Japan-ASEAN Relations
Expert Panel for the 50th Year of ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation
1. Objective
At the ASEAN-Japan Summit Meeting in October 2021, Prime Minister KISHIDA expressed his intention to host an ASEAN-Japan Commemorative Summit for the 50th Year of ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation in 2023 in Japan in order to upgrade the ASEAN-Japan relations. His proposal was welcomed by the ASEAN Leaders. The ASEAN-Japan Commemorative Summit in 2023 is expected to review the ASEAN-Japan relations in the past half century and to adopt an outcome document to set out a vision for new ASEAN-Japan relations and cooperation for the future. In order to prepare for the Commemorative Summit, the Government of Japan established the Expert Panel for the 50th Year of ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation comprising of experts from academic and business communities. The Expert Panel is expected to submit policy recommendations on the future ASEAN-Japan relations to the Government of Japan.
2. Composition
The Expert Panel is composed of the Members listed below, and convened under Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs serves as the secretariat. The Expert Panel may request the attendance of other persons concerned including from relevant government ministries and agencies as necessary.
| AIZAWA Nobuhiro | Associate Professor, Kyushu University |
| ENDO Tamaki | Professor, Saitama University |
| HIRAKO Yuji | Chairman, Asia Project Team, KEIZAI DOYUKAI (Japan Association of Corporate Executives) |
| KAJIWARA Susumu | Professor, Dean of the School of Life Science and Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) |
| KAWASHIMA Shin | Professor, University of Tokyo |
| KIBA Saya | Associate Professor, Kobe City University of Foreign Studies |
| OBA Mie [Chairperson] |
Professor, Kanagawa University |
| SAHASHI Ryo | Associate Professor, University of Tokyo |
| SHIMIZU Shinichiro | ASEAN-Japan Business Council, The Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry |
| SHOJI Tomotaka | Head, Asia and Africa Division, Regional Studies Department, National Institute for Defense Studies (NIDS) |
| TANAKA Hideyuki | Chair, Subcommittee on ASEAN Economic Relations, Committee on Asia and Oceania, Keidanren |
| TANAKA Keiji | Chairperson of Business-in-Asia Committee, Kansai Economic Federation (Kankeiren) |
3. Timeline
On 12 May 2022, the first meeting of the Expert Panel for the 50th Year of ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation was held.
The study group meetings of the Expert Panel will be held approximately once a month to discuss a wide range of topics, including politics, security, economy, culture, and society. The outcomes of the experts' discussions are supposed to be compiled by the end of 2022 and submitted as policy recommendations to the Government of Japan in January 2023.
