he held until 2010 when he became its chairman and a director serving until 2012.

While working in the private sector in Japan, Fukushima served on a number of notable corporate boards.

Since September 2012, he has been a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress in Washington, D.C. In April 2022, he was confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve as vice chairman of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation following his appointment by President Joe Biden.

Since September 2012, Fukushima has been a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress (CAP) in Washington, DC.

Fukushima was widely suggested as a potential U.S. Ambassador to Japan in 2020 due to his extensive experience in U.S.-Japan relations.

In 2022, Fukushima made the largest single private donation in history to the Fulbright Program establishing the Fulbright-Glen S. Fukushima Fund to expand study and research opportunities for Japanese and Americans.

Fukushima is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, Tokyo Club, and Tokyo Rotary Club.

Fukushima is a native of California and a Sansei.

He was raised as an Army brat in California and Japan living in U.S. military bases including Camp Sendai, Washington Heights, and Camp Zama.

He attended elementary school in the northern California town of Monterey and in San Francisco.

He attended Zama American High School in Japan and Gardena High School in Southern California.

Fukushima's undergraduate education started at Deep Springs College and he completed a degree in economics at Stanford University.