Second Japan Round Table, September 9, 2009

The second Japan Round Table, held on September 9, 2009 on ‘A New Era in Japan?’ saw an analytical discussion on the significance of the massive mandate that the Democratic Party of Japan received in the recent elections, ending five decades of almost uninterrupted rule by the Liberal Democratic Party. The key guest speakers were Makiko Takita New Delhi Bureau Chief The Sankei Shimbun, Tomoko Kiyota Visiting Fellow IDSA, Dr. Ravni Thakur Professor Department of Chinese Studies University of Delhi , Dr. Chintamani Mahapatra Professor of American Studies JNU.

The discussion focused on the likely impact of the election results on Japan ’s economic recovery strategy, its alliance with the United States , its regional relations particularly with China , South Korea and India and its global role. The DPJ’s dependence on a coalition with the Social Democratic Party and the People’s New Party to control the upper house of the Diet, it was felt, would shift the focus of the new government towards domestic welfare plans and administrative reform despite the emphasis laid by the DPJ on foreign relations in the run up to the elections. The prognosis for India-Japan relations was ambiguous. It was felt that India first needed to establish direct political contact with the new government in Japan in order to ensure that bilateral relations do not evolve merely as a postscript to Japan’s relations with the United States and China .