

Riley Walters is deputy director of the Hudson Institute Japan Chair.
Riley Walters is deputy director of the Hudson Institute Japan Chair. His research objectives include expanding economic ties and promoting closer scientific and technological collaboration between the United States and Japan.
Mr. Riley is also a senior non-resident fellow with the Global Taiwan Institute. Prior to joining Hudson, he was a senior policy analyst and economist in the Asian Studies Center at the Heritage Foundation. Previously, he was a Penn Kemble fellow with the National Endowment for Democracy, a George C. Marshall fellow at the Heritage Foundation, a national security fellow with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, and Kim Koo fellow with the Korea Society.
Mr. Riley has appeared on national television and radio extensively. He has written for a variety of publications, including The Hill, Japan Times, Global Taiwan Brief, ACCJ Journal, The Diplomat, the Washington Times, the National Interest, Fox Business, Geopolitical Intelligence Services, and others.
Mr. Riley has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in economics from George Mason University. He has previously lived in Japan, including one year with strawberry farmers in Kumamoto prefecture and one year while studying at Sophia University in Tokyo. He is fluent in Japanese.
Hudson Institute’s Japan Chair hosts two professors from Keio University—Dr. Motohiro Tsuchiya and Prof. Koichiro Tanaka—to discuss the hurdles Tokyo needs to overcome to improve its active cyber defense and transition to different energy sources for both civilian and military use.
Riley Walters discusses the future of US-Taiwan relations with Representative Don Bacon, a member of the Congressional Taiwan Caucus and House Armed Services Committee.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida wants to build “New Capitalism” in the hopes of pulling Japan out of its economic slump. But will this effort be enough to boost Japan’s competitiveness? Please join us for a discussion with Representative Keisuke Suzuki, former state minister of finance and foreign affairs.
As the US and its allies talk more about how to deter a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, policymakers should focus more on how to deter a Chinese economic takeover of the island. How can the US and Taiwan build confidence in their trade and economic partnerships?