Experts Andrew Capistrano
Visiting Research Fellow
Profile
Andrew Capistrano is a geopolitical risk consultant based in Tokyo, and Director of Research at PTB Global Advisors in Washington, DC, where he specializes in industrial policy, international trade and capital flows, and US-China relations. He is also a visiting scholar at the Waseda Institute of Political Economy and a visiting lecturer at the School of Political Science and Economics, Waseda University. Previously, he worked at the US Embassy’s American Center Japan, and as a research associate at the Rebuild Japan Initiative Foundation/Asia-Pacific Initiative.
Dr Capistrano holds a BA from the University of California, Berkeley; an MA in political science (international relations and political economy) from Waseda University; and a PhD in international history from the London School of Economics. His academic work focuses on the diplomatic history of East Asia from the mid-19th to the mid-20th centuries, applying game-theoretic concepts to show how China's economic treaties with the foreign powers created unique bargaining dynamics and cooperation problems. During his doctoral studies he was a research student affiliate at the Suntory and Toyota International Centres for Economics and Related Disciplines (STICERD) in London.
Dr Capistrano holds a BA from the University of California, Berkeley; an MA in political science (international relations and political economy) from Waseda University; and a PhD in international history from the London School of Economics. His academic work focuses on the diplomatic history of East Asia from the mid-19th to the mid-20th centuries, applying game-theoretic concepts to show how China's economic treaties with the foreign powers created unique bargaining dynamics and cooperation problems. During his doctoral studies he was a research student affiliate at the Suntory and Toyota International Centres for Economics and Related Disciplines (STICERD) in London.
Expertise
Diplomatic history / Economic security / Industrial policy / Trade and capital flows / Game theory / International relations theory / International political economy / US-China relations
Publications
- “American Geoeconomics and International Relations in the Trump Era,” in Institute of Geoeconomics, ed., Introduction to Geoeconomics (Asahi Shinsho, 2026).
Research

Diplomacy
Donald Trump, ‘The Art of the Deal” and the ‘TACO’ myth
The drama following U.S. President Donald Tru…

Visiting Research Fellow
Andrew Capistrano

Diplomacy
Two Narratives on the Chinese Economy
IOG Economic Intelligence Report (Vol. 5 No. …

Visiting Research Fellow
Andrew Capistrano

Economic Security
Is the Iran Operation Really About China?
IOG Economic Intelligence Report (Vol. 5 No. …

Visiting Research Fellow
Andrew Capistrano

Diplomacy
Fed-Treasury Coordination as Economic Security Policy
IOG Economic Intelligence Report (Vol. 5 No. …

Visiting Research Fellow
Andrew Capistrano

Diplomacy
What Takaichi’s Snap Election Landslide Means for Japan’s Defense and Fiscal Policy
Election Results: Key Takeaways and Implicati…

Senior Research Fellow
Hirohito Ogi































