[paper] Japan-China Discussion Tie-up between Genron NPO and China Daily

As opposed to the dynamic economic ties between Japan and China, little progress is seen in discussion exchanges at various levels of people, and in some aspects, the feelings of opposition rather than full mutual understanding are growing between the peoples of the two nations. Under these circumstances, we have decided to initiate discussions in order to tackle head-on and resolve the issue of eliminating the recognition and communication gaps between Japan and China, one of the major obstacles between the two nations, through people-led bilateral periodic discussions.

Genron NPO has recently tied up with China Daily, the only English daily in China, as a partner in this discussion exchange project. The two organizations have agreed to engage in continuous discussions with policymakers, well-informed independent personalities and representatives of news media in both nations in the future, and reveal the contents of such discussions to the public from time to time through their media.

The recent tie-up between Genron NPO and the Internet version of China Daily was made possible as the Chinese partner accepted the proposal of Genron NPO, a nonprofit organization that consists mainly of individuals. This is the first instance in which a Japanese NPO tied up with Chinese news media for discussion exchanges, and we are proud of this epoch-making event. China Daily is one of the four major news media in China, and access to its Internet version in one day has reached 5.5 million page views, half of which are domestic ones. This leading online medium is attracting public attention in China for its rapid growth. Unlike existing news media, Genron NPO is a nonprofit organization that consists of some 500 well-informed independent personalities in Japan, including policymakers, journalists, corporate managers and scholars, who engage in discussions and make policy proposals on diverse topics through individual networks. The two new organizations have decided to establish long-term cooperation through discussions with the aim of promoting mutual understanding between the two nations.

The two organizations will form a joint task force to develop and implement various discussion plans. As the first step, they will co-host a kickoff symposium in Beijing this July. Future plans include holding a symposium alternately in Japan or China each year, carrying out a joint questionnaire survey in both nations concerning various topics prior to this summer’s Beijing symposium, engaging in continuous discussions with policymakers, including politicians and bureaucrats, scholars and representatives of news media in the two nations, and revealing the contents of such discussions chiefly to news media in the two nations.

In order to fulfill its role as a responsible organ of public opinion, Genron NPO has to this day brought together well-informed independent personalities from various circles in Japan to evaluate political manifestos (election pledges) and discuss the future plans for Japan and other Asian nations, and has revealed the contents of discussions to the public. The recent tie-up represents the first step toward spreading such a circle of discussions to other Asian nations and forming a free constructive forum and network of discussions that consists mainly of individuals in Asia. Another objective of the tie-up is to further develop such a forum and network so that participants can engage in useful discussions with an eye on the future and consider what role Japan should play in the region.