The Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE), the Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA, and the Sasakawa Peace Foundation Japan launched a new multiyear project, the High-Level Working Group on Japan-US Common Economic Challenges. The first part of the public seminar held June 3, 2014, at the Peterson Institute was entitled "Trade, International Competitiveness and Cooperation." Participants included: Motoshige Itoh, University of Tokyo; Robert Lawrence, Harvard University and PIIE; Hideichi Okada, NTT Data Institute of Management and Consulting; and Jeffrey J. Schott, PIIE. For more information, visit: http://www.piie.com/events/event_detail.cfm?EventID=331