The U.S.–Japan Caucus is a bipartisan congressional member organization within the United States Congress made up of over 100 members of the United States House of Representatives who work to strengthen and maintain U.S.–Japanese relations.

Mission and purpose

According to the caucus's website, its goal is to "...facilitate bilateral collaboration on matters of common interest between our two countries, including trade, foreign direct investment, regional stability, military cooperation, energy, technological development, and the environment. The caucus collaborates with other entities and stakeholders that share this same objective."

History In January 2014, Congressmen Joaquin Castro (D-TX) and Devin Nunes (R-CA) began inviting members of Congress from both parties to join a Congressional Member Organization based on the improvement of U.S.–Japanese relations.

The formation of the caucus was officially announced on March 24, 2014, during a live press conference. During the conference, Rep. Castro gave the following statement on behalf of the caucus:

In January 2015, after Rep. Devin Nunes became the Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, he stepped down from his role within the caucus as its Republican Co-Chair. Nunes was replaced by then Rep. Charles Boustany (LA-3). On March 23, 2016, Boustany stepped down as co-chair of the caucus. He was replaced by Rep. David Reichert (WA-8). Reichert, to date, is the current Republican Co-Chair.

Membership As of the 118th Congress, the U.S.–Japan Caucus has 69 members. Below the leadership caucus members are listed alphabetically.

Current members

Rep. Joaquin Castro (TX-20)- co-chair Rep. Adrian Smith (NE-3)- co-chair Rep. Mark Amodei (NV-2) Rep. Andy Barr (KY-6) Rep. Ami Bera (CA-7) Rep. Jack Bergman (MI-1) Rep. Don Beyer (VA-8) Rep. Sanford Bishop (GA-2) Rep. Earl Blumenauer (OR-3) Rep. Salud Carbajal (CA-24) Rep. Buddy Carter (GA-1) Rep. Ed Case (HI-1) Rep. Steve Cohen (TN-9) Rep. Gerry Connolly (VA-11) Rep. Henry Cuellar (TX-28) Rep. Suzan DelBene (WA-1) Rep. Scott DesJarlais (TN-4) Rep. Jeff Duncan (SC-3) Rep. Tom Emmer (MN-6) Rep. Drew Ferguson (GA-3) Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (TN-3) Rep. Bill Foster (IL-11) Rep. Lois Frankel (FL-21) Rep. Mike Gallagher (WI-8) Rep. Ruben Gallego (AZ-3) Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (TX-34) Rep. Paul Gosar (AZ-4) Rep. Kay Granger (TX-12) Rep. Al Green (TX-9) Rep. Brett Guthrie (KY-2) Rep. J. French Hill (AR-2) Rep. Jim Himes (CT-4) Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (NY-8) Rep. Hank Johnson (GA-4) Rep. Jim Jordan (OH-4) Rep. Bill Keating (MA-9) Rep. Derek Kilmer (WA-6) Rep. Doug LaMalfa (CA-1) Rep. Doug Lamborn (CO-5) Rep. Rick Larsen (WA-2) Rep. Ted Lieu (CA-33) Rep. Barry Loudermilk (GA-11) Rep. Gregory Meeks (NY-5) Rep. Carol Miller (WV-3) Rep. John Moolenaar (MI-4) Rep. Seth Moulton (MA-6) Rep. Richard Neal (MA-1) Rep. Dan Newhouse (WA-4) Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC-At large) Rep. Scott Peters (CA-52) Rep. Mike Quigley (IL-5) Rep. Jaime Raskin (MD-8) Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger (MD-2) Rep. Gregorio Sablan (NMI-At large) Rep. David Schweikert (AZ-6) Rep. David Scott (GA-13) Rep. Mike Simpson (ID-2) Rep. Adam Smith (WA-9) Rep. Jason Smith (MO-8) Rep. Darren Soto (FL-9) Rep. Chris Stewart (UT-2) Rep. Mark Takano (CA-41) Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-4) Rep. Dina Titus (NV-1) Rep. Marc Veasey (TX-33) Rep. Randy Weber (TX-14) Rep. Bruce Westerman (AR-4)

Former members Rep. Jackie Speier (CA-14) -retired at end of 117th Congress Rep. Kathleen Rice (NY-4) -retired at end of 117th Congress Rep. Steven Palazzo (MS-4) - lost renomination in 2022 Rep. Ed Perlmutter (CO-7) -retired at end of 117th Congress Rep. Billy Long (MO-7) - retired at end of 117th Congress Rep. Brenda Lawrence (MI-14) - retired at end of 117th Congress Rep. Ron Kind (WI-3) - retired at end of 117th Congress Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (TX-30) -retired at end of 117th Congress Rep. Jim Cooper (TN-5) - retired at end of 117th Congress due to redistricting Rep. Charlie Crist (FL-13) - retired at end of 117th Congress Rep. Anthony Brown (MD-4) - retired at end of 117th Congress Rep. Cynthia Lummis (WY-At large)- announced she would not seek re-election in 2016 Rep. Randy Forbes (VA-4)- defeated in the 2016 Republican primary Rep. Brad Ashford (NE-2)- defeated in the 2016 general election Rep. Charles Boustany (LA-3)- gave up his seat to unsuccessfully run in the 2016 United States Senate election in Louisiana Rep. Janice Hahn (CA-44)- retired from Congress in 2016 to successfully run for the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Rep. Richard L. Hanna (NY-22)- announced he would not seek re-election in 2016 Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD)- retired from Congress in 2016 to successfully run for Maryland's open Senate seat Rep. Bill Pascrell (NJ-9) - died in 2024 Sen. Todd Young (R-IN)- retired from Congress in 2016 to successfully run for Indiana's open Senate seat Rep. Ryan Zinke (MT-At large)- nominated by Donald Trump to be the 52nd United States Secretary of the Interior in 2017 Rep. Charlie Dent (PA-15)- resigned from Congress in May 2018 Rep. Diane Black (TN-6)- retired from Congress in 2018 to run unsuccessfully for Governor of Tennessee Rep. Madeleine Bordallo (Guam-At large) - defeated in the 2018 Democratic primary. Rep. Mike Capuano (MA-7)- defeated in the 2018 Democratic primary Rep. Carlos Curbelo (FL-26)- defeated in 2018 general election Rep. Jeff Denham (CA-10)- defeated in 2018 general election Rep. Jimmy Duncan (politician) (TN-2)- retired from Congress in 2018 Rep. Gene Green (TX-29)- retired from Congress in 2018 Rep. Gregg Harper (MS-3)-retired from Congress in 2018 Rep. Tom MacArthur (NJ-3)- defeated in the 2018 general election Rep. Jared Polis (CO-2)- retired from Congress in 2018 to successfully run for Governor in Colorado Rep. Robert Pittenger (NC-9)- defeated in the 2018 Republican primary Rep. Tom Rooney (FL-17)- retired from Congress in 2018 Rep. Dennis Ross (FL-15)- retired from Congress in 2018 Rep. Niki Tsongas (MA-3)- retired from Congress in 2018 Rep. Kevin Yoder (KS-3)- defeated in 2018 general election Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (HI-2) - retired from Congress in 2020 to unsuccessfully run for in the Democratic primary for the 2020 United States presidential election Rep. Ralph Abraham (LA-5)- announced he would not seek re-election in 2020 Rep. Mark Meadows (NC-11)- resigned from Congress to become White House chief of staff Rep. Eliot Engel (NY-16)- defeated in the 2020 Democratic primary Rep. Denny Heck (WA-10)- retired from Congress in 2020 to run successfully for Lieutenant Governor in Washington State Rep. George Holding (NC-2)- retired from Congress in 2020 due to court-ordered redistricting Rep. Joe Kennedy (MA-4)- retired from Congress in 2020 to unsuccessfully challenge incumbent Ed Markey in the Democratic Primary for Senate in Massachusetts Rep. Doug Collins (GA-9)- retired from Congress in 2020 to unsuccessfully run in the United States Senate special election in Georgia Rep. Kenny Marchant (TX-24)- retired from Congress in 2020 Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (WI-5)- retired from Congress in 2020 Rep. Pete Visclosky (IN-1)- retired from Congress in 2020 Rep. Susan Davis (CA-53)- retired from Congress in 2020 Rep. Alcee Hastings (FL-20)- died in April 2021 Rep. Devin Nunes (CA-22)- resigned January 2022 to become Chief Executive Officer of the Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) Rep. Filemon Vela Jr. (TX-34)- resigned March 2022 to work at Akin Gump Rep. Jackie Walorski (IN-2)- killed in car crash along with two staffers in August 2022 Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-18) - died in 2024 Rep. Carolyn Maloney (NY-12) Rep. Pat Tiberi (OH-12)

Political activity Since the founding of the caucus, it and its members have repeatedly voiced their opinions on various issues surrounding Japanese foreign relations, as well as worked to pass legislation that would benefit U.S.–Japanese relations.

Visit to Japan

From August 23 to August 28, 2015, Rep. Joaquin Castro, then Co-Chair of the U.S.–Japan Caucus, visited Japan for five days as an official representative of the United States and the U.S.–Japan Caucus. While there, he met with various officials within the Japanese Government, including, Shinzo Abe (The Prime Minister of Japan), Caroline Kennedy (the then-U.S. Ambassador to Japan), Yoichi Miyazawa (Then Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade, and Industry), as well as the members of the Japanese-US Parliamentary Friendship League (the Japanese counterpart of the U.S.–Japan Caucus).

Japanese comfort women On January 12, 2016, the U.S.–Japan Caucus came out in support of a historic agreement between Japan and South Korea surrounding the controversial issue of Japanese comfort women. The caucus released the following statement:

November 2017 North Korean missile test On November 28, 2017, North Korea launched a Hwasong-15 ballistic missile into the Sea of Japan, which landed near Japan's Exclusive Economic Zone. In response, the U.S.–Japan Caucus, consisting of members from both political parties, issued the following statement:

References