National Graduate Institute For Policy Studies (GRIPS) International Liaison Office

Dear SSJ-Friends,

We are pleased to invite you to the next GRIPS Forum at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies on April 15.

*Please register at gripsforum[at]grips.ac.jp by April 12th (Fri) without changing the title.
*If you are arriving by a private car, please let us know the car information (type, color, and number) in advance so that we can register it for campus entry permission.

Date: Monday, 15th April, 2013
Time: 16:40-18:10
Venue: GRIPS　Sokairo Hall, 1st Floor
Speaker: Dr. Surin Pitsuwan, Former Secretary-General of ASEAN
Theme: “New Japan in a New Asia”
Language: English, (Japanese simultaneous interpretation provided)
Fee: Free

As Japan returns to center stage---"Japan is back!"---, East Asia has evolved into a region of closer political and strategic cooperation and economic integration. The new landscape with new architectures of cooperation is full of dynamism, but not devoid of challenges. Major powers are converging on East Asia, as the region has become more important to the global community than a couple of decades ago when Japan effectively left the turf and focused more on her own internal　affairs.
What would it take for Japan to reclaim her place in a new Asia? How would the power rivalry play itself out as economic competition picks up the pace and gains intensity? What role will China, India and ASEAN play in supporting Japan's return to the regional stage? How will the simmering security situation in the Korean Peninsula affect Japan's determination to reclaim her rightful place in East Asia? These are some of the issues that will be explored by Dr. Surin Pitsuwan, former Secretary-General of ASEAN and currently a Visiting Fellow at GRIPS.

Speakers’ Profile:
1986　 Member of Parliament from Nakhon Si
Thammarat, Thailand
1986-88　 Secretary to the Speaker of the House of
Representatives
1988-91　 Assistant Secretary to the Minister of
Interior
1992-95　 Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs
1997-2001 Minister for Foreign Affairs
2006-2007 National Assembly (Appointed)
2008-2012　Secretary-General of ASEAN

*** GRIPS Forum ***
Since its establishment in 1997, the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS), as the only graduate school in Japan specializing in policy research, has promoted education and research on a wide range of policy issues.
Utilizing our vast policy network, this Forum invites leaders from various fields including government, academia and business, as well as staff from our own faculty, to deliver lectures on current policy concerns.
The Forum welcomes attendance of GRIPS faculty and students as well as participants from outside the university. Simultaneous interpretation will be available (Japanese/English).

For Access & Map to the GRIPS campus:
http://cmssv.local.grips.ac.jp/en/about/access/
National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS)
7-22-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-8677
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For registration and inquiries, please contact: Ms. Iso

gripsforum[at]grips.ac.jp or 03-6439-6037
http://www.grips.ac.jp/
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