50th Year of ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation: Roundtable Discussion of Track Record and Future Prospects

The establishment of the ASEAN-Japan Forum on Synthetic Rubber in 1973 is said to be the beginning of the partnership between ASEAN and Japan. Half a century has passed since then, and the politics, economics, and societies of Japan and ASEAN countries have dramatically changed. Furthermore, the international and regional circumstances surrounding them are also significantly transforming. They are facing new challenges, such as the escalation of great power rivalry between the United States and China, the rise of protectionism and economic statecraft, the retreat of democracy, the middle-income trap, widening economic and social disparity, aging societies, growing environmental problems, and so on. How can these challenges be overcome through the new partnership between ASEAN and Japan? What should be specifically considered and implemented? With these issues in mind, four specialists exchanged their views at a roundtable discussion held at the International House of Japan on May 2, 2023.