Greetings from the JFI! Summer has finally arrived here in Canada.
Upcoming Events
August 14-15, 2012:
JFI will hold its second symposium of the year titled,“Emerging Security Roles: Lessons for Japan from Middle Power Experiences” at the Balsillie School of International Affairs, University of Waterloo.
Recent Events
April 28, 2012:
Kimie Hara of Renison University College, University of Waterloo, hosted the Third International Forum for Peace and Prosperity in Northeast Asia, “Sixty Years of the San Francisco System Continuation, Transformation, and Historical Reconciliation in the Asia-Pacific.” This event was sponsored by the Republic of Korea’s Northeast Asian History Foundation, Renison University College, the Balsillie School of International Affairs, and JFI.
March 21, 2012:
David A. Welch and SeungHyok Lee talked about North Korea and regional security on the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) webcast Inside the Issues.
Japan Watch
The Japan Times Online
“Conservatives call for revising Constitution”
(May 4, 2012)
Domestic debates about constitutional revision are nothing new in Japan. However, to mark the Constitution’s 65th anniversary, lawmakers, academics, journalists and others gathered on May 3 for an event hosted by Minkan Kenpo Rincho, a citizen-based conservative policy group, and claimed that “the time has come for political parties to overcome their differences and join hands to revise the Constitution to suit the times.” The political parties have been divided over the issue for years. The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has generally supported revision, but the ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) has been more cautious. As usual, the most sensitive issue is the future of the Article 9. How to re-interpret the role and the mandate of the Self Defense Forces – let alone changing their official titles to Army, Navy, and Air Force – while maintaining the “renunciation of war” statement in the changing international and regional environment is indeed a daunting task, and Japanese society have not yet reached a consensus despite growing awareness of the awkwardness of the status quo. However, Article 9 is not the only issue. The new legal status of the emperor as the “head of state” is also a contentious topic, and some argue for the abolition of the Upper House and a direct election for Prime Ministers in this time of weak political leadership. Some lawmakers of the DPJ and LDP are aware that a revision is not going to be easy and will require time. Meanwhile, they argue, concentrating on relaxing the preconditions for revising the Constitution in the Diet, and promoting further public awareness,are needed. For Japan’s neighbours and the international community, it is not revision itself but the question of what kind of Japan will emerge after the revision that is of greatest interest and concern.
John Kirton, professor of political science at the University of Toronto's Munk School of Global Affairs, delivered the CIGI Signature Lecture on March 14, 2012.
Energy security panel at the Japan Futures Initiative Spring Symposium 2012: Energy Security Challenges for Japan and the World
