Seminar: The Present and Future Trajectory of Sino-Japanese Relations

ABOUT THE SEMINAR

China and Japan have taken some positives steps toward improving their traditionally frosty bilateral relationship over the last few months. In October 2015 China, Japan and South Korea held their first three-way summit since 2012 where they agreed to accelerate talks for a trilateral free-trade agreement and to bolster cultural exchanges. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has stressed the importance of developing an amicable and stable relationship between the two countries. However, thorns in the relationship remain. Tensions continue over contested sovereignty claims in the East China Sea where three Chinese ships recently sailed within the 12-mile exclusion zone of Islands which Japan has claimed. The question for 2016 is whether Beijing and Tokyo will be able to use recent improvements in their bilateral relationship to manage their stress points and effect an overall thaw or if military skirmishes and contested claims will derail the Sino-Japanese relationship.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Jia Qingguo is Dean of the School of International Studies at Peking University. Professor Jia is a member of the Standing Committee and the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and a member of the Standing Committee of the Central Committee of the China Democratic League. He is also Executive Director of the Institute for China-US People-to-People Exchange of the Ministry of Education, Vice President of the Chinese American Studies Association and Vice President of Chinese Japanese Studies Association.

Masashi Nishihara is an expert on Japanese foreign and security policy, and a key policy advisor to the Japanese government. Dr Nishihara is President, Research Institute for Peace and Security, based in Tokyo. In 1986-1995, he served on the Council of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), London. In 2001-2004, he was a member of Prime Minister Jun’ichiro Koizumi’s Task Force on External Relations. He was a member of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s consultative committee on the establishment of a national security council in 2013.

In Spring 2015, he served on Prime Minister Abe’s committee advising on the commemorative statement for the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. He currently chairs Minister Eriko Yamanaka’s consultative committee on territorial sovereignty.

REGISTRATION
For registration, please fill in this form and email to iseasevents2@iseas.edu.sg by 12 January 2016.