Ambassador Odano makes his Key Note Speech
Events and Announcements
12 december 2008
The 11th Annual Conference on Japan-EU Relations was held at the Egmont Palace Brussels on November 24th and 25th. Ambassador Odano delivered a key note speech to the assembled diplomats, academics, and students, an edited version of which can be viewed below.
Ambassador Odano spoke about Japan-EU relations in a global context, and emphasised how Japan and the EU can cooperate to tackle the numerous challenges facing the international community.
Full details of the conference including PDFs of some of the other speeches and presentations can viewed here.
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Summary of Ambassador Odano’s Key Note Speech
At the 11th Annual Conference on EU-Japan Relations
November 24, 2008
Since I arrived in Brussels in August, we have witnessed a significant amount of international turmoil. By highlighting some international challenges, I would like to take this opportunity to discuss with you Japan-EU relations in a global context.
The conflict in Georgia in August came as a great shock to people in Europe. At the Georgia Donor’s Conference in October in Brussels, a high-level Japanese delegation announced an economic cooperation package of up to $200 million. Japan’s substantial assistance clearly demonstrates that the situation in Georgia is not simply a European concern, but a global one. Japan aligned itself with the EU in the Caucasus because Japan shares with the EU the same fundamental values and principles of freedom, democracy, the rule of law, human rights and a market-based economy. The package announced by Japan at the conference includes loan aid for the improvement of the East-West transport corridor as well as humanitarian assistance. Together with the EU, we support a diplomatic solution to the Georgia question based on the principle of territorial integrity.
Ten days ago, world leaders gathered in Washington D.C. and agreed on several concrete measures with a time frame to combat the current financial and economic crisis. The French presidency along with other large European countries participated. Japan, which currently holds the G8 Presidency, brought with it the experience of overcoming a similar crisis in the 1990s. Among the concrete proposals announced by Japanese Prime Minister Aso, was one where Japan would be ready to finance up to 100 billion dollars to the IMF.
African development is yet another area where Japan and the EU share many common goals and should continue to deepen their cooperation. In order to make progress in this area, the Fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD IV) was held in Yokohama, Japan in May this year. From the European Commission, Development and Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Louis Michel made the trip to Japan. At the conference, Japan emphasized the importance of achieving the Millennium Development Goals and announced a doubling of its ODA to Africa over the next five years, as well as plans to assist in doubling both FDI from the Japanese private sector to Africa over the next 5 years and Africa’s rice production over the next 10 years.
Moving to another pressing global issue, climate change, it is essential that we establish an effective and practical international framework beyond 2012 for reducing global emissions in which all major emitting countries can participate. Japan, together with the EU, will spearhead the negotiations for an ambitious agreement at the COP15 meeting in Copenhagen in 2009.
Looking back at Japan-EU relations, we can see that certainly it was not always smooth sailing. However both sides always managed to convert challenging periods into opportunities for strengthening our relations through close dialogue.
At the end of the 1980s, Japanese-European relations centred on trade, and were not without some friction. As we now know, the disputes over trade did not last. Today, the number of Japanese companies operating in the EU is approximately 3200, including 750 manufacturing companies. They create more than 330,000 jobs in Europe. In 2007, the net flow of direct investment from Japan to the EU amounted to 23 billion dollars, which eclipses the corresponding figure of 18 billion dollars from the U.S. In the same year, the EU had about 60 billion dollars of FDI stock in Japan making the EU the largest investor in Japan. I should note that this data was calculated at a rate of 100 yen to the dollar.
In other areas too, our relationship has matured. As the EU’s European Security and Defence Policy has been developing, political dialogues between Japan and the EU have also been rapidly increasing. Beyond these dialogues, we are now seeing a real momentum in our political cooperation in areas such as peace building in Africa and border management in Central Asia.
The coordination mechanisms between Japan and the EU include the annual Japan-EU Summit and other political as well as economic dialogues. One of the clearest results of this bilateral cooperation is that Japan’s generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) are expected to be recognized as equivalent to that of the EU’s by the end of this year. Furthermore to date there have been 29 inter-parliamentary dialogues between the Japanese Diet and the European Parliament.
The close linkages between Japan and the EU through dialogues such as the ones I have mentioned are only possible because both sides are open minded, share the same values, and possess a firm belief in the benefits of bilateral cooperation. Reflecting on what I have said, it should be easy to understand that while newly emerging economic partners are increasingly important for us, the fundamental values which we share make the EU and Japan natural partners working towards common goals while making good use of our vast resources.
The incoming U.S. administration will certainly bring a new dynamism to the international community. At this point of transition, it is high time that Japan, and the EU rediscover and realize their great potential to cooperate in tackling the global challenges we face. I do hope similar efforts will be made in academic circles and I wish this conference great success.