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Description:

Today, the global security situation is becoming increasingly perilous. The international order based on the rule of law is at stake, as evidenced by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

　Against this backdrop, the Free and Open Indo-Pacific Partnership (FOIP), a concept which was born in Japan, has become a common global policy goal, and countries are working to realize it. Prime Minister Kishida said at the Shangri-La Dialogue last June that he would announce a new plan for a Free and Open Indo-Pacific with a view to maintaining and strengthening the rules-based free and open international order in this region. In preparation for the upcoming G7 Hiroshima summit experts from Japan, the U.S., and Australia will discuss this issue in depth.

Speaker’s Profile:

Prof. Rory Medcalf, Australian National University (ANU)
Professor at the Australian National University and head of National Security College. His career has included diplomacy, intelligence analysis, think tanks, academia, and journalism. He was the founding director of the Security Program at the prestigious Lowy Institute in Sydney. In the Australian government, he served as a senior intelligence analyst and diplomat in India, Japan, and Papua New Guinea, and in 1999 was seconded to the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where he provided expert support to The Tokyo Forum for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament. He was also an early advocate of the "Quad" security partnership and now plays a leading role in informal "Track 2" diplomacy with many Indo-Pacific countries, including Japan. He also served as an advisor to Australia's defense white paper released in 2016. He is an opinion leader on the Indo-Pacific Strategic Concept and frequently shares his views in the international media. He is also a member of the ASEAN Regional Forum's Experts/Eminent Persons (EEP: Experts/Eminent Persons) meeting (Track 1.5)In 2022 he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for services to tertiary education and international relations. That year he was also awarded the Japanese Foreign Minister’s Commendation for services to Australia-Japan relations.

Mr. Christopher Johnstone, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
Christopher B. Johnstone is senior adviser and Japan Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Prior to joining CSIS, Mr. Johnstone served in government for 25 years in a variety of senior positions with a focus on U.S. policy toward Japan and the Indo-Pacific. He served twice on the National Security Council, as director for East Asia under President Biden and director for Japan and Oceanian affairs under President Obama (2014–2016). In the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Mr. Johnstone led offices with responsibility for South and Southeast Asia (2017–2021) and East Asia (2016–2017); he was director for Northeast Asia from 2010 to 2014, where he had principal responsibility for developing strategy for the U.S.-Japan alliance. Mr. Johnstone began his career as an intelligence officer in the Central Intelligence Agency, where he worked on national security issues in Northeast Asia and served in an overseas field station. Mr. Johnstone has a master's in public affairs from Princeton University's School of Public and International Affairs and a Bachelor of Arts from Swarthmore College. He speaks fluent Japanese.

Dr. Tosh Minohara, Research Institute for Indo-Pacific Affairs
Dr. Tosh Minohara is Professor of International Relations and Security Studies at the Graduate School of Law and Politics, Kobe University where he holds a joint appointment with the Graduate School of International Cooperation Studies. He received his B.A. in International Relations from University of California, Davis, and his Ph.D. in Political Science and Diplomatic History from Kobe University. He is also the founder and chairman of the Cabinet Office recognized non-profit organization, Research Institute for Indo-Pacific Affairs (RIIPA). He also is lecturer at Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Staff College.

Moderator’s Profile:

Prof. Narushige Michishita, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS)
Narushige Michishita is executive vice president and professor at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS) in Tokyo. Previously, he served as a senior research fellow at the National Institute for Defense Studies of the Ministry of Defense and as an assistant counsellor at the Cabinet Secretariat for Security and Crisis Management of the Government of Japan. A specialist in Japanese security and foreign policy as well as security issues on the Korean Peninsula, he is the author of Lessons of the Cold War in the Pacific: U.S. Maritime Strategy, Crisis Prevention, and Japan’s Role; and North Korea’s Military-Diplomatic Campaigns, 1966-2008. Michishita acquired his Ph.D. with distinction from the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Johns Hopkins University.

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Since its establishment in 1997, the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS), as the only graduate school in Japan specializing in policy research, has promoted education and research on a wide range of policy issues. Utilizing our vast policy network, this Forum invites leaders from various fields including government, academia and business, as well as staff from our own faculty, to deliver lectures on current policy concerns. The Forum welcomes attendance of GRIPS faculty and students as well as participants from outside the university.