William Breer is the former Japan chair at the Center for
Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. He joined
CSIS in October 1996 after a 35-year career in the U.S. Foreign
Service. Prior to joining CSIS, he was a senior adviser at the
Policy Planning Staff of the U.S. Department of State (1993-1996).
Mr. Breer has devoted the major portion of his career to the management
of U.S.-Japan relations. He spent 18 years in Japan, serving at
the U.S. embassy as political officer, political counselor under
Mike Mansfield, and deputy chief of mission with ambassadors Michael
Armacost and Walter Mondale. In Washington, Mr. Breer served as
country director for Japan, the most senior position dealing exclusively
with U.S.-Japan relations, and as director for Northeast Asia in
the Bureau of Intelligence and Research.
Mr. Breer is a graduate of Dartmouth College. He also attended
the East Asia Institute at Columbia University and the National
War College. He is fluent in Japanese.