Upcoming Events
March 14-15, 2012:
JFI will hold its spring symposium, "Disaster Management, Energy Security, and Multilateral Cooperation: The Tohoku Disaster and Its Regional and Global Implications," at the Balsillie School of International Affairs, University of Waterloo. This event is co-hosted by the Balsillie School of International Affairs, the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI), Renison University College, the University of Waterloo, the Japan Foundation Toronto, and the Shibusawa Eiichi Memorial Foundation.
Professor John Kirton (University of Toronto) will deliver the keynote speech at 19h00 EDT on March 14 (08h00 Japan time, March 15) titled "Japan's Contribution to Global Governance." CIGI will provide a live webcast of the event. If you are interested in watching the online webcast, please register.
On March 15, There will be three sessions on energy security, social and political responses to disaster, and the role of entrepreneurs in disaster recovery. A limited number of spaces are available for the March 15 sessions; please register to attend.
March 20, 2012:
Professor Masaru Kohno, Professor of Political Science, Waseda University, Tokyo, will speak on “Recent Development in Japan’s Party Politics” at the University of Waterloo(10h000-11h20).
Please RSVP to lmackenz@uwaterloo.ca.
March 22, 2012:
Mr. Eiji Yamamoto, Consul-General, Consulate-General of Japan, Toronto, will speak on “Japan’s Relations with Its Neighbours in Asia” at Renison University College, University of Waterloo (13h00-14h20). This event is co-sponsored by the JFI and the Keiko & Charles Belair Centre for East Asian Studies, Renison University College & the JFI.
Please RSVP to lmackenz@uwaterloo.ca.
Recent events
An audio podcast of the JFI’s December 2011 Symposiumin Tokyo,“Responding to Disaster: Lessons Learned from the Haiti and Great East Japan Earthquakes” is now available, brought to you by the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI).
March 1, 2012:
Professor Nobuo Shimotomai (Hosei University, Tokyo) held a guest lecture on “the Cold War in East Asia” at Renison University College, University of Waterloo.
February 29, 2012:
Kimie Hara of the JFI spoke at the Japan Foundation Toronto. The title of her lecture was "60 Years Later: The San Francisco Peace Treaty and the Regional Conflicts in East Asia."
Japan Watch
The New York Times (February 14, 2012) “Amid Image of Ire Toward U.S. Bases, Okinawans’ True Views Vary”
The plan to construct a new airfield at Henoko in northern Okinawa to replace the current Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, located in the middle of Ginowan City in the south of the island, is still at a standstill.
Although the Japanese and the U.S. governments still officially support the plan to move, recent opinion polls show that about 80% of Okinawans oppose it. The opposition has gotten stiffer especially after the former Democratic Party of Japan Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama broke his election promise to move the Futenma Base off the island two years ago and later confirmed Tokyo’s willingness to see the Americans stay. Although the more conservative and national security-conscious Liberal Democratic Party members of Okinawa are currently against the relocation for the fear of losing the local support, especially from the residents of Henoko, there is a general recognition that this disproportionate footprint of the U.S. military in Okinawa, compared to other parts of Japan, requires redress in some fashion. Since majority of the residents of Henoko are cautiously willing to accept the base in exchange for jobs and compensation payments, the recent agreement by Washington and Tokyo to continue to reduce the number of the marines on the island provides an opportunity to assuage local dissatisfaction. It will require great skill and leadership, however, to find a compromise position between the competing preferences of all stakeholders. 3/11 One Year Later
Prepare to be saturated by media coverage and commentary on the one-year anniversary of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. Your JFI facilitators recommend viewing the Japan311 and Rebuild Japan Initiative Foundation website.
