At the 16th GRIPS Forum, GRIPS invited Professor Kent Calder, Director of the Edwin O. Reischaur Center for East Asia Studies, the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Johns Hopkins University to give a lecture on "Quiet Crisis of the Pacific Alliance: Deepening Challenges in a World of Transition". Professor Calder, who has acted as an advisor to the U.S. Ambassadors to Japan for several years and is renowned as a leading authority on Japan studies, pointed out that while Asian countries are increasing their presence in the U.S., as well as in their relationship with Japan, the U.S.-Japan alliance has become complex in this age of globalization, and a distance between them can now be perceived. Professor Calder emphasized the importance of policy coordination in view of the gradual change in U.S.-Japan relations. At the same time he underscored the necessity of Japan becoming proactive in its involvement with the U.S., not only in political terms but also in aspects involving NGOs, education and culture etc.