The Korean Peninsula Tensions and the Role of Other Powers

26 February 2013

6:00 – 7:45pm, followed by a drinks reception to 8:45pm

13/14 Cornwall Terrace, London, NW1 4QP

 

After the “successful” launch on 12 December 2012 of yet another rocket in contravention of UN Security Council resolutions 1718 and 1874, the threat posed by North Korea appears ever more real. The stability of the Korean peninsula is not just a regional concern but also an issue for Europe, given the proliferation relationship between North Korea and Iran. How have political developments in the peninsula affected recent relations between the two Koreas? Can there be any easing of tensions between them under the new South Korean leader, Park Geun-hye? There are various reasons why multilateral engagement with, and coercion of, North Korea have failed to promote denuclearisation. Thomas Plant of ICSA, King’s College London, will consider if there is potential for progress, and look at Japan’s likely contribution under new Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Noriyuki Shikata, Political Minister at the Japanese Embassy in London, will discuss Japan’s perspective on the recent situation in the Korean Peninsula and explore the collaboration among Japan, the US, the UK, South Korea and China aimed at tackling the issue. The seminar will be chaired by Mark Fitzpatrick, Director of the Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Programme at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

Noriyuki Shikata

Noriyuki Shikata is Political Minister at the Embassy of Japan in UK.  He was Deputy Cabinet Secretary for Public Affairs, Director of Global Communications at Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) of Japan (2010-2012). He was international media spokesperson at PMO, always accompanying the Prime Ministers’ trips overseas. He was the recipient of 2011 Gold Standard Award for Political Communications, at awards hosted by Public Affairs Asia. He graduated from the Law Department of Kyoto University in 1986. After entering MOFA in 1986, he worked at the Korea desk, and graduated from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, completing its Masters in Public Policy Program (International Affairs/Security) in 1989. His previous overseas postings include the Embassy in Washington, D.C.(1989 – 91), and the Delegation to the OECD in Paris(1999-2002). Between 2004 and 2010, he was Director of Status of U.S. Forces Agreement Division, Director of International Press Division, Director in Charge of Economic Relations with North America, and Director of Economic Treaties Division, International Legal Affairs, Bureau of Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA). His publications includeEnergy Policy of the Republic of Korea (2002: IEA; contributor), amongst others.

Thomas Plant

Thomas Plant is Research Fellow at the International Centre for Security Analysis (ICSA), King’s College London.  His main research interest is in North Korean issues, though he also works on wider regional security in East Asia and, more broadly, on nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament.  He joined ICSA on secondment from the Ministry of Defence; he has also spent time at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, where he worked on proliferation issues in the Middle East and East Asia.

Mark Fitzpatrick

Mark Fitzpatrick (Chair)  is Director of the Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Programme at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) in London. His programme focuses on nuclear and missile challenges posed by Iran, North Korea and other outlier states, and on nuclear security and nuclear disarmament issues. He is the editor of North Korean Security Challenges (July 2011) and of five other IISS Strategic Dossiers on countries and regions of proliferation concern. He has lectured throughout the world and is a frequent media commentator on proliferation topics. He joined the IISS in October 2005 after a 26-year career in the US Department of State, including as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Non-Proliferation (acting). He earned a Master’s degree in Public Policy from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and he attended a one-year post-graduate study programme (1990-1991) at the Japanese National Institute of Defence, where his dissertation on Korean unification was published in journals in Japan and South Korea.

 

Political Leadership in the UK and Japan

24 April 2012

6:00 – 7:45pm, followed by a drinks reception to 8:45pm

Daiwa Foundation Japan House

Organised by the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation

The next seminar in our 2012 series Leadership: People and Power in the UK and Japan looks at political leadership. The governing party changed in Japan in 2009 and the UK in 2010. In both cases, the new ruling party had spent a prolonged period out of power, and its leaders have had to forge a coalition to achieve a majority. Japan has plenty of experience of coalition governments, but its political leaders have often been criticised for ineffective leadership, and faced particular challenges following the earthquake last spring. What can the two countries learn from each other about political leadership? And to what extent are different leadership styles required by the different institutional set-ups in each country?

Taro Kono

Taro Kono is a Japanese Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) politician and a 5th term Member of the House of Representatives in the Diet. Born in 1963, Kono graduated from Georgetown University with a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service. While in Washington, DC, Kono served for then Democratic Congressman Richard Shelby of Alabama for two years. Kono joined Fuji Xerox in 1986, moved to Fuji Xerox Asia Pacific in Singapore in 1991, and subsequently served as Managing Director at Nippon Tanshi from 1993 to 1996. Kono served in Prime Minister Koizumi’s final government as Senior Vice Minister of Justice from 2005 to 2006. Until the LDP defeat in the General Election in August 2009, Kono was the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of the Representatives. In September 2009 he ran for the Leadership of the LDP and lost to Sadakazu Tanigaki.

Professor Keith Grint

Professor Keith Grint is Professor of Public Leadership and Management at Warwick University. He is also a Visiting Research Professor at Lancaster University, an Associate Fellow of the Saïd Business School, a Fellow of the Windsor Leadership Trust, a Fellow of the Sunningdale Institute, and a Visiting Scholar at Sydney University. He is a founding co-editor of the Sage journalLeadership, and also co-edits the Sage Handbook of Leadership. He has written on various aspects of leadership, including: leadership theory (Leadership: Limits and Possibilities, 2005); historical aspects of leadership (The Arts of Leadership, 2001); leadership in the military (Leadership, Management and Command: Rethinking D-Day, 2008); and leadership in the public sector (The Public Leadership Challenge) (forthcoming) (ed. with Stephen Brookes). He wrote the literature review for ‘Strengthening Leadership in the Public Sector’ (2000) a project of the Performance and Innovation Unit (Cabinet Office).

Tadasu Takamine: Body, Mind and Expression

The Japan Foundation presents….

Japanese artist Tadasu Takamine, formerly a member of radical performance group Dumb Type, continues to take a similarly radical, and often confrontational, approach to his work. In installation and performance, as well as theatrical productions, Takamine uses a variety of approaches and range of media including images, sound, and 3D objects, placing him in a unique position as an artist who is impossible to classify or pigeonhole. One commonality which can often be seen in his work though is an awareness of the relation between the body and expression.

Takamine’s consciousness of social and political issues is also very much at the centre of his work and he is not one to shy away from challenging the viewer. This can be seen in his Venice Biennial exhibit God BlessAmerica (2002) and in Kimura-san (1998). Some of Takamine’s works have been the subject of criticism due to his bold and blunt expressions, as well as its often intimate and personal nature.

In this talk and following conversation with Prof. Fran Lloyd, Faculty of Art, Design & Architecture, Kingston University we have a chance to hear from Takamine about his unique artistic career and philosophy. This event also offers an opportunity to explore issues such as artistic expression and communication between the artist and society.

Date: 20 June 2011 from 6.30 pm

Venue: The Japanese Foundation,

Russell Square House,

10-12 Russell Square,

London,

WC1B 5EH

Booking

This event is free to attend but booking is essential. To reserve a place, please email your name and the title of the event you would like to attend to event@jpf.org.uk.