The Inter-American Dialogue and the Japan Association of Latin America and the Caribbean are pleased to hold their 4th annual Japan-Latin America Forum at a critical juncture in the Japan-Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) relationship. 

Japan has been a reliable and long-standing partner for many countries in the LAC region, but rapidly evolving trade dynamics, along with political and economic uncertainties on both sides of the Pacific, will require new thinking about Japanese economic engagement in its various forms. As Japan’s government promotes ever-deeper cooperation with LAC, including extensive development assistance projects to lower and middle-income countries, Japanese companies are weighing the risks and benefits of broader engagement with the region. What prospects are there for enhanced Japanese partnership with LAC in the coming years? How will Japan fare in a new political landscape, and as revised NAFTA and TPP agreements take shape? In what ways is Japan distinguishing itself from other East Asian partners in the region? And what can LAC do at this moment to take full advantage of Japanese ties?

AGENDA

12:00PM: REGISTRATION & LUNCH

12:30PM – 12:45PM: WELCOME

Margaret Myers, Director, Asia & Latin America Program, Inter-American Dialogue

12:45PM – 1:00PM: OPENING REMARKS

Carla Hills, Chair and CEO, Hills & Company

1:00PM – 1:45PM: Indo-Pacific-LAC: The Role of Japan-LAC in the Indo-Pacific Era

Takahiro Nakamae, Director General, Latin American and Caribbean Affairs Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan

Discussant:
Mireya Solis, Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution

1:45PM – 3:15PM: Panel 1 – Riding the Political Tide: What Prospects for New Japan-LAC Engagement?

Kotaro Horisaka, Professor Emeritus, Sophia University

Toshiyuki Yasui, Executive Director, Inter-American Development Bank

Naboth van den Broek, Partner, WilmerHale

Moderator:
Margaret Myers, Director, Asia & Latin America Program, Inter-American Dialogue

3:15PM – 4:45PM: Panel 2 – Harnessing the Potential of Japanese Investment in LAC: Examples from Across the Region

Akio Hosono, Senior Research Advisor, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Research Institute

Tadashi Omatoi, President, Mitsubishi Chile

Kevin Tynes, Chairman, Nippon Koei LAC Co., Ltd.

Takashi Togami, Director, Agricultural Service Lab, PS Solutions Corp.

Moderator:
Gabrielle Trebat, Regional Director, McLarty Associates

4:45PM: CLOSING REMARKS

Michael Shifter, President, Inter-American Dialogue

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