ARCHIVED WEBINAR – Governments, COVID-19 and the Public Response in the UK and Japan
Date
Wednesday 8 April 2020
Time
11.00am to 12.00 noon (BST)
Booking Details
Free of charge. Japan Society members only
Booking deadline: Wednesday 8 April – 10.00am (BST)
Japan Society members are invited to join us for a special online event in which Japan Society chairman, Bill Emmott, is joined in discussion by two former Ambassadors to the UK and Japan, Koji Tsuruoka and David Warren.
All countries have made mistakes in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, for this is uncharted territory for all of us. It is a time when trust in government is vital, but perhaps also a time when we rely even more than usual on government for information and leadership. How have the responses of governments and the public evolved in the UK and Japan since this crisis began, what lessons can we learn from each other, and what might be the key issues in coming weeks?
Both panellists are well-known to members:
Koji Tsuruoka, Ambassador of Japan in London from 2016 – 2019, joined the Foreign Ministry after graduating in Law from the University of Tokyo. Immediately prior to his arrival in London he led the government team for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations, involving 12 countries in the Asia-Pacific. Before that, he was the personal representative of the Prime Minister to the G8 and G20 meetings and also served as Deputy Vice Minister in charge of foreign policy. He has extensive experience working in Japanese diplomatic missions in areas as diverse as Indonesia, Washington D.C and Moscow.
Sir David Warren (chairman of the Japan Society 2013 – 2019) was British ambassador to Japan from 2008 to 2012, having served twice before in the British embassy in Tokyo during his career with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). He was also head of the FCO’s China Hong Kong department from 1998 to 2000, and a member of the FCO’s board of management (as director of human resources) from 2004 to 2007. He is chair of the council of the University of Kent, Associate Fellow, Asia-Pacific Programme at Chatham House, and a director of Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust.