Asia Pacific Initiative (API) is pleased to announce that Yuka Koshino has been selected as API’s Matsumoto-Samata Fellow1/, and has been sent to the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) in the UK as a Research Fellow2/. 1/ The Matsumoto-Samata Fellowship is an API program aiming to send young researchers to foreign think tanks to …

Yuka Koshino selected as API’s Matsumoto-Samata Fellow and dispatched to UK’s IISS Read More »

Asia Pacific Initiative (API) is pleased to announce that Satoshi Nakagawa joined API on January 1, 2020, as its new Executive Director.   <Profile of Satoshi Nakagawa> Before assuming his position at API in January 2020, Nakagawa was Chairman of the Association of Credit Rating Agencies in Asia (ACRAA). Over the course of his career, …

Satoshi Nakagawa joins API as Executive Director Read More »

Asia Pacific Initiative (API) is pleased to announce that Dr Makio Miyagawa, the former Ambassador of Japan to Malaysia, joined our institution on January 1, 2020, as APIF President and API Senior Fellow. APIF stands for “Asia Pacific Initiative Forum” (See below for details).   <Profile of Dr Makio Miyagawa> Dr Miyagawa held successive positions …

Dr Makio Miyagawa joins API as APIF President and API Senior Fellow Read More »

On September 9 2019, Asia Pacific Initiative held a symposium co-hosted with the University of Tokyo’s Graduate School of Public Policy (GrasPP). The symposium titled “Society Driven Public Policy : The Policy Community and Public Careers in search of Japan’s Alternative Solutions” featured discussions surrounding “policy-entrepreneurship in Japan.” The symposium welcomed leading politician Shinjiro KOIZUMI …

API-University of Tokyo joint Symposium on Policy –Entrepreneurship in Japan Read More »

AP Initiative Chairman Yoichi Funabashi contributed an op-ed for The Financial Times titled “Japan-South Korea tensions challenge postwar order,” first published online on August 29, 2019. In the piece, Dr. Funabashi discusses the recent tensions between Japan and South Korea. While arguing that Japan must treat South Korea as a partner and commit to transparently …

AP Initiative Chairman contributes op-ed for FT on Japan-South Korea relations Read More »

AP Initiative will publish The front-line of Operation Tomodachi ── Lessons Learned from the Fukushima Nuclear Accident for Improving Japan-U.S. Cooperation in August, 2019. The book, written by AP Initiative Senior Fellow Koichi Isobe, will be published from Sairyu-sya in Japanese. The author, describes how Japan and U.S. worked hands in hands to deals with …

The front-line of Operation Tomodachi will be published soon Read More »

Tourism in Japan is growing faster than anywhere else in the world. The number of international visitors to Japan has more than tripled since the start of the decade, hitting 31 million last year. And the numbers are expected to continue rising as the country hosts two of the world’s largest events – the 2019 …

Reinventing Japan Event – Sustainable Tourism in Japan: Beyond Numbers Read More »

Asia Pacific Initiative (API) hosted a round-table titled “Fueling Global Growth: Trade, Investment and Financial Cooperation in Asia” at Hotel Okura Tokyo on May 27th, 2019. The event, organized in collaboration with the research institute of the Boao Forum for Asia and Caixin Media, China’s most influential financial media group, was mediated by China-based API …

API round-table welcomed former PBOC Governor Dr. Zhou Xiaochuan as keynote speaker Read More »

AP Initiative published “What is a Think Tank? : An Era of Policy Entrepreneurship” on March 25, 2019. This book, written by AP Initiative Chairman Yoichi Funabashi in Japanese, describes the history and changing dynamics of think tanks, with a particular focus on U.S. think tanks. Based on interviews to distinguished global think tankers and …

“What is a Think Tank? : An Era of Policy Entrepreneurship” was published by Chuokoron-shinsha Read More »

Asia Pacific Initiative has produced a shortened Japanese version of “The Article II Mandate: Forging a Stronger Economic Alliance between the United States and Japan.” The original English report was jointly written with the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a Washington-based think tank. The report recommends that the United States and Japan strengthen …

Japanese Report on U.S.-Japan Economic Cooperation Read More »

On Feburary 11, 2019, the Brookings Institution held an event titled “Japan’s role in Asia’s connectivity: Infrastructure finance and digital governance” in Washington, D.C. After a keynote address on Japan’s goals and policies to advance Asian connectivity by Kohei Toyoda, director for international coordination for the Trade Policy Bureau of the Japanese Ministry of Economy, …

Senior Consulting Fellow Oya participated in a Brookings Institution event on Asia’s connectivity Read More »

On January 16, 2019, Korean newspaper media group Maekyung interviewed AP Initiative Chairman Yoichi Funabashi about the international situation in East Asia. In his remarks, Dr. Funabashi argued that South Korea’s foreign policy is overly focused on North Korea, in which he pointed out the difficulty in solving North Korea related problems with only a …

Interview with Chairman Funabashi published in Korean newspaper Read More »

The Asia Pacific Initiative is delighted to announce a new partnership with Tokyo Review, a budding and exciting non-profit publishing platform for academics, journalists, researchers and beyond to write in-depth and evidence-based articles on issues related to Japan. We will work closely with the Tokyo Review team by offering operational support to promote shared values …

Announcing a New Partnership with Tokyo Review Read More »

On December 3, 2018, the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) held an event on strengthening U.S.-Japan economic cooperation in Washington, D.C. Asia Pacific Initiative and CSIS have been involved in a joint research project on this theme, and recently launched the resulting report, The Article II Mandate: Forging a Stronger Economic Alliance between …

Senior Consulting Fellow Oya participated in a CSIS event on Strengthening U.S.-Japan Economic Cooperation Read More »

On November 29, 2018, Asia Pacific Initiative held a launch event for their report, The Article II Mandate: Forging a Stronger Economic Alliance between the United States and Japan, which was jointly written with the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a Washington-based think tank. Over 70 policymakers, business executives, military personnel and diplomats …

Asia Pacific Initiative Launch a New Report on U.S.-Japan Economic Cooperation Read More »

AP Initiative’s Japan’s Population Implosion: The 50 Million Shock (Palgrave Macmillan, December 30, 2017) was highly appraised in a book review by Tokyo Review. Tokyo Review is a collaborative website for young academics, journalists, and researchers working on issues related to Japanese politics, economics and, society. Jonathan Webb, the author of this book review, is …

AP Initiative’s book, Japan’s Population Implosion: The 50 Million Shock, was highly appraised in a book review by Tokyo Review Read More »

AP Initiative Chairman Yoichi Funabashi gave a lecture on the theme of “Geopolitics, Populism, and the Media” at an event hosted by the Japan Press Research Institute on March 30, 2018. In his lecture, Dr. Funabashi began by discussing the foundations of the post-World War II international system, professing his deep fear that the world …

Chairman Funabashi’s Speech on “Geopolitics, Populism, and the Media” Read More »

Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA held a tabletop exercise (TTX) On February 14-16, 2018, in Tokyo, with experienced Japanese, South Korean, and American military, security, intelligence, and diplomatic officials to explore trilateral responses to credible North Korean provocations. AP Initiative Senior Research Fellow Yoichi Kato joined it, and wrote final report with Admiral Michael McDevitt. * …

Senior Research Fellow Kato joined a tabletop exercise (TTX) to credible North Korean provocations Read More »

Chairman Yoichi Funabashi’s essay “The North Korea Problem: Let’s Aim for Peace even if it is ‘Dirty Peace’” was the lead article for the June special edition of the monthly magazine Ushio. In this essay, Chairman Yoichi Funabashi claimed that ① North Korean leader Kim Jong-un made the decision on the North Korea-United States summit …

AP Initiative Chairman Funabashi’s “The North Korea Problem” appeared in the June edition of Ushio. Read More »

The Chinese version of “Managing the Dollar” written by Yoichi Funabashi was published by CITIC Press in China. “Managing the Dollar” was published by Asahi Shimbun in 1988, when Chairman Funabashi was a journalist at the Asahi Shimbun. The book revealed the behind-the-scenes international currency diplomacy from the Plaza Accord, agreed upon by the G5 …

The Chinese version of AP Initiative Chairman Funabashi’s book, “Managing the Dollar,” was published in China Read More »

“Reinventing Japan: New Directions in Global Leadership,”published by Praeger on March 31, 2018. This is the English companion volume to “Galapagos Cool,” which was published in Japanese by Toyo Keizai, Inc. in 2017. Both books were the product of an almost two-year project, entitled “Why Japan Matters,” which looked at how Japan could contribute more to …

“Reinventing Japan: New Directions in Global Leadership,” the English version of “Galapagos Cool,” was published by Praeger Read More »

AP Initiative Senior Research Fellow Yoichi Kato appeared as a panelist at “U.S.-Japan-Russia Trilateral Conference,” held by the National Committee on American Foreign Policy (NCAFP), an American think tank, in New York on March 14-15, 2018. He participated in the public event “Cooperation or Competition in Northeast Asia? : Perspective from the U.S., Japan, and …

AP Initiative Senior Research Fellow Kato appeared as a panelist at a conference of NCAFP in NY Read More »

AP Initiative Chairman Yoichi Funabashi spoke at a panel of the 2018 World Economic Forum in Davos, “Nuclear Threats to International Security,” as a panelist. He discussed with the other speakers the increasing number of nuclear states and the threat of “first use” of nuclear weapons, which are dual global risks on the rise, and …

AP Initiative Chairman spoke at a session of the World Economic Forum 2018 Read More »

The English translation of “Japan’s Population Implosion -The 50 Million Shock,” which was originally published in Japanese by Shinchosha in 2015 as the report from the project ‘The Special Investigation Commission on Population Issues,’ has been published by Palgrave Macmillan. This book examines Japan’s population issue, exploring how declining demographic trends are affecting Japan’s social …

English translation of “Japan’s Population Implosion -The 50 Million Shock” has been published by Palgrave Macmillan Read More »

AP Initiative Senior Research Fellow Yoichi Kato participated in the international symposium, “Economic Integration in Asia Pacific and Cooperation Between Japan and China Under Trump Administration,” held by the Center for Japanese Studies, Fudan University in Shanghai on November 11 to 12, 2017. He acted as moderator of the symposium, in addition to sharing his …

AP Initiative Senior Research Fellow Yoichi Kato participated in a symposium on Japan-China relations held at Fudan University in Shanghai Read More »

AP Initiative Senior Fellow Masayuki Hironaka spoke at Japan National Press Club’s press conference on November 10, 2017, on his book, “軍人が政治家になってはいけない本当の理由 政軍関係を考える(The real reason why soldiers shouldn’t be politicians –considering civil-military relations),” published on October 20, 2017. Talk with the Author : “軍人が政治家になってはいけない本当の理由 政軍関係を考える“ Date   ：November 10, 2017 (14:00-15:30)  Venue：Japan National Press Club 10F …

AP Initiative Senior Fellow Masayuki Hironaka spoke at Japan National Press Club’s press conference Read More »

AP Initiative Chairman Yoichi Funabashi spoke at a press conference of the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan (FCCJ), on October 25, 2017. At the conference, Dr. Funabashi addressed his analysis on the result of the general election held on October 22, 2017. “Election Analysis” Date: October 25, 2017 (15:00-16:00) Venue: Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan …

AP Initiative Chairman spoke at Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan Read More »

AP Initiative Senior Fellow Masayuki Hironaka’s book, “軍人が政治家になってはいけない本当の理由 政軍関係を考える(The real reason why soldiers shouldn’t be politicians –considering civil-military relations),” will be published on October 20, 2017 from Bungeishunju. 『軍人が政治家になってはいけない本当の理由 政軍関係を考える』 Author: Masayuki Hironaka Publisher: Bungeishunju Ltd. Published: October 20, 2017 Price: 860yen +tax ISBN-10: 4121024508 ISBN-13: 978-4-12-102450-3 * For details and order Bungeishunju Ltd. Amazon

From October 12 to 14, 2017, Asia Pacific Initiative (AP Initiative) was honored to host a visit by Dr. Michael Froman, who served in President Obama’s cabinet as U.S. Trade Representative (2013–2017), where he played a critical role in negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and achieved its broad agreement in October 2017, after five years …

AP Initiative welcomes Former U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman to Tokyo Read More »