Dear SSJ-Friends,

We are pleased to invite you to the next GRIPS Forum at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies on December 16.

*Please register at gripsforum@grips.ac.jp with your name, affiliation, job title, phone number or email address by December 13 (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, 16　December, 2013
Time: 16:40-18:10
Venue: GRIPS　Sokairo Hall, 1st Floor
Speaker: Dr. Akihiko Tanaka, President of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)
Theme: The World System in the 21st century and Japan's International Cooperation
Language: English (Japanese simultaneous interpretation
provided)
Fee: Free

In the 21st century, we are witnessing a dynamic change of the world system. Some developing countries have enjoyed significant economic growth, changing their status from middle-income countries into high-income ones, and some have even emerged as world-leading economies.
On the other hand, we see some countries that are still suffering with conflicts and/or fragile domestic conditions. They have made limited progress on poverty reduction, health, and/or education issues, thus, threats to their "human security" remain.
With this context in mind, I will try to touch upon Japanese experiences from development assistance extended to Asia, Latin America and Africa and to discuss challenges that Japan is currently facing in conducting its policy for international cooperation.

Speakers’ Profile:
Akihiko Tanaka is President of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). Before assuming the present post, he was Professor of International Politics at the Interfaculty Initiative in Information Studies and at the Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia, the University of Tokyo. Most recently he was Vice President of the University of Tokyo (2011-2012), Executive Vice President of the University of Tokyo(2009-2011),and Director of the Division for International Affairs of the University of Tokyo(2008-2010).
Tanaka obtained his Ph. D. in Political Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology andhis bachelor’
s degree in International Relations at the University of Tokyo.
His areas of specialization include theories of international politics, contemporary international relations in East Asia, and Japan’s foreign policy. He has been a member of various advisory groups for the Prime Minister, including the Council on Security and DefenseCapability (2009 and 2004), the Council for Reforming the Ministry of Defense (2007-2008), and the Council on Legal Bases of Security Policy (2007).
He has numerous books and articles in Japanese and English including Posuto kuraishisu no sekai(The Post-Crisis World) (Tokyo: Nihon keizai shimbun shuppansha, 2009), Ajia no nakano Nippon(Japan and International Politics in Asia) (Tokyo: NTT shuppan, 2007), and the New Middle Ages: The World Systemin the 21stCentury (Tokyo: The International house of Japan, 2002).
Tanaka received the Medal of Honor with Purple Ribbon in 2012for his academic achievements.

*** 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://www.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@grips.ac.jp
http://www.grips.ac.jp/
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