Griffith University’s Asia Institute will host the fourth annual Australia-Japan Dialogue in Tokyo on 28 November where experts will address Asia’s rapidly evolving security environment and where Australia-Japan relations fit within this context.
The 2014 Australia-Japan Dialogue is generously supported by the Australia-Japan Foundation and builds on previous Dialogue meetings held in Brisbane and Tokyo on disaster management and energy security.
Dialogue convenor, Associate Professor Michael Heazle, says the Australia-Japan relationship is one of the most important bilateral partnerships for both countries. “Asia’s security environment is undergoing fundamental change as the regional distribution of power continues to shift with China’s growing economic and military capabilities,” according to Associate Professor Heazle.
The aim of the November workshop is to promote the dissemination of Australian and Japanese perspectives on Asia’s rapidly evolving security landscape. The workshop will also help to reassert networks between Australian and Japanese experts across academia, think tanks and government, and includes specialists drawn from Japan’s National Defense Academy and the National Institute for Defense Studies, Griffith University, and the Australian Strategic Policy Institute,.
“Every government in the region has to adapt to the region’s more fluid security landscape and Japan is no exception,” says Associate Professor Heazle. “The Abe government’s reforms to Japan’s traditional security approach are not surprising given Japan’s ongoing tensions with both China and North Korea, and seen in the context of the bilateral relationship with Australia these reforms present challenges, but also great opportunities.”
An outcomes paper will result from the forum that captures key points of discussions, as well as workshop papers being submitted for publication in a special journal issue.