Belt and Road Initiative Japan Research Center (BRIJC)

Ⅰ The Manifest of Establishment of BRIJC

We are facing the new era by the end of Pax Americana and the beginning of Pax Asiana in the twenty-first century.

The new era has been prepared by the decline of America and the rise of Asia led by China in the global context. It has been cleared that the latter has been prepared and progressed by the Belt and Road Initiative proposed firstly by the speeches of President Xi Jinping in Kazakhstan and Indonesia in 2013. Five years have now passed. The realities of the Belt and Road have been cleared in the following five ways.

First, in its scales, it would be the biggest economic zone of more than sixty countries and two-third of the world population involved.

Second, in its forms, it would aim for the non-traditional partnership system based on the win-win economic relations rather than for the traditional military alliance system based on win-lose relations a la the modern centuries.

Third, in its objectives, it would cover the multi-dimensional fields from the infrastructural investment and development, trade and transportation, environment and energy resources, academic and cultural intercourse.

Forth, in its methods, it would direct strengthening connectivity beyond the borders to maximize the bonus of space and population in the Eurasian continent and her neighboring areas.

Fifth, in its goals, it would create sustainability as well as inclusiveness to eliminate poverty, terrors and deprivation in the advancing areas.

Many of the Asian and European nations have realized the rising tides led by the Belt and Road Initiative under the current shifts of globalization.

We, the intellectuals, journalists, and business persons in this country have concerned that Japan has been falling behind the other nations, in caching up the rising tides and the coming shifts of powers symbolized by the Belt and Road Initiative. We have realized the primary significance of the research and development of the Belt and Road Initiative on the side of this country as well.

Hence in November 2017 we made and publicly released our common decision to establish the first strategic think-tank on this project in Japan, the Belt and Road Initiative Japan Research Center (BRIJC) at the International Symposium commemorating the 45 years of Japan-China diplomatic normalization.

It is our honor to have Former Prime Minister, Yasuo Fukuda is to be the supreme adviser of BRIJC to make the advisory board with the other prominent influential persons in Japan and East Asia.

We learned the lessons of history that the Marshall Plan in 1948 after the Second World War directed by the United States of America became the first steps for reconstructing the Western Europe through the European Coal and Steel Community. The Belt and Road Initiative directed by China would become the first steps to reconstruct the crisis-ridden Eurasia after the World Monetary Crisis to create the non-war community in Eurasian continent for peace and prosperity.

On the occasion of the Seventh Trilateral Summit of China, Japan and Korea in May 2018, we propose three nations to establish the Common Research Fund as well as an international research organization, the Belt and Road version of OECD.

We, the founders of the Japan Research Center of the Belt and Road Initiative, pledge to perform the historic intellectual duties as the forerunner of the strategic think-tank to make the common projects with other prominent research organizations such as Institute of International Trade and Investment (ITI) in Japan and East Asian countries. For these purposes we could materialize the vast amount of the networks and intellectual assets of ISAC: International Academic Society for Asian Community.
April 16th, 2018, Tokyo

Ⅱ The Planning of the Center

  • November 30th, 2017: The press release of the establishment of BRIJC, at the Japan Press Club at the memorial Symposium of 45th Anniversary of China-Japan Diplomatic Normalization.
  • January 18th, 2018: The founding research conference of the BRIJC at Ritsumei Tokyo Campus.
  • April 18th, 2018: The memorial kicking off symposium of BRIJC at the Japan Press Center.
  • May 24th, 2018: The Business Forum of BRIJC at University of Senshyu.
  • June 24th, 2018: The Annual Spring Conference of ISAC at University of Senshyu.
  • September 2018: The International Coferences in China at Liaoning Univ. Institute of Japan Study , and the Chinese Institute of Social Science in Peking.
  • October 2018: The Annual Fall Conference of ISAC at Kobegakuin University
  • December 2018: The International Forum of the Belt and Road Initiative at the Japan Press Club

Ⅲ Objectives , Strategies and Cooperative Agencies

(1) The Three Objectives
1) Research and enlightment activities as the think-tank of the Belt and Road Initiative。
2) Cooperation with the foreign and domestic think-tanks in the academic and field surveys
3) Consulting works on the legal and management affaires in the Belt and Road projects.

(2) The Three Strategies
1) Setting up intellectual base to establish the Belt and Road Initiative projects.
2) Making contributions to peace and prosperity in the East Asian region.
3) Setting up the strategic research funds in the fields of the Belt and Road Initiative.

(3) Cooperating Agencies
Institute for International Trade and Investment
International Academic Society for Asian Community
The Society for Chinese Professors in Japan

Ⅳ Members

  • Supreme advisor: Yasuo Fukuda(Former Prime Minister of Japan)
  • Advisors: Haruo Nishihara(Former President of Waseda University), Makoto Taniguchi ( Former Ambassador of Japan to the United Nations), Wataru Asou (Former President of the National Governors Association), Teruo Kishi(The Science and Technology Advisor to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, President of NIMS)
  • International Advisor : Kim Yon-ho (Ex-Minister of Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy )
  • General Counsel: Yoshinori Enoki (CEO, Enoki Film Ltd. Co.)
  • President : Eiichi Shindo (Prof. Emeritus of Tsukuba Univ. and President of GAIA Institute)
  • Vice President: Masahiro Kawai(Speial Prof. of Univ. of Tokyo, Director General, ERINA) Akifumi Kuchiki (Prof. of Nihon U) Yangchun Guo(President of Rikkyo Univ.)Jianrong Zhu(Prof. of Toyo Gakuen Univ.) Motomichi Ikawa (Executive V.P. Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, World Bank Grp.)
  • General Secretary: Weisheng Zhou(Professor of Ritsumeikan University)
  • Vice Secretary: Yirui Xu( Professor of Sensyu University)

Ⅴ  The Organization of BRIJC and Research Members

The First Department: Infrastructure/Investment/Transportation
Yasuo Ohnishi (Inter-disciplinary Studies Center Chief Senior Researcher), Ruixue (Prof. of Hosei University), Yirui Xu (Professor of Sensyu Univ.), Masahiro Kawai(ERINA)

The Second Department: Trade/Finance/SME(Small and medium-sized enterprises)
Noriyoshi Ehara (Chief Researcher of Institute for International Trade and Investment), Hidetoshi Tashiro (Chief Economist of Sigma Capital Ltd. Co.), Naohiro Kurose (Prof. of Ka-etsu Univ.), Xin Chang (Prof. of Fukui Prefectural Univ.) , Yangchun Guo (Rikkyo Univ.)

The Third Department: Environment /Energy /Food /Welfare
Masakazu Ito (Former President of Nagoya Sangyo Univ.), Weisheng Zhou ( Ritsumeikan Univ.), Zhidong Li (Professor of Nagaoka Univ. of Technology), Akifumi Kuchiki (Nihon Univ.)

The Forth Department: Governance/ Development/ Culture& Diplomacy
Hiroshi Ohnishi (Prof. of Keio Univ.), Yasuhiro Goto (Prof. of Asia Univ.), Takehiko Yamamoto (Professor Emeritus of Waseda Univ.), Motomichi Ikawa (MIGA),  Jianrong Zhu (Toyo Gakuin Univ.)

The Legal Department
Kentaro Inada (Representation of Ho-enzaka Law Office, Lawyer registered in Japan and China), Yuntao Fan (Prof.of Asia Univ., Lawyer registered in China)

The Management Consulting Department
Juro Nakagawa (President, Japan Business Intelligence Society), Tadashi Itoh (President of Itoh-solutions & Consulting Ltd. Co.), Hidetoshi Tashiro(Sigma Capital Ltd. Co.)

The International Publicity Department
Yukifumi TAKEUCHI (Member of the International Development Journal editorial board), Kenji Bando (Senior Editorial Writer, Mainichi Shimbun), Nobuyoshi SAKAJIRI (Chief of Foreign News Editor of the Asahi Shimbun), Yuezhong Duan (Editor-in-chief, the Duan Press)

Senior Fellow
Shinjiro Hagiwara (Prof. Emeritus of Yokohama National Univ.), Takashi Okada (Editor of Kyodo News), Masahiro Kohara (Prof. ofTokyo University), Yan Zhu (Prof. of Takushoku Uni.), Liang Lin(Prof. of Soka), Hiro-o Harada(Prof. of Senshu Univ.), Kazuo Matsushita(Prof. Emeritus ,Kyoto University), Se-il Mun (Prof.of Kyoto Univ.), Yabuki Susumu (Prof. Emeritus of Yokohama City Univ.), Chunli Li (Prof. of Aichi Univ.)

Ⅵ The Secretariat
The secretariat of BRIJC is located in the Global Asia Institute of Research Alliance (GAIA) Foundation.
Homepage address: http://gaia-kikou.com

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