Chris Johnstone is a senior advisor at The Asia Group and Japan Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Prior to joining CSIS, he served in government for 25 years in a variety of senior positions with a focus on U.S. policy toward Japan and the Indo-Pacific region. He served twice on the National Security Council, as director for East Asia under President Joe Biden and director for Japan and Oceanian affairs under President Barack Obama. In the Office of the Secretary of Defense, he led offices with responsibility for South and Southeast Asia and East Asia. He began his career as an intelligence officer in the Central Intelligence Agency.
Podcasts
Chris Johnstone on Japan’s Growing Security Leadership
- Japan
Recent Posts
Daniel Kritenbrink, Han Lin, and George Chen in The Australian on U.S.-China relations amid Iran crisis
March 25, 2026
Media Mentions
Speaking from Beijing where he attended the China Development Forum, Daniel Kritenbrink, a former assistant secretary of state for East ...
The Asia Group Welcomes Susanna Blume as Senior Advisor
March 23, 2026
Press Releases
Washington D.C. | March 24, 2026 – The Asia Group (TAG) is pleased to announce the appointment of the Honorable ...
Han Lin and George Chen quoted in Financial Times on Sunday’s China Development Forum
March 22, 2026
Media Mentions
US executives were well represented this year, accounting for 45 per cent of invitees, according to an analysis by Han ...
The Big Picture: How the Indo-Pacific is Navigating Europe’s Carbon Tax