The Griffith Asia Institute and Ritsumeikan University in Japan, supported by the Japan Foundation hosted the 5th Annual Australia-Japan Dialogue in Brisbane on Thursday 10 December. A timely event, given that last month both countries defence ministers moved to further enhance bi-lateral military cooperation, with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull expected to continue discussions during a visit to Japan later this month.

The dialogue is designed to examine where policy is converging and where it is diverging in the case of Australia and Japan, the Dialogue brings together leading academic and policy experts from both countries.

The Ambassador of Policy Planning and International Security Policy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan, Mr Toshiro Iijima addressed the Dialogue on Thursday morning, as did First Assistant Secretary, Mr Graham Fletcher, from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

The dialogue sessions included:

– The Regional Security Environment: Overview of Issues, Actors, and Trends
– Legislative Action on Security
– Executive Influence and Accountability in Security Policy Making and Implementation
– Government Perceptions of the Contemporary Regional and International Environment
– Changes in Australian and Japanese Party Politics – Electoral issues and political trends

Papers from the dialogue will be available early next year.

The dialogue was preceded by the fourth Annual Australia-Japan Lecture as part of the Perspectives:Asia series, in which Ambassador Iijima spoke about “Japan’s Greater Contribution to Peace, Security and Stability in Asia”.  To watch the lecture click here.