More than 40 Japanese and German politicians, policy experts, business leaders, and journalists gathered in Berlin to discuss key issues facing Japan, Germany, and their bilateral relationship. After kicking off with a reception hosted by the Foreign Minister Taro Kono, the participants reviewed the domestic challenges facing each country and the political responses, discussed the implications of a “world without global leadership,” the future of robotics and its social impact, focusing on Germany-Japan technological collaboration. The participants also paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
While the discussions were off the record, a joint statement will be submitted to Prime Minister Abe and Chancellor Merkel that documents the common challenges highlighted during the discussions and outlines recommendations for German-Japanese cooperative action. JCIE serves as the Japanese secretariat for the program, while the Japanese-German Center Berlin acts as the German secretariat.
Wednesday, November 15
Session I: Domestic Challenges and Political Response
Session II: World without Global Leadership
Thursday, November 16
Session III: The Future of Robotics and its Social Impact
CHAIRMAN | |
Matthias NASS | Chief International Correspondent, Weekly Newspaper DIE ZEIT |
PARTICIPANTS | |
Dr. Matthias BARTKE | MP (SPD) |
Rainer BISCHOFF | Head of Corporate Research, KUKA Roboter GmbH |
Prof. Dr. Verena BLECHINGER-TALCOTT | Professor, Free University Berlin |
Dr. Friederike BOSSE | Secretary General, Japanese-German Center Berlin (JDZB) |
Prof. Dr. Gesine FOLJANTY-JOST | Professor, University Halle-Wittenberg |
Prof. Dr. Hanns W. MAULL | Senior Distinguished Fellow, German Institute for International and Security Affairs |
Lars NICOLAYSEN | Tokyo Bureau Chief, German Press Agency |
Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Heinz RIESENHUBER | Former Federal Minister for Education and Research |
Petra SIGMUND | Regional Director for East and South-East Asia, Federal Foreign Office |
Dr. Sabine STRICKER-KELLERER | Lawyer, SSK Asia |
Prof. Dr. Franz WALDENBERGER | Director, German Institute for Japanese Studies |
Hanno D. WENTZLER | Member of the Executive Council, Freudenberg Group |
Ambassador Dr. Hans Carl von WERTHERN | German Ambassador to Japan |
Gerhard WIESHEU | Partner, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG |
Christian WULFF | Lawyer and former President of Germany |
CHAIRMAN | |
Eizo KOBAYASHI | Chairman, ITOCHU Corporation |
PARTICIPANTS | |
Yasunori FUJI | Director & Senior Executive Officer, Tsumura & Co. |
Koichiro GEMBA | Member, House of Representatives, Former Minister for Foreign Affairs |
Takeyoshi IDE | Representative Director, President and Chief Executive Officer, YANASE & Co., Ltd. |
Nobuo INABA | Chair of the Board of Directors, Ricoh Company, Ltd.; Senior Counselor, Ricoh Institute of Sustainability and Business |
Norihiko ISHIGURO | Senior Executive Vice President, NEC Corporation |
Hideto KAKINOKI | Executive Officer and Head of Project Planning Office, Nikkei Inc. |
Izuru KATO | President, Totan Research Co., Ltd. |
Yoko KAWAMURA | Professor, Department of Cross-Cultural Studies, Faculty of Humanities, Seikei University |
Shinichi KITAOKA | President, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) |
Minoru KIUCHI | Member, House of Representatives, Liberal Democratic Party (LDP); Former Senior Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs |
Toshiaki MIURA | Political and Diplomatic Correspondent, Asahi Shimbun |
Tetsuo NARUKAWA | Director, Nippon Soda Co., Ltd.; Director, Okasan Securities Co., Ltd. |
Kunio NOJI | Chairman of the Board, Komatsu. Ltd. |
Akio OKAWARA | President, Japan Center for International Exchange |
Jiro SAITO | Adviser, Tokyo Financial Exchange Inc. |
Shinichiro SHIMIZU | Managing Executive Officer, Japan Airlines Co., Ltd. |
Prof. Dr. Takahiro SHINYO | Vice-President , Kwansei Gakuin University; Former Japanese Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany |
Toshiyuki TAKANO | Audit & Supervisory Board Member, Japan Post Co., Ltd.; Former Japanese Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany |
Hitoshi TANAKA | Senior Fellow, Japan Center for International Exchange; Chairman, Institute for International Strategy, Japan Research Institute, Ltd.; Former Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs |
Fumio TATEISHI | Chairman, OMRON Corporation |
Takeshi YAGI | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary in Germany |
Prof. Dr. Taizo YAKUSHIJI | Research Counselor, Institute for International Policy Studies (IIPS); Professor Emeritus, Keio University |
OBSERVERS | |
Isamu AKIYAMA | General Manager, ITOCHU Economic Research Institute, ITOCHU Corporation |
Makoto ISHIKAWA | Lead Research Associate, ITOCHU Economic Research Institute, ITOCHU Corporation |
Kazuhiro KATO | Principal, Global Business Planning Division, NEC Corporation. |
Kyoko KOTARI | Researcher, Institute for International Strategy, the Japan Research Institute, Ltd. |
Naoshi MIZOGAMI | Director, Strategic Corporate Relations Division, Japan Airlines Co., Ltd. |
Kazuyuki NAGASHIMA | General Manager Tokyo Bod Office Executive Assistant to Chairman, OMRON Corporation |
Kotaro OTSUKI | Director, Central and South Eastern Europe Division European Affairs Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs |
Sachiko TATEOKA | Secretary, Tokyo Board of Directors Office, OMRON Corporation |
Jun WASHIYAMA | Manager, Chairman Office Secretariat, ITOCHU Corporation |
Masahiro YOSHIKAWA | Chief Staff, Global Business Planning Division, NEC Corporation |
YOUNG LEADERS | |
Naho KAWASHIMA | Senior Program Coordinator, International Exchange Planning Division, Center for International Youth Exchange (CENTERY |
Mario KREBS | Head of Press and Public Relations, German Embassy Tokyo |
Hibiki SAITO | New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) |
Tobias PFEIFFER | Lead Engineer, Preferred Networks Inc., Tokyo |
Taketsugu ISHIHARA | Official, Central and South Eastern Europe Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs |
Hyejin LEE | Program Associate, JCIE |
Toshihiro MENJU | Managing Director and Chief Program Officer, JCIE |
Patrick ISHIYAMA | Web and Book Design, JCIE |
Ryo TAINAKA | Administrative Associate, JCIE |
Dr. Wolfgang BRENN | Head Project Manager, JDZB |
Stephan GRABHERR | Minister, Deputy of the Ambassador, Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany |
Dr. Peter KETTNER | Office Christian Wulff |
Tokiko KIYOTA | Deputy Secretary General, JDZB |
Tilman SCHMIT-NEUERBURG | Minister Counsellor, Head of Political Section, Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany |
Henning SIMON | Head of Division, Federal Foreign Office |
Marie-Theres STRAUSS | First Secretary, Political Section, Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany |
Tatjana WONNEBERG | Project Management, JDZB |
