Upcoming Events
May 10-11, 2013:
David Welch will participate in the second forum of Suntory Foundation’s project “Reexamining Japan in Global Context” in Osaka, headed by Professor Masayuki Tadokoro of Keio University. The event is titled “Unhappy Japan: Exploring the Sources of Gloom under Peace, Prosperity, and Democracy.” Professors Nattavudh Powdthavee of LSE and Yukiko Uchida of Kyoto University will make presentations on the topic of “happiness.”
August 20-21, 2013:
Suntory Foundation’s project “Reexamining Japan in Global Context” will co-host its third forum with the JFI at the Balsillie School of International Affairs, University of Waterloo.
October 4-6, 2013:
Japan Studies Association of Canada (JSAC) will host its 2013 conference titled “Japan on the Edge” at University of Saskatchewan. The event is organized by Dr. Carin Holroyd, Department of Political Studies, University of Saskatchewan. Deadline for paper or panel proposals is June 1.
Recent Events
January 13, 2013:
David Welch made a keynote address titled “East Asian Security Governance: Toward an Effective Architecture” at The First Joint Conference of Asia’s Mutual Prosperity, “ East Asia Security Community and US-Japan Relations”, hosted by International Academic Society for Asian Community, Japan Association of Global Governance, Association for the Study of Political Society (ASP OS), Institute of International Relations, Japan Society for Public Interest and Common Goods Studies, and Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, Tokyo.
March 2-5, 2013:
JFI co-sponsored a two-part academic workshop co-organized by Kimie Hara & Ken Coates titled “East Asia-Arctic Relations: Boundary, Security and International Politics” in Whitehorse, Yukon, and Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
March 11, 2013:
The K.C. Belair Centre at Renison University College and JFI hosted a presentation by Sachie Saijo (Program Manager for Peace Winds Japan Tohoku Program and "Hope For Youth" program participant, Renison University College) titled “Two Years Later: Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan.”
March 13, 2013:
The K.C. Belair Centre at Renison University College and JFI hosted a presentation by James Manicom (Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) Research Fellow) titled “Cooperation and Conflict in the Asian Century: China's Relations with Southeast and East Asia.”
March 20, 2013:
The K.C. Belair Centre at Renison University College and JFI hosted a presentation by Kimie Hara titled “Continuing Legacies of the San Francisco System: Past, Present, and Future.”
March 25, 2013:
David Welch and James Manicom (CIGI Research Fellow) made a joint presentation titled “Small Islands, Big Problems: Why the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands Dispute Matters” at the Munk School for Global Studies, University of Toronto.
March 27, 2013:
K.C. Belair Centre at Renison University College and JFI hosted a presentation by David Welch titled “How Dangerous are East Asia's Territorial Disputes?”
April 18, 2013:
David Welch presented a paper titled “Asia-Pacific Security: What can Canada Add?” to the third Canada-China Strategic Dialogue“ Security Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific Region”, at Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, Shanghai, PRC.
April 19, 2013:
Kimie Hara made a keynote speech at the China-Japan Border Dispute over the Diaoyu/Senkaku Island Symposium,“Law, Economics, Nationalism, Politics, and Peace ” hosted by the Center for East Asian and Pacific Studies, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaigne.
Special Announcement
The Embassy of Canada to Japan in Tokyo has announced the 2013-2014 Canada-Japan Leadership Fund, a programme that offers post-secondary education scholarships and language bursaries to Japanese students for their current or planned studies in Canada. The application deadline is June 14. Please encourage all qualified Japanese students to apply.
Japan Watch
Sankei Shimbun (April 24; Japanese version): “Gunkaku Chuugoku Nentou-ni 21-seiki no Nichi-ei Doumei Mosaku (Probing for a 21-century version of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance with Chinese military expansion in mind)”
A recent in the Sankei Shimbun reports that HRH Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, will visit Japan this autumn to participate in a conference “for discussing a new 21 century Anglo-Japanese Alliance.” Although this is not an official government-level discussion and is hosted by an independent think-tank (the Royal United Services Institute, or RUSI), the announcement has led to expectations among the Japanese policy and academic community. Considered de facto President of RUSI, Prince Andrew is scheduled to lead panels consisting of experts from the two countries on various topics linked to bilateral security cooperation such as joint weapons development, intelligence sharing, and cyber security in the midst of the “military expansion of China.” In addition to the fact that this year marks the 400-year anniversary of the first Anglo-Japanese contact, Prince Andrew’s visit is widely considered to be a part of a broader mutual understanding by the Anglo-Japanese governments that closer bilateral security cooperation would be beneficial for both countries. In most cases, Japanese security cooperation is discussed in the contexts of the “hub-and-spoke system” or “middle power diplomacy,” only involving Japan’s Asia-Pacific neighbours. An enhanced role for the UK—and possibly for other European states as well—in East Asian regional security during this volatile period is certainly an intriguing topic that should not be overlooked by Japan watchers.
