(ASEAN Promotion Centre on Trade, Investment and Tourism)
Shin Onarimon Bldg. 1F, 6-17-19 Shimbashi, Minato-ku,
Tokyo 105-0004, JAPAN
Tel: +81-(0)3-5402-8002
Fax: +81-(0)3-5402-8003
E-mail: toiawase_ga@asean.or.jp
Office Hours: 9:30a.m.-5:30p.m. Monday-Friday (excl. public holidays)

Published in October 2019www.asean.or.jp

ANNUAL REPORT OF
THE ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE
FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018:
RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSIS

ANNUAL REPORT OF
THE ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE
FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018:
RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSIS

2018 HIGHLIGHTS

AJC’s research and policy analysis work, including global value chains, trade in services and nonequity modes of trade (NEM), reached more than 300 government officials and businesspersons
in ASEAN, contributing to enhance awareness on the emerging trade and investment related
issues in ASEAN.
AJC’s cooperation with the ASEAN meetings, including Coordinating Committee on Services(CCS) and Coordinating Committee on Investment (CCI), was enhanced in FY2018 and continues
in coming years with the active participation and contribution to these meetings.

« I was honored to attend the exhibition on ASEAN design, that hosted jointly by
the Centre and the Japan Institute of Design Promotion (JDP). I was impressed by the
22 ASEAN products awarded G-mark. I think that this is one of the flagship activities
achieved by ASEAN-Japan Centre. »Commnets on the ASEAN Design Selection activity by Mr. Latsamy Keomany, Director General of
ASEAN Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) of Lao PDR and Council Director of Lao PDR
for AJC, at the 38th Council Meeting held on 15 March 2019.

« The workshop is a great opportunity for producers and start-up companies toimprove the quality and design of gift items to sell more to the tourists and a big
potential to increase the share of the export to Japan. »Comments by H.E. U Soe Nyunt Lwin, Shan State Minister for Planning and Finance during AJC's
activity for export capacity building conducted in Shan State, Myanmar on 4 February 2019.

« It is the first time for the state to organize a workshop together with the local silk
associations, waving school and handicraft companies. The lectures by the Japaneseexperts would encourage the participants to be aware of what they should do for
improvement of product to the export level. »Comments by H.E. U Soe Hlaing, Kayin State Minister for Electricity & Industry during AJC's activity forexport capacity building conducted in Kayin State, Myanmar on 8 February 2019.

« The ASEAN Tourism Awards Japan is significant not only to recognize quality tour
products, but also to encourage more Japanese people to visit the ASEAN Member
States, and contribute to vitalize the mutual interaction of people between thetwo regions. »Comments by Mr. Jun Takashina, Vice Commissioner, Japan Tourism Agency, at Awarding Ceremonyof the ASEAN Tourism Awards Japan 2018 on 6 March 2019.

ii

ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSIS« I wish to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation for your kindly cooperation
for Myanmar Silk Promotion Event on 8th October 2018 during the recent visit of State
Counsellor of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar Her Excellency Daw Aung San Suu
Kyi and Myanmar Delegations to Japan for attending the 10th Mekong-Japan Summit
from 5 to 10 October 2018. »« It was a great successful program. I got an opportunity to share our economic situationand Myanmar investment opportunities and exchange views with local authorities andinvestors. I felt very impressive for the development of Shizuoka Area, and learnt a lotof knowledge from local cities development. »Quotes from a letter fro H.E. Mr. Thurain Thant Zin, Ambassador of the Republic of the Unionof Myanmar to Japan (12 October and 18 December 2018).

« I believe through the ASEAN-Japan Women Entrepreneurs' Linkage Program(AJWELP), there will be greater success in empowering women within ASEAN as thisprogramme is already in the third consecutive years of its implementation and has
been able to generate more interest and participation. …AJWELP is a great example
of a strong public-private partnership collaboration. »Comments on AJWELP by Yang Amat Berhormat Dato’ Seri Dr. Wan Azizah Wan Ismail,
Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia and Minister of Women, Family and Community Development
at AJWELP Networking Reception on 29 January 2019.

« Brunei Week serves as an excellent avenue for our lead agencies to promote Brunei
Darussalam as an attractive trade, investment and tourism destination for Japanese
investors and people. It was also an opportunity for our companies to showcase theirproducts and services in various sectors as well as for Japanese companies to learn
and explore the opportunities in which Brunei Darussalam can offer. »Quotes from a letter from Dr. Hajah May Fa'ezah binti Haji Ahmad Ariffin, Permanent Secretary(Economy) at the Ministry of Finance and Economy, Brunei Darussalam for AJC's effort to co-organize
the Brunei Week in Tokyo on 26 and 27 February 2019.

ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSIS ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE

iii

CALENDAR FOR FY2018
MAJOR SUBSTANTIVE ACTIVITIES

1 April
2018

5 April, Luang Prabang, Lao PDR
AJC participated in the 5th ASEAN Coordinating Committee on
Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (ACCMSME)

High-level Dialogue between ASEAN
High-Ranking Officials and Japanese Investors(throughout the year)
Ministerial-level Policy Dialogue for CLMV
(throughout the year)

16 May, Tokyo
The 1st Executive Board Meeting for FY2018

Networking with Japanese Investors in Local Cities
of Japan (throughout the year)

30 May, Beijing, China
The 11th Meeting among
the Secretaries Generalof ASEAN-China Centre,
ASEAN-Japan Centre
and ASEAN-Korea Centre

ASEAN Regional Programs: Topical Lecture Series(throughout the year)
Participation in Tourism Events(throughout the year)

9 November, Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar
AJC session at the 91st Meeting of the ASEAN Coordinating
Committee on Services (CCS)ASEAN Introductory Classes at Elementary Schools(throughout the year)
Seminar on Non-Equity Mode (NEM) in Lao PDR(26 July)

14 December, Tokyo
The 2nd Executive Board Meeting for FY2018ASEAN 51st Anniversary Symposium (8 Aug.)
Inbound Promotion: Technical Visit to Fuefuki City,
Yamanashi (23 Aug.)ASEAN Study Group Study Mission to Thailand,
Singapore and Indonesia (2-9 Sept.)
Myanmar Silk Event (8-12 Oct.)
Technical Workshop on Agritourism (14-19 Oct.)
Good Design Award Exhibitionat Tokyo Mid-Town (31 Oct. - 2 Nov.)

FISCAL YEAR 2018

Seminar on Educational Travel to ASEAN (1 Aug.)ASEAN Kids Day 2018 (4 Aug.)

15 & 17 January, Ha Long Bay, Viet Nam
ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF)
Tourism Ministers, National
Tourism Organizations’representatives and tourism
stakeholders of the ASEAN
Member States and others
including China, Japan,
and the Republic of Korea,
participated in the meeting.
18 January, Ha Long Bay, Viet Nam
The 12th Meeting among the Secretaries General of ASEANChina Centre, ASEAN-Japan Centre and ASEAN-Korea Centre
31 January, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam
AJC session at the 73rd Meeting of the ASEAN Coordinating
Committee on Investment (CCI)

Training Program on Interpretation in Japan(1-6 Nov.)
Workshop on Tourism Product Developmentin Viet Nam (27 Nov.)

13 February, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam
The 1st ASEAN-Japan Centre Seminar on Trade in Services at
the 92nd Meeting of the ASEAN Coordinating Committee on
Services (CCS)

Tourism Marketing Seminar in Myanmar(30 Nov.)

15 February, Tokyo
The 3rd Executive Board Meeting for FY2018“Accessible Tourism for All” Workshop inIndonesia (7 Dec.)
ASEAN-Japan Women Entrepreneurs’ Linkage
Program (AJWELP) (27-30 Jan.)CLMV Support Program: Export Capacity Building
in Myanmar (2-10 Feb.)
ASEAN Tourism Awards Japan 2018 (6 Mar.)
Seminar on Non-Equity Mode (NEM) and Global
Value Chains (GVC) in Cambodia (12 Mar.)
Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG)
Investment Forum (19 Mar.)
Seminar on Non-Equity Mode (NEM) and Global
Value Chains (GVC) in Thailand (25 Mar.)PARLIAMENTARY ACTIVITIES

3131 March
March
2019
2017

15 March, Tokyo
The 38th Annual Meeting of the Council
The Meeting waschaired by Mr. ShahNizam, Alternate CD for
Malaysia and Director of
Malaysia External Trade
Development Corporation(MATRADE), Tokyo Office.
Main agenda included:a. Report of FY2018 Program Activities;
b. Consideration of Draft Annual Work Program and Budget
for FY2019; andc. C
 onsideration of amendment to the present formula of theobligatory contribution

ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSIS ASEAN-JAPAN CENTREv

TABLE OF CONTENTS

2018 HIGHLIGHTS

ii

CALENDAR FOR FY2018v

I. CENTRE’S REFORM: CREATIVE DESTRUCTION FOR A NEW
CENTRE - RESPONDING TO NEW ISSUES AND EXPANDING THE SCOPE

1

II. RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSIS

8

1. Trade Promotion Activities (1 April – 31 August 2018)
2. Investment Promotion Activities (1 April – 31 August 2018)
3. Research and Policy Analysis Activities (1 September 2018 – 31 March 2019)
4. Capacity Building Activities (1 September 2018 – 31 March 2019)
5. Trade and Investment Promotion Activities (1 September 2018 – 31 March 2019)
6. Tourism Promotion Activities
7. People-to-People Exchange Promotion Activities
8. PR Activities
9. ASEAN National Activities

8
14
20
32
38
44
56
62
66

III. USE OF FY2018 BUDGET69

ANNEXES70

Annex A. List of Council Directors and Executive Board Representatives
Annex B. Centre’s Organogram in FY2018

70
72

ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSIS ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE

vii

I. CENTRE’S REFORM:
CREATIVE DESTRUCTION FOR
A NEW CENTRE— Responding to
New Issues and Expanding the Scope
1. Creative destruction process
The reform path of the ASEAN-Japan Centre (AJC) is a creative destruction process. No
organization can be stationary. The Centre is not an exception and needs to change. The
transformational change of the Centre is to revolutionize its structure from within, “incessantly
destroying the old one, incessantly creating a new one” (Joseph A. Schumpeter, Capitalism,
Socialism and Democracy, 1942) in order to survive competitively and move towards AJC’sstrategic vision: the regional centre of excellence in trade, investment, tourism and exchangesof persons.
The reform of the Centre to make it more relevant, more efficient, and more impactful andeffective with more attention to quality has culminated in the structural changes of the Centre on
1 September 2018, as opposed to the past three-year reform which focused on administrative1
and substantive2 changes.
This structural reform has necessitated the Centre to revamp its structure. The following two
charts depict the old and the new structure of the Centre.
The ASEAN plus Japan leaders expressed their view and expectations, saying that they
“welcomed the Centre’s recent structural reforms to address the new challenges faced by
ASEAN and Japan, and encouraged the Centre to consider necessary reform” (Chairman’s
Statement of the 21st ASEAN-Japan Summit, para 7, 14 November 2018). In response, the Centre
is determined to expand its scope of activities in order to better address new challenges andopportunities, including but not limited to the diplomatic initiatives and emerging issues of
ASEAN and Japan.
In pursuit of a new Centre that gives due consideration to new issues and the Centre’s responseto them, the Centre has now two offices (Office of the Secretary-General; and Office of General
Affairs) and one operational department. The operational department consists of four clusters:
Research and Policy Analysis (RPA) Cluster, Capacity Building (CB) Cluster, Trade and Investment(TI) Cluster, and Tourism and Exchange (TE) Cluster. A cluster is a loosely connected group of
related work programs and subjects that function together. These four clusters interact witheach other to derive synergies to maximize the impact of work programs, activities and projects.
The old structure of the Centre may limit the scope of activities that implement the mandate

1

The administrative reform includes the following: Establishment of the vision and the mission statementof the Centre; imbuement of the concept of “work as one” and “deliver as one” into the Centre;
issuance of documents relating to enforcement of new administrative rules and regulations of theCentre; establishment of fair and transparent recruitment process for new staff members with clear
job description; introduction of personnel evaluation system based on result-oriented performance by
individual staff members; and commencement of capacity- and knowledge-building training for staff
members2

For example, the Centre has established a core value system based on which all activities are evaluated with
SMART (specific-measurable-achievable-relevant-time bound) indicators. The core values of the Centre
measure relevance, quality, efficiency and impact/effectiveness of activities. In order for the Centre
to tackle the current and important issues faced by ASEAN, it has introduced new approaches to theselection of activities, including: regional approach, integrated approach, multidisciplinary approach,inclusive approach, universal approach, and knowledge-building approach.

ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSIS ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE

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OLD STRUCTURE OF THE ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE

Planning & Coordination Office

Trade & Investment Division

Secretary General

Tourism & Exchange Division

NEW STRUCTURE OF THE ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE

Secretary General
Office of General Affairs

Office of the Secretary General

Operational Department

Research andPolicy Analysis(RPA) Cluster

2

Capacity
Building (CB)
Cluster

Trade andInvestment (TI)
Cluster

ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSIS

Tourism andExchang (TE)Clusterdirectly and indirectly. With a new structure the Centre is able to tackle emerging issues and“address the new challenges faced by ASEAN and Japan” (Chairman’s Statement of the 21st
ASEAN-Japan Summit, para 7, 14 November 2018).
It is recalled that the agreement establishing the Centre mandates the functions of these fourclusters of the operational department (see below). The first two clusters (research and policy
analysis cluster and capacity building cluster) are articulated in Article III. Activities, paras (4) to(7) of the agreement3.

2. Functions and responsibilities of new structure
Functions and responsibilities of each office/department are summarized as follows:(1) Office of the Secretary-General
This office supports the substantive work of the Secretary-General. The Office oversees, advises,
promotes, facilitates and monitors Centre’s substantive activities leading to enhancement oftrade, investment, tourism and exchange of persons between ASEAN and Japan, and ensuresthat all staff members adhere to the vision, mission and principles of intervention of the Centre.
The functions of this Office include, but are not limited to, the following:• Promotes sustainable development in ASEAN and Japan and their sustainable relationships
by conceptualizing, advising and implementing Centre’s programmes and activities;• Organizes, together with the Office of General Affairs, parliamentary activities including
the Council and the Executive Board meetings, and participates in those organized byother agencies;•
Maximizes the results and outcomes of the Centre’s programs and activities, including
National Activities, through keeping an eye on both operational and program management.
Operational management includes strategic advice and operational support for projects andprogram management ensures smooth execution of activities in light of the Centre’s corevalues of activities;• Monitors and analyzes current events, public opinion and press, identifies issues and trends
in the area of Japan-ASEAN relationships, and advises the Secretary-General on appropriate
action/responses;• Issues regularly the Centre’s brochures and pamphlets as well as the Annual Report describing
the vision, mission and principles of intervention and annual activities in accordance withcore values;

Articles in the “Agreement Establishing the ASEAN Promotion Centre on Trade, Investment and Tourism”
as relevant for the Research and Policy Analysis and Capacity Building Clusters (extract)
Article III
Activities
To achieve its purpose, the Centre shall undertake the following activities:….
(4) to serve as a channel for the meaningful exchange of information relevant to the enhancement of trade,investment, tourism and exchanges of persons between Japan and the ASEAN Member Countries
including rules and regulations concerning market access, as well as to prepare and analyze data andinformation, and trends on markets;(5) to conduct researches and studies on trade, investment, tourism and, as appropriate, exchanges of
persons;(6) to provide Members and, as appropriate, related organizations and persons with information on
trade, investment, tourism and, as appropriate, exchanges of persons including those mentioned insubparagraph (4) above, as well as the results of researches and studies by the Centre;(7) to facilitate, whenever necessary, technical cooperation including transfer of technology related to trade,investment, tourism and, as appropriate, exchanges of persons;….
Note: The bold and italics are by the Secretariat.

3

ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSIS ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE

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• Promotes external relations through media coverage of the Centre’s activities such as major
conferences, events, campaigns via press releases, media alerts, and SNS announcements,
develops a media strategy and action plan, makes pro-active media outreach efforts, andproposes and arranges press conferences/media coverage;• Undertakes, in consultation with the Secretary-General, together with Centre’s senior staff
members, activities in the Centre’s mandated areas for sustainable development including
functions of new clusters — Research and Policy Analysis and Capacity Building Cluster —and functions of traditional clusters of Trade and Investment Cluster and Tourism andExchange Cluster;• Conceptualizes result-based work activities in each cluster of the operational department
and implements each activity on their behalf, if required, with a view to sustainable
development; and• Prepares the annual result-based work program, the implementation plan of the Centre’s work
program and activities budget and the result-based annual report including project evaluationthat fall under the operational department.

(2) Office of General Affairs
This Office supports administrative work of the Centre and monitors and ensures the well-beingof the Centre’s staff members and environment of the workplace, led by the head of the office,one supporting general officer and two accountants. Main functions include the following, but
are not limited to them: general affairs (e.g. procurement, payments, contracts, office supply),
personnel and accounting affairs, as well as IT-related affairs for facilitating office functions:• Undertakes work related to procurement and receipt of income from member states and othersources, evaluation of vendor contracts/payment to vendors and individual contractors forservices, and monitors office supplies and requirements;• Reviews adequacy of office supplies and space requirements, including the identification of
office technology needs and maintenance of equipment, software and systems, coordinating
enhancements as necessary;•Implements the Centre’s human resource policies and procedures to meet the evolving
needs for staff selection, appointment and promotion of staff members and recruitment of
temporary workers;• Monitors and ensures the implementation of human resource management strategic targets,policies and procedures relating to staff selection;• Keeps abreast of developments in various areas of human resources particularly in the area ofstaff well-being and work environment and identifies training areas required for staff members;• Reviews, analyses and finalizes the budget preparation of the Centre’s work programs basedon the Centre’s financial regulations and special instructions from member states;• Manages and monitors budget implementation and recommends reallocation of funds asnecessary and ensures expenditures remain within authorized levels;• Provides substantive support on budgetary and financial issues to relevant intergovernmental
bodies;•
Provides advice to users, analyzing users’ requirements and translating these into new
applications and determines application systems integration;• Maintains, upgrades or enhances existing user systems, including websites, and troubleshoots
and provides continuing user support, advising on the use of new techniques; and• Provides advisory services on digital record management practices including digital records
preservation and disposition and information management policies and procedures.

(3) Operational Department
There is only one department under which related work programs cluster in four mutuallyinteracting groups. Individual staff members belong to one or more clusters, exploiting fully
their own competencies.

4

ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSIS

Research and Policy Analysis (RPA) Cluster:• The RPA Cluster conducts in depth analytical research on major and emerging issues, including
economic, social, political and cultural ones, and their impact on sustainable development in
ASEAN and the relationships between ASEAN and Japan.
•
The RPA Cluster contributes to understanding and promoting the diplomatic initiatives
between ASEAN and Japan, and provides ideas, concepts, and inputs in order to forge new
initiatives and programs between the two regions.
•
The RPA Cluster is the regional focal point for backstopping the relationships between
ASEAN and Japan, including by providing a forum for consensus building for issues related toinitiatives and agreements concluded by ASEAN and Japan.
• The RPA Cluster undertakes systematic collection and analysis on information related to
ASEAN integration at the aggregate and enterprise levels and relevant regional and national
policies, maintains various databases on trade, investment and tourism and provides analysis
and reports on the latest policy developments.
• Undertakes analysis and studies on legislation and regulations, agreements and policy issues
related to ASEAN integration and their impact on national development in member states.
•
Disseminates the information on a continuing basis through databases, publications
and reports.

Capacity Building (CB) Cluster:•The CB Cluster provides technical assistance or capacity-building programs to ASEAN
Member States on the latest developments of the ASEAN and Japan relationships and theirimplications for sustainable development.
• With the research results by the RPA, the CB Cluster organizes workshops and seminars
on all matters related to ASEAN-Japan relationships and ASEAN integration with a view tostrengthening the capacity of governments and assists ASEAN governments in developing or
strengthening their analysis capacity.
• The CB Cluster proposes ways and means to attract and benefit from ASEAN integrationand intensified relationships between ASEAN and Japan to ASEAN governments, assists
in implementing the recommendations, and provides best policy practices to assist
ASEAN policymaking.
• The CB Cluster contributes to enhancing the capacity of ASEAN governments to promote
the relationship between Japan and ASEAN and create an environment more conducive topartnerships between ASEAN and Japan.
• The CB Cluster enhances the capacities of ASEAN trade, investment and tourism promotion
agencies through the provision of pragmatic tools, advisory services and training workshops.
• The CB Cluster fosters ASEAN entrepreneurship by creating and enabling a policy environment, and building capacity for entrepreneurs training, as well as assists ASEAN
Member States in promoting corporate governance and social responsibility and building
entrepreneurial capacity.

Trade and Investment (TI) Cluster:• The TI Cluster plans and implements region-wide and bilateral trade and investment programs
that promote trade and investment between ASEAN and Japan through dialogue and capacitybuilding activities (seminars, workshops).
• While the TI Cluster emphasizes the CLMV countries in order to narrow the development gap
among ASEAN member states in the work programs promoting trade and investment between
ASEAN and Japan, other ASEAN countries also benefit on an ad-hoc basis from activities by
the TI Cluster.
• Work programs of the TI Cluster take economic rebalancing between ASEAN and Japan into
account when planning and implementing its projects.
• Implements program management of the activities under the TI Cluster and ensures that corevalues of each activity are maximized (relevance, quality, efficiency and impact/effectiveness).

ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSIS ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE

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Tourism and Exchange (TE) Cluster:• The TE Cluster contributes to all economic, social and environmental aspects of sustainable
development in ASEAN by promoting tourism and understanding better the socio and cultural
relationships between ASEAN and Japan.
• Tourism for CLMV as well as region-wide tourism are the focus of the TE Cluster in order toreduce the development gap.
• The TE Cluster undertakes, in collaboration with the RPA and CB Clusters, both research on
tourism and person-to-person exchange and capacity-building in these areas, with the aim of
maximizing their outcomes, ensuring promotional measures and policies are implemented.
Such areas of work include tourism-related investment, tourism services supply and tourism
global value chains.
• Implements program management of activities under the TE Cluster and ensures that corevalues of each activity are maximized (relevance, quality, efficiency and impact/effectiveness).

3. Ready, set, go for a new Centre
The Centre’s activities should lead to the promotion of trade, investment, tourism or exchangeof persons in the end. However, issues faced by ASEAN are diversified and their related
activities may not be grouped by this stereotypic categorization. For example, climate change
mitigation and adaptation are related to all of these four areas: promoting trade of carbon-gasreduced products, promoting investment in a low carbon economy, promoting eco-tourism,
and promoting exchange of climate change professionals. These four areas of focus are allimportant for climate change. The old structure of the Centre, which was divided into the tradeand investment division and the tourism and exchange division, could not grasp various aspectsof the issue in question. With the new structure the Centre can cope with such diversified issues
and exercise its full competency across the board.
In determining work programs and detailing projects and activities under each work programin its new phase, the Centre considers the following point concerning the ASEAN globalizationand integration. As a community, ASEAN is supposed to receive all benefits emanating fromthe region, but because of globalization not all these benefits remain in the region. What is
important for ASEAN is to strike the right balance between the benefits that accrue to the region
and those that leave the region. Maximizing local or domestic value added is an importantconsideration for any activity undertaken by the Centre.
New activities, therefore, should take into account the following elements:• Activities on global issues such as the environment, education, and health, all of which are
related to sustainable development, assume more importance than ever in the development
agenda of ASEAN. Therefore, these activities become important for the Centre.
• Activities that take into account the ASEAN-Japan relationships from a global point of view.
The current production networks created by Japan in ASEAN, for example, extend into theUnited States, Europe, China and other Asian countries. Therefore, it is useless to discuss only
the ASEAN-Japan relationship in isolation. This relationship should be considered from awider and even global perspective.
• Rebalancing economic power of ASEAN in relation to Japan should call upon new aspectsof activities that focus on, for example, investment from ASEAN, joint ventures and strategic
alliance between ASEAN and Japan.
• Wider and larger FTAs than ASEAN are emerging. These FTAs such as CPTPP (TPP11) and
RCEP include some or all ASEAN member states. This evolution of new regional blocs changes
the scenario of the ASEAN economic community and its positioning in the globalization driveof ASEAN.
• At the same time, current activities undertaken now such as those enhancing high-valueadded trade (e.g. creative industries), promoting sustainable tourism including interpretation,and focusing on projects narrowing the development gap will continue to be promoted.

6

ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSISBy contributing to the realization of ASEAN Community Vision 2025, the development gap will
be reduced. In order to do so, such activities that help realize this objective are prioritized andthose related to CLMV will continue to be emphasized.
As one of the sectoral bodies of ASEAN (ASEAN Charter, Annex I. ASEAN Sectoral Ministerial
Bodies), the Centre should work closely with ASEAN and the ASEAN Secretariat. Therefore, it
is very reasonable for the Centre to be associated with ASEAN meetings and with Japaneseinitiatives involved in ASEAN. The former includes the ASEAN Coordinating Committee on
Investment (CCI), ASEAN Coordinating Committee on Services (CCS) and ASEAN Coordinating
Committee on Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (ACCMSME), and the latter includes,“Japan-ASEAN Environment Cooperation Initiative”, “Asia Health and Human Well-Being
Initiative,” and “Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy”. With these initiatives in mind, the Centre
has embarked in this fiscal year on promoting ESG (environment, social, governance) investment
in ASEAN, agribusiness global value chains, and trade in social services (environmental services,
health and other social services and education services), among others. As a diplomatic tool,
the Centre can be more utilized (e.g. announcements, distribution of materials, organizationof seminars etc.) to contribute to the measures and initiatives the Japanese Government hasestablished. Furthermore, the Centre makes efforts to enhance relations with relevant ministries
and institutions dealing with the new issues, and extends support for their activities by becominga supporting body of their events, disseminating information on the events through its online
platforms, and providing the ASEAN-Japan Hall as an event venue.
The Centre’s presence and activities should be enhanced. Outreach and PR activities at ASEANrelated meetings including the ASEAN Summit and its related meetings, the ASEAN-Japan
Forum and ASEAN-Japan Foreign Ministerial Meeting are an effective way to let the ASEAN
and Japanese community raise awareness of the Centre.
After a three-year preparation for a new Centre, it is now set to move to a higher level and go for
the Centre’s strategic vision: the regional centre of excellence.

ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSIS ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE

7

II. RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSIS
1. T
 rade Promotion Activities(Undertaken during 1 April – 31 August 2018)
The Trade Section has intensified its efforts to implement mandated activities by conducting a
number of work programs to promote regional trade between the ASEAN Member States andJapan including promoting services trade in ASEAN, promoting new forms of trade, promoting
exports from creative industries, export-capacity building in CLMV, and import-capacity
building of Japanese companies.

A. Promoting services trade in ASEAN
This is a multi-year (3–5 years) regional project which started in FY2016. The first phase (FY2016–
FY2017) focused on six producer services and tourism services. The second phase of thiswork program (FY2018–FY2019) will look at three social services: environment services, healthservices and education services.
The project was integrated into that of the Research and Policy Analysis (RPA) Cluster on
1 September 2018.

B. Promoting new forms of trade between Japan and ASEAN
This is a multi-year (3–5 years) regional project on measuring the size, understanding thephenomenon and providing policy suggestions on how to maximize benefits from and minimizerisks with a non-equity mode (NEM) of operation between Japan and ASEAN.
On 26 July 2018, the seminar on NEM in Lao PDR was implemented. The project was integrated
into that of the Research and Policy Analysis (RPA) Cluster on 1 September 2018.

C. Promoting ASEAN creative industries
This is a two-year regional project in cooperation with the Japan Institute of Design Promotion(JDP). The project aims to encourage small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in ASEAN
to produce creative products by enhancing design skills through Japanese designers and to
showcase them at a recognized exhibition (i.e. G-mark exhibition) in Tokyo.
The second screening of ASEAN design selection was held on 24 July 2018 at the ASEAN-Japan
Hall of the AJC. Out of 248 submissions, 22 products/services received the 2018 ASEAN Design
Selection Award as well as G-mark Award.
The project was succeeded by the Capacity Building (CB) Cluster on 1 September 2018.

D. CLMV support program for export-capacity buildingThis is a four-year regional project to support private sectors in CLMV countries to increase theirexport capacity by strengthening product development and knowledge-building regarding theexport business to Japan.
With the cooperation of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce of Lao PDR, a follow-up survey
after the workshop was conducted in May 2018 through questionnaires and telecommunication.
Fifteen companies out of 27 responded to the Ministry. The survey shows that there are six
existing exporters doing business with Japan and four of them increased their export volume to
Japan after attending the workshop.
The project was succeeded by the Capacity Building (CB) Cluster on 1 September 2018.

8

ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSIS

E. Import-capacity building of Japanese companies
This project conducts seminars related to imports from ASEAN to Japan at the ASEAN-Japan
Hall of the AJC and other places. The project aims to promote information-sharing and create
new business opportunities by inviting experts to the seminars.
The Trade Section conducted a seminar at the ASEAN-Japan Hall on 2 July 2018 “Prospect fordevelopment of digital content — increasing the IT connectivity between ASEAN and Japan”.
The number of participants was 64 and 93% of them replied that the seminar was useful andcommented that it was informative as they were able to gain knowledge about ASEAN businesstrends and potential import products.
The project was transferred to Trade and Investment (TI) Cluster on 1 September 2018.

ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSIS ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE

9

TABLE 1. PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL FRAMEWORK — TRADE PROMOTION ACTIVITIESFY2018 ACTIVITIES (1 APRIL - 31 AUGUST 2018)
Objectives

Key outputs

Promoting services
trade Phase 2(environment services,
health services andeducation services)(The project was
integrated into that of
the Research and Policy
Analysis (RPA) Cluster
on 1 September 2018)

Relevance

1. To raise awareness andpropose policy action toaddress challenges of theliberalization of services tradefor further integration of theASEAN Member States.
2. To better understand theimportance of services trade in
the target sectors (three social
services, six producer services
and tourism).
3. To enhance domestic
capacities to deal with
difﬁculties and challenges
faced by ASEAN.

1. Publication of technical papers.
Data on estimated trade volume for eachmode of supply (mode 1 to 4), current
state of liberalization and concrete policy
recommendations.
2. Holding seminar based on the technicalpapers.

Lack of understandingof service industries andtheir products leads to adelay in process of service
liberalization in the countries
concerned and, at the sametime, it will affect the growthof trade competitiveness ofeach country.

Promoting new formsof trade between Japanand ASEAN(The project was
integrated into that of
the Research and Policy
Analysis (RPA) Cluster
on 1 September 2018)

To increase awareness of themechanism of non-equity modes(NEMs) in trade and to provide
the policies that beneﬁt theASEAN Member States.

1. In the ﬁrst half of FY2018, AJC implemented
a seminar to increase awareness of NEMs in
trade and to provide the policies that beneﬁt
the ASEAN Member states.
2. Draft country paper of NEM in Lao PDR was
produced for the seminar.
3. One seminar on Lao PDR. About 50 people(Lao government ofﬁcials, industrial
association members, and company owners
and managers) participated in the seminar.
4. The characteristics of cross-border NEM
activity worldwide and in Lao PDR wereshared by participants.
5. As an example of NEM in Lao PDR,
Mr. Xaysomphet Norasingh, Acting Director
General, Department of Trade Promotion,
Ministry of Industry and Commerce madea presentation of current situation from theviewpoint of Lao local context.

1. As no data exist to ascertain
the importance of nonequity mode activities,
to collect data on these
activities and to develop
mechanisms to facilitatecompetitive markets are
required.
2. The project is a multi-year
project and covers all the 10
ASEAN Member States.
3. About 50 people(governmental ofﬁcials,
diplomatic corps,
academia, industrial
association members andcompany owners) joined ineach seminar in the ASEAN
Member States.
4. Country papers were
published and are available
on AJC's website after theseminars for public sharing.

Promoting ASEAN
creative industries(The project was
succeeded by the
Capacity Building (CB)
Cluster on 1 September
2018)

1. To be aware of the value oforiginality, individual creativity,and intellectual property of
products.
2. To be aware of the importanceof “service design“, asopposed to design embodied
in goods or commodities.
3. To explore the trade anddevelopment opportunities
in “ASEAN Design Selection“.
4. To share experiences on bestpractices in the developmentof creative industries byapplying the concept of“ASEAN Design Selection“.

1. The second screening of ASEAN Design
Selection was held on 24 July 2018 at theASEAN-Japan Hall of the AJC.
2. Twenty-two products/services out of 261
submissions were to recieve the 2018 ASEAN
Design Selection Award as well as G-markAward.

In cooperation with theJapan Institute of Design
Promotion (JDP), the project
aims to encourage small andmedium-sized enterprises(SMEs) in ASEAN to sharpen
practical design skills andlearn comprehensive businessproposals.

Follow-up activities to
Phase 1
(Seven services sectors:
6 producer services andtourism)

10

Seminar Date: 26 July 2018
Place: Lao PDR

ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSIS

Core values and measurements
Quality

Efﬁciency

Effectiveness/Impact

The latest issues and difﬁculties wereidentiﬁed and shared by governmentofﬁcials and the service business sectors,
with a view to supporting the sustainable
development of countries and the region.

AJC's work on services trade was presented to the 91st
and 92nd ASEAN Coordinating Committee on Services(CCS) in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar in November 2018
and in February 2019 in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei
Darussalam, respectively.

The latest situation and issues wereidentiﬁed and shared among thegovernment ofﬁcials and the service
business sectors.
(Declaration on AEC 2025, heading II and
sub-heading A.2 Trade in Services 11 - 13)(Chairman's Statement of 21st ASEANJapan Summit in No.6, No.7, No.8, No.9,
No.10, and No.12)

1. Number of country papers, seminars
and policy recommendations
2. Questionnaire survey was made tomonitor the views and comments on theseminar:Seminars are organized in consultation with ASEAN
Trade Promotion Organizations (TPOs) and, for thisLao seminar, the Department of Trade Promotion,
Ministry of Industry and Commerce, Lao PDR.

1. The latest NEM-related issues will beidentiﬁed and the input will be shared by
all stakeholders.
2. Increasing awareness of mechanism ofNEMs in trade.
10 country papers, 10 seminars on NEM.
3. The Government of Lao PDR maderemarks at the workshop to create thepolicy framework on NEMs after they
heard presentations and the dialogue
from the experts.

More business opportunities with private sectors toaccess the Japanese market shall be provided throughthis project.

1. Prize winning companies: increment ofannual sales and clients with more than
10% export value in Japan comparedwith pre-activity period.
2. Employee/Design cluster: new job
creation and increased value added per
worker.
3. Relevant organization in ASEAN: creatinga platform of design promotion in each
ASEAN Members State (especiallycountries that have not established own
good design award design).

(i) The achievement of your own objectives
by attending the seminar: Yes 88%(ii) Overall satisfaction: 47% “Excellent“,
34% “Very satisfactory“(iii) Introductory remarks on NEM: 53%“Excellent“, 41% “Very satisfactory“(iv) Current situation of NEM in Lao PDR:
53% “Excellent“, 44% “Very satisfactory“(v) Report of the Lao country paper: 38%“Excellent“, 59% “Very satisfactory“(vi) Interactive dialogue “Excellent“ 50%,
“Very satisfactory“ 50%Twenty-two products/services out of 261
submissions were to receive the 2018
ASEAN Design Selection Award as well as
G-mark Award.

ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSIS ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE

11

TABLE 1. PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL FRAMEWORK — TRADE PROMOTION ACTIVITIESFY2018 ACTIVITIES (1 APRIL - 31 AUGUST 2018)
Objectives

Key outputs

Relevance

CLMV support
program for export
capacity-building(The project was
succeeded by the
Capacity Building (CB)
Cluster on 1 September
2018)

1. To help CLMV countries
increase their export capacity
by strengthening productdevelopment, information
sharing, know-how andknowledge-building on theexport business to Japan, andcontribute towards achieving
greater ASEAN regional
integration.
2. To promote agricultural
products of SMEs in Lao PDR
to export more to Japan, theCentre provided the assistancewith the necessary informationsuch as product quality control,transportation/logistics, foodsafety regulations and productpackaging design.
3. To foster a better
understanding of thegovernment policy on how eachcountry is addressing the key
issues of agricultural products.
4. To share information andknowledge about the
production system and export
business management byvisiting companies in Lao PDR.

With the cooperation of the Ministry of Industry
and Commerce of Lao PDR, a follow-up survey
after the workshop was conducted in May
2018 through delivering questionnaires andmaking phone calls. Fifteen companies out of
27 responded to the Ministry. The survey showsthat there are six existing exporters doing
business with Japan and four of them increased
their export volume to Japan after atending the
AJC export capacity building workshop.

Private sector participantslearned the latest export
knowledge necessary forinternational trading businessthat faces a competitive
situation from resource
persons, government ofﬁcials
and other stakeholders.

Import capacitybuilding of Japanesecompanies(The project wastransferred to Tradeand Investment (TI)
Cluster on 1 September
2018)

To promote information-sharing
and create new business
opportunities by inviting experts
to the seminars.

1. First seminar: IT & digital content

Private sectors participants
will learn the latest importknowledge and relevant
issues necessary forinternational trading businessthat faces competitive
situation from experts andother stakeholders.

(i) Date: 2 July 2018, 10:30-12:30(ii) Venue: ASEAN-Japan Hall of the AJC(iii) Seminar title: Prospect for development ofdigital content - increasing the IT connectivity
between ASEAN and Japan(iv) Participants: 64(v) Speakers: Prof. Akinori Nakamura,
Ritsumeikan University; Ms. Hitomi Hyuga,
Digital Content Association of Japan(vi) Main Topics: Digital content industry ofJapan and ASEAN; AMS's promotion policies
for the industry; and the potential competitive
advantage of ASEAN
2. Second seminar: Fashion and Design(i) Date: 5 September 2018, 14:00-16:00(ii) Venue: ASEAN-Japan Hall of the AJC(iii) Seminar title: Creating a new possibilityof fashion business - aiming to deepen thecollaboration between ASEAN and Japan(iv) Participants: 55(v) Speaker: Mr. Koji Shimada, Institute ofBusiness Development Co., Ltd.
(vi) Main Topics: Fashion and Design industryof Japan and ASEAN; The future of Fashion and
Design industry; Fashion brands in ASEAN; andBusiness opportunities with ASEAN

12ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSIS

Core values and measurements
Quality
Views and comments from the participants were collected by questionnaire
after the respective activities for further
improvement of the activity.

Efﬁciency
Timing, budget and other details were ﬁxed inconsultation with a TPO concerned for better
implementation.

Effectiveness/Impact
Sixty to seventy companies joined theprogram to get a better understandingof and knowledge necessary for starting
the export business, in addition to sharing
their experiences and recommendations indoing business overseas. Successful cases
were shared by the respective governments
so as to support similar companies in eachcountry. A follow-up is made with thesecompanies to ﬁnd out how many become
new exporters or expand exports to Japan.
Testimonials from the program participants
and ministries concerned will be also
recorded to judge the impact.
(Declaration on AEC 2025, heading II
and sub-heading D.4. Narrowing theDevelopment Gap 75. ii.)

Questionnaire surveys to be distributed toparticipants.
Feedbacks from experts and participants
for further improvement.

1. Timing, budget and other details were ﬁxed inconsultation with a TPO concerned for better
implementation.
2. New business opportunities for Japanese potential
importers and industrial members.

More than 100 participants acquired abetter understanding and knowledge
necessary for considering the importbusiness with ASEAN, in addition to theinformation gathered at the seminar,
which is to be utilized for an effective
import trading (e.g. decision-making andstrategy-making). A follow-up is to bemade with these participants to ﬁnd how
many become new importers or expanded
imports from ASEAN.

ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSIS ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE

13

2. I nvestment Promotion Activities(Undertaken during 1 April – 31 August 2018)
All investment promotion activities of the Centre were demand-driven and undertaken inline with the national strategy of each individual ASEAN Member State in an effort to further
promote and raise the profiles of the ASEAN Member States as the main investment destination
for Japanese investors.
The following results were produced between 1 April and 31 August 2018:

A. Bilateral high-level investment policy dialogues
High-level forums provide an opportunity for prominent ASEAN officials, represented by either
the Heads of State or Senior Ministers, to provide the latest information on new investment
policies, incentives and opportunities directly to the Japanese business community.
Three high-level forums for the Philippines (twice) and Viet Nam (once) were organized by theCentre and attended by 484 participants in total. High-ranking ASEAN officials were able toprovide the latest country investment policy updates to Japanese investors and gained a better
understanding of the Japanese business community’s expectations and challenges.

B. Ministerial-level policy dialogue for CLMVWith the objective of narrowing the development gap in ASEAN, the Centre allocates
additional financial resources for the least developed ASEAN Member States (Cambodia, Lao
PDR, Myanmar and Viet Nam, or CLMV) to organize bilateral policy discussions with Japanese
government officials and the business community, focusing on specific investment policies that
nurture a sustainable partnership for development.
No ministerial-level dialogue took place from 1 April to 31 August 2018.

C. Networking in local cities in Japan
Two bilateral networking sessions were organized for Myanmar and Malaysia in the local cities
of Kagawa and Nagoya, respectively. These ASEAN Member States were able to establish anddevelop networking links with the local Japanese business communities.

D. ASEAN update seminars
The program aims to provide up-to-date information on the ASEAN Economic Community to
Japanese companies interested in investing in ASEAN.
The Centre held 11 seminars at the ASEAN-Japan Hall on a range of issues including
start-ups; country economic updates, e-commerce and human resource management. The
seminars had almost one thousand (993) participants in total. As the Centre’s annual flagshipevent, the “ASEAN 51st Anniversary Symposium: Challenges and Tasks for ASEAN in 2018” washeld on 8 August 2018 in Tokyo in association with the ASEAN Committee in Tokyo, inviting
Dr. Aladdin D. Rillo, Deputy Secretary General of ASEAN in charge of ASEAN Economic
Community (AEC) as a keynote lecturer. The seminar attracted around 250 participants in total.

E. Dissemination and outreaching
The Centre periodically updates ASEAN investment information on its website to ensure thecontents are accurate and valid. Some information is available in the Japanese language.

F. Lectures by AJC staff
The Centre recognizes the importance of nurturing the capabilities of Japanese students andtrainees to support Japanese business expansion in ASEAN. Between 1 April and 31 August
2018, the staff members of the Investment Section organized and conducted seven lectures on a

14

ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSIS

range of ASEAN subjects including; the introduction of ASEAN, the ASEAN economy, Viet NamLao PDR economy and capacity building for Japanese companies. A total of 360 participants
attended these lectures.

ASEAN 51st Anniversary Symposium

ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSIS ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE

15

TABLE 2. PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL FRAMEWORK — INVESTMENT PROMOTION ACTIVITIESFY2018 ACTIVITIES (1 APRIL - 31 AUGUST 2018)
Objectives

Key outputs

Relevance

High-level
dialogue between
ASEAN highranking ofﬁcials
and Japanese
investors

Enhancing institutional capacity-building
by organizing forums and discussions
with the Japanese business community
to learn about industrial policies andexpectations of Japanese potential/
existing investors.

1. Three high-level forums for thePhilippines (twice) and Viet Nam (once)
were organized by AJC and attended
by 484 participants in total.
2. High-ranking ASEAN ofﬁcials wereable to provide the latest country
investment policy updates toJapanese investors and gained abetter understanding of the Japanesebusiness community's expectations
and challenges.

1. Two-way interface
between ASEAN highranking ofﬁcials andJapanese stakeholders
created a rare opportunity
for deepening businessand investment relations,maximizing the beneﬁtof FDI for achieving AEC
development objectives asstated in Blueprint 2025.
2. The dialogue topics arechosen in conformity withindividual ASEAN Member
countries' requests andpreferences. ASEAN
high-level ofﬁcials areable to convey updated
investment information
and better understandJapanese investors'
perception of theirrespective investment
policies.

ministerial-level
policy dialogue
programs for
CLMVWith the objective of narrowing thedevelopment gap in ASEAN, the Centre
allocates additional ﬁnancial resources
for the least-developed ASEAN Member
States (CLMV) to organize bilateral policy
discussions with Japanese governmentofﬁcials and the business community,
focusing on speciﬁc investment policies
that nurture a sustainable partnership fordevelopment.

No CLMV ministerial-level policy
dialogue was held between 1 April and
31 August 2018

1. The implementation of
the ASEAN Economic
Community (AEC)
Blueprint 2015 has
substantively beenachieved, among
others, in narrowing thedevelopment gap, andstrengthening ASEAN’s
relationship with its
external parties.
2. In line with AEC 2025
III. C. Communications
90. Ii: Promote both
ASEAN and non-ASEAN(Japan) investors to be a
spokesperson/advocate
to highlight ASEAN’s
integration initiatives
and how businesses
can beneﬁt from these
initiatives.
3. Enhance CLMV investment
policymaking decision
through bilateral
discussion that shares
experiences andknowledge.
4. Promoting CLMV countries
as an FDI destination forJapanese investors.

16

ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSIS

Core values and measurements
Quality

Efﬁciency

Effectiveness/Impact

1. Generally, the majority of participants(86%) commented that the forums were
informative and useful.
2. The respective discussions wereparticipated in by high-level ASEAN
ranking ofﬁcials such as:

1. Close collaboration between Japanand the ASEAN Member States.
2. Ofﬁcial information relating toinvestment is conveyed directly to theJapanese business community.
3. Timing and reliability of the activity
conducted - new information
on policies and regulation,
providing response to the previous
questionnaire.
4. Japanese business communities areable to raise questions and concerns
directly to high-ranking ASEAN
ofﬁcials with the expectation of having
a positive policy impact.
5. Deepening the focus on speciﬁc
sectors/industries of the ASEAN
Member States.

1. A total of six policy issues were raised during thebilateral high-level investment dialogues whichwere all promptly responded to by the respective
high-level ASEAN ofﬁcial at the respective
dialogue session.
2. High-level forums serve as fundamental basis for
productive collaboration.
3. Close relationships were established between
high-ranking ASEAN government ofﬁcials andJapanese stakeholders.
4. ASEAN investment-related policies anddevelopment approaches were directly conveyed
to Japanese stakeholders.
5. The forums provided fruitful discussions in which
all information presented met the expectations of
the audience.
6. As an organizer of these events, AJC's status waselevated by engaging with high-level ASEAN
ofﬁcials.

No CLMV ministerial level policy
dialogues took place between 1 April
and 31 August 2019

No CLMV ministerial level policy dialogues took
place between 1 April and 31 August 2019(i) Senator Edgardo J. Angara, of thePhilippines(ii) Mr. Monchito Ibrahim, Undersecretary,
Department of ICT of the Philippines(iii) Mr. Do Nhat Hoang, Director General,
Foreign Investment Agency, Ministry ofPlanning and Investment, Viet Nam

No CLMV ministerial level policy
dialogues took place between 1 April
and 31 August 2019

ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSIS ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE

17

TABLE 2. PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL FRAMEWORK — INVESTMENT PROMOTION ACTIVITIESFY2018 ACTIVITIES (1 APRIL - 31 AUGUST 2018)
Objectives

Key outputs

Relevance

Networking
with Japanese
investors in local
cities

1. Share regional economy/investmentrelated information with the Japanesebusiness community by conducting
lectures and pre-departure training
programs.
2. Provide up-to-date information where
ASEAN information has not been
updated or available.
3. Offer new company strategies to theJapanese business community in local
cities based on the current investment
climate of the ASEAN Member States.
4. Foster networking relationships
between ASEAN and Japan
government ofﬁcials responsible forinvestment promotion.

1. Two bilateral networking sessions
were organized for Myanmar andMalaysia in the local cities of Kagawa
and Nagoya, respectively.
2. These ASEAN Member States
were able to establish and develop
networking links with the local
Japanese business communities.

1. In line with AEC 2025 III.
C. Communications 90.
i. ii. iii. & v., networking
programmes contributeto investment promotion
and the regional economic
integration of ASEAN.
2. The networking sessions
help foster ASEAN
business relationships withJapanese stakeholders
at local prefecture cities
across Japan.
3. These activities promoted
better awareness of
ASEAN Member Statesamong the business
communities across Japan.

ASEAN update
seminars

1. To disseminate information, promote
and increase awareness of the ASEAN
regional economic integration(ASEAN Economic Community) andinvestment.
2. To provide the latest information to
the Japanese business community
on ASEAN Economic Community
and topic-speciﬁc information suchas economy updates and investmentrelated laws.

1. AJC held 11 seminars at the ASEANJapan Hall, AJC, on a range of issues
including start-ups, country economic
updates, e-commerce and humanresource management. The seminars
generated almost one thousand (993)
participants in total.
2. AJC held the “ASEAN 51st Anniversary
Symposium: Challenges and Tasks for
ASEAN in 2018“ on 8 August 2018 in
Tokyo in association with the ASEAN
Committee in Tokyo.

1. These seminars promoted
better awareness andunderstanding of
ASEAN among Japanesestakeholders.
2. Up-to-date information
on ASEAN economic
integration and businessinformation was presented
to Japanese stakeholders
including SMEs.
3. In line with AEC 2025 III.
C. Communications 90.
iii, these ASEAN-update
seminars help promoteawareness through regularpublication of updates on
economic activities andopportunities.
4. Annual anniversary
symposium supported
the strengthening ofrelationship between the
ASEAN Member States
and Japan.

Dissemination andoutreaching:

The Investment Section aims to provide
the most current information on
investment policies, incentives andadvantages of investing in the ASEAN
Member States as well as relevant laws
and regulations through AJC’s website
and publications.

1. Update investment-related
information of the ASEAN Member
States and the ASEAN Information
Map.
2. AJC printed 5,000 copies of
the ASEAN Information Map for
distribution to the Japanese business
community in Japan and ASEAN.

Information provision anddissemination of ASEAN
socio-economic dataand investment-related
information are highly valued
by investors.

I. Website
II. Publication

18

ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSIS

Core values and measurements
Quality

Efﬁciency

Effectiveness/Impact

1. Japanese stakeholders expressedsatisfaction and appreciation that the
networking sessions co-organized
by AJC was a good way for directly
receiving up-to-date information on
ASEAN economies.
2. The ASEAN Member State ofﬁcials
conveyed their appreciation for
networking activities which expanded
their business communication network
to other cities across Japan.

1. Close collaboration between AJC,
the ASEAN Member States and local
agencies and authorities of Japan.
2. By personally visiting Japanese
corporations and industries, ASEAN
ofﬁcials were able to propose
direct cooperation with Japanesestakeholders.
3. ASEAN ofﬁcials were able to directly
convey their investment policies andbusiness environment and gain direct
feedback and recommendations fromJapanese stakeholders.

1. Japanese business communities in local
cities were able to receive direct and ofﬁcial
information. Business issues and challenges werediscussed during these networking sessions.
2. Ofﬁcial links were established between ASEAN
government ofﬁcials and local Japanese businessassociations.

1. Participants were highly satisﬁed withthe seminars.
2. Based on results from the seminars'
evaluation questionnaires, it was
conﬁrmed that the majority of theparticipants (98%) thought the lectures
were informative, useful and timely.

1. Close collaboration between AJC andthe ASEAN Member States.
2. Updated information on ASEAN
presented directly to Japanesestakeholders.
3. Deepening and focusing on speciﬁc
ASEAN related issues/industries andnew policy information to help prepare
Japanese stakeholders including
investors for successfully entering theASEAN market.

1. Japanese stakeholders received updated
information relating to ASEAN trade andinvestment policies.
2. Better awareness about ASEAN among Japanesestakeholders.
3. Japanese business community gains betterknowledge about ASEAN, leading to more
informed investment decisions.

1. ASEAN Information Map has been
updated to cover social and economic
development data of ASEAN.
2. The coverage is more comprehensive.

1. ASEAN Information Map is provided toJapanese stakeholders at seminars freeof charge.
2. In-house work by AJC of producing
ASEAN statistical information map
minimizes the cost of hiring experts.
3. Able to announce new publications
through the AJC's website and e-mailmagazine.
4. Cost performance of maintenanceof website - smaller budget withutilization of end-users (reaching out to
as many stakeholders).

1. Beneﬁciaries - for Japanese business community Better opportunity to get information on ASEAN.
2. AJC becomes better known by its publications.
3. Email magazine - Investment Section had its own
email magazine. The number of subscribers,
who are interested in doing business in ASEAN
and explore information on ASEAN, has reachedmore than 15,000.

ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSIS ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE

19

3. Research and Policy Analysis Activities(Undertaken during 1 September 2018 – March 2019)A. M
 ulti-disciplinary research on ASEAN for sustainable development
Under the “Multi-disciplinary research on ASEAN for sustainable development”, the Centreorganizes various events and forums to deepen understanding on ASEAN related issues with amulti-disciplinary approach.

i. ASEAN-Study Group in Tokyo
The ASEAN Study Group, a group established in 2015 which brings together more than
160 members from Japanese academia/researchers, government officials, businesspersons
and media, has met every two months to discuss a wide range of topics related to socioeconomic development in ASEAN. The Centre serves as the secretariat for the ASEAN Study
Group in Tokyo, and organizes study group meetings regularly.
In FY2018, ASEAN Study Group met seven times—in April, May, July, October and December
2018 and January and March 2019. Topics of discussions include the current status of the
AEC process, negotiations related to the regional and mega-FTAs such as RCEP and CPTPP,
FDI trends in ASEAN, global value chains (GVCs) and other socio-economic developments in
ASEAN. Each session was attended by around 30 to 60 ASEAN experts.
As part of ASEAN Study Group activities, the study mission to Thailand, Singapore andIndonesia was organized for 2–9 September 2018. A total of 17 ASEAN Study Group members
had 14 meetings with key organizations and stakeholders including the ASEAN Secretariat,
governments, academia/think-tanks and Japanese investors in Thailand, Singapore andIndonesia to obtain up-to-date information on current issues related to the AEC process and
ASEAN integration.

ii. Ambassador’s lecture series
The Centre organizes and provides venues for individual ASEAN Ambassadors in Japan todeliver presentations on multi-faceted issues related to ASEAN to inform the Japanese business
community.

The ASEAN Study Group members visiting the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta.

20

ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSISIn FY2018, two ASEAN Ambassador’s Lectures were organized in the ASEAN-Japan Centre Hallin September 2018 and February 2019. Ambassadors from Myanmar and Lao PDR conveyed thelectures and shared the latest economic trends and investment opportunities in their respective
countries. More than 200 Japanese businesspersons and potential investors joined and gained
knowledge on business opportunities in Myanmar and Lao PDR.

H.E. Mr. Viroth Sundara, Ambassador of Lao PDR to Japan, delivering a lecture on the recent investment climate in Lao PDR.

iii. Other events
In January 2019, the Centre organized an ASEAN Forum jointly with the International Friendship
Exchange Council (FEC), with the Ambassadors from Cambodia, Lao PDR and Myanmar as theguest speakers. The Forum was attended by more than 100 Japanese businesspersons andcontributed to deepening their understandings on the current status of Mekong economies,
trade and investment, as well as future prospects of the region with the focus on the developmentof economic corridors.

B. Value chains, SMEs and AEC
The Value Chains, SMEs, and AEC is a multi-year research project, which aims to provide insights
into the relevance, impact and patterns of value added trade and global value chains (GVCs)
across ASEAN and its Member States and in selected industries. Sixteen papers (one Introduction,
10 country papers, five industry specific papers) will be produced between FY2017 to FY2020.
The technical papers aim to provide new perspectives on trade and investment links among
ASEAN and between ASEAN and Japan, by analysing the value addition resulting fromtrade, and how investment drives patterns of value added trade.
In FY2018, three country-specific papers on GVCs in ASEAN were produced, namely
GVCs in Cambodia, Thailand and Singapore. These papers were produced using theunique database on trade in value added, established jointly with UNCTAD-Eora in
FY2016 and updated regularly by the Centre. Furthermore, GVC Paper 1: Regional
Perspective was revised and updated in January 2019 with the latest value added
data up to 2018.
The paper on GVCs in Cambodia was presented to the stakeholders in Cambodia ata workshop “Changing Trade and Investment Landscape in ASEAN and Cambodia”
held on 12 March 2019 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The paper on Thailand waspresented to the stakeholders in Thailand at a workshop on GVCs in Thailand, heldon 25 March 2019 in Bangkok, Thailand.

ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSIS ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE

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i. Global value chain seminar in Cambodia (jointly with the NEM seminar)
Date:
12 March 2019
Organizer:
ASEAN-Japan Centre
Co-organizer: Ministry of Commerce, Cambodia
Venue:
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Participants: 80

Eighty people gathered for the GVC seminar in Cambodia to discuss the current issues regarding GVCs in Cambodia.

ii. Global value chain seminar in Thailand (jointly with the NEM seminar)
Date:
25 March 2019
Organizer:
ASEAN-Japan Centre
Co-organizer: 	Department of International Trade Promotion (DITP), Ministry of Commerce,
Thailand
Venue:
Bangkok, Thailand
Participants: 100

One hundred businesspersons, policymakers and members of academia from Thailand participated in the seminar on GVC
in Bangkok, organized by AJC and DITP.

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ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSIS

C. ASEAN Information Map
The Centre produced ASEAN Information Map, a comprehensive statistical booklet which
includes data related to economy, trade, investment and tourism in ASEAN. In FY2018, around3,000 copies were distributed to various stakeholders in Japan and in ASEAN, including
universities, the ASEAN embassies in Tokyo, JETRO headquarters and its representative offices,and ministries concerned in Japan. The Map data is also available on the Centre's website.

D. Promoting services trade in ASEAN
In view of the fact that services trade is important for further integration of ASEAN, theCentre launched a multi-year regional project in FY2016 featuring a special emphasis
on seven services sectors. In FY2018, as the next phase of promoting the work
program on services trade, the Centre initiated analysis on social services, namely,environmental services, health and other social services and education services.
The key findings from selected sectors analysed in FY2016–FY2017 were presented at
the 91st and 92nd ASEAN Coordinating Committee on Services (CCS) in Nay Pyi Taw,
Myanmar on 9 November 2018, and in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam,on 13 February 2019, respectively. Furthermore, the follow-up activities on sevensector-specific services include post-activity (one-year later) analysis of theimplementation of policy recommendations and a pilot study on the restrictions
on services trade in logistics in ASEAN were conducted in FY2018.

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i. AJC session at the 91st Meeting of the ASEAN Coordinating Committee on
Services (CCS)Date:
9 November 2018
Organizer: ASEAN-Japan Centre
Venue:Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar
The Centre participated in the CCS for the first time to introduce the work of the Centre in thearea of trade in services. Furthermore, the Centre discussed future collaboration with the CCS
utilizing the Centre’s publications and ongoing research. As the result of the session, it wasagreed that the Centre would hold a one-day seminar at the 92nd and 93rd CCS to share the key
findings from the Centre’s analysis on seven services sectors conducted in FY2016–FY2017.

Services trade experts from nine AMSs discussing the policy options to further liberalize trade in services in ASEAN at the AJC
session during the 91st CCS.

ii. The 1st ASEAN-Japan Centre Seminar on Trade in Services at the 92nd Meeting of
the ASEAN Coordinating Committee on Services (CCS)
Date:
13 February 2019
Organizer:
ASEAN-Japan Centre
Venue:
Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam
Participants:
70
Resource Person: Dr. Hikari Ishido, Professor, Chiba University

Seventy services trade experts from nine AMSs joined the 1st AJC seminaron trade in services in conjunction with the 92nd CCS.

24

In February 2019, the Centre organized the 1st Seminar on
Trade in Services on the sideline of the 92nd CCS meeting
held in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam. The
seminar covered four sectors, namely, 1) Professional
Services, 2) Research and Development Services,
3) Telecommunication Services, 4) Computer-related
Services. It had 70 participants from nine ASEAN
Member States and the ASEAN Secretariat. The
presentation at the seminar included the key findings
from studies on four services sectors, development
since the publication of the report, such as the progressof policy recommendations and AFAS 10 th package.
After the seminar, the participants appreciated that theseminar was useful to deepen their understanding of thecurrent issues on services trade in selected sectors.

ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSIS

E. Promoting new forms of trade between Japan and ASEAN
Non-Equity Modes (NEM) of trade are becoming a new trend in global trade. As
this type of operation by firms intensifies regional integration, the Centre promotes
this new form of trade by measuring its scale, understanding the phenomenon andproviding policy suggestions on how to maximize benefits and minimize risks with
NEM operation between AMS and Japan.
Arm’s-length relationships and equity holding are not the only means of exerting control
over the global value chains. Companies also enter into contractual relationships withother independent firms. Such trade is gaining importance as the system of global
production becomes more integrated through value chains. This is a new area inwhich lack of knowledge and a huge gap in research exist in ASEAN. An overall
analytical framework is needed in order to assess development impacts and make itpossible to propose a policy framework to promote these transactions.
Against this background, the Centre started a multi-year regional program on NEM in FY2016,
which includes the production of 10 country papers and organization of seminars. A key
objective of this study is to make recommendations on which policies (investment and industrial)
governments need to consider in order to fully benefit from emerging opportunities in NEMs.
Since the beginning of the project, more than 430 policymakers from Cambodia, Lao PDR,
Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam have joined the discussion at the seminars
organized by the Centre. Based on data analysis and case studies, country-specific policy
recommendations and an NEM policy framework were identified for each country. The Centre’s
work on NEM was also discussed at the ASEAN Coordinating Committee on Investment (CCI) in
Brunei Darussalam held in January 2019.

i. Seminar on non-equity mode (NEM) in Lao
PDR: promoting new forms of trade between
Japan and ASEAN
Date:
Organizer:
Co-organizer:

26 July 2018
ASEAN-Japan Centre
Department of Trade Promotion,
Lao PDR
Venue:
Pakse, Lao PDR
Participants:
50
Resource Person: Dr. Rajah Rasiah
In the seminar, the characteristics of cross-border NEM
Lao participants increased their knowledge of the NEM in Lao PDR.
activities worldwide and Lao context were shared anddiscussed by participants along with a country paperon NEM in Lao PDR. The seminar was well-received by the participants from both public andprivate sectors, helping to deepen the understanding of NEM in Lao PDR.

Fifty participants from the public and private sectors in Lao PDR joined the seminar.

ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSIS ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE

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ii. Seminar on non-equity mode (NEM) in Cambodia: promoting new forms of trade
between Japan and ASEAN
Date:
12 March 2019
Organizer:
ASEAN-Japan Centre
Co-organizer:
Ministry of Commerce, Cambodia
Venue:
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Participants:
80
Resource Person: Dr. Rajah Rasiah
In the Cambodia seminar, the characteristics of NEM trade and international production in the
Cambodian context were shared and discussed by participants along with a country paper on
NEM in Cambodia. Ample young labour with competitive costs has attracted foreign companies
to do business with Cambodian companies. Cambodian’s cut, make, and trim (CMT) mode ofgarment manufacturers needs to be upgraded to an original equipment manufacturer (OEM)style in order to achieve further development. The seminar was well-received by the participantsfrom both public and private sectors, helping to deepen the understanding of NEM in Cambodia.

Eighty participants joined the seminar on NEM in Cambodia.

iii. S eminar on non-equity mode (NEM) in Thailand: promoting new forms of trade
between Japan and ASEAN
Date:
25 March 2019
Organizer:
ASEAN Japan Centre
Co-organizer:
Department of International Trade Promotion, Ministry of Commerce, Thailand
Venue:
Bangkok, Thailand
Participants:
100
Resource Person: Dr. Chie Iguchi
In the Thailand seminar, the characteristics of cross-border NEM activities worldwide andThailand’s major NEM trade activities were shared and discussed by participants along with acountry paper of NEM in Thailand. Thailand is competitive in some manufacturing industries
where supporting industries are well developed, and the subcontracting and franchise businesshave been established in variety of industries. It was suggested that the Government of Thailand
should consider implementing and strengthening the regulatory framework for NEM firms toexport, promote innovation, expand employment, and upgrade technologies. The seminar was
well-received by the participants from both public and private sectors, helping to deepen theunderstanding of NEM in Thailand.

26

ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSISThe Centre’s work on NEM, together with GVC was discussed at the ASEAN
Coordinating Committee on Investment (CCI) in Brunei Darussalam in
January 2019. In addition, one technical paper on Viet Nam was publishedand a seminar on “Bilateral Trade/Investment & Non-Equity Mode (NEM) in
Hanoi” was held on 7 March 2019 as part of Viet Nam’s National Activities.

SG Fujita of the AJC making apresentation on NEM in Thailand.

F. Environment, social and governance investment related projects
This project aimed to provide information on success and failure cases on ESG(Environment, Social, and Governance) investment, and particularly from anenvironmental aspect, raise awareness of environmental impacts of investment andprovide possible solutions.
In FY2018, the Centre prepared a technical report, “ESG Investment: Towards
Sustainable Development in ASEAN and Japan” to promote responsible investments
by building a basic understanding of ESG investment and contribute to a better andsustainable investment environment and society in Japan and ASEAN countries.
Building on this report, the Centre hosted discussions on ESG investment trends
and prospects in ASEAN at its Environmental, Social, and Governance Investment
Forum at the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET), Bangkok, on 19 March 2019.

i. Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) Investment Forum
Date:
19 March 2019
Organizer:
ASEAN-Japan Centre
Co-organizer: Stock Exchange of Thailand
Venue:
Bangkok, Thailand
Participants: 60 (including 16 participants from Cambodia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar,
the Philippines and Viet Nam)
The Forum aimed to promote responsible investments with the key messages including what is
ESG investment (responsible investment), why we should invest responsibly, and how to invest
responsibly (what? why? and how?). All invited participants were very interested in the Forumand stated in the questionnaire that they would like to learn more about ESG investment. The
Forum also provided a platform to exchange best practices and policy options among Japan and
ASEAN Member States and to contribute to a better and sustainable investment environmentand society in Japan and ASEAN countries. The Forum attracted great interests from bothThailand and Japan. The seminar was also uploaded onto Facebook Live and more than 1,200
people watched the seminar. It was also featured in three local newspapers in Thailand.

Participants expressed great interests in ESG investment in ASEAN.

Sixty participants, including 16 from ASEAN Member States, joined the
ESG Investment Forum in Bangkok.

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TABLE 3. PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL FRAMEWORK — RESEARCH AND POLICY ANALYSIS ACTIVITIESFY2018 ACTIVITIES (1 SEPTEMBER 2018 - 31 MARCH 2019)
Objectives

Key outputs

Relevance

Multi-disciplinary
study on ASEAN
and Japan

1. To increase knowledge andawareness of Japanesestakeholders on theemerging issues related
to trade, investment andtourism in ASEAN.
2. To strengthen partnershipwith ASEAN and Japanesestakeholders in Japan,
including throughorganizing the seminars,
symposiums and study
groups.

1. Seven study sessions were organized by
the ASEAN Study Group. Each session
was attended by 30-60 participants
including Japanese government ofﬁcials,
businesspersons and academia.
2. One mission to Thailand, Singapore andIndonesia was organized in September
2018, as part of the ASEAN Study
Group. Seventeen ASEAN Study Group
members in Japan had 14 meetings with
key organizations and stakeholders such
as ASEAN Secretariat, governments,
academia/think-tanks and Japanese
investors in Thailand, Singapore andIndonesia.
3. Two Ambassador's Lectures byambassadors of Myanmar and Lao PDR
were organized and attended by morethan 200 Japanese businesspersons andpolicymakers.
4. One forum on Mekong economies, trade,investment, future prospects, and theeconomic corridors was organized, withthe participation of Ambassadors from
Cambodia, Myanmar and Thailand.

1. The activity supports ASEAN’s
efforts to raise the proﬁle andawareness of ASEAN in Japan, by
providing a platform for ASEAN
Ambassadors to deliver ﬁrst-handinformation on ASEAN.
2. The activity also focuses on
emerging topics, such as RCEP,CPTPP, AEC process, global value
chains (GVCs) and ASEAN FDI trend
issues.
3. The activity is organized in line withand aims to contribute to the APSC
Blueprint 2025, A.1.5.iii, C.2.2.v.,
D.2.2. Raise the presence andawareness of ASEAN. AEC Blueprint
2025, C.90.v, D.5.

Value chains,
SMEs and AEC

1. To provide insights into
the relevance, impact, andpatterns of value added
trade and GVC across
ASEAN, and in its individual
countries.
2. To provide research andpolicy analysis contributing
to sustainable and inclusive
development.

1. Three technical papers on GVCs in
Cambodia, Thailand and Singapore were
published.
2. Revised GVC Paper 1: Regional Perspective
was published with updated data until
2018.
3. Two GVC workshops in Thailand andCambodia were organized with more than
80 participants from governments andprivate sectors in Cambodia and 50 in
Thailand.
4. AJC presented the key ﬁndings of its workin GVC in the Coordinating Committee
on Investment (CCI) held in Bandar Seri
Begawan, Brunei Darussalam in January
2019.

1. The project is relevant to the
mandates of AJC to promote trade,investment, tourism, and exchangeof people through research andpolicy analysis.
2. The project is also relevant to therealization of ASEAN Economic
Community Blueprint 2025
and sustainable and inclusive
development.

ASEAN
InformationMap

To deepen Japanese and
ASEAN stakeholders’
understanding of the midand long-term dynamic socialand economic developmentof ASEAN and Japan.

ASEAN Information Map was distributed
to more than 10,000 businesspersons,government ofﬁcials and academia(universities) in FY2017-FY2018.

The project is relevant to the
mandates of AJC to promote trade,investment, tourism, and exchange of
people through data dissemination.
The project is also relevant to therealization of ASEAN Economic
Community Blueprint 2025.

28

ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSIS

Core values and measurements
Quality

Efﬁciency

Effectiveness/Impact

1. More than 350 participants joined the seminars/forums,
1. ASEAN Ambassador's Lectures
1. The ASEAN Study Group establishedincreasing their knowledge on regional investment trends
and other forums were organizeda network of more than 160 members,
and various investment policy practices in ASEAN.
in close coordination with theincluding academia, researchers,
ASEAN embassies in Tokyo.
businesspersons, government ofﬁcials
2. Various ASEAN-related publications including articles,
and media correspondents in Japan.
policy papers, and speeches were published by group
2. Financial resources were
The ASEAN Study Group provides amembers of the ASEAN Study Group. The groupmobilized efﬁciently, including
unique platform for these stakeholders
chairman afﬁrmed the signiﬁcance of the role of AJC in
through the active use of
to discuss policy and business-related
the advancement of ASEAN study in Japan academically,
ASEAN-Japan Hall and using
issues in ASEAN. Discussions by these
intellectually and in the policy-making process (Kazufumi
in-house resources to organize
experts have brought some practical
Shimizu, p.339, AEC to NihonASEAN kyouryoku in
the ASEAN Study Group, topolicy recommendations.
ASEAN Keizaikyoudoutai no sousetu to Nihon, Bunshindo
maximize the impact of the2015).
activities within the limited
2. The results from evaluationbudget.
questionnaires for the ASEAN
3. Strengthened close relation between AJC and ASEAN
Ambassador's Lectures and forums
stakeholders including the ASEAN embassies in Tokyo
showed positive feedback from theand ASEAN Secretariat. (For example, the ASEAN Study
participants which indicated that theyGroup had a meeting with DSG of ASEAN for AEC, H.E.
found the events informative and useful.
Dr. Aladdin D. Rillo and DSG of ASEAN for CCA, H.E.
Dr. AKP Mochtan during study mission in Jakarta in
September 2018.)

1. Three technical papers on GVCs are
published using a unique databaseon trade in value added, establishedjointly with UNCTAD and Eora. Experts
in international trade are mobilized to
conduct a peer review to ensure thequality of the papers.
2. AJC's work in GVC was highlighted
in newspapers (The Business Times,
Singapore, 24 Dec. 2018, etc.).

The database is being establishedin collaboration with the Eora and
UNCTAD.

1. Sixteen evidence-based and policy-oriented technicalreports are being produced between FY2016 to FY2020.
Sixteen papers include: one general paper on ASEAN asa whole, ten individual ASEAN Member State Reports,
and ﬁve selected industries -- electronics, automobiles,
textiles and clothing, agribusiness, and tourism.
2. In FY2018, three technical papers on GVC in Cambodia,
Thailand and Singapore were published. GVC Paper 1:
Regional Perspective were updated with the data up to
2018. These papers contain policy recommendations on
how to maximize beneﬁts from and minimize negative
effects associated with greater participation in GVCs.
3. Two seminars on GVC were joined by more than 130
government ofﬁcials and private sectors in Phnom Penh
(12 March 2019) and Bangkok (25 March 2019).

At a glance, readers can easily understandtrends and ASEAN development as awhole. The Map was expanded from
20 pages to 28 pages. The expanded
pages cover updated ASEAN dataconsisting of ASEAN largest companies,
trade in services, global value chains,and FDI stock data. That information
is important for ASEAN and Japanesebusinesspersons.
Explanations in both Japanese andEnglish are useful not only for Japanese
but also for ASEAN stakeholders.

The newly revised ASEAN
Information Map has been sent tomore than 10,000 stakeholders
such as ASEAN embassies inTokyo, Japanese embassies in
ASEAN, JETRO headquarters andits representative ofﬁces, and line
ministries concerned in Japan. The
Map data is also available on the
AJC's website.

More than 30,000 copies of the ASEAN Information
Map have been printed since FY2014. The Map is widelyused as one of the most useful information materials forunderstanding the ASEAN economy at a glance. Not only
business persons but also academics and governmentofﬁcials ﬁnd this Map useful.

ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSIS ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE

29

TABLE 3. PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL FRAMEWORK — RESEARCH AND POLICY ANALYSIS ACTIVITIESFY2018 ACTIVITIES (1 SEPTEMBER 2018 - 31 MARCH 2019)
Objectives

Key outputs

Relevance

Promoting
servicestrade

1. To enhance understandingof opportunities andchallenges faced by ASEAN
when promoting trade inenvironmental, health andeducation services.
2. To exchange best practices
and policy options among
the ASEAN Member
States and contributeto the AEC process inthe area of the ASEAN
Framework Agreement on
Services (AFAS) and theASEAN Trade in Services
Agreement (ATISA).
3. To contribute to the JapanASEAN initiatives, byproviding comprehensive
analysis of current stateof environment, healthand education services in
ASEAN.

1. Three technical papers on social services,
including environmental services, healthservices and education services are being
ﬁnalized with the international experts.
2. 58 ofﬁcials from nine ASEAN Member
States and ASEAN Secretariat participatedin AJC's session at the 92nd CCS in
Bandar Seri Begawan on 13 Feb 2019. As
a result, more than 200 policymakers andbusinesspersons from ASEAN and Japan
have participated in four policy dialogues
to discuss the policy options to further
liberalize services trade since FY2017.

1. The activity contributes to the
AEC process in the area of AFAS
and ATISA providing up-to-date
information on the trade in services,
including the status of service
liberalization using the Hoekman
Index.
2. The activity is closely linked toJapan-ASEAN initiatives, such
as Japan-ASEAN Environment
Cooperation Initiative and the Asia
Human Well-Being Initiative.

Promoting new
forms of trade
betweenJapan and ASEAN

1. A total of 230 ofﬁcials and businesspersons
1. To increase awareness offrom Cambodia, Lao PDR and Thailand
importance of industries
participated in AJC's NEM Seminars in theirshare the latest issues andrespective countries.
challenges of member
states and to collect data on 2. Technical paper on NEM in Viet Nam was
non-equity modes (NEMs).
published in FY2018.
2. To make recommendations
on which policies[investment and industrial]
governments need toconsider in order to fully
beneﬁt from emerging
opportunities in NEMs.
3. To help increase tradeunder the AEC-relatedagreement, such as
AEC 2025 Consolidated
Strategic Action Plan
(CSAP).

As no data exist to ascertain theimportance of NEM of activities, work
is required to collect data on these
activities and to develop mechanisms
to facilitate NEM markets in key
industrial sectors as a contribution to acomprehensive framework in ASEAN
to expand trade.

Environment,social andgovernance (ESG)
investment related
projects

To provide information on
success and failure cases on
ESG investment, particularly
from an environmental
aspect, raise awareness ofenvironmental impacts ofinvestment and provide
possible solutions.

1. One technical paper on ESG prepared.
2. Sixty participants, including 16
policymakers from Cambodia, Lao PDR,
Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines and Viet
Nam, participated in the ESG Investment
Forum organized in Bangkok on 19
February 2019. The Forum was organizedjointly with the Stock Exchange of Thailand.
It was also viewed by more than 1,200
people via Facebook Live.

The activity helps the AEC 2025 topromote sustainable development andalso support FDI into new strategicareas including environmental friendly
industries.

30

ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSIS

Core values and measurements
Quality

Efﬁciency

Effectiveness/Impact

AJC received positive feedback fromthe participants of the AJC's session at
92nd CCS. More than 86% of participants
stated that the session was “very useful“
and “useful“, and 81% responded that thepolicy recommendations from AJC were
useful.

Technical papers on three social
sectors are currently being
prepared in close cooperation withJapanese and international experts
who specialize in each sector.

1. More than 100 concrete and workable policy
recommendations were identiﬁed across seven services
sectors in FY2016-2017. Policy recommendations were
designed to reﬂect the current state of development ofservices sectors in the 10 ASEAN Member States.
2. AJC's work on services trade was presented to the
91st and the 92nd ASEAN Coordinating Committee on
Services (CCS) in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar on November
2018 and in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam,
respectively, reaching out to the Member Stateseffectively to share the key ﬁndings from AJC's study on
trade in services.

1. The result from an evaluation sheet forthe seminars shows that most of theparticipants were highly satisﬁed andthey found the events were informative
and useful.
2. Policy recommendations that ASEAN
Member States can fully beneﬁt from
NEM were provided.

The latest NEM related issues were identiﬁed by the
1. AJC’s work on NEM, together
government ofﬁcials and business sectors to ﬁnd possible
with GVC was discussed at theASEAN Coordinating Committee solutions.
on Investment (CCI) in Brunei
Darussalam in January 2019.
2. One technical paper on Viet
Nam was published and aseminar on “Bilateral Trade/
Investment & NEM in Hanoi“ washeld on 7 March 2019 as part ofViet Nam’s National Activities.

Policymakers and businesses from six
ASEAN Member States deepened theirunderstanding of the signiﬁcance of
ESG Investment to achieve sustainable
development in ASEAN. Following the
success of the Forum in Thailand, AJC
received a request from Lao PDR toorganize the same forum in Lao PDR.

The activities are conducted inclose collaboration between
AJC, the Stock Exchange ofThailand and other internationalorganizations including UNDP.

The activity helps to enhance awareness for ESG investment
in ASEAN, which will ultimately lead to an increase in ESG
investment and sustainable development in the ASEAN
region.

ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSIS ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE

31

4. C
 apacity Building Activities(Undertaken during 1 September 2018 – 31 March 2019)
On 1 September 2018, the ASEAN-Japan Centre (AJC) underwent a structural reform.
The reform saw the establishment of the Capacity Building (CB) Cluster to support andstrengthen the promotional mandate of the AJC.
The following results were produced based on the CB work plan FY2018:

A. Promoting trade in creative industries
Date:
31 October – 4 November 2018 and 7–19 March 2019
Organizers: ASEAN-Japan Centre and Japan Institute of Design Promotion (JDP)
Venue:
Tokyo-Midtown, Good Design Marunouchi and Good Design Shop in KITTE
Products: 22-Awarded ASEAN Products
In cooperation with the Japan Institute of Design
Promotion (JDP), the Centre launched a two-year
regional program (FY2017–FY2018) entitled “ASEAN
Design Selection” as part of the Good Design Award tospecifically promote creative industries in ASEAN.

ASEAN products were showcased at Tokyo-Midtown (31 October– 4 November 2018).

The objective of this program was to share the valuesof “good design” as recognized by the Good DesignAward known as the G-mark. The project suggests theuse of ‘good design’ to solve social problems, as wellas to encourage the MSMEs in ASEAN to enhance theirproduct/service designs to further develop businessproposals that create new values to increase themarketability of ASEAN products in Japan through abetter understating of the Japanese design market.

In FY2018, selected ASEAN candidates that met the Good
Design Award criteria and standards went through the final screening process for the ASEAN
Design Selection by the committee. In total, 22 products/services from 261 submission from all
10 ASEAN Member States were awarded the “Good Design Award 2018” and from 31 October to
2 November 2018, the Centre in collaboration with the JDP organized the “Good Design Award
Exhibition” at Tokyo Mid-Town, where the 22 awarded ASEAN products were showcased.
On 31 October 2018, out of the 22 ASEAN winners, the bamboo bicycle submission by Piranti
Works, Indonesia was awarded “Best 100” as well as a Gold Prize (i.e. the Best 16 / Prize of
Economic Minister Award of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry). The award ceremony
took place at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Tokyo and witnessed by Trade Promotion Office officials
from respective ASEAN countries.

Bamboo Bike was awarded “Best 100” and gold prize “Best 16”.

32

ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSIS

Following the exhibition at Tokyo Mid Town, the Centre also showcased the 22 awarded ASEAN
products at ASEAN-Japan Hall of the AJC from 5 to 7 November 2018, and the Good Design
Marunouchi Tokyo from 7 to 19 March 2019. On this occasion, the Centre provided some of theASEAN Design Selection 2018 winner products to be sold at KITTE, Tokyo.
After being awarded the G-mark, all winners claimed to have gained knowledge on design and
11 out of 22 reported that they had increased their annual sales by an average ratio of 20% as
of June 2019.

B. CLMV support program: export capacity building
i. Export capacity building:Date:
2–10 February 2019
Organizer:
ASEAN-Japan Centre
Venue:
Taunggyi, Shan State and Hpa-an, Kayin State of Myanmar
Participants:
228 (100 in Taunggyi and 128 in Hpa-an)
Resource Persons: Ms. Noriko Okura and Mr. Shibuya Zarny
The objective of the program was to increase CLMV export capacity by strengthening productdevelopment, information-sharing and knowledge-building on the business of exporting toJapan. The Centre first implemented the project in Cambodia and Lao PDR in FY2016 andFY2017, focusing on agriculture/food-related products, respectively.
In FY2018, the Export Capacity Building workshop was held in Myanmar on 4 February 2019 inTaunggyi, Shan State and on 8 February 2019 in Hpa-an, Kayin State. As many as 100 people
and 128 people in the textile and handicraft industries as well as local government and related
business associations attended these workshops respectively.
Most of the participants were SMEs or producers who had never exported their products before
and 83% of the participants had a better understanding of how to export to Japan through theworkshop.
As some areas in these provinces are not developed in terms of business practices like pricesetting, sales channels, and delivery period, providing information related to these elements
was highly appreciated by the participants as well as local government officials.

Group photo session at the workshop in Hpa-an, on 8 February 2019

ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSIS ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE

33

ii. Import promotion for Japanese companies
Date:
11 October 2018
Organizer:
ASEAN-Japan Centre
Venue:
ASEAN-Japan Hall of the AJC
Participants:
45 participants
Resource Persons: Mr. Keiji Fujii, Mr. Shibuya Zarny
The Centre organized the “Myanmar Silk Event” at the ASEAN-Japan Hall of the AJC from 8 to
12 October 2018. The Centre had the great honor of welcoming State Counsellor of the Republicof the Union of Myanmar Daw Aung San Suu Kyi as the Guest of Honour of the opening ceremony.
The “Meiji Era Silk in Japan and Modern Myanmar” seminar was also conducted at the sidelinesof the “Myanmar Silk Event”. The seminar was attended by 45 participants, including importers,
designers, retailers and members of the media. On this occasion, the Centre had the privilege
of welcoming Madam Akie Abe, the spouse of Prime Minister Shinzō Abe to the seminar.
The event promoted Myanmar silk in Japan through 57 instances of media coverage. This is thefirst seminar in Japan on silk and modern Myanmar that attracted a great deal of attention fromJapanese businesspersons and 90% of the participants evaluated the seminar as being usefuland informative.

Opening ceremony of “Myanmar Silk Event” on 8 October 2018

Seminar on “Meiji Era Silk in Japan and Modern Myanmar” on
11 October 2018iii. Import promotion for Japanese companies
Date:
7 March 2019
Organizer:
ASEAN-Japan Centre
Venue:
ASEAN-Japan Hall of the AJC
Participants:
77
Resource Persons: Mr. Norihiko Yamada, Deputy Director, IDE-JETROThe “Lao PDR in a Digital Economy Era” seminar washeld in March 2019.
The seminar provided the participants with the latest
information on the country as well as products withgreat potential which could be exported to Japan. The
survey showed 81% of the seminar participants foundthe seminar useful.

Seminar on “Lao PDR in a Digital Economy Era” on 7 March 201934

ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSISC. 
Capacity-building activities related to, or as part of, the programs
implemented under the Research and Policy Analysis (PRA) Cluster
Date:
5 February 2019
Organizer:
Pacific Resource Exchange Center (PREX)
Co-organizer:
ASEAN-Japan Centre
Venue:
ASEAN-Japan Hall of the AJC
Participants:
14
Resource Persons: Mr. Masataka Fujita, Secretary General of AJC
In collaboration with the Pacific Resource Exchange Center (PREX), the Centre conducted aseminar on global value chains (GVCs) in Tourism, which was held at the ASEAN-Japan Hallof the AJC on 5 February 2019, targeting 14 foreign government officials from developing
countries including representatives from some ASEAN Member States. Secretary General
Fujita, presented the importance of understanding GVCs to build tourism development
strategies and policies. Based on the knowledge and insight gained during the seminar, theparticipants gained a better understanding of the current trend in foreign direct investment(FDI) promotion particularly in the tourism sector. The participants will apply the information
presented to develop new strategies to promote FDI in their countries effectively, according toa post-seminar questionnaire.

Seminar on GVCs in tourism on 5 February 2019

ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSIS ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE

35

TABLE 4. PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL FRAMEWORK — CAPACITY-BUILDING ACTIVITIESFY2018 ACTIVITIES (1 SEPTEMBER 2018 - 31 MARCH 2019)
Objectives
Promoting
ASEAN
creativeindustries

Key outputs
1. To be aware of the value of originality, individual
creativity, and intellectual property of products.
2. To be aware of the importance of “service design“,as opposed to design embodied in goods orcommodities.
3. To explore trade and development opportunities in“ASEAN Design Selection“.
4. To share experiences on best practices in thedevelopment of creative industries by applying theconcept of the “ASEAN Design Selection“.

1. Second screening at AJC Tokyo, Japan(August 2018)
Brunei:3 were selected among 4
Cambodia: 2 were selected among 4
Indonesia: 2 were selected among 4
Lao PDR: 2 were selected among 3
Malaysia: 5 were selected among 7
Myanmar: 1 was selected among 3
Philippines: 4 were selected among 5
Singapore: 1 was selected among 2
Thailand: 1 was selected among 3
Viet Nam: 1 was selected among 2.........................................................

Total:

22 were selected among 37

2. Good Design Award Exhibition at
Mid-Town Roppongi, Tokyo, Japan(31 October to 4 November 2018)
3. Showcase at the Good Design
Marunouchi Tokyo, Japan (7 to 19 March2019) and spot sales at Good Design
Shop in KITTE, Tokyo, Japan(7 to 19 March 2019) .

Relevance
Brunei

HOCO
Mind Plus
Batik DESMAS
Cambodia Lotus Silk/business model
Sabay Osja/contents
Indonesia CV. Piranti Works
PT. Pudak Oriental Indonesia
Lao PDR
Shihom Meesook Jewelry
Her Works/Product design
Malaysia
One-Tech (M) Sdn Bhd
Aerospace Malaysia
Innovation(AMIC)MIT Innovation Sdn Bhd
ASP PRO Sdn Bhd
NSF Manufacturing Sdn Bhd
Myanmar
Myanmar Creative Idea Co., Ltd.
Philippines Make a Difference Travel
Sustainable Alternative Lighting
Corp
BAMBIKERed Palm Venture
Singapore Changi Airport
ThailandPataapian Studio Co., Ltd.
Viet Nam
Artex Gobline
1. Japan Institute of Design Promotion (JDP)
organized “Good Design Award Exhibition”
at Tokyo Mid-Town, where AJC set up the
ASEAN booth for the 22 winners above.
2. AJC invited two trade promotion ofﬁcials
from the ASEAN Member States to witness
the Good Design Award 2018 ceremony atGrand Hyatt Tokyo on 31 October 2018.
3. ASEAN Good Design Award Exhibition washeld at the Good Design Marunouchi Tokyo
from 7 to 19 March 2019. On this occasion,
AJC arranged some of the winners’
products to be sold at KITTE, Tokyo.

I. Export capacity-building
Following Cambodia and Lao PDR, the third export
capacity building workshop was conducted in Myanmar
in 2019.
1. To help CLMV countries to increase their export
capacity by strengthening product development,
information sharing, know-how and knowledgeI. Export
building on the export business to Japan andcapacitycontribute to achieving the goal of greater ASEAN
building
regional integration.
2. To provide the necessary technical knowledge
II. Importand enhance the capacity of start-up exporters/
promotion
manufacturers in Myanmar by training them to export
for Japanese
their potential products to Japan.
companies
3. To help Myanmar SMEs increase their understandingof market requirements in Japan as well as its laws andregulations for import products, logistics/transportmechanism from Myanmar to Japan and create business
opportunities that contribute to Myanmar's further
exposure in the international market.
CLMV
supportprogramfor export
capacitybuilding

II. Import promotion for Japanese companies
Import promotion seminars were organized to introduce
products produced in CLMV countries aiming to raise
the awareness of Japanese importers towards the
products of CLMV.

36

I. Export capacity-building
1. Workshop on 4 February 2019 inTaunggyi and 8 February 2019 in Hpa-an- Theme: the export strategy and productdevelopment on handicrafts items forJapan market from Myanmar- Total number of participants for twovenues: 228 in total (100 in Taunggyi,
128 in Hpa-an)
2. Study tour on 5 February 2019 inTaunggyi and 7 February and 9 February
2019 in Hpa-an- Total number of participants: 10- Number of visits to factories/workshops:
seven in total in two local cities
II. Import promotion for Japanesecompanies
1. Myanmar Silk Event during
8-12 October 2018
2. First seminar on 11 October 2018
Number of participants: 45
3. Second seminar on 7 March 2019
Number of participants: 77

ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSIS

Participants learned on how to do export
business to Japan and gained more
knowledge about product development anddesign improvement.

Core values and measurements
Quality

Efﬁciency

Effectiveness/Impact

1. Target number of G-mark awardees: 20(Two from each ASEAN Member State)
Actual number of G-mark awardees: 22(Quota performance: 110% )2. Best 100: 1; and Gold Prize / Prize of Economic
Minister
JDP announced that the bamboo bicycle by
CV. Piranti Works, Indonesia of ASEAN Design
Selection winner was chosen as Best 100.
Furthermore, it was chosen as one of the recipientsof the Gold Prize (Best 16).
Upon receiving the Gold Prize, Mr. Singgih. S.
Kartono, the designer of the bicycle said “I amhonored to receive this prestigious award under
AJC project,“ and mentioned that “consideration
for his local society/village and the environment is
the main motivation for his product design“, whichis in line with the values of “good design“.
3. Number of instances of media coverage:
Overseas 74
Japanese 37

1. Different categories of products are chosen to
reﬂect the diversity (seven out of 22 were for service
design).
2. Twenty-two strategy papers were submitted by
TPOs of the 10 ASEAN Member States to market
them in Japan to complement the AJC efforts formarketing.
3. Close cooperation with JDP enhanced performanceof the project.

<Follow up survey as of June 2019>(i) Did you gain more knowledge of design though thisactivity?
--> Yes: 22 (100%)(ii) Did your products/services improve in terms ofdesign innovation or development?
--> Yes: 17 (77%)(iii) Have you created new value?
--> Yes: 16 (73%)(iv) Have the annual sales increased after getting theG-mark?
--> Yes: 11* ( 50%)
*average: 20% up(v) Did you create a new job for people?
--> Yes: 13 (59%)(vi) Has the G-mark empowered the workers?
--> Yes: 16 (73%)(vii) Do you think you have contributed to design
development or innovation in your country?
--> Yes: 21 (96%)*In the ﬁeld of creative industry, export growth rate
was 7% from 2000 to 2005 (UNCTAD survey). Elevenout of 22 winners replied AJC that annual sales
including exports increased 20% after obtaining theGood Design Award in 2018, which is above the export
growth rate of UNCTAD survey.
The goal of this project is to empower MSMEs in
ASEAN Member States to build up sustainable
societies through design innovation and development
to solve social problems and to create strong
communities in rural areas to ensure sustainability.

I. Export capacity-building
The questionnaire survey was conducted at the end of
the program in two places respectively.
- Number of collected answers: 182 in total- Ratio of rating of level of satisfaction with overall
program: 92% (95% in Taunggyi and 90% in Hpa-an)
II. Import promotion for Japanese companies
1. A questionnaire survey was held for theparticipants.
- First seminar on Japan's silk and Modern
Myanmar: 39 replies
Ratio of rating of level of usefulness with overall
program: 90% (Very useful 36% Useful 54%)
- Second seminar on Lao PDR in a digital economy
era: 65 replies
Ratio of rating of level of usefulness with overall
program: 96% (Very useful 45% Useful 51%)

1. Close collaboration between AJC and Myanmar
Trade Promotion Organization, Ministry ofCommerce, Myanmar.
2. Expansion of the network with local government of
Shan State and Kayin State through implementationof the activities, which is further creating
collaboration with related associations/businesssectors for the export business to Japan.

1. First time for AJC to conduct workshops inthe local cities in Myanmar with two Japaneseexperts focusing on export strategy and productdevelopment regarding handicraft items for theJapanese market
2. Most of the participants were SMEs or producers
who have never experienced the export businessbefore and 83% of them achieved their objectives
for having a better understanding of how to do theexport business to Japan through the workshops.
3. Precise advice by the experts such as color,fabric materials, design and size were helpful andbeneﬁcial for the producers.
4. To provide opportunities for Japanese importers
and buyers to better understand the products of
CLMV countries, in particular the silk from Myanmar
and farming potential in Lao PDR.
5. Fifty-seven pieces of media coverage on Myanmar
Silk Event.

2. Presence of high-level ofﬁcials at the Myanmar
Silk Event (State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi;
First Lady of Japan Akie Abe)ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSIS ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE

37

5. Trade and Investment Promotion Activities(Undertaken during 1 September 2018 – 31 March 2019)
In line with the original mandate of the Centre, the Trade and Investment (TI) Cluster aims toaccelerate the flow of investment between ASEAN and Japan, as well as exports from ASEAN
to Japan.
The TI Cluster’s activities as set forth in its annual work plan for FY2018 were implemented
successfully as follows:

A. Import-capacity building of Japanese companies
This activity was originally under the (former) Trade and Investment Division (Trade) and since
1 September 2018, it has been included in the TI Cluster Annual Work Program FY2018. Twoseminars related to imports from ASEAN to Japan were conducted at the ASEAN-Japan Hall of
the AJC, hosting a total of 264 participants.

B. High-level dialogue between ASEAN high-ranking officials andJapanese investors
High-level dialogues provide an opportunity for prominent ASEAN officials, represented byeither the Heads of State or senior ministers, to provide the latest information on new investment
policies, incentives and opportunities directly to the Japanese business community.
Fourteen business forums for nine ASEAN Member States (excluding Singapore) were organizedeither in Tokyo or other ASEAN states. First-hand official information was directly shared witha large audience including the media reaching 1,600. The dialogues also paved the way forpotential new investment ventures and opportunities.

High-level dialogue (Cambodia)

High-level dialogue (Myanmar)

C. Ministerial-level policy dialogue for CLMVWith the objective of narrowing the development gap among ASEAN states, the Centre
allocates additional financial resources for the least developed ASEAN Member States (CLMV)
to organize bilateral policy discussions with Japanese government officials and the business
community, focusing on specific investment policies that nurture a sustainable partnership fordevelopment.
Five business dialogues for Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Viet Nam were organized in thelocal areas of Kanagawa, Kyushu, Yamaguchi and Tokyo with a total number of 600 participants.

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ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSIS

D. Networking with Japanese investors in local cities
Under this program, fifteen bilateral dialogue and networking activities were conductedby Cambodia, Malaysia, Myanmar and the Philippines together with Japanese stakeholders
including potential investors and supporting organizations in the local cities of Nagoya,Takamatsu, Maebashi, Sendai, Saitama, Naha, Shizuoka, Hamamatsu, Kumamoto, Fukui,
Sapporo, Hiroshima, Fukuoka and Osaka. Altogether 1,800 people participated with an average
number of 120 for each city.
The dialogue and networking sessions generated extensive discussions and exchanges of
information, challenges, and recommendations on the investment policies and businessenvironments. Through direct contact and communication, closer linkages were forged
between ASEAN officials and Japanese stakeholders.

Visit to Osaka by officials from Lao PDR

Visit to Shizuoka by officials from Myanmar

E. ASEAN regional programs
Under this program, 12 ASEAN update seminars wereorganized at the ASEAN-Japan Hall of the AJC. Eachseminar provided up-to-date information on the latest
trade and investment issues faced by ASEAN with a totalof over 1,000 participants including Japanese investors
interested in the ASEAN region.
A wide range of trade and investment-related
information was presented, including investment laws
(Cambodia, Malaysia, Myanmar), economy updates(Indonesia, Myanmar, Singapore, Viet Nam) and othertopics such as cryptocurrency and global humanresources (Singapore, Indonesia).

Topic-specific seminar: Seminar on human resources in ASEAN

F. Publication/website
The TI Cluster provided the most current information on investment policies, incentives andadvantages of investing in the ASEAN Member States as well as relevant laws and regulations
through the Centre’s website and publications.

G. Events supported by AJC
The TI Cluster has specially supported 32 out of the Centre-supported 126 activities that aretrade and investment related events in Japan and in ASEAN Member States by disseminating
information through the TI Cluster email magazine’s extensive list of subscribers.

ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSIS ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE

39

TABLE 5. PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL FRAMEWORK — TRADE AND INVESTMENT PROMOTION ACTIVITIESFY2018 ACTIVITIES (1 SEPTEMBER 2018 - 31 MARCH 2019)
Objectives

Key outputs

Import capacityTo share information relatingbuilding of Japanese to imports from ASEAN tocompanies
Japan and related issues,
such as AEC and sub-regionaland ASEAN topics, withJapanese companies andpotential business partners
by conducting a series ofseminars.

Two seminars related to imports fromASEAN to Japan were conducted at
the ASEAN-Japan Hall of the AJC, hostinga total of 264 participants.

Private sector participants will learn
the latest import knowledge andrelevant issues necessary for doing
business in and with ASEAN Member
States.

High-level dialogue Enhancing institutional
between ASEAN
capacity-building by
high-ranking ofﬁcials organizing forums andand Japanese
discussions with the Japanese
investors
business community to learn
about industrial policies andexpectations of Japanesepotential/existing investors.

Fourteen business forums for nine ASEAN
Member States (excluding Singapore) inTokyo and other ASEAN Member States witha number of 1,600 participants.

1. Two-way interface between
ASEAN high-ranking ofﬁcials andJapanese stakeholders created arare opportunity for deepening
business and investment relations,maximizing the beneﬁt of FDI
for achieving AEC development
objectives as stated in Blueprint2025.
2. The dialogue topics are chosen in
conformity with individual ASEAN
Member States' requests andpreferences. ASEAN high-levelofﬁcials are able to convey updated
investment information and better
understand Japanese investors'
perception of their respective
investment policies.

Ministerial-level
policy dialogue
programs for CLMVWith the objective of
narrowing the development
gap in ASEAN, AJC allocates
additional ﬁnancial resources
for the least-developed
ASEAN Member States(CLMV) to organize bilateralpolicy discussions withJapanese governmentofﬁcials and the business
community, focusing on
speciﬁc investment policies
that nurture a sustainable
partnership for development.

Five business dialogues for Cambodia, Lao
PDR, Myanmar and Viet Nam were organizedin the local areas of Kanagawa, Kyushu, andYamaguchi as well as Tokyo (twice).

1. The implementation of the ASEAN
Economic Community (AEC)
Blueprint 2015 has substantively
been achieved in, among others,
narrowing the development gap,
and strengthening ASEAN’s
relationship with its external parties.
2. In line with AEC 2025 III.
C. Communications 90. Ii:
Promote both ASEAN and nonASEAN (Japan) investors to be
spokesperson/advocate to highlight
ASEAN’s integration initiatives andhow businesses can beneﬁt fromthese initiatives.
3. Enhance CLMV investment
policymaking decisions throughbilateral discussion that shares
experiences and knowledge.
4. Promoting CLMV countries as an FDI
destination for Japanese investors.

40

ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSIS

Relevance

Core values and measurements
Quality

Efﬁciency

Effectiveness/Impact

Generally, the majority of participants(97%) commented that the seminars were
informative and useful.

Participants of the seminars will
gain a better understanding
and knowledge necessary
for considering the importbusiness with ASEAN. In
addition, the information
received at the seminars canbe utilized for effective importtrading (e.g. decision-making
and strategy-making).

1. Japanese stakeholders received updated information
relating to ASEAN trade (export) policies.
2. Better understanding about ASEAN among Japanese
importers
3. Japanese business community gained better knowledge
about ASEAN, leading to more informed trade-related
decisions.

Generally, the majority of participants(90%) commented that the forums were
informative and useful.
The respective discussions wereparticipated in by high-level ASEAN
ranking ofﬁcials from Lao PDR, Viet Nam,
Indonesia, Philippines, Myanmar, Brunei
Darussalam, Cambodia and Thailand

1. Close collaboration between
Japan and ASEAN Member
States.
2. Ofﬁcial information relating toinvestment is conveyed directly
to the Japanese business
community.
3. Timing and reliability of theactivity conducted - new
information on policies andregulation, providing responseto the previous questionnaire.
4. Japanese business communities
are able to raise questions
and concerns directly to highranking ASEAN ofﬁcials with the
expectation of having a positive
policy impact.
5. Deepening of focus on speciﬁc
sector/industry of the ASEAN
Member States

1. High-level forum served as fundamental basis for
productive collaboration
2. Close relationships were established between highranking ASEAN government ofﬁcials and Japanesestakeholders
3. ASEAN investment-related policies and development
approaches were directly conveyed to Japanesestakeholders
4. The forums provided fruitful discussions in which all
information presented met the expectations of theaudience
5. As an organizer of these events, the AJC's status waselevated by engagement of high-level ASEAN ofﬁcials.
6. A total of 26 policy requests/suggestions from Japanesestakeholders were raised during the bilateral high-level
investment dialogues, to which the respective highlevel ASEAN ofﬁcial provided a response to 25 of therequests/suggestions received.

1. Ramon M. Lopez, Secretary,
Department of Trade and Investment,
the Philippines
2. Dr. May Fa'ezah Ahmad Arifﬁn,
Permanent Secretary (Economy),
Ministry of Finance and Economy,
Brunei Darussalam

1. More than 550 participants (i.e. 92% of
the participants) evaluated the forums
as useful and or very useful.
2. Investment forums involving bilateral
discussions between high-level ofﬁcialsof CLMV countries and Japanesestakeholders are considered as
exclusive events organized by AJC.
3. The respective discussions wereparticipated in by high-level CLMV
ranking ofﬁcials such as:(i) Mr. Vu Dai Thang, Vice Minister, Ministryof Planning and Investment, Viet Nam(ii) Dr. Souphanh Keomixay, Minister ofPlanning and Investment, Lao PDR(iii) Mr. Sok Chenda Sophea, Minister
attached to Prime Minister and Secretary
General of Council for the Development,
Cambodia

1. Policy recommendations by participating Japanese
1. Established close collaboration
stakeholders are expressed directly to the CLMV
between Japanese stakeholders
Ministers and other high-ranking ofﬁcials.
(local authority and business
community) and CLMV countries. 2. Ofﬁcial and up-to-date information on investment/
economy are directly shared with the Japanese business2. Ofﬁcial information relating tocommunity
CLMV economic and investment
conditions are disseminateddirectly to the Japanese business
community in Tokyo and otherlocal cities in Japan.
3. Timely transfer of updated
information on investment
policies and regulations.
4. Speciﬁc industry discussions
highlight CLMV national
priorities to Japanese investors.

ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSIS ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE

41

TABLE 5. PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL FRAMEWORK — TRADE AND INVESTMENT PROMOTION ACTIVITIESFY2018 ACTIVITIES (1 SEPTEMBER 2018 - 31 MARCH 2019)
Objectives

Key outputs

Networking with
1. Share regional economy/
Japanese investors ininvestment-related
local cities
information with theJapanese business
community by conducting
lectures and pre-departure
training programs.
2. Provide up-to-date
information where ASEAN
information has not been
updated or available.
3. Offer new company
strategies to the Japanesebusiness community inlocal cities based on thecurrent investment climateof ASEAN Member States.
4. Foster networking
relationships between
ASEAN and Japan
government ofﬁcials
responsible for investment
promotion.

1. In line with AEC 2025 III. C.
Under this program, 15 bilateral dialogue
Communications 90. i. ii. iii. & v.,
and networking activities were conducted for
networking programs contribute
1,800 participants by Cambodia, Malaysia,
to investment promotion and the
Myanmar and the Philippines together with
regional economic integration ofJapanese stakeholders including potential
ASEAN.
investors and supporting organizations in thelocal cities of Nagoya, Takamatsu, Maebashi,
2. The networking sessions help foster
Sendai, Saitama, Naha, Shizuoka, Hamamatsu,
ASEAN business relationships withKumamoto, Fukui, Sapporo, Hiroshima,
Japanese stakeholders at local
Fukuoka and Osaka.
prefecture cities across Japan.
3. These activities promoted betterawareness of ASEAN Member Statesamong the business communities
across Japan.

ASEAN regional
programs

1. To disseminate information, 1. Under this program, 12 ASEAN update
seminars were organized at the ASEANpromote and increase
Japan Hall, AJC, in Tokyo.
awareness on ASEAN
economic integration
2. Each seminar provided up-to-date(ASEAN Economic
information on the latest trade andCommunity) andinvestment issues faced by ASEAN with ainvestment.
total of over 1,000 participants including
Japanese investors interested in the
2. To provide the latest
ASEAN region.
information to the Japanesebusiness community
on ASEAN Economic
Community and topicspeciﬁc information suchas economy updates andinvestment-related laws.

Dissemination andoutreaching:

II. Publication

1. Update and maintain tradeand investment related
pages on the AJC website
periodically.
2. Publish relevant trade andinvestment materials.
3. Disseminate information
regarding ASEAN trade andinvestment-related events
through e-mail magazine
distribution database.

42

ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSIS

I. Website

Relevance

1. These seminars promoted betterawareness and understandingof ASEAN among Japanesestakeholders.
2. Up-to-date information on ASEAN
economic integration and businessinformation was presented toJapanese stakeholders including
SMEs.
3. In line with AEC 2025 III. C.
Communications 90. iii, these
ASEAN-update seminars help
promote awareness through regularpublication of updates on economic
activities and opportunities

AJC has supported 32 trade and investment- 1. Dissemination of relevant
information of the ASEAN Member
related events in Japan and in ASEAN
States such as trade and investment
Member States by disseminating information
policies and incentives and relevant
through AJC’s e-mail magazine with its
laws and regulations.
extensive list of subscribers to reach out more
to potential traders and investors.
2. In line with AEC 2025 III. C.
Communications 90 iii, maintaining
the access to ASEAN Integrated
Website.

Core values and measurements
Quality

Efﬁciency

Effectiveness/Impact

1. Japanese stakeholders expressedsatisfaction and appreciation that the
networking sessions co-organized
by AJC were a good way for directly
receiving up-to-date information on
ASEAN economies.
2. The ASEAN Member State ofﬁcials
conveyed their appreciation for
networking activities for expanding
their business communication network
to other cities across Japan

1. Close collaboration between
AJC, ASEAN Member States andlocal agencies and authorities ofJapan.
2. By personally visiting Japanese
corporations and industries,
ASEAN ofﬁcials were able topropose direct cooperation withJapanese stakeholders.
3. ASEAN ofﬁcials were able
to directly convey theirinvestment policies and businessenvironment and gain direct
feedback and recommendations
from Japanese stakeholders.

1. Japanese business communities in local cities were able
to receive direct and ofﬁcial information. Business issues
and challenges were discussed during these networking
sessions.
2. Ofﬁcial links were established between ASEAN
government ofﬁcials and local Japanese businessassociations.

1. Participants were highly satisﬁed withthe seminars.
2. Based on results from the seminars'
evaluation questionnaires, it was
conﬁrmed that the majority of theparticipants (96%) thought the lectures
were informative, useful and timely.

1. Close collaboration between
AJC and the ASEAN Member
States.
2. Updated information on ASEAN
presented directly to Japanesestakeholders.
3. Deepening and focusing on
speciﬁc ASEAN related issues/
industry and new policy
information to help prepare
Japanese stakeholders including
investors for successfully
entering the ASEAN market.

1. Japanese stakeholders received updated information
relating to ASEAN trade and investment policies.
2. Better awareness about ASEAN among Japanesestakeholders.
3. Japanese business community gains better knowledge
about ASEAN, leading to more informed investment
decisions.

1. Update and maintain trade andinvestment-related pages in the AJC
website periodically.
2. Publish relevant trade and investment
materials.
3. Disseminate information regarding
ASEAN trade and investment-related
events through e-mail magazine
distribution database.

1. Able to post new publications
through the AJC website ande-mail magazine.
2. Cost performance of
maintenance of website - smaller
budget with utilization of endusers (reaching out to as many
stakeholders).

1. Beneﬁciaries - for Japanese business community; better
opportunity to get information on ASEAN.
2. AJC becomes better known by its publications.
3. The number of AJC e-mail magazine subscribers, who
are interested in doing business in ASEAN and explore
information on ASEAN, has reached more than 15,000.

ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSIS ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE

43

6. Tourism Promotion Activities
To help the ASEAN Member States in realize the ASEAN Tourism Strategic Plan 2016-25 andfurther promote the tourism traffic between ASEAN and Japan, major activities have been
implemented by the ASEAN-Japan Centre (AJC). The highlight results and impacts of eachactivity in FY2018 are as follows:

A. W
 orkshop on sustainable tourism: agritourism
Date:
14-19 October 2018
Organizer: ASEAN-Japan Centre
Place:
Tokyo and Aomori prefecture, Japan
Participants: 21 from the ASEAN Member States
The Centre invited management-level tourism stakeholders from the government and private
sectors of the ASEAN Member States to participate in the workshop on agritourism. After aseries of lectures in Tokyo on Japan’s latest overseas travel and agritourism, the participants
visited Aomori prefecture to study how different local communities are making efforts topromote agritourism.

Inspecting rice field art 

Visiting apple farm

B. Theme-based tourism promotion<Outbound promotion>i. Seminar on educational travel to ASEAN
Date:
1 August 2018
Organizer: ASEAN-Japan Centre
Place:
Osaka, Japan
Participants: 69 people from schools and travel industry
The Centre introduced ASEAN as a destination forschool excursion and language training, with updated
information from ASEAN NTOs and an airline, as well
as a presentation by a school that actually chose theASEAN Member States as school trip destination.

Seminar on educational travel to ASEAN

44

Sixty-nine people attended the seminar from schools
and the travel industry. Furthermore, a mini travel mart
was organized after the seminar where a total of nineorganizations/travel agents disseminated information
to seminar participants.

ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSIS

ii. Seminar “The Industrial Revolution 4.0: Importance of Technology and Innovationin Tourism”
Date:
4 September 2018
Organizers: ASEAN-Japan Centre, Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT)
Place:
Hanoi, Viet Nam
Participants: 54 people from the tourism industry in Hanoi
Two experts from Japan delivered presentations on trends in Japanese people’s overseas travel
as well as digital tourism, and introduced how to analyze and use data collected from social
media (or social listening) to promote inbound tourism to Viet Nam. A speaker from Viet Namshared his experience on their online travel business.

iii. C LMV tourism promotion through Instagram
Date: February and March 2019
The Centre assigned four influential Instagrammers tovisit CLMV to introduce the destinations through their
Instagram accounts. A total of eight Instagram posts (twoposts/country) were made to showcase the destinations
to their 175,000 followers who are mostly young females.
Additionally, 40 visual images and four short video clips
were provided for future promotion of the Centre.

<Inbound promotion>i. Technical visit to Fuefuki city, Yamanashi
Date:
23 August 2018
Organizers: ASEAN-Japan Centre and Fuefuki city
Supporter: Kanto District Transport Bureau(Ministry of Land, Infrastructure,
Transport and Tourism)
Participants: 12 participants from ASEAN embassies/
government offices in Tokyo
The Centre organized a technical visit for representatives
from ASEAN embassies and related agencies in Tokyo
to Fuefuki city in Yamanashi prefecture, as one of theCentre’s inbound tourism promotion activities. The
program was conducted with an invitation by Fuefuki citywith support from the Kanto District Transport Bureau.

Representatives of ASEAN officials and Fuefuki city

ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSIS ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE

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C. T
 raining program on interpretation
Date:
1-6 November 2018
Organizer: ASEAN-Japan Centre
Place:
Tokyo and Shizuoka prefecture, Japan
Participants: 11
The Centre invited site managers of national parks/
natural heritage sites and officers from national tourism
offices and natural resource management offices fromeight ASEAN Member States to participate in the
training program on interpretation in Japan.
After attending lectures in Tokyo, the participants
moved to Fujinomiya city in Shizuoka prefecture, which
is a city located in the foothills of Mt. Fuji, designated as a
World Heritage site. The program included inspectionsof community-based ecotours that incorporate theinterpretation method, lectures by experts and thecity’s Tourism Division that explained the importance ofthe partnership between public and the private sectors
in developing responsible local tourism. To conclude
the training program, each participant designed andpresented an ecotour program/action plan applying theinterpretation method.

Inspection of Mt. Fuji

Additionally, a follow-up activity of the training wasorganized in Luang Prapang, Lao PDR from February
27 – March 1, 2019 by inviting those who attended thetraining in Japan and also local tourism stakeholders inLuang Prabang. It was co-organized with Luang Prabang
Department of Information, Culture, Tourism, andthe international cooperation office of GIZ (Deutsche
Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit).
The participants are expected to contribute to thedevelopment of sustainable tourism in their respective
countries (subject to post activity survey done inlate 2019).
Seminar in Luang Prabang

D. C apacity building programs in ASEAN
Three workshops/seminars provided up-to-date information on Japan’s overseas travel market and otherrelevant topics to stakeholders in the respective ASEAN
Member States. The Centre arranged suitable Japaneseexperts to deliver customized presentations on theseoccasions to meet the needs of the counterparts.

i. “Tourism Marketing Seminar” in Myanmar“Tourism Marketing Seminar” in Myanmar

46

Date:
30 November 2018
Organizer:
ASEAN-Japan Centre
Co-organizer: Ministry of Hotels and Tourism, Myanmar
Supporter:
UNWTO Regional Support Office for
Asia and the PacificPlace:
Mandalay, Myanmar
Participants: 118

ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSIS

ii. “ Workshop on Tourism Product Development” in Viet Nam
Date:
27 November 2018
Organizer:
ASEAN-Japan Centre
Co-organizer: Vietnam National Administration of Tourism
Supporter:
UNWTO Regional Support Office for Asia and the PacificPlace:
Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam
Participants: 69

iii. “ Accessible Tourism for All” workshop in Indonesia
Date:
7 December 2018
Organizer:
ASEAN-Japan Centre
Co-organizer: Ministry of Tourism of Indonesia
Place:
Belitung Island, Indonesia
Participants: 71

Open Forum at “Workshop on Tourism Product”

Group Photo of “Accessible Tourism for All” workshop

E. E vents at the ASEAN-Japan HallThe Centre organized four events and seminars at the ASEAN-Japan Hall of the AJC to promote
ASEAN tourism, highlighting the diversified cultural and tourism attractions of the ASEAN
Member States, and focusing on their uniqueness and authenticity to reach a wider range of theJapanese public and the travel industry.
• Visit Laos Year event
28 May 2018 (72 participants)• Indonesia photography seminar
18 June 2018 (43 participants)• Javanese gamelan and dance concert
and workshop
10 June 2018 (67 participants)• Isan music and travel to Lao PDR event
9 September 2018 (79 participants)

Workshop at Javanese dance event

H.E. Prof. Dr. Bosengkham Vongdala, Minister of Information, Culture andTourism Lao PDR at the tourism seminar

ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSIS ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE

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F. A
 SEAN Tourism Awards Japan 2018
Date:
6 March 2019 (award ceremony)
Organizer:
ASEAN-Japan Centre
Place:
Tokyo, Japan (award ceremony)
Number of entries: 76
The Centre expanded previously organized Mekong Tourism Award to all ASEAN Member
States, to encourage Japanese travel companies to produce unique and quality tour products
from Japan to ASEAN destinations.
The judging committee consisting of the members of the Japan Association of Travel Agents(JATA), Overseas Tour Operators Association of Japan (OTOA), and the ASEAN-Japan Centre
carefully screened all of the 76 entries, and selected awardees.
Ten travel companies, as well as land operators and airlines were awarded in six award categories,
namely, New Destination Award, Unique Tour Award, Luxury Travel Award, Sustainable Tour
Award, Mekong Award and Jury’s Special Award. Awarded tours were featured on a popular
website that introduces tours for consumers, which contributed in drawing more attention
from travelers.

Awarding ceremony in Tokyo

G. O
 utreach activity
i. Events
Events and number of participants:
Kanku Tabihaku (43,000), Laos
Festival (150,000), Tourism EXPO
Japan (207,352), Okinawa Tabi Festa(25,000), Haneda Outbound Travel
Fair (40,000)
The Centre participated in major
tourism events in Japan to distribute/disseminate tourism information tovisitors and delivered presentations.

AJC booth at Tourism EXPO Japan

48

ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSIS

ii. A SEAN Tourism Forum
Date:
Organizers:

15 and 17 January 2019
ASEAN Secretariat, Ministry of Sports and Tourism of Viet Nam and Vietnam
National Administration of Tourism
Place:Ha Long, Viet Nam
Participants: Tourism Ministers, National Tourism Organization representatives and tourism
stakeholders of the ASEAN Member States and their dialogue partners
including China, Japan and Republic of Korea
The Secretary General and staff members of the Centre participated in the annual ASEAN
Tourism Forum and gave presentations on the Centre’s tourism related activities at the
47th Meeting of the ASEAN NTOs and the 22nd Meeting of the ASEAN Tourism Ministers.
Furthermore, two bilateral meetings were held at the request of the governments of Brunei
Darussalam and Cambodia.

ASEAN Tourism Forum

Bilateral meeting with the Minister of Primary Resources and Tourism,
Brunei Darussalam

Bilateral meeting with the Minister of Tourism, Royal Government of
Cambodia

ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSIS ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE

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TABLE 6. PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL FRAMEWORK — TOURISM PROMOTION ACTIVITIESObjectives

Key outputs

To respond to the need forWorkshop on
sustainable tourism: updating tourism productknowledge and trends foragritourism
ASEAN tourism stakeholders(14-19 October
2018 in Tokyo and
Aomori prefecture)

1. Twenty-one ASEAN tourism stakeholders
gained a better understanding ofagritourism in Japan: i.e. various
approaches to agritourism thatgovernment/private sectors should know,
as well as best practices and challenges inJapan.
2. Fifty-six measures were taken by ASEAN
participants as a result of the workshop.

Theme-based
tourism promotion(Outbound)

1. Educational travel in ASEAN
1. To provide the latest- Sixty-nine Japanese teachers, school
tourism and market
representatives and travel agents were
information to stakeholders.
updated on educational travel to ASEAN
2. To enhance ASEAN
Member States.
tourism stakeholders'I. Seminar on- Nine organizations/travel agents set up acompetitiveness.
educational travel
booth at Mini Travel Mart after the seminar.
to ASEAN in Osaka- AJC presented Japan's tourism market(1 August 2018 )with the focus on educational travel in
HCMC.
II. Presentation
2. Technology in tourism
during International- Fifty-four tourism stakeholders increased
Tourism Expo
their understanding of the latest overseas
Ho Chi Minh City
travel market of Japan and how to use(HCMC)
social media effectively in tourism(7 September 2018)
promotion. AJC dispatched two Japaneseexperts.
III. Seminar on
3.
Accessible tourism
technology in- Seventy-one tourism stakeholders fromtourism in Hanoi
the ASEAN Member States deepened(4 September 2018)
their knowledge of accessible tourism andRelevance
1. The project contributes to ASEAN's
strategy to diversify tourism
products.
2. Agritourism in Japan is gaining
popularity among tourists from Asia.

1. The projects help to enhance thecompetitiveness of ASEAN as asingle tourism destination (ASEAN
Tourism Strategic Plan 2016-2025/
ATSP).
2. The projects helped raise thecapacity and capability of humancapital of ASEAN Member States(ATSP).
3. The projects help to diversify
tourism products.

accessible tourism products of Japan. AJC
dispatched two Japanese experts.

IV. Accessible
tourism for all
workshop in
Belitung, Indonesia(7 December 2018)
Theme-based
tourism promotion(Outbound)

CLMV tourism promotion

50

ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSIS

1. To provide the latest tourism attractions to
consumers through Instagram posts.
2. A total of eight Instagram posts by fourinﬂuencers on CLMV countries (each on two
countries).
3. Forty visual images of CLVM for AJC's future
promotional use.
4. Four short promotional movies of CLMV.

1. Highlighted tourism attractions of
CLMV destinations to potential young
female travelers through Instagram
posts.
2. More tourism stakeholders are
shifting to social media to promote
destinations. This promotion throughInstagram posts is an effective way
to reach the young female market as
the total number of followers of the 4
Instagramers is 175,000.
3. The Instagram promotion contributes
to ATSP “Intensify Promotion andMarketing“.

Core values and measurements
Quality
1. All participants reported that the
program helped them to deepen theirunderstanding of agritourism.
2. Instances of media coverage: 30

Efﬁciency

1. ASEAN tourism stakeholders deepened their
1. Utilized AJC's network with
understanding of Japan's approach to agritourism andindustry stakeholders to selecthow local communities in Japan are using it to vitalize
lecturers of the workshop andtheir communities.
site-visit destinations that best
match the program. In particular, 2. Encouraged two-way tourism by inviting ASEAN
Aomori prefecture provided
participants to visit a Japanese locality.
full support in arranging the3.
Strengthened networking among the Japanese travel
program in the prefecture.
industry/government and ASEAN NTOs (National
2. Worked closely with NTOs in 10
Tourism Organizations).
ASEAN Member States to selectparticipants for the efﬁcient
implementation of a workshop.

1. Worked closely with JATA,
1. A total of 64% of participants who
ASEAN NTO ofﬁces in Japan andattended the Education Travel in
the Japan School Tours Bureau.
ASEAN seminar strongly considered
ASEAN as their educational travel
2. Worked closely with VNAT, thedestination. (Questionnaire survey)
Tourism Department of HCMC
and the Ministry of Tourism of
2. A total of 50% of participants of theIndonesia to materialize theTechnology in Tourism seminar replied
seminar.
that they will apply what they learned in
the seminar in their work.
3. The workshop in Indonesia was
implemented with the country's
3. A total of 94% of participants of
National Activity budget, with an
Accessible Tourism for All workshop
additional budget from AJC.
found the program very useful or useful.

Performance of the each inﬂuencer:*Percentages show engagement, namely,
actions taken by viewers (likes, comments,
shares, saves). The basis is the number offollowers.
Inﬂuencer 1)
Post on Lao PDR : 3,701 (Likes), 3.76%
Post on Myanmar : 4,547 (Likes), 4.6%
Inﬂuencer 2)
Post on Lao PDR: 802 (Likes), 3.08%
Post on Myanmar: 752 (Likes), 2.87%

Effectiveness/Impact

1. Strengthened networks with ASEAN NTOs in Japan.
2. Increased awareness among the travel industry andschool representatives which should lead to a greaternumber of Japanese schools considering ASEAN as an
educational travel destination.
3. Result of post-seminar questionnaire survey on theparticipants shows that 64% of them “strongly consider
ASEAN as an educational travel destination“ comparedwith 24% who are currently choosing a destination.
4. Strengthened networks with VNAT, HCMC and MoT
Indonesia.
5. Provided information on Japan's overseas travel market,
with the focus on educational trips, to stakeholders in
HCMC as one of the speakers at the seminar organized
by HCMC6. Provided information to the travel industry in Viet Namon how to effectively utilize big data collected from social
media.
7. Provided information on accessible tourism tour
packages and programs in Japan, to stakeholders inIndonesia as well as from some ASEAN Member States.

1. Support from an airline, hotels and Highlighted tourism attractions of CLMV to potential young
female travelers through various pieces of web content byland operators to minimize costinﬂuential Pro-Travelers.
was secured.
2. All inﬂuencers produced additional
voluntary contents on CLMV
outside of contracts as follows:
A total of 14 IG posts, 137 IG
stories, one piece of Yahoo
content, four YouTube videos,
and an appearance at an airline's
seminar.

Inﬂuencer 3)
Post on Cambodia: 1,188 (Likes), 3.26%
Post on Viet Nam 1,213 (Likes), 3.33%
Inﬂuencer 4)
Post on Cambodia: 510 (Likes), 2.72%
Post on Viet Nam : 429 (Likes), 2.28%

ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSIS ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE

51

TABLE 6. PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL FRAMEWORK — TOURISM PROMOTION ACTIVITIESObjectives
Theme-based
tourism promotion(Inbound)

Key outputs
To respond to the emerging
ASEAN market as a source ofJapan's inbound tourism.

Relevance

Highlighted Japan's tourism attractions to
missions of the ASEAN Member States inJapan.

Helped to expand tourism exchangewith foreign countries (Japan Tourism
Agency).

1. Provided a ﬁve-day training program
consisting of lectures, a visitor experience,
and a workshop in Japan for nationalpark managers/government ofﬁcers tounderstand and experience the effective
use of an interpretation method.
2. Organized a follow-up program in Lao
PDR, to further strengthen the capacity ofsite-managers from ASEAN through thecase studies in Lao PDR. Also local tourism
stakeholders were invited to learn about
interpretation through the seminar andworkshops.

Supported capacity-building for
tourism stakeholders who are involvedin the management of heritage sites.

(Visit to Fuefuki
city, Yamanashi
prefecture on 23
August 2018)
Training program
on interpretation

To provide an opportunity
for ASEAN national park
managers/governmentofﬁcers to learn how(Training programinterpretation can be used to— 31 October - 6
November 2018 in improve the sustainability ofTokyo and Shizuoka the sites, its visitor services
and raise public awarenessprefecture)
toward conserving tourism
resources.
(Follow-up program— 27 February - 1
March 2019 in
Luang Prabang, Lao
PDR)

1. The training was attended by 11
participants from eight ASEAN
Member States, including:- Three site managers from nationalparks;- Six ofﬁcers from national
governments, in charge of
tourism promotion, environmental
conservation and natural resourcesmanagement; and- Two ofﬁcers from regional
governments.
2. Ten participants from the ASEAN
Member States attended thetraining in Japan to further develop
their skills.
Local tourism stakeholders
consisting of government ofﬁcers,a travel agency, tour guides,
and university educators also
participated in the program at thenational heritage site city, Luang
Prabang.
<Participants>
Seminar: 49
Workshop: 37
Training session: 36

Capacity-building
CLMV tourism promotion
programs in ASEAN
Seminar/workshop
in Myanmar (30November 2018)
and Viet Nam (27November 2018)52

1. The participants increased their knowledgeof the latest information on Japan's overseas
travel market and how to better appeal to themarket.
2. The participants increased their knowledgeof the potential for tourism development in
Myanmar and Viet Nam.

ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSIS

Supported capacity building for tourism
stakeholders in the ASEAN Member
States to narrow intra-ASEAN subregional gaps.

Core values and measurements
Quality

Efﬁciency

1. Number of participants who joined thetechnical visit from ASEAN embassy
and government ofﬁces: 12
2. Instances of media coverage: 30

The program was fully supportedby the Kanto District Transport
Bureau of the Ministry of Land,
Infrastructure, Transport andTourism who linked AJC to Fuefukicity.

1. Participants enhanced theirunderstanding of interpretation andincreased their skills in planning aninterpretive program.
Before the training, only 9% of theparticipants answered that they arecapable of making an interpretive
program. However, after the training,
82% answered that they are capable ofmaking an interpretive program.
2. A total of 98% of seminar participants
reported that they have gained
new knowledge of interpretation.
Furthermore, 97% of participants
answered either “strongly agree“ or“somewhat agree“ to the statement,“I understand how interpretation
can be used to beneﬁt local people
and protect local culture and theenvironment“, showing the enhanced
understanding of how interpretive
methods can be used to promotesustainable tourism in Luang Prabang.

1. Natural heritage managers were 1. Participants drafted 11 new programs using
interpretation, including:requested to attend the program- New ecotours/community-based tours;
through the ASEAN Heritage- Plans to improve existing ecotours/community basedParks (AHP) Committee andtours; and
ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity.
- Action plans for new initiatives such as organizing
Also participants from thetraining on interpretation.
tourism sector were invited
Participants received one-to-one coaching from thefrom CLMV countries by thelecturer to develop new programs of interpretation which
appointment from Ministry ofwere later submitted.
Tourism in each country.
2. ASEAN participants reported that they have either
2. By co-organizing with a local
conducted or proposed programs of interpretation, orDepartment of Information,
shared their learning with their ofﬁce, community, andCulture, Tourism, and thestakeholders.
international cooperation ofﬁce
of GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für 3. All participants from ASEAN and local areas obtained aInternationale Zusammenarbeit),
basic understanding of interpretation, and improved their
the responsibilities and the costs
tour products using interpretative methods. With reviews
were co-shared for effectiveon the local tour by the lecturer and other participants,
operation.
practical skills and checkpoints were discussed to
improve their guiding techniques and interpretation skill.
4. According to the post-program survey, 79% ofparticipants answered “strongly agree“ to the statement“I gained new knowledge of interpretation“.
5. At the training for trainers session, the participants
designed ecotours in their familiar sites using interpretive
methods. The percentage of respondents who “strongly
agreed“ with the statement “I am capable of training“
increased from 21% to 47% after the training, showing
the growing conﬁdence among the participants to
conduct training for the local community to disseminate
knowledge on interpretation, as a result of AJC’s training.

Number of participants:
118 (Myanmar) and 69 (Viet Nam)
Instances of media coverage: 30

1. Co-organized the programs with
the Ministry of Hotels and Tourismof Myanmar, and Vietnam National
Administration of Tourism.
2. UNWTO Regional Support Ofﬁce
for Asia and the Paciﬁc supported
the programs by sending theirstaff member to be one of thepresenters. AJC dispatchedanother expert from Japan.

Approximately 20% of the respondents
answered that the seminar was very
informative for both Myanmar and Viet
Nam, and 70% of them answered it was
informative, respectively.

Effectiveness/Impact
1. The program not only highlighted the tourism of
Fuefuki city but also agriculture and advanced waste
management.
2. The visit was reported in the online Manila Times.

1. Provided information on the latest Japanese outboundmarket and trend of Japanese travelers.
2. Contributed to increasing the understanding of the Japanese
tourism market by describing and discussing how to promote
attractions/destinations and attract quality tourists to
Myanmar and Viet Nam in order to receive more tourists.
3. Result of survey to participants:
Q) Did you gain new knowledge of the Japanese tourist
behavior and market?
Very much + Quite a lot = 66% (Myanmar)
89% (Viet Nam)
Q) Did you gain new ideas on product development
targeting Japanese tourists?
Very much + Quite a lot = 60% (Myanmar)
72% (Viet Nam)

ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSIS ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE

53

TABLE 6. PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL FRAMEWORK — TOURISM PROMOTION ACTIVITIESObjectives
Events at theASEAN-Japan Hallof the AJC

Key outputs
To disseminate ASEAN
tourism information to
the travel industry andthe general public, andstrengthen relations
with ASEAN's tourism
stakeholders.

Enhanced the knowledge of ASEAN andmade it more attractive as a single tourism
destination among Japanese people.

Relevance
Organized events and seminars at theASEAN-Japan Hall to promote ASEAN
tourism as follows:
1. Visit Laos Year event
28 May 2018 (72 participants)
2. Javanese gamelan and dance
concert and workshop
10 June 2018 (67 participants)
3. Indonesia Photography Seminar
18 June 2018 (43 participants)
4. Isan Music and Travel to Lao
PDR event
9 September 2018 (79 participants)

1. To encourage the Japanese
ASEAN Tourism
travel industry to diversify
Awards Japan 2018
their tourism products to
ASEAN.
(6 March
2. To highlight the importance
2019:award
of sustainable tourism.
ceremony)
3. To raise the proﬁle of AJC.

Tour products to ASEAN received the ASEAN
Tourism Awards Japan, helping to stimulate
the Japanese travel industry to produce
unique tour products to ASEAN.

Organize the ASEAN Tourism Awards
Japan for the ﬁrst time, by expanding
the previous Mekong Tourism Award
to stimulate the Japanese travelindustry to further produce uniqueand quality tour products to ASEAN
destinations.

Outreach activities

1. Highlighted the AJC's activities to tourism
stakeholders in the ASEAN Member States byparticipating in ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF)
in January 2019 in Viet Nam and other ASEAN
tourism meetings.
2. Publicized ASEAN tourism attractions to theJapanese travel industry and consumers byparticipating in major tourism events.
3. Gave a presentation on ASEAN tourism
attractions at Kanku Tabihaku, Okinawa Tabi
Festa and Haneda Outbound Travel Fair.
4. Provided the latest tourism information
through a website, Facebook and Instagram.
5) Provided photos of ASEAN destinations
through Online Photo Library.

Helped to enhance the competitivenessof ASEAN as a single tourism destination(ATSP).

54

1. To strengthen relations
with ASEAN's tourism
stakeholders.
2. To disseminate ASEAN
tourism information to thetravel industry and thegeneral public in Japan.

ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSIS

Intensiﬁed promotion and marketing(ATSP).

Core values and measurements
Quality

Efﬁciency

Effectiveness/Impact

Highlighted diversiﬁed attractions of theASEAN Member States focusing on theirunique and authentic culture and travel
destinations.

1. Worked closely with embassies
and stakeholders to organize theevents effectively.
2. Fully utilized e-newsletters,
websites, and other social media
to announce, promote andrecruit participants of the events.

1. Provided opportunities for both the travel industry andJapanese general public to learn about useful travel
information, less-known destinations and the rich cultureof the ASEAN Member States.
2. By arranging resource persons, AJC managed to provide
informative seminars and events that will satisfy frequent
travelers and those who already have a basic knowledgeof ASEAN.
3. These events helped the visitors to deepen theirknowledge of ASEAN.

Number of entries from travel agents: 76,
compared with 31 in the previous year.

1. High-proﬁle travel professionals
from JATA (Japan Associationof Travel Agents) and OTOA(Overseas Tour Operators
Association) have been involved
in deciding awardees.
2. JATA and OTOA supported
the activity by publicizing the
program through e-newslettersto their members.
3. ASEAN NTOs and airlines inJapan supported the activity by
nominating tour products andencouraging travel agents tosend entries.

1. Encouraged Japanese travel companies, land operators
and airline companies to design diversiﬁed products toappeal to different consumers.
Award categories:
New Destination Award (one)Luxury Travel Award (one)Unique Tour Award (two)Sustainable Tour Award (two)Mekong Award (four)
Jury's Special Award (one)2. Stimulated more Japanese travel companies to sell tours
to ASEAN destinations.
3. The number of entries increased greatly from theprevious year's 31 due to the fact that the target countries
were expanded to all ASEAN Member States, instead of
the previous CLMV.

1. Worked closely with ASEAN
Secretariat and ASEAN NTOs.
2. Utilized a network with tourism
event organizers.
3. Made more connections with
ASEAN's tourism industry players.
4. Reached a wider audience byparticipating in the existing events
which have a large number ofvisitors.

1. Strengthened relations with ASEAN NTOs.
2. Introduced AJC's activities to ASEAN's Tourism Ministers(ATF). During the ASEAN Tourism Ministers' Meeting,Tourism Ministers of the ASEAN Member States expressed
appreciation to AJC for its effort to promote ASEAN
tourism in Japan.
3. Two bilateral meetings were held with the Cambodia
Minister and the Brunei Minister during ATF to increase
Japanese tourists in their respective countries (ATF).
4. Strengthened networks with ASEAN-China and ASEANKorea Centres during ATF as well as by attending theirprograms.
5) Introduced ASEAN tourism attractions to the tourism
industry and consumers in Japan.

Instances of media coverage: 125
Increased attention on the Awards
attracted more entries and media
coverage.

1. Increased visibility of AJC- AJC attended three ASEAN tourism
meetings- AJC attended seven meetings during
ATF including two bilateral meetings
2. Dissemination of ASEAN tourism
information- Reached out to visitors of ﬁve major
tourism events: Events and number ofvisitors - Kanku Tabihaku (43,000), Laos
Festival (150,000), Tourism EXPO Japan(207,352), Okinawa Tabi Festa (25,000),
Haneda Outbound Travel Fair (40,000)- A total of 492 people registered for
AJC Online Photo Library to download
ASEAN tourism photos.
- A total of 281 new images of the ASEAN
Member States were added to improve
the photo library.

ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSIS ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE

55

7. People-to-People Exchange Promotion Activities
With the mission of promoting people-to-people exchange, the ASEAN-Japan Centre (AJC)
has placed importance on the exchange program for ASEAN-Japan women entrepreneurs.
Additionally, the Centre has conducted exchange programs for Japanese children and students
to further promote understanding, friendly relations, networks and partnerships. The programs
are also corresponding to the leaders’ Vision Statement on ASEAN-Japan Friendship andCooperation and its implementation plan to further strengthen ASEAN-Japan relations andsupport ASEAN Community Vision 2025.

A. ASEAN-Japan Women Entrepreneurs’ Linkage Program (AJWELP)
Date:
27–30 January 2019 (workshop, business presentation event, company visits)
Organizer:
ASEAN-Japan Centre
Co-organizer: SME Corporation Malaysia
Supporters:
ASEAN Coordinating Committee on Micro, Small and Medium (ACCMSME)ASEAN Secretariat (ASEC), ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ABAC),ASEAN Women Entrepreneurs Network (AWEN)
Place:
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Number of participating entrepreneurs: 23(10 country representatives or finalists and 13
independent participants)
Number of supporting companies: 27
Number of instances of support offered to thefinalists: 134
The Centre organized the 3rd ASEAN-Japan Women
Entrepreneurs’ Linkage Program (AJWELP) in Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia from 27 to 30 January 2019. AJWELP
aims to create an opportunity for startup women
entrepreneurs in ASEAN whose business is less than
five years old to establish networks and linkages with
Business presentation by startups

Snapshot from the 3rd AJWELP

56

ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSIS

supporting companies, mentors, and other peer women entrepreneurs. Participants are
expected to bring back the knowledge and experience gained from the program and reflect
them in their business, and eventually become business leaders and role models to junior
women entrepreneurs.
AJWELP consisted of various programs including a business presentation which is the main
event, workshops on entrepreneurial leadership and presentation skills by the international
master trainers of the Empretec program of UNCTAD, mentors’ session, and company visits.
It was participated by 10 finalists who are country-representing participants of ASEAN Member
States and 13 voluntarily nominated independent participants. Four successful women
entrepreneurs joined AJWELP as mentors to share their experiences and provide advice, while
27 supporting companies offered their products/services to support the participating women
entrepreneurs.

B. Youth exchange
i. ASEAN Kids Day 2018
Date:
4 August 2018
Organizer: ASEAN-Japan Centre
Supporters: Minato city, Minato City Board of Education
Venue:
ASEAN-Japan Hall of the AJC
Participants: Approximately 280 people
The annual event for children was organized at ASEANJapan Hall, aimed at helping improve children’sinternational understanding by introducing them tothe culture of ASEAN and related activities. Children
experienced Malay traditional martial arts “Silat”, andsaw a performance of Vietnamese foot badminton called“Da Cau”. In addition, the Centre held workshops called“ASEAN Spice Class” for children to learn about spices andto make original spices, and “ASEAN Artificial Fruit Making
Class” to make tropical fruit in ASEAN with plastic clay.

“ASEAN Artificial Fruit Making Class”

ASEAN Kids Day 2018

ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSIS ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE

57

ii. ASEAN introductory classes at elementary schools in Kanto region
Organizer:
ASEAN-Japan Centre
Venue:
Elementary schools in Kanto region, Japan
Number of schools: 18
Number of students: 2,005
The Centre arranged ASEAN Introductory Classes at elementary schools to help children to
improve their international understanding by introducing them to culture and other basic factsof the ASEAN Member States. Topics to highlight during classes were decided in consultation
with the respective schools, and ranged from school life to popular children’s games in the
ASEAN Member States. The Centre expanded this activity from one elementary school in thepast to 18.

Q&A session

Experiencing popular children’s game

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ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSIS

iii. Joint activity with Japan Student Tourism Association (JSTA) and Scoot
Date:

Visit to Bangkok by Group 1 / 3–4 September 2018;
Group 2 / 13–14 September 2018
Organizer: ASEAN-Japan Centre
Supporters: Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), Japan Association of Travel Agents (JATA),
Scoot and Dusit Thani International
A total of 10 JSTA member students visited Bangkok using Scoot/Nok Scoot flights. Prior totheir visit, the Centre, TAT and Scoot briefed the students on the ASEAN Member States andThailand. Their experiences in Bangkok were shared through their social media that reached12,309 viewers as well as at a seminar during the annual Tourism EXPO Japan. Through theprogram the Centre was able to disseminate information on how traveling with LCC is easy andless expensive to encourage more university students to travel to ASEAN destinations.

JSTA member students visiting Bangkok

Sharing experience at Tourism EXPO Japan

ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSIS ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE

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TABLE 7. PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL FRAMEWORK —PEOPLE-TO-PEOPLE EXCHANGE PROMOTION ACTIVITIESFY2018 ACTIVITIES (1 SEPTEMBER 2018 - 31 MARCH 2019)
Objectives

Key outputs

ASEANJapan Women
Entrepreneurs’
Linkage Program(AJWELP)

1. To enhance women
empowerment in ASEAN
and Japan.
2. To increase knowledge
about women's
entrepreneurship andprovide them with more
economic opportunities.

ASEAN-Japan Women Entrepreneurs'
Linkage Program (AJWELP)

Youth exchange

To provide an opportunity
for Japanese children andthe young generation toexperience and know ASEAN
culture through various
activities for them to develop
an understanding about
ASEAN Member States.

ASEAN Kids Day

Date: 27-30 January 2019
Place: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Date: 4 August 2018
Place: ASEAN-Japan Hall, AJC

ASEAN Introductory Class
Place: Elementary schools in Kanto region,
Japan

Joint activity with Japan Student Tourism
Association (JSTA) and Scoot60

ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSIS

Relevance
1. Organize a business linkage
program for women startups of
ASEAN Member States and potential
supporters and mentors.
2. Invite women entrepreneurs fromASEAN Member States and Japan toattend the event in Kuala Lumpur.
3. Provide a platform for mutual
understanding and sharing of views
among ASEAN and Japanese woman
entrepreneurs.
4. Provide an opportunity for startups
to learn entrepreneurship, leadershipand presentation skills through themethodology of the UNCTAD's
Empretec program.
5. Provide an opportunity for startups
to visit successful companies in Kuala
Lumpur.
Organized “ASEAN Kids Day,“ an event
for ASEAN and Japanese children tolearn about ASEAN people's daily life,
culture and nature.

1. Arranged ASEAN introductory classes
with different themes, at elementary
schools in the Kanto region.
2. Helped children to improve theirinternational understanding by
introducing them to culture and otherbasic facts of the ASEAN Member
States and related activities.
1. Promoted ASEAN tourism among
Japanese university students throughtheir social media posts. The students
also shared their experiences via apresentation during Tourism EXPO
Japan (TEJ) for an audience of about
50 people.
2. Promoted LCC among Japaneseyouth.
3. The students made a movie of theirtrip to Thailand also. For most of them,it was the ﬁrst time to visit an ASEAN
Member State.
Group 1: 3-4 September 2018
Group 2: 13-14 September 2018
4. Participants: 10 JSTA member
students
5. Total social media views: 12,309

Core values and measurements
Quality

Efﬁciency

Effectiveness/Impact

1. Co-organized the event with SME
Corporation Malaysia.
2. The program was supported by- ASEAN Coordinating Committee
on Micro, Small and Medium(ACCMSME)- ASEAN Secretariat (ASEC)- ASEAN Business Advisory Council(ABAC)- ASEAN Women Entrepreneurs
Network (AWEN)
3. Workshop partner: United
Nations Conference on Trade andDevelopment (UNCTAD).
4. This collaboration enabled AJC toreach relevant participants as well as
supporting companies.

1. Provided an opportunity for ASEAN
entrepreneurs to exchange views.
2. Provided women startups with anoccasion to learn from successful
entrepreneurs from ASEAN Member
States and Japan and further develop a
possible partnership.
3. Provided a customized training
program for the participants fromASEAN and Japan.
4. The networking reception and award
ceremony was attended by the Deputy
Prime Minister and other high-rankofﬁcials of Malaysia.
5. Number of linkages: 134 (for 10
ﬁnalists)

1. Number of activities: 1
2. Instances of media coverage: 45
3. Number of visitors: 280
4. Of the participants, 73% reported that they would
want to attend similar events in future; 52% of themmentioned having understood Southeast Asia;
61% of them would want to visit Southeast Asian
countries sometime; and 58% of them wanted to get
to know more about Southeast Asian countries.

The event was supported by the IndonesianEmbassy, ASEAN NTO Ofﬁces in Tokyo,
Japan Freestyle Football Association andothers.

Introduced ASEAN Member States tochildren of ASEAN and Japan throughactivities such as Silat, Da Cau, writing
names in languages of the ASEAN Member
States, as well as craft making.

1. Number of schools: 18
2. Number of students: 2005
3. A report in school newsletters & websites, thankyou cards from the students to lecturers, andacknowledgements from teachers to AJC.

Utilized resources of ASEAN residents/
students in Japan to minimize costs andtime.

1. Provided opportunities for Japanesechildren to learn about ASEAN
countries directly from ASEAN
nationals.
2. Increased the number of school visitsfrom 1 in the previous years, to 18.

1. Prior to the students' visit to Thailand, AJC, Tourism 1. To vitalize outbound tourism among
the youth, it is more effective to
Authority of Thailand and Scoot gave a lecture on
provide occasions to enhance
ASEAN Member States and Thailand.
exchanges among the youths. AJC will
2. AJC provided an opportunity for university students
continue to provide such platform to
to know more about Thailand and travel by LCC.
continue to enhance youth exchange.
Through students' social media posts and the2.
AJC organized two trips to Bangkok
presentation at TEJ, the Japanese general public
for the JSTA students with full support
could learn how the university students choose andfrom Scoot, Tourism Authority ofplan travel destinations.
Thailand, Dusit Thani International andJapan Association of Travel Agents.

1. Result of questionnaire survey toaudience of seminar during TEJ:
22% - strongly wanted to visit ASEAN
76% - wanted to visit ASEAN.
2. By disseminating information on how
traveling with reliable LCCs such as
Scoot is easy and less expensive, AJC
encouraged more university students
to travel to ASEAN.

1. Number of activities: 5
2. Number of participating entrepreneurs: 23
3. Number of supporting companies: 27
4. Instance of media coverage: 114
The presence of high-level government ofﬁcials
focused attention on this project, and concrete
linkages created by this project will have led to further
business growth of these startups.

ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSIS ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE

61

8. PR Activities
A. Media Coverage
The extensive media coverage of the Centre’s activities, regardless of the format — print,
broadcast, or website — has contributed to enhancing the visibility and profile of ASEAN as wellas the Centre. Eighty-four newspaper articles, 3 TV and radio programs, 16 magazine articles
as well as 1,439 websites and others, for a total of 1,542, featured the Centre or its activities
in FY2018. The Centre made efforts to reach out to the ASEAN media to raise its profile in
the region. For example, the Centre placed a two-page advertorial in The Business Times on
December 24, 2018; and in FY2018, the share of foreign media reached 24.6% of the total, thehighest level in the last five years.
Further to promote its activities, the Centre regularly issues press releases. In FY2018, a total of
39 (Japanese: 24, English: 15) were issued. Among these press releases, 24 were distributed toJapanese media through the PR Times, a press release distribution agent, at a cost of around
745,000 yen, which resulted in instances of media coverage worth 17 times more than the cost,
if it were calculated as paid column spaces by the agent.

Samples of media coverage in FY 2018

Number of times covered by the media
1 800

1 542

1 600
1 400
1 200
1 000

800

888

958

1 158

732

600
400
200
0

FY2014FY2015FY2016FY2017FY2018

Note: D oes not include the articles/reports mentioning AJC as a supporter of the event for FY2014–FY2017 (in FY2018,
there are 96 in total). Only those which are identified by AJC.

62

ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSISTABLE 8. INSTANCES OF MEDIA COVERAGE
Number of times covered by the media
Media source
Newspaper
TV & Radio
Magazine
Website & Others
Total

FY2014
125
26
19
718
888

Number of times covered by foreign media
Media source
Newspaper
TV & Radio
Magazine
Website & Others
Total

FY2014
14
5
3
51
73

Share of foreign media (%)

8.2

FY2015
120
17
23
572
732

FY2016
95
9
16
838
958

FY2017
66
26
12
1 054
1 158

FY2018
84
3
16
1 439
1 542

FY2015
5
10
4
35
54

FY2016
18
3
1
150
172

FY2017
15
4
0
259
278

FY2018
14
2
0
363
379

7.4

18.0

24.0

24.6

Note: D oes not include the articles/reports mentioning AJC as a supporter of the event for FY2014–FY2017 (in FY2018, there are 96 in total).
Only those which are identified by AJC.

B. Website and SNS
As for promotional activities through online platforms, the Centre modified the design of the
top page of the Centre’s official website to better showcase its activities. The Centre has also
strengthened use of SNS and started to operate its Twitter and LinkedIn accounts, in addition
to its Facebook and Instagram, in September 2018. These SNS are utilized to disseminate
information posted on the website.

C. ASEAN-Japan Hall
The ASEAN-Japan Hall is symbolic of the partnership between the ASEAN Member States andJapan. The Centre has made efforts to fully utilize the hall for events and activities to promote
ASEAN-Japan relations. In FY2018, 33,595 people visited the hall in total, or on average 137
people per workday.

Number of visitors to the ASEAN-Japan Hall
7 000
6 000
5 000
4 000
3 000
2 000
1 000
0

Apr

May

Jun

Jul
FY2016

Aug

Sep

Oct

FY2017

Nov

Dec

Jan

Feb

Mar

FY2018ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSIS ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE

63

TABLE 9. NUMBER OF VISITORS TO THE ASEAN-JAPAN HALL
As of March 31, 2019

Year

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Jan

Feb

Mar

Total

FY2016

1 877

2 086

2 558

3 667

3 029

1 729

3 257

1 844

2 044

2 049

2 508

4 036

30 685FY2017

1 730

2 515

2 116

2 286

1 778

1 976

4 320

2 907

3 027

1 083

1 995

2 928

28 661FY2018

1 873

1 894

2 811

1 573

2 679

2 376

5 461

3 690

2 966

2 063

6 209

4 055

33 595

D. Supporting Events
The Centre also supported 126 activities organized by other agencies in FY2018. The Centre has
proactively involved itself in many of these activities, recognizing that they indicate part of thedirection the Centre should consider taking in the future.

E. Hosting Group Visits

Briefing to students from Aichi prefecture

The Centre has been hosting group visits for years aspart of promotional activities. It has provided various
learning programs on ASEAN and the Centre for thesevisitors. For example, the Centre has devised a learning
program of ASEAN matters for Japanese young people,
using the pamphlet “ASEANPEDIA” (with 53,000
copies printed since it was launched in March 2015).
The program is becoming popular among Japanese
schools. As a result, the Centre hosted 45 groups, a totalof 795 visitors, from throughout Japan in FY2018. The
Centre believes that hosting group visits can effectively
promote ASEAN and the Centre to young people,
including those in smaller towns in Japan, and thus it
would strengthen the partnership further.

Visit by the SSEAYP participating youths

64

ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSIS

Thank-you letters from visitors

F. On-site ASEAN Lectures
The Centre has been conducting on-site ASEAN lectures for external organizations, mainly
universities, as one of its outreach efforts. In FY2018, it conducted a lecture series at Gakushuin
Women’s College to provide university freshmen with a general orientation on mattersconcerning the ASEAN Member States in a variety of socio-cultural, economic and politicalaffairs. It also conducted a lecture series on ASEAN at Kokushikan University. These students
can then nurture an outward-looking spirit that enhances the globalization efforts at their
universities, as well as in their own professional careers.

Lecture at University of Tokyo (Dec 2018)

Lecture at Saitama University (May 2018)

ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSIS ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE

65

9. ASEAN National Activities
Every ASEAN Member State has the authority at its own discretion to fully utilize the annual
budget under the chapter “ASEAN National Activities” for its own promotional activities, either
in Japan or in the ASEAN Member States concerned.
In FY2018, an amount of ¥4,138,800 was allocated for respective ASEAN Member States toundertake its promotional activities as follows.

66

COUNTRY

PROMOTIONAL ACTIVITIESBrunei
Darussalam• Media Coverage of Brunei Halal Showcase (BruHAS)• Promotion of Bruneian Culture and Cuisine During Brunei Week
• Printing materials to be used for the promotion of investment and trade in
Brunei

Cambodia• Printing Booklets of ASEAN Economic Community to Generate Public
Awareness• Investment Promotion and Facilitation Study Mission Program• Cultural Performance to Attract More Japanese Visitors to Cambodia:
Kingdom of Wonder - Feels the WarmthIndonesia• Travel Expenses to Attend the 38th Annual Meeting of the Council of the AJC• 4th International Biomass Expo
• FOODEX Japan 2019
• Composing of Indonesia Investment Guidebook• Translating Regulations in Japanese Language• ASEAN-Japan Workshop on Accessible Tourism; Driving Awareness towards
Accessible Destination for 10 New Bali

Lao PDR• Seminar on Export to Japan through E-commerce• Dissemination Workshop: Economic Integration and First Protocol toAmend the Agreement on comprehensive Economic Partnership Among
ASEAN-Japan• Attending the 38th Annual Meeting of the Council of the AJC• Seminar on Benefits and Challenges in Mekong Regional Connectivity to
Facilitate Economic Development of Lao PDR• Capacity Building in Tourism Marketing and Promotion for Tourism Private
Sectors in Khammuan Province

Malaysia• Organizing the Trade seminar "Malaysia - Your Trading Partner in Fukui"• Export Acceleration Mission on Creative Multimedia and Contents to Japan,
in Conjunction with Tokyo Game Show 2018
• Participation in the Promotion Event at Malaysia Fair 2018
• Export Acceleration Mission on Food and Beverage Products to Japan,
in Conjunction with FOODEX Japan 2019
• Participation in the Japan Long Stay Fair and Seminar 2018
• Capacity Building Program for End of Life Vehicle (ELV)• High Level Dialogue and Networking with Business Communities andBusiness Matching Between Malaysian and Japanese Companies inTokyo and Osaka during the Trade and Investment Mission to Japan
Led by MITI's Minister• Organizing the Trade Seminar "Malaysia - Your Trading Partner in Hokkaido"• Special Online Info/Promo Page on Melaka• Dialogue between Regional Director of MIDA with Potential Investors
in Osaka• Dialogue between Regional Director of MIDA with Potential Investors
in Niigata

Myanmar• Training on Investment Promotion Strategies• Exhibition at the JATA Tourism Expo 2018
• Seminar for Improving Tea Products Value Chain• Myanmar Business Forum in Osaka• Printing of the pamphlet

ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSIS

COUNTRYPROMOTIONAL ACTIVITIESPhilippines• Power Hour: -1st Media Round Table Discussion with Secretary Diokno• Hibla Ng Lahing Filipino Traveling Exhibit• Go Lokal! Launching and MSME Promotion During Investments and Trade
Events in Japan• Experience the Philippine Zone
• Visit the Philippines: it's more fun in the Philippines (Participation in Global
Festa)• 2nd Series of Power Hour: Media Roundtable Series with Undersecretary Karl
Kendrick T. Chua• 3rd Series of Power Hour: Media Roundtable Series with National Treasurer
Rosalia De Leon
• Promoting Tourism using Advanced Technology• Tourism Promotional Materials for the Philippines as part of the Revamped
Campaign

Singapore• Reprint of 46,000 Copies of Japanese Singapore Official Guide Vol. 16• Research of Japanese Market and Japanese Brands to Promote Trade andBusiness Partnerships through e-commerce in ASEAN• Mission to Japan for Trade Promotion in line with FOODEX Japan Exhibition

Thailand• Thai Bento Promotion at Japanese Supermarket / Hypermarket in North
Honshu, and Lucky Draw Rewards for Thai Food and Products Promotion
at TV Shopping Channel in Japan• Production of Thai Select Restaurant Directory• Cooking Lessons and Thai Food Menu Development for Food Service andModern Trade

Viet Nam• Travel Expenses to Participate in the 38th Annual Meeting of the Councilof the AJC• Seminar on Promoting Agricultural, Aquatic and Marine Products toJapanese Market in Can Tho City
• Seminar on "Bilateral Trade / Investment and Non-equity model (NEM)"
in Hanoi• Leaflet of Viet Nam / VIETRADE in Japanese Version• Organizing Buying Mission from Japan to Viet Nam Food Expo 2018
Organized by Viet Nam Trade Office in Tokyo• Organize Viet Nam Trade Cooperation Seminar and Business Matchingin Osaka

ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSIS ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE

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68

ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSIS

III. USE OF FY2018 BUDGET
The total amount of the budget for FY2018 was JPY601,864,601 including the special fundamounting to JPY65,825,601 which was transferred from the unappropriated balance for
FY2016 by the decision of the 37th Annual Meeting of the Council.
The unappropriated balance for FY2018 was JPY27,761,653.
The annual audit for FY2018 was conducted by an external auditing firm. For detailed accountsof revenues and expenditures, see the “Financial Statements for the year ended March 31, 2019”.
(https://www.asean.or.jp/en/ajc/reports/fa/).
The Annual Report on Revenues and Expenditures of the ASEAN-Japan Centre for FY2018 wasapproved by the Council by correspondence on July 12, 2019.

ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSIS ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE

69

ANNEXES
Annex A
List of Council Directors (as of March 2019)
COUNTRYNAME

POSITION

GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION

Brunei
Darussalam

Ms. Hajah Norhayati binti Haji
IsmailMinister Counsellor

Trade Facilitation and Promotion Division
Ministry of Finance and Economy

Cambodia

H.E. Mr. Chann Rotana

Director-General

General Department of ASEAN
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International
Cooperation

Indonesia

Ms. Arlinda

Director General

Directorate General of National Export
Development (DGNED), Ministry of Trade,Japan

Mr. Shigeki Takizaki

Director-General

Southeast and Southwest Asian Affairs
Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Lao PDR

Mr. Latsamy Keomany

Director-General

ASEAN Department,
Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Malaysia

Ms. Ahmad Hisham Idris

Senior Director

ASEAN Economic Integration Division,
Ministry of International Trade and Industry

Myanmar

H.E. Mr. Thurain Thant Zin

Ambassador

Embassy of the Republic of the Union of
MyanmarPhilippines

Mr. Eduardo M.R. Menez

Deputy Chief of Mission

Embassy of the Republic of the Philippines

Singapore

Mr. Tan Soon Kim

Assistant CEO

Enterprise Singapore

Thailand

Ms. Banjongjit Angsusingh

Director-General

Department of International Trade
Promotion (DITP), Ministry of Commerce

Viet Nam

Mr. Vu Ba Phu

Director General

Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency(VIETRADE), Ministry of Industry and Trade70

ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSIS

List of Executive Board Representatives (as of March 2019)
COUNTRYNAME

POSITION

GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION

Brunei
Darussalam

Mr. Ian Maidin

Charge d‘Affaires adinterim

Embassy of Brunei Darussalam

Cambodia

Mrs. Kem Saroeung

Commercial Counsellor

Royal Embassy of Cambodia

Indonesia

Ms. Retno Supeni

Minister Counsellor

Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia

Japan

Mr. Masahiko Mitsumoto

Deputy Director

Regional Policy Division,

Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau,
Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Lao PDR

Mr. Bounnhong Boutthavong

Minister Counsellor and
Deputy Chief of Mission

Embassy of Lao PDR

Malaysia

Mr. Shah Nizam Ahmad

Director

Malaysia External Trade Development
Corporation (MATRADE),Tokyo Office

Mr. Riduan Rahman

Director

Malaysian Investment Development
Authority (MIDA), Tokyo Office

MyanmarMs. Ei Ei Khine

Economic Counsellor

Embassy of the Republic of the Unionof Myanmar

Philippines

Ms. Cassandra Karemaeh

Second Secretary andConsulEmbassy of the Republic of the Philippines

Singapore

Mr. Sean Ong

Centre Director
North Asia & PacificGroupEnterprise Singapore

Thailand

Mr. Sarig Ubolbarn

Minister Counsellor(Commercial)

Office of Commercial Affairs,

Viet Nam

Mr. Ta Duc Minh

Commercial Counsellor

Embassy of the Socialist Republicof Viet Nam

B. Sawadjaan

Tokyo OfficeRoyal Thai Embassy

ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSIS ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE

71

Annex B

CENTRE’S ORGANOGRAM IN FY2018

Secretary General
Mr. Masataka Fujita

Office of General Affairs (OGA)
Secretary to Secretary Generaland Head of General Affairs:
Ms. Ryoko Kuwasaki

Office of theSecretary General (OSG)
Director of Operations:
Mr. Aung Moe Chai(in charge of RPA and TI Clusters)

Mr. Vathouniyom Douangmala(in charge of CB and TE Clusters)

Senior Executive Officer:
Ms. Yuka Kubota

Operational Department

Research andPolicy Analysis(RPA) Cluster

Capacity
Building(CB) Cluster

Trade
and Investment(TI) Cluster

Tourismand Exchange(TE) Cluster

Assistant Directorand Headof RPA Cluster:
Mr. Yasushi Ishida

Assistant Directors
and Headsof CB Cluster:
Mr. Chhau Somethea
Ms. Ani Aziz

Assistant Directors
and Heads
of TI Cluster:
Mr. Hirota Nakanishi
Ms. Ani Aziz

Assistant Directorand Headof TE Cluster:Ms. Mizuho Kanda(as of March 2019)72

ASEAN-JAPAN CENTRE ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018: RESULTS AND IMPACT ANALYSIS