So Four Cabinet Ministers (Two of Them Exes) Walk into a Symposium…

Nikkei Shimbun and CSIS held a symposium on October 26. The following is the list of the participants:

Japan:

Genba, Koichiro (DPJ): Minister of Foreign Affairs

Hayashi, Yoshimasa (LDP); former Minister of Defense

Ishiba, Shigeru (LDP): former Minister of Defense

Kitaoka, Shinichi: Professor, GRIPS

Maehara, Seiji (DPJ); Minister for National Policy (DPJ)

Yabunaka, Misoji: former Administrative Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs

United States:

Armitage, Richard: former Deputy Secretary of State

Campbell, Kurt: Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs

Green, Michael: former Senior Director for Asian Affairs, National Security Council (Senior Vice President for Asia, CSIS)

Hamre, John: former Deputy Secretary of Defense (President, CSIS)

Nye, Joseph: former Assistant Secretary of Defense

Campbell and Green are Japan hands and the other three (as well as CSIS) have been long associated with Japan. And who delivers the keynote speech? Kurt Campbell, Assistant Secretary of State.

This is what we are, where we are, in the Asia-Pacific region, which was the subject of the symposium. The DPJ and LDP should take heed.