May 14, 2009, Fukuoka - Fukuoka American Center organized a lecture program by Dr. Scott Bates, Vice President of the Center for National Policy on "Smart Power: Security and Foreign Policy under the Obama Administration" at Kasuga Japan Air Self Defense Force base. The program was held for officials of the Kyushu Defense Bureau as well as Japanese Air and Ground Self Defense Forces from various Self Defense Force (SDF) bases in Fukuoka and Kumamoto prefectures.

Speaking to more than 240 Ministry of Defense and SDF officials, Dr. Bates opined that the Obama Administration's policy toward Asia can be described as "Continuity with some Change." He contended that U.S. long-term interests in Asia remain unchanged regardless of who is President, and enumerated five areas of enduring interest for the United States: China, bilateral trade in Asia, Japan, the Korean Peninsula, and Russia. Dr. Bates also drew comparisons of U.S. policy vis-a-vis Asia between the previous and incumbent U.S. administrations. He explained that "smart power" is a new approach the Obama administration has employed, describing it as "the integration of every element of national power in a coordinated fashion to work more effectively with others." After his lecture, Dr. Bates fielded a variety of questions from the audience.