Deep Dive Series 2021:  
JAPAN -The
"Man in the Middle" of US China economic rivalry

Dr. Kent E. Calder, Johns Hopkins University SAIS
Dr. Masahiro Kawai, GraSPP, University of Tokyo
Dr. Yuqing Xing, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, Tokyo
Dr. Eunjung Lim*, Kongju National University, Korea

8:30-10:00 a.m., Thursday, September 30, 2021
 (The speech and Q & A will be in English.)

revised: Fourth Speaker added*

US and Chinese presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping recently conferred by telephone in an apparent effort to  ease the path toward peaceful coexistence between the world's two biggest economies. But where does this leave Japan as the world's third biggest economy and the Man in the Middle between the two superpowers? What is Japan's economic future in Asia - East Asia especially - as well as in Eurasia and Europe in a world dominated by these two rivals ?

Can Japan avoid "taking sides while pursuing regional and international resource and trade policies best suited to its own needs in this bipolar world? Will Japan's economic interests and independence in East Asia, Eurasia and beyond be compromised by superpower rivalry?

The Deep Dive Task Force has secured the expertise of four eminent economic and strategic specialists to address these and other key issues related to the deepening division of Asia and other regions into competing spheres of influence.

Dr. Kent E. Calder is Interim Dean of Johns Hopkins University SAIS, as well as Director   of the Edwin O. Reischauer Center for East Asian Studies, and Edwin O. Reischauer Professor of East Asian Studies. Calder previously served as Vice Dean for Faculty Affairs and International Research Cooperation (2018-2020) and as Director of Asia Programmes (2016-2018) at SAIS, and has served continuously as director of the Reischauer Center and Reischauer Professor of East Asian Studies since 2003 Before arriving at Johns Hopkins SAIS in 2003, Calder served as Special Advisor to the U.S. Ambassador to Japan, Japan Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Professor at Princeton University, Lecturer on Government at Harvard, and as the first Executive Director of Harvard University’s Program on US-Japan Relations.

Dr. Masahiro KAWAI is Professor Emeritus and Adjunct Professor, Graduate School of Public Policy, University of Tokyo and Representative Director and Director General, Economic Research Institute for Northeast Asia (ERINA). Dr. Kawai began his professional career as a Research Fellow at the Brookings Institution. He then taught as an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Economy of The Johns Hopkins University, and as a Professor of Economics at the Institute of Social Science of the University of Tokyo. He also served as: Chief Economist for the World Bank’s East Asia and the Pacific Region; Deputy Vice Minister of Finance for International Affairs and President of the Policy Research Institute of Japan’s Finance Ministry; Special Advisor to the Asian Development Bank (ADB) President in charge of regional economic cooperation and integration; and Dean and CEO of the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI).

Dr. Yuqing Xing is a Professor of Economics and the Director of Asian Economic Policy at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, Tokyo. He was a Professor and the Director of International Development Program, International University of Japan. Dr. Xing had been a Visiting Senior Research Fellow of East Asian Institute at the National University of Singapore; a Visiting Research Fellow of the Bank of Finland; a Sabbatical Fellow of the World Institute for Development Economics Research (Helsinki) and a Visiting Professor of the Institute for Advanced Studies, both at the United Nations University; and a Visiting Research Fellow of the Research Center of China Galaxy Securities Company (Beijing).

Dr. Eunjung Lim* is an Associate Professor in the Division of International Studies, Kongju National University (KNU). She also serves as Vice President for International Affairs, Dean of Institute of Institute of Korean Education and Culture, and Dean of Institute of International Language Education at the same university. Her areas of specialization include international cooperation in East Asia, comparative and global governance, and energy, nuclear, and climate change policies of East Asian countries. Since May 2018, she has served as a board member of Korea Institute of Nuclear Nonproliferation and Control (KINAC). Also, she currently serves as a board member of the Korean Association of International Studies, a member of Policy Advisory Committee for Ministry of Unification, and a member of the Peaceful Unification Advisory Council.

Please indicate when signing up whether you will attend on-line or in-person.

In-person attendance
Members: 450 yen (including tax), coffee or tea included
Non-members: 1,650 yen (including tax), coffee or tea included

On-line attendance
Members: free of charge
Non-members: 550 yen (including tax)

Details on how to join online will be sent to individual emails by September 29.
All participants can reserve at the reception desk or by email (front@fccj.or.jp ). Members should Log in to confirm attendance.
Payment by Non-Members must be made in advance by 3 PM, September 27.
No refund is available unless the event is cancelled by FCCJ.
Member reservations cancelled less than 24 hours before the event will be charged in full.
We kindly ask for your cooperation with Covid-19 prevention measures at the reception and to wear a mask on club premises.

Thank you.

Professional Events Task Force