JAPAN UPDATE - View from Australia

                          Japan Update 2026

Australia-Japan Research Centre

Australian National University

Wednesday 9 September 

9 AM - 5 PM (AEST, UTC+10)

Tuesday 8 September

7 PM - 3 AM (EDT)

in-person and live streamed on Vimeo

👉REGISTRATION

Please indicate whether you will attend in person or online (via live stream on Vimeo) at the checkout. All attendees will receive a confirmation email with instructions for accessing both the in-person and online events

PROGRAM

Registration & tea and coffee (8:30-9:00am)

Welcome (9:00am)
Shiro Armstrong, Director, Australia-Japan Research Centre, The Australian National University

Introduction
Rebekah Brown, Interim Vice Chancellor of The Australian National University

Opening Keynote
Tim Ayres, Minister for Industry and Innovation and Minister for Science

Vote of Thanks
HE Kazuhiro Suzuki, Japanese Ambassador to Australia

The New Normal in Japan's Economy (9:45-10:45am)
Keynote: Koji Nakamura, Bank of Japan

Chair: Ippei Fujiwara, University of Tokyo and Keio University
Katrina Di Marco, Deputy Secretary, Treasury

Morning Tea (10:45-11:15am)

Foreign Policy and Political Choices (11:15-12:45pm)
Chair: Lauren Richardson, The Australian National University
Yves Tiberghien, University of British Columbia and Taipei School of Economics and Political Science
Naoko Eto, Gakushuin University
Tomohiko Satake, Aoyama Gakuin University
Evelyn Goh, The Australian National University

Lunch (12:45-1:45pm)

The State of Japanese Studies in Australia (1:45-3:00pm)
Keynote: Sawako Shirahase, University of Tokyo
Chair: Simon Avenell, The Australian National University
Nana Oishi, The University of Melbourne
Kent Anderson, The Australian National University
Carolyn Stevens, Monash University

Afternoon tea (3:00-3:30pm)

The Next 50 Years of the Australia–Japan Relationship (3:30-4:50pm)
Keynote: Peter Drysdale, The Australian National University
Chair: Geraldine Doogue, Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Kate Kitagawa, La Trobe University
Shiro Armstrong, The Australian National University
Melissa Conley Tyler, The University of Melbourne

Closing and Thank You (4:50-5:00pm)
Ippei Fujiwara, University of Tokyo and Keio University
Simon Avenell, Director, Japan Institute, The Australian National University