About Joshua
Dr. Joshua Walker has a long history of bridging global communities and cultures.
Joshua W. Walker is President and CEO of Japan Society in New York, one of the leading institutions dedicated to strengthening the relationship between the United States and Japan through policy dialogue, business engagement, and cultural exchange.
A specialist in international affairs and global partnerships, Walker has spent his career building bridges between governments, business leaders, and civil society across the Pacific and around the world. His work focuses on the intersection of diplomacy, economics, and culture — with a particular emphasis on the U.S.–Japan alliance and the power of people-to-people relationships.
Dr. Walker previously worked at Eurasia Group, the world’s leading political risk analysis firm, where he served as global head of strategic initiatives and Japan in the Office of the President setting up the world’s largest geopolitical GZERO Summit in Tokyo. Prior to this he was CEO and president of the USA Pavilion of the 2017 World Expo in Astana, Kazakhstan; founding dean of the APCO Institute; and senior vice president of global programs at APCO Worldwide, a leading global strategic communications firm based in Washington, D.C. Before joining the private sector, he worked in numerous roles at various U.S. government agencies, including the State Department and the Defense Department. He is Senior Fellow at the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress, and professor of Leadership and the American presidency at George Mason University and the Reagan Foundation. He was also Transatlantic Fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States and co-founded the Yale Journal of International Affairs. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Richmond, a master’s degree from Yale University, and a doctorate from Princeton University. Dr. Walker grew up in Japan where his parents still serve as missionaries, came to the United States when he was 18, and is bicultural and bilingual.
Raised in Hokkaido, Japan, Walker’s personal connection to Japan began in childhood and continues to shape his professional mission. His work is driven by the belief that the U.S.–Japan relationship is one of the most remarkable stories of reconciliation and partnership in modern history.
He is the author of Beyond the Genkan, which explores the power of cultural understanding and human relationships in shaping international alliances.
