President Yamagiwa attends the 3rd ASEAN-Japan Workshop in Bangkok (9 June 2016)

On 9 June 2016, a Kyoto University delegation led by President Juichi Yamagiwa attended the 3rd ASEAN-Japan Workshop, held in Bangkok, Thailand. The group included Professor Kayo Inaba, executive vice-president for gender equality, international affairs, and public relations, Professor Yasuyuki Kono, director of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Professor Mamoru Shibayama, director of the Kyoto University ASEAN Center, and several administrators.

The workshop was organized by the Science and Technology in Society (STS) Forum as an opportunity for representatives from the government, industry, and academic sectors of Japan and ASEAN countries to discuss progress and potential cooperation in science, technology, and innovation. The event was co-hosted with the National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA).

Approximately 150 people attended, including Dr Pichet Durongkaveroj, the Thai minister of science and technology, Mr Shiro Sadoshima, ambassador of Japan to the Kingdom of Thailand, and Mr Kazuo Todani, deputy minister of Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), as well as delegates from universities, research institutions, and governmental and industrial sectors.

Following the keynote speech, the workshop's two sessions -- "Innovation and Linkages: Collaboration Between SMEs & Global Companies in the Era of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC)", and "Human Capital Development to Raise Collaboration and Competitiveness Through Innovation Between ASEAN and Japan" -- were held in the morning and the afternoon, respectively, providing opportunities for all participants to explore related topics together.

President Yamagiwa served as the chair for Session 2, introducing the featured speakers and presenting his own views on ASEAN-Japan cooperation and universities' role in fostering future generations. In their speeches, Dr Durongkaveroj and Mr Sadoshima both mentioned the Japan-ASEAN Science, Technology and Innovation Platform (JASTIP), and expressed hope for further collaboration between Kyoto University and ASEAN institutions.

The program concluded with an announcement that Japan and ASEAN will continue to work together to improve their global competitiveness through greater multi-sector collaboration, and that the results of this workshop will be incorporated into the STS Forum's next annual meeting, to be held in Kyoto in October 2016.

The 4th ASEAN-Japan Workshop is scheduled to take place in Indonesia in 2017.

Related links

• Kyoto University ASEAN Center
  http://www.oc.kyoto-u.ac.jp/overseas-centers/asean/en/

• Japan-ASEAN Science, Technology and Innovation Platform (JASTIP)
  http://jastip.org/en/