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Asia Undercurrent
NIKKEI FORUM FUTURE OF ASIA

Asian Prosperity Fostered by Human Exchange

“Japan is ASEAN’s most trusted partner, according to a study issued recently by the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute.” This observation was by Maria Monica Wihardja, a visiting fellow at the institute cited. She was on hand at the Nikkei Future of Asia conference to discuss human interchange between ASEAN and Japan. Wihardja was taking part in a panel discussion on May 24, the second day of the conference, with Kitti Prasirtsuk, a professor at Thammasat University, and Angeline Tan, an analyst at the Institute of Strategic & International Studies (ISIS). Moderating their exchange was Kei Koga, an associate professor at Nanyang Technological University.

THE FUTURE OF ASIA

Soft power based on human interaction

Kei Koga

Kei Koga
Associate Professor, School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University

Wihardja, Kitti, and Tan’s exchange took place concurrently as an installment of the Asia Undercurrent webinar series (see column, below) sponsored by the Japanese government and Nikkei and as a Future of Asia session. Their discussion of ASEAN-Japanese exchange was under the overall theme of “Asian Prosperity Fostered by Human Exchange.” All three of the participants studied for extended periods in Japan and drew on that experience in their remarks.

Koga invited the participants to recount their personal experience in Japan and to share their views on people-to-people relations between Southeast Asia and Japan. Wihardja kicked things off with a strategic perspective on human exchange.

“Japan’s soft power and influence in Southeast Asia is underpinned by people-to-people connections. That includes exchange programs, human capital development, technology transfers, popular culture, and tourism. Last year, I was given the opportunity to study in Japan for three months at the Japan Center for Economic Research as the Nikkei Asia Scholar. At the center, I studied the impacts of sociocultural factors, labor market reforms, and ASEAN-Japanese cooperation on Japan’s digital transformation.

Maria Monica Wihardja

Maria Monica Wihardja
Visiting Fellow, ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute

“ASEAN and Japan, in my view, are taking the right steps in redefining their relationship. Nearly 50 years ago, Japan’s then prime minister Takeo Fukuda posited ‘heart-to-heart’ ties as the foundation of ASEAN-Japanese relations. And the foundation of heart-to-heart ties is people-to-people connections. I perceive three main reasons for redefining ASEAN-Japanese relations.

“First, how Japan shapes its grand strategy amid mounting geopolitical tensions could affect its relationship with ASEAN. Japan has made a series of incremental security reforms, including the decision to double military spending as a percentage of GDP by 2027. Meanwhile, US and Japanese strategic interests may not always align in regard to managing the rise of China, and that could complicate Japan’s relations with ASEAN.

“Second, the differential in economic power between ASEAN and Japan has changed as ASEAN has gained economic heft. Japan’s per capita GDP was 20 times that of Indonesia and 40 times that of Vietnam in the 1970s and 1980s. But the multiple now is only about 10 times for both countries. Singapore’s per capita GDP has surpassed that of Japan, where the per capita GDP is now less than half that of Singapore. Goldman Sachs predicts that Indonesia will surpass Japan to become the world’s fourth-largest economy by 2050. Our relationship therefore needs to shift from its patron-client, donor-recipient mindset to one of symbiosis and equality.

“Third, ASEAN and Japan have mutually beneficial complementarities and common challenges. But we are also distinctively different in several areas. Japan has an aging population, whereas ASEAN features a youthful demographic. Japan has a highly homogeneous population, whereas ASEAN has an extremely diverse society.”

Wihardja opined that increased labor mobility would help capitalize on ASEAN-Japanese complementarity. But she acknowledged that the weak yen diminishes Japan’s appeal as a workplace for individuals from ASEAN members.”

THE FUTURE OF ASIA

Past and future exchange

Kitti Prasirtsuk

Kitti Prasirtsuk
Professor, Faculty of Political Science, Thammasat University

Kitti studied at Tohoku University in the 1980s, earned a master’s degree from Keio University in the 1990s, and conducted field research as a Ph.D. visiting fellow at Tokyo University in the 2000s. He focused in his opening remarks on the history of human exchange between Southeast Asia and Japan and on the outlook for that exchange “in a changing and uncertain world.” “The history of human exchange between Thailand and Japan dates from at least as early as 400 years ago. That was when the Japanese samurai and trader Yamada Nagamasa became a high-ranking officer in the Thai military and the head of a Japanese village in Thailand.

“Human exchange between ASEAN and Japan in the modern era started to gain momentum in the 1960s. That was when Japan granted scholarships to Southeast Asian students to study in Japan and when the Japanese government provided training in Japan to technicians from Southeast Asia. Such programs have expanded greatly in the subsequent decades. Since the 1980s or so, half of the engineering professors in Thailand studied in Japan, and a similar trend can be found in other ASEAN members. Japan’s sponsorship of human exchange with Southeast Asian nations yielded the by-product of catalyzing human interchange among ASEAN people, as well. The human resources that participated in the different modes of interchange have been instrumental in nurturing economic growth in ASEAN since the 1980s.

“Prime Minister Kishida announced initiatives last year on the 50th anniversary of formal ASEAN-Japanese ties for expanding human exchange between ASEAN and Japan. And he reiterated his commitment to co-creation through human exchange in his dinner remarks yesterday evening. I welcome that commitment, for human exchange can be an important driver in green transformation and in digital transformation. ‘Co-creation’ is a keyword in this regard. We have seen co-creation in food fusion and pop culture, like music and manga, and we can expect more.

“Human exchange can also be valuable in the political-security realm amid increasing security challenges. A number of military personnel in ASEAN countries graduated from Japan’s National Defense Academy. Meanwhile, a changing of the generations is under way in the legislative branch of government in several ASEAN members, especially Thailand. Interchange between Japanese and ASEAN legislators could broaden mutual perspectives for further regional cooperation.

“As for me, I will return to Japan this year as a research fellow under a Japan Foundation grant. I will study Japan’s approaches to regional revitalization. No one is too old to learn, and I will keep researching good practices and lessons learned from Japan.”

THE FUTURE OF ASIA

A need for better balance

Angeline Tan,

Angeline Tan
Analyst, Institute of Strategic & International Studies (ISIS)

Tan, too, expressed heartfelt appreciation for the goodwill she experienced in Japan, but she also voiced concern about what she perceives as an imbalance in ASEAN-Japanese relations. “I was in Japan for a year as an exchange student, also at Keio University. A reason that I chose Japan as a study destination was Malaysia’s Look East policy, which then president Mahathir launched in the 1980s. The inspiration behind that policy is admiration of Japan for its strong economy, high standard of living, work ethic, quality education, the list goes on.

“A few years later, I came back as a visiting research fellow at the Japan Institute of International Affairs. I spent three months here, traveling all around Japan, getting updated here about the strategic situation of the country. Throughout that experience, the Japanese were incredibly warm and giving. People were generous not only with their knowledge but with their time, and some of my friends have even hosted me in their homes. But I have to admit that I also experienced frustration during my time here.

“I got the feeling that my role as a Southeast Asian was to be a sponge, to simply absorb information and insights. Rarely did I receive any questions about what is happening in my country or region or about what my perspective might be. Whenever I spoke to people, especially young people, I found that understanding of Southeast Asia is outdated. Some of the imagination of Southeast Asia is from 20 years ago. People don’t realize how much South East Asia has developed. Our digital transformation in the past five years has accelerated to such a pace that it could quickly rival or even outpace Japan’s. Few realize that Southeast Asia is poised to become the world’s largest financial technology market, much sooner than you might think.

“We mustn’t take our ASEAN-Japanese friendship for granted. Otherwise, we risk losing something precious. A good way to help redress the imbalance in mutual understanding would be to foster interest in Southeast Asia among Japanese young people. I hope to see more Japanese study in Southeast Asia.”

About Asia Undercurrent

The Asia Undercurrent session held at this year’s Future of Asia conference was the 19th in the webinar series. That series got under way in 2021 at the initiative of the government of Japan and Nikkei. It brings together academics, researchers, former government officials, and other experts to elucidate Asia-Pacific issues through discussion and debate.

Previous installments of Asia Undercurrent have addressed such issues as the Japanese-US alliance; the role of the Quad strategic collaboration among Australia, India, Japan, and the United States; North Korea; Kishida’s “New Form of Capitalism”; nuclear disarmament; and global disinformation. As webinars, the sessions include question-and-answer exchange with online viewers after the discussion among the participants.

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