Japan-LAC Relations: Toward Enhanced Cross-Pacific Connectivity

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The Inter-American Dialogue and the Japan Association of Latin America and the Caribbean (JALAC) are pleased to co-host the 5th annual Japan-Latin America Forum, which will be held in Tokyo, Japan on September 27, 2019.

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. This year’s Forum will consider how Japan and LAC countries, as part of an increasingly fragmented international community, can work together to both advance the region’s development prospects and protect and preserve key features of the global economic order. In what ways can elements of the “Three Together” guideline and “Enhancement of the Connectivity” principle, which were introduced by the Abe administration in 2014 and 2018, respectively, be employed to support best outcomes for LAC and Japan? How will political developments in and among LAC nations impact Japan’s ties with the region? And in what ways does US policy toward LAC affect prospects for enhanced Japanese engagement? 

AGENDA

8:30AM: REGISTRATION

9:00AM – 9:10AM: WELCOME

Mikio Sasaki, Chairman, Japan Association of Latin America and the Caribbean (JALAC)

Victor Ugarte, Director, Instituto Cervantes Tokio

9:10AM – 10:35AM: Forging Values-Based Japan-LAC Connectivity: The G20 Osaka Summit 2019 and Beyond

Tomoyuki Yoshida, Director General Latin American and Caribbean Affairs Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan

Michael Shifter, President, Inter-American Dialogue

Julio Fiol, Ambassador, Embassy of Chile in Japan 

Takahiro Miyachi, Associate Professor, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, University of Tokyo

Moderator:
Kotaro Horisaka, Professor Emeritus, Sophia University

10:35AM – 10:45AM: Coffee Break

10:45AM – 12:05PM: Connecting Economies: Toward Enhanced Japan-LAC Trade Dynamics

Virginia Valdivia, Professor, Faculty of Political and Social Science, National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM)

Mikio Kuwayama, Research Fellow, Kobe University

Yoko Hamamoto, Manager, Strategy & Planning Office, Fresh Food Products Division, Mitsubishi Corporation

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

12:05PM – 1:25PM: Achieving Sustainable Development Goals through Shared Wisdom

Satoshi Yoshida, Director General, Latin America and Caribbean Department, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)

Hiroyuki Kojima, Corporate Senior Vice President for R&D Planning, Ajinomoto Co., Inc.

Akio Hosono, Senior Research Advisor, JICA Research Institute and Vice Chairman of the Japan Association of Latin America and the Caribbean (JALAC)

Moderator:
Noriko Hataya, Professor, Sophia University

1:25PM – 1:30PM: CLOSING REMARKS

Michael Shifter, President, Inter-American Dialogue

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