Rena Sasaki is a graduate student of the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University and pursuing a M.S. in Foreign Service. She was a senior associate at a global management consulting firm, and has engaged in defense and security projects with the Japanese Ministry of Defense and the defense industry for more than five years. She is a fellow of the U.S.–Japan Next Generation Leaders’ Initiative of Pacific Forum and U.S.–Japan Partnership Program of Research Institute for Peace and Security (RIPS).