Nakasone Peace Institute (NPI) and Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) jointly hosted a special seminar on economic security on February 20, 2024, featuring His Excellency Dr. Clemens von Goetze, German Ambassador to Japan.

In his keynote speech, NPI Chairman Aso Taro stated that as major powers, Germany and Japan must take on the responsibility of promoting coordination to ensure the stability and prosperity for the world as a whole. In the face of the international political and economic reality that we cannot proceed with a free economy alone, Chairman Aso stated that how the two countries coordinate with each other in terms of economic security is of great importance to the international community overall. He then recognized that from the basic standpoint of "derisking" in terms of economic security, coordination, cooperation, and partnership among allies and like-minded countries, including with the United States, are extremely important and must not be allowed to be disrupted.

Following the keynote speech, German Ambassador to Japan H.E. Dr. Clemens von Goetze outlined the key areas of economic security in Germany in his lecture entitled "Economic Security: A German Perspective." He pointed out the significance that Germany and Japan share many similarities in their economic structures and challenges and are well suited to cooperate in areas such as technological innovation, supply chain resilience, energy transition, cyber security, and trade, and that cooperation through platforms such as regular intergovernmental consultations could help both countries improve their economic security, promote sustainable growth, and address global challenges.

Following the lecture, the Q&A session was moderated by Shiraishi Shigeaki, Director of the Research Center for Economic Security at NPI and took the form of a dialogue with the lecturer, discussing the status of policy achievements toward derisking in Germany, the status of Japan's policy toward China from the German ambassador's perspective, differences in perceptions among European Union (EU) member states concerning economic security, and the German position on a regulation known as the Anti-Coercion Instrument (ACI) recently formulated by the EU.

Guest Lecturer:

H.E. Dr. Clemens von Goetze, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Federal Republic of Germany to Japan

Q&A Session Moderator:

Shiraishi Shigeaki, Senior Research Fellow; Director, Research Center for Economic Security, NPI

＊The Keynote Speech by Aso Taro (NPI Chairman) "Economic Security: A German Perspective" (summary) can be read from the link below.

　https://www.npi.or.jp/en/event/2024/03/25154000.html