Expanding Support for Democratic Governance

2018–Present

In 2018, JCIE launched a multi-pronged initiative to explore and expand Japan’s support for democratic governance that is based on the values of liberty, accountability, the rule of law, and individual dignity and empowerment. The initiative, also known as “Democracy for the Future,” is designed to engage Japanese leaders in dialogue with domestic and overseas experts on ways of strengthening the building blocks of democratic governance in Asia and elsewhere. The program convenes a study group of Japanese experts to identify strategies on how support for these values can be incorporated in Japan’s foreign policy and development assistance. These ideas will be shared widely to raise awareness about the importance of democratic governance among policymakers and opinion leaders. The program also engages Japanese Diet members and other senior leaders in international dialogues on issues related to democracy, and it serves as a platform to involve Japanese experts, civil society leaders, and others in international forums on the topic.

In 2021–2022, JCIE began a new nine-month project, “Japan’s Democracy: Lessons and Reflections.” The project created a platform for Japanese scholars, political and opinion leaders, and the broader Japanese public to reflect on Japan’s own experience in building a democratic society in the post-WWII era.

PROGRAM NEWS

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Diet Roundtable | Policy Dialogue for Advancing LGBT Rights and Equality in Japan

November 28, 2023

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Tokyo
JCIE brought together a group of Diet members to speak with a representative who worked on Taiwan’s campaign for marriage equality, to discuss recent Japanese legislation aimed at protecting LGBTQ people…
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Diet Roundtable | Defending Universal Values in the Indo-Pacific Region: Japan's Role Post-Hiroshima Summit

July 26, 2023

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Tokyo
JCIE brought together a group of Diet members to meet with Derek Mitchel, President, National Democratic Institute, to discuss defending human rights and universal values in the Pacific as a follow-up to the Hiroshima G7 Summit….
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Democracy for the Future | March 2023 Diet Roundtable

March 29, 2023

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Tokyo
JCIE brought together a group of leaders in the field to discuss how the international community should address human rights violations and expectations for the G7, which Japan was hosting later that year….
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Expert–Diet Member Delegation to the United States to Discuss US-Japan Cooperation on Democracy Support

September 17–20, 2019

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Washington DC
JCIE’s 30th Parliamentary Exchange Program featured a delegation that combined members of the Diet with experts in the field of democratic governance. The group traveled to the United States to explore the possibility of greater cooperation between Japan and the…

Research Team

CHAIR

YUKIO TAKASU, Former UN Undersecretary-General for Management; former Permanent Representative of Japan to the United Nations

CO-DIRECTORS

MAIKO ICHIHARA, Professor, Graduate School of Law, School of International and Public Policy, Hitotsubashi University

RYO SAHASHI, Associate Professor of International Politics, Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia, University of Tokyo; JCIE Research Fellow

MEMBERS

TAKAKO HIKOTANI, Professor, International Centre, Gakushuin University

HIROAKI SHIGA, Professor, Faculty of International Social Sciences, Division of International Social Sciences, Yokohama National University

KAORI SHOJI, Professor, Department of Political Studies, Gakushuin University

HARUKATA TAKENAKA, Professor, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies

KIMITOSHI YABUKI, Attorney at Law, Yabuki Law Offices

JCIE/JAPAN

ISAO KANO, President & CEO

HIDEKO KATSUMATA, Executive Director & COO

RYO TAINAKA, Program Officer and Administrative Officer

SHIGEKO KONDO, Program Associate

JCIE/USA

KAZUYO KATO, Executive Director

STEPHEN McHUGH, Associate Program Office