AJC Launches Partnership with Japan Foundation

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Oct 23, 2015, 11:39 ET

TOKYO, Oct. 23, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AJC has launched a groundbreaking partnership with The Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership.

The initiative was marked by a five-day visit featuring AJC Executive Director David Harris, who delivered two lectures on recent events in the Middle East to packed halls of faculty, students, and diplomats at Doshisha University in Kyoto and Tokyo University in Tokyo. Harris also held meetings with senior Japanese influentials in Kyoto and Tokyo.

"AJC was the first Jewish organization to begin regular visits to Japan more than 25 years ago, and we have remained frequent guests and steadfast admirers ever since," said Harris. "We were strong friends of Japan from the outset, and our admiration for the country, a key U.S. ally, has only grown. We hope that our partnership with the Japan Foundation, which graciously hosted us for this pathbreaking program, will help deepen the essential ties between Washington and Tokyo."

The program included meetings with senior members and researchers at several influential Japanese think tanks, including the Japan Institute for International Affairs, Tokyo Foundation, Middle East Institute of Japan, and Canon Institute for Global Studies.

Other notable meetings featured discussions with representatives of prominent media outlets, including NHK, Yomiuri Shimbun, and the Fuji television network. AJC also met with members of leading NGOs, including the Japan Association for Refugees, the Kyoto Human Rights Research Institute, the Sasakawa Peace Foundation, and the Japan Center for International Exchange, with which AJC first partnered more than 25 years ago.

Principal topics discussed in the meetings included: (a) U.S.-Japan and Israel-Japan bilateral ties; (b) recent developments in East Asia; (c) challenges and opportunities in the Middle East; (d) Japan's role on the global stage; and (e) the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

Through its Asia Pacific Institute, AJC engages with Japanese diplomats across the U.S., Europe, and beyond. The Institute is directed by Shira Loewenberg and chaired by Jeffrey Stone. It is represented in Tokyo by Jerome Rosenberg, who participated in the five-day program.

Earlier this month, an 11-member AJC leadership delegation, led by AJC President Stanley Bergman and Harris, visited Tokyo and met with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, as well as other senior government officials.

SOURCE American Jewish Committee