Dear all,
The Strategic Communications Education and Research Unit (SCERU) and the Graduate School of Public Policy ofthe University of Tokyo (GraSPP) are pleased to invite you to the seminar as detailed below:
Synopsys:
H.E. Mr Krišjānis Kariņš, Minister of Foreign Affairs and former Prime Minister of Latvia, in his first public lecture to address the Japanese public, will discuss Latvia's experience of transformation from a country occupied by Soviet Union to an independent, democratic nation, fully integrated into both European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). He will argue that the end of WW2 did not bring security to Latvia, as Soviet occupation continued until 1990. Only through the reunification of Europe and the enlargement of the EU and NATO were peace, security and prosperity ensured. Out of such experience, he will explain, emerges Latvia's firm commitment and belief in the rules-based international order and the right of nations to choose freely the security institution to which they wish to belong.
Based upon that commitment, he will present Latvia's view on the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the impact it has had on Europe's security, while linking European security and that of the Indo-Pacific. He will argue that the Russian invasion has demonstrated that the security of Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia and countries in the Western Balkans are linked and that these states have the right to choose their own future. The aforementioned states, just like Latvia, see themselves as an integral part of a strong and united Europe.
He will conclude by explaining Latvia's vision of future security, considering its ongoing endeavors toward the vision of Europe whole and free. Latvia continues to strengthen its ability to counter global and interconnected threats and challenges, including terrorism, conflict and instability in various hotspots, coercive policies, cyber-attacks, climate change and many others, independently and by working collectively with other states. In its aspiration to serve as an elected member of the UN Security Council for the first time, Latvia is fully committed to shoulder its part of the responsibility to uphold international peace and security.
This session will be moderated by: Dr. Chiyuki Aoi, Professor and Director, SCERU.
Date& time:
Friday 9 February 2024 | 11:00-12:10(JST), 2:00-3:10(GMT), 3:00-4:10(CET)
This will be a hybrid seminar (Please choose ONSITE or ONLINE for your participation).
https://www.pp.u-tokyo.ac.jp/sceru/seminars/9th-sceru-public-seminar-9-february-2024/
Onsite Venue:
SMBC Academia Hall
4th floor, InternationalAcademic Research Building, Hongo campus,the University of Tokyo
Online:
Webinar ID/code and link will be sent to the registered email address by 7 February.
If you do not receivethe webinar access information by the date, please contact GraSPP by email (graspp_eventinfo@pp.u-tokyo.ac.jp).
Language: English
Programme:
Opening Remarks: Dr. Daiji Kawaguchi,Vice Dean and Professor, GraSPP
Speech by: H.E. Mr Krišjānis Kariņš, Ministerfor Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia
Moderator: Dr. Chiyuki Aoi, Professor and Director, SCERU
Registration: Please register here.
About the speaker:
Dr Krišjānis Kariņš is the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia as of September 15, 2023. He served as the Prime Minister of Latvia becoming one of the longest serving Heads of Government in Latvia (from 23 January 2019 to 15 September 2023).
From 2009 to 2019, Dr K. Kariņš was an elected Member of the European Parliament. From 2002 to 2009 he was an elected Member of the Saeima (the Parliament of Latvia) and served as the Minister of Economics from 2004 to 2006.
Dr K. Kariņš was born in the United States of America to parents who were forced to leave Latvia following Soviet occupation.
Opening remarks:
Dr. Daiji Kawaguchi, Vice Dean of Graduate School of Public Policy(GraSPP), is a Professor of GraSPP/Graduate School of Economics at the University of Tokyo. Dr. Kawaguchi graduated from Waseda University (B.A.) and earned M.A. from Hitotsubashi Iniversity and Ph.D.from Michigan State University. In addition to his position at the University of Tokyo, Kawaguchi is a program director of the Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry and a Research Associate of Tokyo Center for Economic Research. Before joining the University of Tokyo faculty in 2016, Kawaguchi was an Assistant Professor of Economics at Osaka University (2002-03) and the University of Tsukuba (2003-05), and Associate and full Professor at Hitotsubashi University (2005-2016). He has also been a Visiting Scholar at the University of California, Berkeley (2005-06). His research interest is Labor Economics and Empirical Microeconomics.
Moderator:
Dr. Chiyuki Aoi is Professor of International Security at the Graduate School of Public Policy, the University of Tokyo. She also serves as a member of the Editorial Board of Defence Strategic Communications, the official journal of NATO Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence. Since June 2022, she directs Strategic Communications Education and Research Unit (SCERU), established at GraSPP with support from the European Union.
Aoi was educated at Sophia University (BA), the University of Tokyo (transferred to MIT), the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MS), and Columbia University (PhD). From 2008 to 2009, she was Visiting Research Fellow at the Department of War Studies, King's College London, and from 2019 to 2020 Visiting Professor there.
In August 2018, she was elected a member of the Shinzo Abe administration Council on Security and Defense Capabilities.
