The 17th Japanese-German Forum was held in Berlin on November 25–26, 2008. The meeting was co-chaired on the German side by Bernhard Scheuble, chairman of the Foundation Council of the Japanese-German Center, and co-chaired on the Japanese side by Yuzaburo Mogi, chairman and CEO of Kikkoman Corporation.
The thirty-five participants in the forum gathered to discuss political and economic trends within Japan and Germany and opportunities for closer cooperation between the two countries. The global financial crisis and the common challenges faced by Germany and Japan in approaching economic reform was an issue discussed in depth at the forum. In addition, there was a session devoted specifically to energy availability and cost, a topic critical for each country in terms of both domestic economic performance and global environmental ramifications.
The participants also discussed trends in East Asian and European regional integration as well as political issues such as potential reform to the democratic process in both Japan and Germany and the upcoming elections in the US. On the afternoon of November 25th, a courtesy call was paid on German Chancellor Angela Merkel, where both co-chairmen reported on the issues covered during the two-day forum.
Tuesday, November 25
Session I: Common Challenges for Japan and Germany: The Financial Crisis and Unstable Political Conditions
Japanese Speaker
Keikichi HONDA, Chairman, BIAC (Business & Industrial Advisory Committee to the OECD), KEIDANREN)
German Speakers
Hilmar KOPPER, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Deutsche Bank
Mathias NASS, Deputy Editor-in-Chief, DIE ZEIT
Session II: Prospects for Greater Regional Integration in East Asia and Europe and their Consequences for Inter-Regional Cooperation
Japanese Speaker
Hitoshi TANAKA, Senior Fellow, Japan Center for International Exchange (JCIE); Former Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs
German Speaker
Eckart von KLAEDEN, Member of German Parliament (CDU/CSU)
Wednesday, November 26
Session III: Energy Availability and Cost: Impact on Climate Change, Economic Performance, Food Scarcity, and other Major Global Issues
Japanese Speaker
Taizo YAKUSHIJI, Member, Council for Science & Technology Policy, Cabinet Office
German Speaker
Rolf HEMPELMANN, Member of German Parliament (SPD)
Session IV: Democracy in Crisis: The Quest for Effective Systems of Governance
Japanese Speaker
Amb. Koji WATANABE, Senior Fellow, Japan Center for International Exchange (JCIE); former Japanese Ambassador to Russia
German Speaker
Dietmar BARTSCH, Member of German Parliamemt (Die Linke)
GERMAN PARTICIPANTS | |
CHAIRMAN | |
BERNHARD SCHEUBLE | Chairman of the Foundation Council, Japanese-German Center Berlin (JDZB) |
PARTICIPANTS | |
DIETMAR BARTSCH | Member of German Parliament (The Left) |
FRIEDERIKE BOSSE | Secretary General, Japanese-German Center Berlin (JDZB) |
HANS HENNING BLOMEYER-BARTEINSTEIN | Director-General for Asian and Pacific Affairs, Federal Foreign Office |
FLORIAN COULMAS | Director, German Institute for Japanese Studies |
HANS-JOACHIM DAERR | Ambassador to Japan |
HORST FRIEDRICH | Member of German Parliament (FDP) |
ROLF HEMPELMANN | Member of German Parliament (SPD) |
HANS-OLAF HENKEL | Honorary Professor, University of Mannheim |
ECKART VON KLAEDEN | Member of German Parliament (CDU/CSU) |
HILMAR KOPPER | Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Deutsche Bank |
HANNS MAULL | Professor, University of Trier; Advisor, German Council on Foreign Relations |
MATTHIAS NASS | Deputy Editor-in-Chief, DIE ZEIT |
WOLF LEPENIES | Permanent Fellow, Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin |
WOLFGANG SCHMITT | Managing Director, German Agency for Development Cooperation (GTZ) |
THEO SOMMER | Editor-at-Large, DIE ZEIT |
RAINDER STEENBLOCK | Member of German Parliament (Alliance 90/The Greens) |
FRANZ WALDENBERGER | Professor, Ludwig-Maximilian University of Munich |
JAPANESE PARTICIPANTS | |
CHAIRMAN | |
YUZABURO MOGI | Chairman and CEO, Kikkoman Corporation |
PARTICIPANTS | |
ICHIRO AISAWA | Member, House of Representatives (LDP); Former Senior Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs |
KEIKO CHINO | Columnist, The Sankei Shimbun |
KOICHIRO GEMBA | Member, House of Representatives (DPJ) |
KEIKICHI HONDA | Chair, Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD, Nippon KEIDANREN (Japan Business Federation) |
JIRO SAITO | President and CEO, Tokyo Financial Exchange Inc. |
HAJIME SASAKI | Chairman of the Board, NEC Corporation |
TAKAHIRO SHINYO | Ambassador, Japanese Embassy to Germany |
MAMORU TAKAHASHI | Statutory Auditor, Deutsche Securities Inc. |
TSUYOSHI TAKAHASHI | Special Assistant to the President, Japan Foundation |
HITOSHI TANAKA | Senior Fellow, Japan Center for International Exchange; Former Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs |
KOJI WATANABE | Senior Fellow, Japan Center for International Exchange; Former Japanese Ambassador to Russia |
TAIZO YAKUSHIJI | Member, Council for Science and Technology Policy, Cabinet Office |
TADASHI YAMAMOTO | President, Japan Center for International Exchange |
