On 27 June, the Perth USAsia Centre hosted a roundtable discussion with Mr Akihisa Nagashima, Special Advisor to the Prime Minister of Japan and Member of the House of Representatives in the Japanese Diet, with particular responsibility for national security.
Trade has always been a key part of Australia’s relationship with Japan, but the country is also an increasingly important security partner. In 2023, Australia and Japan signed the Reciprocal Access Agreement, a landmark treaty that allows defence forces to operate in each other’s countries. And Japanese company Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is now shortlisted in a bid to build the next generation of future frigates for the Australian Navy.
With the bilateral relationship stronger than ever, the discussion explored the future of the Australia-Japan partnership, and the implications for Western Australia’s security, trade and defence industry interests
Guest speaker
Mr Akihisa NAGASHIMA is Special Advisor to the Prime Minister of Japan, advising on national security, nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, and a Member of the House of Representatives in the Japanese Diet, where he has served for eight consecutive terms since 2003. Previously, he has served as State Minister of Defense, and Chairman of the House Committee on National Security.
Born in Kanagawa Prefecture, Mr Nagashima holds a master’s degree in law from Keiō University, and a Master of Arts from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). During his academic career, he has been a visiting scholar at Vanderbilt University in Tenessee, a lecturer at Keiō’ University’s Graduate School of Law, and a visiting professor at Chūō University in Tokyo. He was the first Japanese research associate at the Council on Foreign Relations in the United States.
Roundtables with the Perth USAsia Centre
This roundtable discussion is by invitation only to the Perth USAsia Centre network of senior leaders and industry experts.
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