Kiyoteru Tsutsui: Japan-ASEAN Economic Diplomacy and Minority Rights Activism

“Japan assist, not interfere.” Those are the four words that summarize Japan's foreign policy stance towards ASEAN countries, told Kiyoteru Tsutsui, the Professor of Sociology and Director of the Japan Program at The Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC), Stanford University, in the conversation. This statement is reminiscent of Ryu Hassan's comment in Endgame's earlier episodes with one of the prominent neurologists in Indonesia. He said that a happy country is a country in which its citizens refrain from infringing upon the personal boundaries of others. Japan serves as a salient example of this phenomenon. An intriguing question, then, arises: is this 'knowing one's place' attitude that is ingrained in Japanese society also manifest in its political outlook?

Kiyoteru Tsutsui's discussion with Indonesian entrepreneur, educator, and 2022-23 visiting scholar at APARC, Stanford University—Gita Wirjawan—reflects upon the 46 years of Japan-ASEAN friendship which its foundation was built by Prime Minister Takeo Fukuda. Nearly half a century later, Japan still consistently demonstrated steadfast actions to help Southeast Asia's economy, health sector, and education that can help the region foster its soft power. The three 'hear-to-heart' promises resulted in ASEAN's courteous manner toward Japan, a country that Muthiah Alagappa refers to as the 'stabilizer of the Asia-Pacific region'.

Moreover, the author of "Human Rights and the State: The Power of Ideas and the Realities of International Politics" (listed among the 10 best books of 2022 in Japan) also touches on the ethnic discrimination issue in Japan and how international human rights institutions could help to address this problem; risk of a Taiwan invasion for Japan; modern history of Japan; and his optimism on the future of ASEAN.

#Endgame #GitaWirjawan #KiyoteruTsutsui

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