Annual Newsletter of the Slavic Research Center, Hokkaido University		Japanese English	-->List of All Publications-->Annual Newsletter-->no.17
No.17, January 2010

The Slavic Research Center Held the International Symposium, "The South Ossetian Conflict and Trans-border Politics in the Black Sea Rim" on March 5–6, 2009

The SRC SRC International Symposium
"The Elusive Balance: Regional Powers and the Search for Sustainable Development" Was Held on July 9–10, 2009

Joint Forum Series in Washington D.C.

International Symposium on "Environmental Conservation of the Sea of Okhotsk: Cooperation between Japan, China, and Russia"

Foreign Visitors Fellowship Program

Our Current Staff

Ongoing Cooperative Research Projects

Visitors from Abroad

Guest Lectures from Abroad

Publications (2008-09)

The Library

Website Access Statistics

Essays by Foreign Fellows
Andrew Gentes	Dariusz Kołodziejczyk	Marina Mongush

Joint Forum Series in Washington D.C.

The 1^stSRC-Brookings Joint Forum “The U.S.-Japan Alliance: Beyond Northeast Asia” was held at the Brookings Institution in Washington D.C. on May 8. At this groundbreaking joint forum, we invited experts from the U.S. and Japanese foreign policy communities on Northeast Asia, Russia, Central Asia, the Middle East, and Europe to not only discuss the “reshaping” of Japan’s presence in U.S. Northeast Asian policy circles, but also to “reconfirm” Japan’s commitment to these areas. The objective of this forum was to examine the U.S.-Japan alliance and the possibility of addressing issues such as development, climate change, and security that goes beyond Northeast Asia.

Brookings

Speakers on a platform in Session 3

The 2^nd SRC-Brookings Joint Forum “Nuclear Renaissance and the U.S.-Japan Alliance: Finding New Markets and Preventing Proliferation” was held at Brookings once again on October 29. This event could have not been held at a better time following President Obama’s historic declaration in Prague, and as more countries are turning to nuclear power as their main source of energy. Nuclear energy is proposed to be an important step for economic development, energy security, and environmental protection; however, at the same time, the use of such nuclear technology may increase the risk of nuclear proliferation for non-peaceful uses. Moreover, under the U.S.-Japan alliance, both countries have a significant stake in the outcome of debates on the expansion of nuclear energy and nuclear disarmament. The objective of the joint forum was to consider the expansion of nuclear energy, a new framework for civil nuclear cooperation, and the future of non-proliferation regimes in terms of the alliance and its impacts on the world.

Another joint venture between the East-West Center and the Global COE entitled “Japan’s Foreign Policy under the New Administration” was held on October 29 in Washington D.C. SRC’s very own Professor Iwashita as well as Professor Akiyama from Hitotsubashi University each delivered a presentation on the foreign policy orientation of Japan’s Hatoyama administration. Both speakers also examined the new administration’s attitudes toward regional relations with countries such as Russia and China, as well as with the United States, and the administration’s perceptions and direction toward global environmental and nuclear concerns.

The SRC is also planning a 3^rd joint forum on the theme of U.S.-Japan alliance, security, and the Okinawa issue to be held sometime in the spring of 2010. The SRC is in the midst of organizing a seminar on this pressing issue. The objective is to bring to the discussion table the “realities” of Okinawa through the active participation of Japanese as well as American experts on this theme. Please visit the SRC’s webpage for updates on this event.

CHI Hyunjoo Naomi