Apply to the Young Strategists Forum 2025

The Young Strategists Forum seeks to develop a new generation of strategic thinkers and equip them with the skills to successfully navigate a world in flux. Since the inaugural Young Strategists Forum in March 2012, GMF has built a vibrant program centered on the theme of the US-Japan alliance and security dynamics in the Indo-Pacific region. Held in Tokyo, the program emphasizes the importance of pursuing purposeful grand strategic objectives through an innovative combination of lectures, a 36-hour simulation exercise, meetings with policy makers, diplomats, senior journalists and leading academics, and a study tour that includes a visit to a military facility.

Participants are selected through a competitive process, open to emerging leaders — academics, journalists, policy makers, politicians, business professionals, and military officers — between the ages of 25 and 40, from the United States, Europe, Japan, and other like-minded Asian countries.

Since its creation, the Young Strategists Forum has cultivated a vibrant network of emerging foreign policy leaders. 128 individuals have participated in the Young Strategists Forum, many of whom have risen to prominent positions in their respective professions.

Program Format

The 2025 iteration of the Young Strategists Forum will begin with a half-day, interactive seminar, which will help participants understand strategic competition in the Indo-Pacific. This will be followed by a 36-hour grand strategy simulation led by Zack Cooper, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. Participants will take on the roles of the United States and major regional powers as they pursue long-term goals and carefully allocate military, diplomatic, and economic resources while navigating a series of crises. At the end of the exercise, participants will be debriefed on lessons learned. The simulation will be followed by a two-day study tour focused on the US-Japan alliance. Participants will have an opportunity to interact with Japanese experts, politicians, business leaders, and government officials to gain a high-level perspective on Japanese strategic thinking. To give participants an opportunity to share their perspectives on key military, political, and economic issues, GMF will publish a series of papers by Young Strategists Forum participants after the conclusion of the program in Tokyo.

Sample Program Itinerary

The details of the 2025 Young Strategists Forum have not yet been finalized, but typical program itinerary follows the following format:

• Day 1: Arrival in Tokyo, Japan
• Day 2: Opening Seminar and Grand Strategy Simulation, Part 1
• Day 3: Grand Strategy Simulation, Part 2
• Day 4: Meetings with Japanese Officials, Politicians, and Business Leaders
• Day 5: Visit to Military Facility, Meetings with Japanese Security Experts
• Day 6: Departure