SNA (Tokyo) — The recent efforts to encourage cooperation between Washington, Tokyo, and Seoul in diverse fields, from science and technology to diplomacy and security, comes as welcome news, especially in light of the decline in collaboration during the Trump administration. Even before that time it was never particularly vibrant.

Although the economic and technological significance of East Asia for the United States has risen exponentially over the past two decades, concrete engagement with America’s closest partners and allies in the region remains fragmentary, often relying on personal connections. That is to say, for all the grand pronouncements made about shared values when heads of state shake hands, there is little institutional support on the ground to foster long-term cooperation specifically between Washington, Tokyo, and Seoul. We need to plan for long-term exchanges at the grassroots level–and at the working level within universities, businesses, government agencies, and NGOs–that will form a thick fabric binding the three nations together.

Sadly, there exists at present no institution that is run jointly by the governments of the United States, Japan, and South Korea. There are smaller working groups in government and in the private sector that are focused on specific hot topics, but they are not capable of long-term planning and, more importantly, they do not collaborate, nor do they reach out to the general public.

By contrast, the governments of Japan, South Korea, and China established the Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat in 2011, based on agreements for collaboration dating back to 1999.

The Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat, located in Seoul, has become a vital center for coordination, only in diplomacy, but also in business, culture, research, and education. It holds regular events to introduce the cultures of the three countries to the public, and it also organizes conferences that bring together students from the three countries.

The United States, Japan, and South Korea should bear in mind this highly successful effort and establish an office that is run jointly by the three governments, one that will assure a broad dialog between governments, institutions, and citizens.

Of course, diplomacy and security must be a key part of this US-Japan-Korea Center, as we might call it. Nevertheless, it should also engage citizens within the three countries in educational and cultural activities that will build the necessary consensus for long-term collaboration.

One model for this center can be found in the United States Study Center located in Sydney, Australia. It is now home to Michael Green, a leading US expert on Japan security policy. It promotes close cooperation between the United States and Australia as part of the University of Sydney, and it maintains close ties to other Asia research centers and governments in Asia.

It would be most appropriate to locate the US-Japan-Korea Center in Tokyo, seeing as the Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat is in Seoul and Washington is already crowded with multinational governmental offices.

Moreover, launching such an institution in Tokyo would affirm the Japanese vision for innovation in global governance, and a new commitment to integration in Asia.

The US-Japan-Korea Center could advance original programs that go beyond what similar institutions have attempted, promoting close ties between the citizens of the United States, Japan, and South Korea from an early age through homestay programs and the creation of sister-school relations between elementary, middle, and high schools.

Imagine the depth of the personal ties that could be established between the three countries if elementary schools in the three nations hold regular Zoom-based exchanges wherein the students from each country share their culture with students from the other two countries.

It is critical to note that by holding educational and cultural exchanges that include the United States can help to make cooperation between Korea and Japan possible, overcoming resentment and misunderstandings concerning the colonial period.

The long-term result of such a center might not only be a robust platform for coordination concerning security and supply chains, but an incubator for the next generation of leaders in all three nations who will be inspired by trilateral exchanges from a young age.

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