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Event: Symposium Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation: Toward Building a New Partnership for the Next 50 Years
Date: Thursday, November 9, 2023
Place: JICA Ichigaya Building (Sadako Ogata Peace and Development Institute)
Main Participants
Over 100 people including students, embassy officials, academia, private companies, and media attended the event.
Background and Objectives
This year marks the 50th anniversary of Japan-ASEAN Friendship and Cooperation, and the ASEAN-Japan Special Leaders’ Meeting will be held from December 16 to 18. Taking advantage of this opportunity, we invited leading academics and practitioners from Japan and the ASEAN region to review the significance of Japan’s past cooperation in the ASEAN region and to discuss issues in Japan, changes in the environment surrounding Japan and ASEAN, and how to build a more equal partnership in the future. The symposium was held in Tokyo.
Symposium speakers (front row, center, Chancellor Tanaka)
Contents
Opening Session
After opening remarks by Director Hatsukaeda, a video message from ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim-hong was introduced. In his message, he expressed his gratitude for Japan’s longstanding cooperation with ASEAN, and his expectations for exchange initiatives to strengthen “heart to heart” ties between Japan and ASEAN and to promote ASEAN-Japan cooperation in a wide range of fields.
Video message by ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hong
Following a message from ASEAN Secretary-General Kao, JICA President Tanaka delivered a keynote speech. In his keynote speech, Tanaka reviewed the ASEAN-Japan relationship, including the significance of the Fukuda Doctrine, while introducing examples of JICA’s infrastructure development and human resource development cooperation in the ASEAN region. He also spoke about the importance of Japan’s being an important partner in solving global issues, and the importance of learning from the evolving ASEAN, engaging in in-depth dialogue, and moving forward together.
Keynote speech by President Tanaka
Panel 1: ASEAN and JICA: Past 50 Years, Next 50 Years
Professor Izumi Ohno of the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS) served as moderator, and Professor Mie Ohba of Kanagawa University, Professor Jin Sato of the University of Tokyo, Professor Siripong Wachawalk of Thammasat University, and Director José Rizal Damri of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Indonesia, served as panelists. The panelists had a lively discussion on what JICA’s cooperation over the past 50 years has brought to ASEAN countries, how JICA’s programs should be transformed for the future relationship between Japan and Southeast Asia, and what Japan should learn from ASEAN countries.
The panelists noted JICA’s many contributions to the development of ASEAN today. They also recognized that the ASEAN region now has many development partners in addition to Japan, including the United States, China, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, the Gulf States, and other countries in the ASEAN region, and that how Japan can cooperate is important. He also mentioned that combining local knowledge and the latest technology while taking advantage of the diversity and flexibility that are ASEAN’s strengths would be effective for co-creation. He also pointed out the need to enhance the basic knowledge of the younger generation in Japan about the ASEAN region and strengthen mutual exchanges, the fact that ASEAN countries are promoting South-South cooperation, including the correction of disparities within the region, and the need to strengthen the perspective of the entire region by promoting economic integration through enhanced connectivity.
Regarding the future of ODA, the panelists noted that human-centered development and human security are important, and that ODA itself must be careful not to strengthen its security character, but that law-based order is important within the ASEAN region. He also pointed out that Japan’s ODA has helped jump-start the development of ASEAN, but that Japan should encourage the jump-start of change in GX and other areas and bring about transitions in the future. He also suggested that JICA’s cooperation should not be limited to inter-governmental basis, but should be expanded to include local communities and intermediary organizations, and that a new mechanism should be established to include multi-country initiatives.
Based on the panel discussion, Mr. Mitsuya Araki, Advisor to the International Development Journal, Inc., pointed out the important contributions Japan has made to ASEAN, including promotion of industrialization, human resource development, and support for higher education human resources, and summarized JICA’s approach in the changing world situation, the need to change its approach, expansion of the scope of partnership (diversification and complexity), Japan’s role in South-South cooperation, and the importance of expanding human resource exchange among the younger generation. In summing up the overall discussion, the panelists discussed the necessity of changing JICA’s approach in the changing global situation, the expansion of the scope of partnership (diversification and complexity), Japan’s role in South-South cooperation, and the importance of expanding human resource exchange among the younger generation, as well as expectations for JICA to create co-creation projects.
The first panel session
Panel 2: ASEAN and Japan: Looking Back from 2073 to Now
He opened the session with a lecture on “Southeast Asia and Japan in 50 years” by Dr. Mine, Director of JICA’s Sadako Ogata Institute for Peace and Development Studies, using demographic data to show population changes in Southeast Asia and Japan through 2073. He showed that Southeast Asia is showing a diversity between the matured “Japan-China” type and the growing “India-Africa” type.
Lecture by Director Mine
The panel discussion, moderated by Kojun Nakajima, a staff member of JICA’s Southeast Asia and Pacific Department, focused on the theme of “looking back” from 50 years to 2023 and what actions should be taken now for the future of Japan and ASEAN. Experts from various fields and young JICA officials were invited as panelists to discuss from various perspectives.
Maya Horii, Senior Partner, McKinsey & Company Japan, introduced that in 50 years, the GDP of ASEAN is expected to grow three to four times that of Japan, and that the economic scale will be reversed and Japan will benefit from ASEAN in terms of human resources, markets, and other business aspects. He also introduced the promotion of technology and innovation, and the development of new business models. He also shared that there is room for ASEAN-Japan collaboration in promoting technology and innovation, and in solving social issues such as inequality and injustice.
Mr. Yasushi Tokushima, Representative Director and CEO of Instalim Corporation, stated that ASEAN and Japan already have a fair, horizontal, and equal relationship, and stressed the need to expand the role of private companies and entrepreneurs in solving social issues in ASEAN and Japan, which will become more complex and diverse in the future, and to form a society where ASEAN and Japan are united as one. He emphasized the need to expand the role of the private sector and entrepreneurs in solving more complex and diverse social issues in ASEAN and Japan, and to form an ASEAN-Japan society.
He also expressed his hope that ASEAN will enter into a mature relationship in the future due to the growth and independence of ASEAN, and that a wider range of generations will understand the culture and language of the countries in which they live. He also expressed his hope for the realization of a society where people of different generations can better communicate with each other through understanding each other’s culture and language.
Ms. Sakura Hotta, a staff member of JICA’s Governance and Peacebuilding Division, spoke of the coming era in which Japan will be forced to make desperate efforts to be chosen by the countries around it, and of the importance of the necessary shift in awareness and promotion of understanding of the cultures and lifestyles of the people of ASEAN and Japan as they live together and come and go among themselves. He also emphasized the importance of changing the mindset of the people of ASEAN and Japan as they live together and interact with each other, and of promoting understanding of each other’s culture and lifestyle.
Mr. Ken Fujitani, Senior Editor of the Asahi Shimbun, spoke about the rapid progress of information distribution and liberalization in ASEAN, and emphasized the need to harness the power of technology to solve emerging social issues. He also emphasized the importance of building good relationships not only between ASEAN and Japan, but also with neighboring countries in Asia, including China and South Korea, as the essence of cooperation is heart to heart.
Finally, a student and young researcher who participated in the symposium commented, “I was very impressed by the point that ‘people-to-people ties are extremely important’ with ASEAN. I was impressed by the fact that “people-to-people relations with ASEAN are extremely important,” and that ASEAN and Japan should work together to provide assistance to the Pacific region, given their historical and geographical backgrounds. Many people are unaware of the great environmental changes that will take place in the next 50 years, when Japan’s population will drastically decrease and the number of foreign human resources will increase. There are many things that Japan can learn from ASEAN, which is promoting harmony while maintaining diversity.
The second panel session
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