The International Affairs Forum will host Ambassador James Zumwalt tonight (Thursday) at NMC's Milliken Auditorium at 6pm for a talk entitled "Asia Rising: Will Japan Remain America's Unsinkable Aircraft Carrier?"

Zumwalt has ties with Japan going back to a high-school exchange in Osaka, continuing through college and rooted in a long diplomatic career leading up to the level of chargé d'affaires in Embassy Tokyo. He has done extensive work for the State Department, including on China and Korea. He is currently a senior fellow at the Sasakawa Peace Foundation in Washington D.C.

Tonight's IAF program description is as follows: "After WWII, Japan rose to become America's closest Asian ally, commanding significant military assets and playing host to numerous key American bases. During the Reagan era, Japanese Prime Minister Nakasone once called Japan an “unsinkable aircraft carrier” for the United States. Now, in the face of a much more assertive and modern China — not to mention the North Korean nuclear threat — how will Japan see its interests evolving and how will they assist us in responding to the heightened security tensions in the Asian Region?"

Tickets for the event are $15 and are available at the door. Admission is free for students.