The 5th APAP Forum, held on March 25-26, 2000, may be remembered as the last international conference attended by Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi. More significantly, the forum was viewed by the late prime minister as an important occasion for him to hear the views of Asian intellectual leaders and those of the intellectual leaders of Okinawa as he prepared for the Group of Eight (G-8) Summit. While he was not able to preside over the G-8 gathering, a synopsis of the dialogue between Obuchi and the forum participants was provided to the summit leaders, as well as to other policymakers and analysts, with the hope of fulfilling his desire that they hear those “Asian voices.”
The first session featured a presentation of a joint report by three leading intellectual leaders from Okinawa, headed by Professor Takara Kurayoshi, which analyzed the role and place of Okinawa in the Asia Pacific region. The report, titled the “Okinawa Initiative,” provided the basis for intense discussions, and has since generated substantive policy debate in Okinawa—where two major local newspapers carried the full text of the paper—as well as in Japan as a whole.
In the second and third sessions, four research papers analyzing the present state of Asia Pacific community building were discussed. This reassessment of regional cooperation based on well-researched case studies was felt to be very important in light of growing concerns about the future evolution of the Asia Pacific community-building process that stem largely from what has been regarded as a failure by regional institutions to respond effectively to the recent crises (and particularly to the contagious economic crisis).
In the final session, Prime Minister Obuchi participated in the dialogue, using the discussions of the previous sessions as a springboard for contemplating the future direction of regional policy research and dialogue efforts.
As noted above, a report on the forum was published in 2000 in time for the G-8 Summit.
March 25
Opening Remarks
Tadashi Yamamoto, President, Japan Center for International Exchange
Session I: Place of Okinawa in Asia Pacific
Presenters: Kurayoshi Takara, Professor, University of the Ryukyus, Japan Tsuneo Oshiro, Professor, University of the Ryukyus, Japan Morisada Maeshiro, Professor, University of the Ryukyus, Japan
Session II: Future of Asia Pacific Community Building—Regional Cooperation Overview
Han Sung-Joo, Director, Ilmin International Relations Institute, Korea Jusuf Wanandi, Member, Board of Directors, Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Indonesia Paul Evans, Professor, University of British Columbia, Canada
March 26
Session III: Future of Asia Pacific Community Building—Case Studies
Presentations: Response of Regional Mechanisms to the Asian Economic Crisis Jesus P. Estanislao, Professor, University of Asia and the Pacific, Philippines Asia Pacific Trade Agreements Hadi Soesastro, Executive Director, Centre for Strategic and International Studies, Indonesia Enviromental Cooperation Simon Tay, Chairman, Singapore Institute of International Affairs, Singapore Regional Mechanisms to the East Timor Crisis Carolina G. Hernandez, President, Institute for Strategic and Development Studies, Philippines
Session IV: Future of Asia Pacific Community Building—Conclusion (Dialogue with Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi)
Session V: Future Agenda for APAP Cooperation
Keizo Obuchi | Prime Minister of Japan |
Fukushiro Nukaga | Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary of Japan |
Yoshiji Nogami | Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs |
Mohamed Ariff | Executive Director, Malaysian Institute of Economic Research, Malaysia |
Chia Siow Yue | Director and CEO, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore |
Keiko Chino | Editorial Writer, Sankei Shimbun, Japan |
Jesus P. Estanislao | Professor, University of Asia and the Pacific; Former Secretary of Finance and Secretary of Economic Planning; Former Dean of the Asian Development Bank Institute, Philippines |
Paul Evans | Professor, University of British Columbia; Asia Pacific Security Dialogue and Research Monitor Project Director, Canada |
Yoichi Funabashi | Columnist, Asahi Shimbun, Japan |
Norio Furushima | Assistant Director, Intellectual Exchange Division, Asia Center, The Japan Foundation, Japan |
Phillip H. Gibson | New Zealand Ambassador to Japan; Former Chief Executive, Asia 2000 Foundation, New Zealand |
Han Sung-Joo | Director, Ilmin International Relations Institute, Korea University; Former Minister for Foreign Affairs, Korea |
Stuart Harris | Professor, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University, Australia |
Carolina G. Hernandez | President, Institute for Strategic and Development Studies, Philippines |
Makoto Iokibe | Professor, Kobe University, Japan |
Mohamed Jawhar bin Hassan | Director-General, Institute of Strategic and International Studies, Malaysia |
Kao Kim Hourn | Executive Director, Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace, Cambodia |
Kim Dalchoong | President, The Sejong Institute, Korea |
Toshihiko Kinoshita | Asian Economic Advisor, Japan |
Ryosei Kokubun | Professor, Keio University, Japan |
Morisada Maeshiro | Professor, University of the Ryukyus, Japan |
Charles Morrison | President, The East-West Center, U.S. |
Tsuneo Oshiro | Professor, University of the Ryukyus, Japan |
Toshiro Ozawa | Acting Director, The Japan Institute of International Affairs, Japan |
V.A. Pai Panandiker | President and Chief Executive, Centre for Policy Research, India |
Paw Lwin Sein | Director, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Myanmar |
Hadi Soesastro | Executive Director, Centre for Strategic and International Studies, Indonesia |
Paul Stares | Director of Studies, Japan Center for International Exchange, Japan |
Suchit Bunbongkarn | Judge, Constitutional Court; Former Chairman, Institute of Security and International Studies, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand |
Suphat Suphachalasai | Lecturer, Thammasat University, Thailand |
Takeshi Takano | Associate Professor, Prefectural University of Kumamoto, Japan |
Kurayoshi Takara | Professor, University of the Ryukyus, Japan |
Simon Tay | Chairman, Singapore Institute of International Affairs; Nominated Member of Parliament, Singapore |
Jusuf Wanandi | Member of the Board of Directors, Centre for Strategic and International Studies, Indonesia |
Wang Jisi | Director, Institute of American Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Science |
Chaleune Warinthrasak | Director-General, Institute of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Laos |
Koji Watanabe | Senior Fellow, Japan Center for International Exchange, Japan; Executive Advisor, Japan Federation of Economic Organizations (Keidanren) |
Tadashi Yamamoto | President, Japan Center for International Exchange |
Zhang Yunling | Director, Institute of Asia Pacific Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, China |
