On Tuesday, January 10, the Armitage Program Commemorative Symposium took place at the G-SEC Lab in the East Research Building of Mita Campus. Mr. Richard L. Armitage, who held posts such as the United States Deputy Secretary of State, was invited. Keio University expressed appreciation to Mr. Armitage for his contributions to promoting relations between the US and Japan. Furthermore, the university is planning to introduce the five-year "Richard Lee Armitage Commemorative Program: Building New Foundations for the Robust Japan-United States Relationship” (Armitage Program) from April 2017. The aim of this educational program is to foster individuals who will contribute to the next generation of US-Japan relations.
This program will invite Mr. Armitage and other American researchers to Keio every year to participate in educational activities and send Keio’s graduate students to Washington, DC to develop individuals who can work to strengthen US–Japan relations and tackle issues such as security challenges in East Asia. Twelve domestically-based companies will support this program.
At this symposium, there was an opening address by President Seike, a message from Ambassador Ryozo Kato, the program adviser and former Japanese ambassador to the United States, and a commemorative lecture by Mr. Armitage. Furthermore, Professor Toshihiro Nakayama from the Faculty of Policy Management, Professor Yuichi Hosoya from the Faculty of Law, Deputy Director-General Keiichi Ono from the North American Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, Associate Professor Ken Jimbo from the Faculty of Policy Management, and Professor Junya Nishino from the Faculty of Law participated in a panel discussion. This was moderated by Professor Motohiro Tsuchiya of the Graduate School of Media and Governance. They discussed the roles US–Japan relations have played in East Asia and the world as well as its future outlook. The symposium ended with a closing speech by Professor Keigo Komamura, director of the Keio University Global Research Institute (KGRI).