IIPS NewsThe Fifth Symposium on Japan-China Relations (Tokyo)
The Institute for International Policy Studies (IIPS) and the Chinese People’s Instituteof Foreign Affairs (CPIFA) jointly staged the fifth Symposium on Japan-ChinaRelations, which took place on November 29–30. A 13-member Chinese delegation, ledby Mr. Zhao Qizheng, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs of the National Committee ofthe Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), came to Japan for theevent.
At the opening ceremony on November 30, remarks were first delivered by IIPS
President Mr. Ken Sato and CPIFA Vice President Mr. Lu Shumin, on behalf of thehost organizations, and then by special guests Mr. Akihisa Nagashima, Assistant to thePrime Minister of Japan, and Dr. Han Zhiqiang, Chargé d’Affaires at the Embassy ofthe People’s Republic of China in Japan.
Chaired by Executive Director of Research at IIPS, University of Tokyo Professor
Shinichi Kitaoka, the first session featured reports on the topic “Reflections onJapan-China relations—intensifying the strategic reciprocal relationship,” delivered byProfessor Ryosei Kokubun of Keio University; Mr. Wang Taiping, former
Consul-General in Osaka; University of Tokyo Associate Professor Shin Kawashima, aSenior Fellow at IIPS; and Dr. Li Wei of the Institute of Japanese Studies at the Chinese
Academy of Social Sciences (CASS). These presentations were followed by discussion,and there was a lively exchange of views on various topics in regard to the realization ofa strategic reciprocal relationship in light of the changes in the bilateral relationship thathave occurred over the course of the 40 years since diplomatic relations between thetwo nations were normalized.
The second session was chaired by Mr. Wang Taiping and featured reports on thetheme of “Regional cooperation in East Asia and a new Japan-China relationship in thecontext of globalization,” delivered by Mr. Zhang Yuyan, Director of the Institute ofWorld Economics and Politics at CASS; Professor Toshio Watanabe, President ofTakushoku University; Mr. Zhang Yufang, Vice Chairman of the Society ofChina-Japan History; and Professor Akio Takahara of the University of Tokyo. The
presentations were again followed by lively discussions on various topics relating to theadvancement of the cooperative relationship between Japan and China, and on regional
economic cooperation, such as a Pacific Rim partnership.
The third session was jointly chaired by IIPS Special Adviser Yoshio Okawara andCPIFA Secretary-General Huang Xingyuan and featured reports on the theme of“Promotion of mutual understanding at the grass-roots level,” delivered by Mr. Seiji
Maehara (Democratic Party of Japan), a member of the House of Representatives; Mr.
Zhao Qizheng; Mr. Yoshimasa Hayashi (Liberal Democratic Party), a member of theHouse of Councillors; and China Central Television (CCTV) newsreader Sun Baoyin.
The presentations were followed by discussion. This session was open to the press andthe public. The political, economic, and social dimensions of the Japan-China
relationship were comprehensively analyzed, and there were candid exchanges of views(including responses to questions from the floor) on a number of extremely pressing
matters relating to the realization of a strategic reciprocal relationship, such as thepromotion of mutual understanding at the grass-roots level. Finally, Mr. Yoshio-1-

Okawara, Special Adviser of IIPS, and Mr. Huang Xingyuan, Secretary-General ofCPIFA, summarized the proceedings of the symposium as a whole.
Throughout the conference, experts engaged in frank and vigorous exchanges onboth the politico-security and economic fronts—not only from a bilateral viewpoint, butalso from a regional Asia-Pacific perspective and a global perspective. It also became
clear that—given the fundamental premise that a strategic reciprocal relationshipbetween Japan and China must be developed—there are issues relating to the realizationof such a relationship.

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