On the afternoon of July 5，2023, the 13th lecture of the Nitto Special Lecture of the Centre for Japanese Studies was successfully held at the Xuhui Campus of Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU). This lecture was hosted by the Centre for Japanese Studies of SJTU and sponsored by Nitto Denko (China) Investment Co., Ltd. The theme of the lecture was "Foreign and Security Policies of the Kishida Regime and Japan-China Relations", and Mr.IJUIN Atsushi, Chief Economist of the Japan Center for Economic Research (JCER), was the keynote speaker. Shen Dingli, Professor of Fudan University, former Executive Vice President of Institute of International Studies and former Director of the Centre for American Studies, and Cai Liang, Director of the China Diplomacy Office of the Institute of Foreign Policy of the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies (SIIS), and Secretary General of the Centre for Sino-Japanese Relations (CJR) and a researcher, served as the panellists. Ji Weidong, University Professor of Humanity and Social Sciences and Director of the Centre for Japanese Studies at SJTU, was the moderator, and Jo Katsuyoshi, Chairman of Nitto Denko (China) Investment Co., Ltd.. Dozens of Chinese and Japanese scholars, entrepreneurs and practitioners, including Cai Yuping, Deputy Director of the Centre for Japanese Studies at SJTU, Ding Jian, Party Secretary of the School of Foreign Languages at SJTU and Deputy Director of the Centre, and Zheng Zhihua, Associate Research Professor of the Centre, participated in the lecture.
Professor Weidong gave an opening remarks in which he welcomed Mr.IJUIN Atsushi and thanked all the guests for attending. He said that Mr.IJUIN Atsushi is an important partner of the Centre. They have collaborated on a research project on risk communication in East Asia, which has been successful. This time, Mr. IJUIN Atsushi was invited to SJTU to give a lecture, hoping to encourage communication, exchange of ideas, and understanding of Sino-Japanese relations and the international situation beyond China and Japan.
On behalf of the lecture sponsors, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Mr. Jo Katsuyoshi, said that the Nitto Lecture Series has invited experts and scholars to deliver keynote speeches on diverse topics like the economy, politics, and the environment in 2023. These speeches have been appreciated by all social circles. It is a privilege to have Atsushi Ijiyasu, the chief economist of the Japan Center for Economic Research, deliver a keynote speech on Japan's foreign security policy and Sino-Japanese relations. China and Japan are neighbours and have agreed on several areas of cooperation in trade and economics, including energy conservation, environmental protection, green development, and elderly care. This year marks the 45th anniversary of the Treaty of Peace and Friendship between China and Japan, indicating promising opportunities for collaboration between the two nations. He looked forward to the speakers, who will provide all of us with a deeper understanding of Sino-Japanese relations in the post-pandemic era and more opportunities to enhance exchanges between the two countries, and wished the lecture a successful outcome.
In the keynote speech session, Mr.IJUIN Atsushi introduced the theme of "Kishida Cabinet's Foreign and Security Policies and Japan-China Relations". The political policies of the Kishida administration and its actions in recent years are introduced from ten perspectives: the origins of Prime Minister Kishida, the "New Era of Realistic Diplomacy" and the succession of Abe's line, the promotion of a "free and open Indo-Pacific", the revision of the National Security Strategy and the enhancement of the defence force, the advancement of the economic and security policy, the strengthening of the Japan-U.S. alliance and the promotion of the modernisation of the Japan-U.S. relations, the participation in the NATO summit talks and the enhancement of the cooperation of the G7, the building of a "constructive and stable Sino-Japanese relations", the expansion of the Sino-Japanese cooperation and the RCEP, and the management of risks and the communications in the period of transition.
In his view, the Kishida Cabinet has inherited Abe's diplomatic line in general, and under the name of "New Age Realist Diplomacy", it is involved in three areas, namely, human rights protection, climate issues, and security of national life. The Kishida administration has also revised and strengthened its national security strategy and economic security strategy, including the "Free and Open Indo-Pacific" policy, which is based on the principle of "Free and Open Indo-Pacific".
"The Kishida administration has revised and strengthened its national security strategy and economic security strategy, including international cooperation centred on the Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP), the promotion of the Japan-US alliance, a significant increase in defence spending, and the review and application of sensitive technologies. At the same time, the Kishida administration has been actively involved in international issues, inviting Ukrainian President Zelensky to participate in the recent Hiroshima Summit and paying a site visit to Ukraine to make clear its attitude toward the Russia-Ukraine conflict. According to Mr.IJUIN Atsushi, the biggest problem for Japan is how to maintain relations with the allies and develop good relations with China at the same time, and only by taking both sides into account can we claim to have a healthy diplomatic relationship. At a time when countries are so closely interconnected, it would be counterproductive to push forward unilaterally with national measures and actions, which could lead to stalemate and mutual suspicion among countries, and thus to a security dilemma.
The emergence of the COVID-19 has led to drastic changes in the lives of people all over the world, and the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict last year has further contributed to the turbulence of the international situation. This spring, Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a diplomatic blue paper stating that the international community is in a period of historical change, and that while the United States and other countries have been maintaining the order of the international community in accordance with the original international rules since the Cold War, in recent years developing countries led by China have begun to rise to the forefront and actively participate in the construction and management of the international order, and therefore questioning in the blue paper whether the post-Cold War period is already over. The international community consists of various complex relationships such as rivalry, competition, and cooperation, and countries such as China and Japan have different concerns about how the international order maintained by the United States will affect the status of their own countries. Healthy competition is beneficial, but in a period of historical transition fraught with risk, it is necessary to maintain relations between countries as part of risk management to avoid unhealthy competition, and at the same time, it is necessary to manage risk by communicating at different levels about misunderstandings and avoiding decoupling.
This year marks the 45th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Peace and Friendship between China and Japan, and as China and Japan have both become major world powers over the long term, Mr.IJUIN Atsushi hopes that not only cooperation and exchanges at the governmental level, but also international exchanges at the private sector level are important in order to promote the building of a stable political relationship, and that the healthy and peaceful development of China and Japan will require joint efforts.
Shen Dingli, Professor of Fudan University, former Executive Vice President of the Graduate Institute of International Studies and former Director of the Centre for American Studies, commented on Mr.IJUIN Atsushi's speech and analysed Japan's current policy towards China from the perspective of the international situation. He said that Japan's foreign policy has been idealistic in the past, but with the change of the international situation, it has gradually become realistic. The interests of mankind need to be balanced, and each country should communicate and review its historical and practical contradictions, and in order to maintain the international order, a certain degree of compromise is needed, and China and Japan need to actively communicate and face up to their international responsibilities.
Cai Liang, director and research fellow of the Chinese Diplomacy Office of the Foreign Policy Institute of the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, secretary-general of the Centre for the Study of Sino-Japanese Relations, believes that Sino-Japanese relations should be studied in a concrete way, taking into account not only Sino-Japanese relations, but also multilateral relations, and that Japan should play the role of the third pole in the competition between China and the United States and take advantage of the relationship between the two sides to make important diplomatic choices. At the same time, from a diplomatic point of view, national relations are quite complex and need to be viewed differently from multiple levels, and civil relations between China and Japan cannot be evaluated simply as good or bad, so it is very important to deepen exchanges between the two sides.
During the Q&A session, the audience asked questions on how to improve the relationship between China and Japan, and Mr.IJUIN Atsushi answered and responded in detail, energizing the atmosphere.
After the Q&A session, Director Ji Weidong made his concluding remarks, summarising the four perspectives of idealism and realism in diplomacy, the interpretation of the "anti-hegemony" clause of the Treaty of Peace and Friendship between China and Japan, how China and Japan can shift their perspectives to build a relationship of trust with each other, and how to expand openness to avoid decoupling, and pointing out that how to reach a more common understanding and promote co-operation in such a realistic context requires the concerted efforts of all sectors, and that he hoped to continue to promote the discussion in the future to enhance the exchanges between both sides.
In the end, Chairman Jo Katsuyoshi, Deputy Director Cai Yuping, Associate Research Professor Zheng Zhihua and other organisers and sponsors presented certificates of appreciation to the guest speakers and guests of the talk, thanking them for their wonderful speeches and great support to the Centre for Japanese Studies of SJTU! The lecture ended in a pleasant atmosphere.
