Dr. Akiko Fukushima, Professor at the School of Global Studies and Collaboration in Aoyama Gakuin University, was recently in Manila to deliver two lectures on Japan’s role in peacebuilding and security in the Asia Pacific region.
The lecture entitled “Japan’s Proactive Contribution to Peace” took place on Wednesday, March 15, 2017 at the Brother Andrew Gonzales Hall, De La Salle University-Manila. This was followed by a round-table discussion, which was attended by security and defense scholars from different universities in the Philippines.
On Thursday, March 16, 2017, the lecture on “Japan’s Proactive Contribution to Peace in an Increasingly Insecure World” was given at the Foreign Service Institute, Department of Foreign Affairs.
In these lectures, Dr. Fukushima gave an overview of Japan’s National Security Strategy (NSS) and described how this shapes Japan’s responses to trends and challenges in the regional security environment. Released in 2013, the NSS had three main objectives: first, to strengthen deterrence and prevent threats from directly reaching Japan; second, to improve the regional security environment by promoting and enhancing trust and cooperative state relations; and lastly, to improve the global security environment and contribute to building a peaceful, stable, and prosperous international community.
About the Speaker
Dr. Akiko Fukushima earned her PhD in international public policy at the Osaka University in 1997 and her master’s degree in international economy and international relations at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Johns Hopkins University in 1994. She was Director of Policy Studies at the National Institute for Research Advancement (NIRA) and a Senior Fellow at the Japan Foundation before assuming her present position. She is concurrently a member of the International Advisory Board of the EU-Asia Centre in Brussels and Nonresident Fellow of the Lowy Institute in Sydney. She was previously a member of the Japanese Government’s Advisory Council on National Security and Defense Capabilities.