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

Economic Security
Between the WTO and Decoupling: US-China Managed Interdependence
IOG Economic Intelligence Report (Vol. 5 No. 09)

Visiting Research Fellow
Andrew Capistrano

Diplomacy
Donald Trump, ‘The Art of the Deal” and the ‘TACO’ myth
The drama following U.S. President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” just over a year ago seemed to confirm a simple theory. On Apri

Visiting Research Fellow
Andrew Capistrano

Diplomacy
Two Narratives on the Chinese Economy
IOG Economic Intelligence Report (Vol. 5 No. 07)

Visiting Research Fellow
Andrew Capistrano

Diplomacy
Views from Tokyo: Geoeconomic Implications of Iran War
Insights into President Trump’s Recent Remarks / Israel’s Ambition and the Resilience of the Iranian Regime / What the Geographica

Director & Group Head, Economic Security
Kazuto Suzuki

Economic Security
Is the Iran Operation Really About China?
IOG Economic Intelligence Report (Vol. 5 No. 05)

Visiting Research Fellow
Andrew Capistrano


































