The Asia Research Institute (Chair Kuriyama Naokazu; secretariat on Palaceside Building 4F) hosted a luncheon lecture by Foreign Minister Kishida Fumio at the Imperial Hotel in Chiyoda Ward. With Prime Minister Abe and Minister Kishida traveling widely, Kishida noted visits to about 30 countries in the past year—distance equal to 8.7 Earth circumferences, talks with some 250 leaders and ministers, and 41 international conferences—highlighting their globe-spanning diplomacy.
Kishida cited three pillars: ① stronger Japan-U.S. alliance, ② cooperation with neighbors, ③ economic diplomacy for revival
—evaluating each. ① saw the first joint visit by Secretaries Kerry and Hagel for a 2+2 with Japan's foreign and defense ministers; ③ noted global praise for Abenomics and resource/energy visits to the Middle East and Africa. ② lags—no summit yet with China or Korea—so he keeps calling for dialogue.
A Hiroshima native, Kishida is known for commitment to nuclear abolition. As the only A-bombed nation, Japan leads the Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Initiative (NPDI) and appointed high-school "youth non-nuclear ambassadors."
President Obama visits in April; whether Abe and Hiroshima-born Kishida can realize a visit to a bombed city is a major focus.
Kishida leads the LDP Kochikai lineage of former PM Ikeda—some hope for "moderate conservatism." (Text: Asia Research Institute; photo: Aramaki Masayuki)