IIPS Research Projects 2007

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The Institute for International Policy Studies (IIPS) has the following research project plans for 2007.

Japan’s Position as a Maritime Nation

This project will focus on Japan’s course as a maritime nation and on concrete policies to maintain and increase Japan’s power as a nation as the balance of power shifts.

To do this, we will use a historical and cultural approach to clarify the characteristics of a maritime nation, and then explore maritime policy as national strategy.

In the course of this process we will discuss specific individual issues between Japan and the surrounding region, elucidate Japan’s identity and its relationship with the international community, and present Japan’s options.

Globalization and Japan’s Science and Technology Strategy

As globalization marches onward, Japan must foster science and technology?its traditional forte?and nurture its human resources, in order to maintain its power as a nation.

We will first try to examine the joint efforts of industry, government, and academia in this regard, and to consider the situation overseas.

Current energy and the environmental issues must be addressed if humanity is to develop in a sustainable fashion. Accordingly, for Japan to present measures that make effective use of energy and environmental technology?an area in which it boasts considerable expertise?would represent a positive contribution to the international community.

There has also been all manner of debate on the crisis management system that the government intends to establish and on the role that science and technology ought to play with regard to the state and social stability. In the light of this discussion we will consider the wide ranging application of science and technology in response to issues such as energy and environmental problems or natural disasters, and propose a direction for Japan’s science and technology strategy.

The Changing Face of the International Community and Japan’s Role in It

We will try to comprehend the current situation surrounding the changing face of the international community and will examine Japan’s role in the international community from the viewpoints of a wide variety of disciplines, with lectures delivered by ambassadors to Japan and by invited researchers and experts?both from Japan and overseas.

Research Study on Japan’s Future China Strategy

With the inauguration last September of the Abe administration, Japan-China relations entered a new phase. In light of China’s remarkable rise?both economic and military?Japan-China relations will necessarily be on a different footing in future. It will be necessary to take a long range perspective and devise a new and comprehensive relationship with China.

Although China’s growth will strengthen economic cooperation in the region, there are also fears that China’s military build up and its diplomatic policies designed to secure resources will exacerbate regional tensions.

In addition, increasingly irreconcilable environmental and social problems in China harbor the potential to spark political instability in the nation, which would inevitably have far reaching consequences for the stability and prosperity of its neighbor Japan.

In terms of the bilateral relationship between the two neighboring states, it will be necessary to put in place a safety apparatus to minimize friction due to rising nationalism, in order to cope with the various problems that will inevitably arise. As fellow regional super powers, Japan and China must work together to build a regional order which can serve as a balance to the USA and which is geared to stability and prosperity. Given the uncertainty surrounding the future of China, it is more vital than ever that we look 10?20 years ahead as we visualize how to build this kind of relationship with China and envisage the type of nation that Japan should become.

In light of the conditions set out above, in September of 2006 IIPS authored a set of policy recommendations entitled “A Vision of Japan in the 21st Century,” which included recommendations on Japan-China relations and Japan’s security. This year we will try to study these issues in greater depth. With the cooperation of the Chinese People’s Institute of Foreign Affairs, which wields significant influence in the formulation of China’s diplomatic policy, and taking as reference China’s policies and vision of the future, we will try to set out proposals aimed at optimizing Japan’s long term policy and Japan-China relations .