The twelfth Asian Statesmen’s Forum was held from September 7 to 9, 2013 in Manila, the Philippines. This year, 3 topics were discussed, namely, “Maritime Interests in East Asian Sea: Conflicts, disputes and resources development”, “Overcoming the middle-income trap”, and “Abenomics: Economic overview and prospects in ASEAN and Japan”.

Hosted by Philippine members, many statesmen from the country, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Japan, including Mr. Yoshimasa Hayashi, joined the event. As participants from GRIPS, President Shiraishi, Professor Otsuji and Associate Professor Sunami attended the conference. At the discussion session, attendees had an active exchange of opinions on their domestic political situation and international relations such as Maritime affairs and economic prospects in ASEAN countries and Japan. The forum was successful in giving a meaningful opportunity to the members exchange ideas.