Time:
2006 Nov 15 12:00 - 14:00
Language:
The speech and Q & A will be in Japanese with English interpretation.
Summary:
Professional Luncheon,
Akihiro Ota,
Chief Representative New Komeito Party
Description:
Akihiro Ota looks like he has his work cut out for him.
In the first leadership change in nearly a decade, the New Komeito Party selected the 61 year old to manage the coalition with the dominant Liberal Democratic Party and its leader Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. On the surface relations in the eight-year-old coalition look calm. But the Abe administration's touchstone issues of constitutional and educational reform and a more robust defense are bound to roil the backers of Ota's party, the nation's largest lay Buddhist group, the dovish Soka Gakkai. That's despite Ota's remarks that Abe isn't as hawkish and conservative as the press makes him out to be.
Key for the LDP because its Upper House members give it a majority in the chamber, the Komeito must balance between promoting its bread-and-butter health and welfare issues through the alliance and possibly alienating its bedrock supporters. As a small party, moreover, it risks being taken for granted. Some local media reports already say that its voice isn't being heard in the Abe government, which has pledged to further centralize decision making in the prime minister's office, and that Ota was caught off guard by Abe's announcement, immediately after taking office, of a summit with Chinese leaders.
Ota graduated from the elite Kyoto University for both his undergraduate and graduate engineering degrees and joined the Komeito's newspaper after finishing school. Groomed for the Komeito's top job, Ota held a series of senior party posts until his inauguration in September, including campaign chief.
Come hear what the former reporter for the party newspaper has to say about how the Komeito will handle the hawkish Abe administration, the prospects for next summer's crucial Upper House election and how it will make its voice heard in the coalition.
To help us plan properly, please reserve in advance: at the Front Desk (3211-3161) or online (http://www.fccj.or.jp - please log in to reserve). The charge for members/guests is 1,260 yen/2,200 yen for the sandwich option, and 1,575 yen/2,500 yen for the hot lunch option, tax included. Reservations canceled less than 24 hours in advance will be charged in full. If you do not make a reservation or reserve late, your meal may vary from the scheduled menu.
Time:
2006 Nov 27 10:00 - 11:00
Language:
The speech and Q & A will be in English.
Summary:
Press Conference,
Andre Chang,
"The Lafayette Frigate Scandal"
Description:
Double-crosses, unsolved murders, arms deals and billions of dollars in kickbacks at the highest level of three governments. Sounds like the plot of the latest James Bond movie; instead, it's the all too-true tale of the Lafayette Scandal that has enmeshed Taiwan, China and France since the late 1980s.
The complex affair began with Taiwan ordering six Lafayette-class frigates from French arms supplier Thomson-CSF. Then President Francois Mitterrand put a halt to the deal -- it is rumored at the behest of the Chinese government -- but Thomson pushed the deal through via arms brokers and pay-offs to anyone who blocked the path.
The original $1.4 billion budget doubled due to kickbacks and embezzlement -- with $800 million still unaccounted for and prosecutors in France and Taiwan unable to break the wall of silence surrounding the deal.
The story took another turn when it was revealed that the French government had sold the blueprints of the Lafayettes to China, enabling Beijing to build replicas that it has classified as Harbin warships.
More than 15 years after it began, the scandal rumbles on, with new revelations adding to the confusion. The plots and sub-plots have been laid out by Andre Chang in his new book on the topic and who will be speaking at the FCCJ on Nov. 27.
Born in Taiwan in 1934, he was initially schooled in Japanese until the end of the war. He went on to universities in Taiwan and the United States, majoring in geophysics and seismology. After a successful career in business, he started writing. To date, he has published nine books, five of which are in Japanese.
Members planning to attend this press conference are asked to reserve in advance, online (http://www.fccj.or.jp - please log in to reserve) or at the Front Desk (3211-3161), so that the staff can make appropriate
preparations. It's free of charge.
Time:
2006 Dec 01 12:00 - 13:30
Language:
The speech and Q & A will be in English.
Summary:
Professional Luncheon,
Sadako Ogata,
President, Japan International Cooperation Agency
Description:
The "New JICA" And Global Development Assistance
The Japanese Diet will shortly approve a merger of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC).
Once this mega-merger is completed in 2008, the New JICA will be the largest bilateral development agency in the world.
JBIC, itself a product of an earlier merger between the Japan Exim Bank and the former Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund, already has a balance sheet bigger than that of the World Bank.
JICA president Sadako Ogata, who is something of a legend in the world of development and foreign aid, will talk about the merger, its implications for Japan, and about global development assistance in general.
Do not miss the opportunity to hear this extremely well informed and gracious diplomat explain what is arguably one of the most important developments ever on the global foreign aid scene.
To help us plan properly, please reserve in advance: at the Front Desk (3211-3161) or online (http://www.fccj.or.jp - please log in to reserve). The charge for members/guests is 1,260 yen/2,200 yen for the sandwich option, and 1,575 yen/2,500 yen for the hot lunch option, tax included. Reservations canceled less than 24 hours in advance will be charged in full. If you do not make a reservation or reserve late, your meal may vary from the scheduled menu.
Time:
2006 Dec 04 12:00 - 14:00
Language:
The speech and Q & A will be English and Korean with English interpretation.
Summary:
Professional Luncheon:
Kim Sung Min, Representative, Freedom North Korea;
Bradley Martin, Senior Writer, Bloomberg News
Description:
Cracks In The 38th Parallel? What Do North Koreans Know About The World?
In North Korea, the country that ranks bottom in the Reporters Sans Frontiers press freedom index, it has long been assumed that the population knows little about current affairs beyond what the regime feeds it. But there is growing evidence of cracks in the media wall. International radio broadcasters target the country and South Korean TV dramas are reportedly popular in Pyongyang among those lucky enough to have a VCR.
But how great is this inflow of information into the country? Does greater access to news pose any threat to the ruling regime? Just what does the average North Korean know about the rest of the world?
On Dec. 4th, the FCCJ is pleased to be joined by someone in a unique position to answer these questions. Kim Sung Min was an officer in the North Korean army when he defected in 1994. Kim dodged border patrols and got into China, but was caught by the Chinese police and sent back over the border. He was beaten so badly during questioning that he thought he was going to die. He was then put on a train for Pyongyang, where he is certain he faced execution. Instead, he jumped from the moving train and walked for nine days until he could get back into China.
On a forged passport, Kim eventually managed to get into South Korea in February 1999. He now lives in Seoul and operates a shortwave radio station that beams programs into the North. Kim will talk about the station, the programming it sends and how many people he believes hear the broadcasts.
Kim will be joined by FCCJ member Bradley K. Martin, who has been following Korean peninsula issues since before he joined the FCCJ in 1978. Extensive interviews with defectors for his 2004 book, "Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader: North Korea and the Kim Dynasty," covered their knowledge of radio broadcasts from outside the country. Martin is currently a Tokyo-based senior writer for Bloomberg News.
To help us plan properly, please reserve in advance: at the Front Desk (3211-3161) or online (http://www.fccj.or.jp - please log in to reserve). The charge for members/guests is 1,260 yen/2,200 yen for the sandwich option, and 1,575 yen/2,500 yen for the hot lunch option, tax included. Reservations canceled less than 24 hours in advance will be charged in full. If you do not make a reservation or reserve late, your meal may vary from the scheduled menu.
Time:
2006 Dec 06 15:30 - 16:30
Language:
The speech and Q & A will be in English.
Summary:
Professional Briefing,
Philippe Kirsch,
President, International Criminal Court
Description:
Judge Philippe Kirsch will provide an overview of the International Criminal Court's role, aims and current activities, as well as perspective on the Court's future, including its cooperation with governments and other legal entities. He is in Japan as the court starts its first proceedings against an individual, "confirmation of charges" hearings began against Thomas Lubanga Dyilo on Nov. 9. Lubanga Dyilo, the founder and leader of the Union of Congolese Patriots, is charged with the war crimes of enlisting and conscripting children under the age of fifteen and forcing them to participate in hostilities.
