Japan-China-Korea symposium, Exploring strategies for the development of the East Asian region

On February 1 to 2, 2007, The Japan-China-Korea Symposium ―Toward the formation of a new partnership and a regional identity was held under the co-auspices of Kyushu University Asia Center, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and Dongguk University of South Korea. Presenters at the symposium were represented by over 40 researchers and businesspeople from Japan, China and South Korea. The two-day symposium attracted a total of 500 participants including the general public.

In the keynote speech delivered on the first day of the symposium, both Professor Jiang Lifeng (Director, Institute of Japanese Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences) and Professor Hong Yoon Sik (Director, Center of Research in Japanology, Dongguk University) referred to values founded on harmony that are equally shared by Japan, China and South Korea. They stressed the necessity of forging the regional identity of East Asia beyond nationalism based on mutual respect for each other’s diversity. In the afternoon of the same day, presenters discussed analyses on the EU’s experience in regional integration, the current state of media exchanges and industrial partnerships, and preparations required for an aging society, along with problems that need to be addressed.

The second day was dedicated to the deepening of discussions in specialized fields in four subcommittees, that is, pop culture and underlying culture, medical ethics and bioethics, industrial partnerships, and an aging society and active aging. In the afternoon, a telephone conference was held under the title of Organ transplantation in East Asia and bioethics, linking Kyushu University, Tsinghua University and Seoul National University by high speed communication lines.

At the final plenary meeting, recommendations were adopted from the two-day-long discussions, which included promotion of joint research, multilingual broadcasting, provision of opportunities to learn each other’s language, and more active human exchange. The symposium was covered and reported by numerous media such as The Asahi Shimbun, The Yomiuri Shimbun, The Mainichi Shimbun, The Nishinippon Shimbun, and NHK.

This symposium was planned with the intention of building mutual trust through research exchanges among and between Japan, China and South Korea ― the three countries currently experiencing somewhat tense political relationships. The symposium will be held in South Korea in the latter half of this year and in China in 2008.