Draft:ASEAN-Japan Centre



The ASEAN-Japan Centre (AJC) (国際機関日本アセアンセンター, Kokusai Kikan Nihon ASEAN Sentā) is an intergovernmental organization comprising of the 10 ASEAN member states and Japan. It was formally known as the ASEAN Promotion Centre on Trade, Investment and Tourism. It is based in Tokyo.

Operations
The goal of the centre is to enhance economic partnership between Japan and the ASEAN member countries, particularly through tourism, exports and investments. It has been described as a "dialogue partner" of ASEAN, such that it develops people-to-people exchanges between southeast Asian nations. The centre is expected to play a role in enhancing ASEAN-Japan relations, as equal partners.

Developing tourism, in particular, has been a central focus, including tourism expos and parallel campaigns to encourage Japanese people to visit member states. The centre has promoted ASEAN tourism through the production and dissemination of promotional videos; youth and other cultural exchanges; and providing training to partner nations, in order to better attract Japanese tourists. The ASEAN-Japan Centre also promotes investment in the ASEAN tourism sector through investment seminars.

Since 2009, the centred has been located in the Shin Onarimon Building in Shimbashi.

History
The ASEAN-Japan Centre was established on 25 May 1981 under the treaty between the governments of ASEAN member states and Japan, with its founding five members being Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Japan. It was originally known as the ASEAN Promotion Centre on Trade, Investment and Tourism.

1980s

The centre's founding was largely spurred by the Fukuda Doctrine which emphasized Japan’s intention to engage with the ASEAN member states as equal partners. In 1977, during his visit to the Philippines, Prime Minister Takeo Fukuda introduced the Fukuda Doctrine, which later evolved into the guiding principles of ASEAN diplomacy during 1980s. This doctrine emphasised three key goals: Japan’s commitment to refrain from military expansion, the establishment of a "Heart-to-Heart" relationship with ASEAN, and the equal partner of ASEAN and its member countries. Fukuda said that Japan would cooperate positively with ASEAN member states in their own efforts as an equal partner, a principle which has guided the development of the centre.

Shortly thereafter, the first ASEAN-Japan Summit convened in Kuala Lumpur, followed by the ASEAN-Japan Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in 1978, marking the commencement of a diplomatic friendship dialogue between ASEAN and Japan, with Japan emerging as one of ASEAN’s key dialogue partners.

At this time, the key initiatives included the promotion of Japanese companies trade and investment and facilitating the Ship for Southeast Asian and Japanese Youth Program (SSEAYP), alongside with Japanese language education. In the later part of the decade, the Centre put more emphasis on outbound tourism, promoting ASEAN nations as a holiday destination to Japanese people. After attending an ASEAN heads-of-state meeting in Manila in 1987, then Japanese Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita pledged to double the voluntary contribution to the Centre to further promote tourism to ASEAN.

1990s

But by the 1990s, the slowing down of the Japanese economy, and with it the strong growth of other East Asian economies, saw reduced activity in the centre. Tourism in particular fell off as East Asian nations were affected by the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis. Leaders of the centre have emphasised that, in this period of crisis, ASEAN and Japan have helped each other, Japan providing ASEAN countries with more than US$40 billion in economic assistance. Even in these conditions, in 1990 Brunei became the ASEAN-Japan Centre’s seventh member. And in 1998, Vietnam became the ASEAN-Japan Centre’s eighth member.

2000s

During the early 2000s, the Centre underwent significant reforms to enhance its functions, following the directives of the ASEAN-Japan Commemorative Summit in 2003. The EPC convened twice, firstly on 31 May 2005 in Tokyo, Japan, and subsequently during 3-4 October 2005 in Bali, Indonesia, where it concluded its interim report.

The Centre assisted 112 ASEAN companies with their tourism products for the ASEAN Tourism Festival in 2005 — the event attracted 64,000 visitors, leading to six Japanese investment missions to ASEAN countries. ASEAN companies and countries received consultations from the Centre on how they might be able to market their products in Japan.

In 2007, the ASEAN-Japan Centre underwent another round of reform, following the recommendations of the Eminent Persons Committee. The changes would enable multiple approaches between ASEAN and Japan. In 2009, the ASEAN-Japan Hall was established as a meeting venue for ASEAN-Japan various events to promote trade, investment, tourism and intercultural exchanges. The number of partner countries expanded further with Cambodia becoming the ASEAN-Japan Centre’s ninth member in 2001; Laos the tenth member in 2002; and Myanmar the eleventh and latest member in 2006.

2010s-present

To mark the 50th anniversary of the ASEAN-Japan relationship, the ASEAN-Japan Centre hosted commemorative events including the “Japan-ASEAN Business and Investment Forum: Road to ASEAN Indo-Pacific Forum.” The Centre also organised “The ASEAN Foundation Model ASEAN Meeting Plus Japan 2023,” which took place in November 2023 at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta. The program was participated by 72 students and youth delegates to discuss and debate about pan regional issues, such as cybercrime, post-COVID recovery, and empowerment of youth leaders in education.

Following the 2011 earthquake, the centre became a conduit for ASEAN assistance to Japan. In 2024, the ASEAN-Japan Centre, in conjunction with JETRO and Thailand’s Department of Trade Negotiations, conducted a workshop on the utilization of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs).

Member states
List of member states of the ASEAN-Japan Centre

Organization structure
Governance is provided by a council which meets annually. The executive is lead by its Secretary-General.

Secretariat

At present, the executive arm of the organization, led by the Secretary General, consists of the Office of the Secretary General, the Office of General Affairs and one operational department consisting of the Research and Policy Advocacy (RPA) Team, the Strategic Country Support (CS) Team, the Bilateral Programme (BP) Team, and the Tourism and Exchange (TE) Team. The Secretary General is an appointed position that lasts for three years per term and may be reappointed.

Funding
The budget for the ASEAN-Japan Centre is financed from both obligatory and voluntary contributions from its member states. In the original 1980 treaty, under Article X, it was stated that “except for the rent of the permanent ASEAN Trade Investment and Tourism Exhibition Hall, which shall be borne by Japan”, the “budget of the Centre shall be met in the following proportion: Japan: 90 per cent, the ASEAN member countries: 10 per cent. In 2007, the agreement was amended to have Japan bear 87.5 per cent of the budget, with the ASEAN member countries bearing 12.5 per cent.

Parallel groups
While ASEAN-Japan Centre was the first affiliate centre for ASEAN, parallel organisations have since been established in Seoul (the ASEAN-Korea Centre in 2009), Beijing (the ASEAN-China Centre in 2011), New Dehli (the ASEAN-India Centre in 2012), and Moscow (the MGIMO’s ASEAN Centre in 2010).

In 2024, Australian Prime Minister and Labor Party Leader, Anthony Albanese enacted the Melbourne Declaration, in which the establishment of an ASEAN-Australia Centre in Canberra was announced. The opening of the ASEAN-Australia Centre is expected to occur in July 2024.

In March 2023, the International Trade and Investment Coordinator for the City of Los Angeles, Sam Baron, and Aide to the US Deputy Secretary of State, Abhinav Seetharaman, wrote that the US should follow in the footsteps of Japan and India in establishing a “dedicated institution to head up its economic and cultural engagement with Southeast Asia.” At the 2023 US-ASEAN Summit in Jakarta, US Vice President Kamala Harris announced the intent to establish a US-ASEAN Center through a public-private partnership with Arizona State University (ASU). The US-ASEAN Center celebrated its opening on 15 December 2023 with Under Secretary of State of Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs of the US Department of State, Liz Allen, delivering the opening remarks.