RSIS Seminar Series on the Practice of Diplomacy and International Affairs (SSPDIA) on “Japan’s foreign and economic policies in the Indo-Pacific region and its engagement with ASEAN”

Abstract

Japan has been contributing to regional peace and prosperity in the ASEAN region.  The “Fukuda Doctrine” presented in 1977 by the late Prime Minister of Japan, Mr. Takeo Fukuda, embodies the principles for Japan’s relations with ASEAN and its member countries.  The Indo-Pacific region, with ASEAN member countries located at the center, continues to be the region with dynamic growth and huge potential.  It also faces numerous challenges such as natural disasters and terrorism, just to name a few.  Prime Minister of Japan, Mr. Shinzo Abe announced his vision for free and open Indo-Pacific at TICAD VI in August 2016.  It envisaged the Pacific and Indian Oceans and its environs as a place that values freedom, the rule of law, the market economy, freedom from force or coercion, and that is prosperous.  What Japan can do to contribute to work towards such vision would be explored in the seminar. 

 About the Speaker

Ambassador Jun Yamazaki is a career diplomat.  Prior to his appointment as Ambassador of Japan to Singapore, he was Ambassador to Sweden. He was born in UK in 1956.  Receiving his BA in International Relations from Tokyo University, he entered the Foreign Ministry of Japan in 1980. Within the Foreign Ministry, Mr. Yamazaki was appointed Director, Second Southeast Asia Division, Asian Affairs Bureau, Deputy Director-General both for Global Issues and Consular Affairs, and Chief of Protocol. He served overseas at Embassy in Indonesia.  He also served in various capacities at the UN in New York, first as a member of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions, followed by an appointment at the UN Secretariat as Assistant Secretary-General, Controller, and later as Ambassador at the Permanent Mission of Japan.