State-NGO Relations in Japan, the United States and Europe

Sponsored by:

The Asia Foundation, Center for Global Partnership and the Japan CSO Network

Support by:

Asahi Shimbun

Time:

May 27, 2002, 1:00 p.m to 5:00 p.m

Place:

CGP Conference Hall, 20th Floor Map

Earlier this year, a Japanese politician almost succeeded in removing Keisuke Onishi, CEO of Peace Winds Japan from an international conference held in Tokyo on assistance to Afghanistan. The politician, Muneo Suzuki, got more than he bargained for. Onishi, on the other hand, emerged as a national hero.

But does Onishi's victory over Muneo Suzuki signal the dawning of a new era in State-NGO relations in Japan? During his appearance in front of a Diet committee, Onishi was confronted by politicians wanting to know why NGOs think they are entitled to use tax-payers' money. Onishi's Peace Winds, which he founded five years, ago provides humanitarian assistance in northern Iraq, Mongolia, East Timor and Afghanistan.

But, as Onishi himself points out, with a staff of 46 and an annual budget of $10 million, Peace Winds is small by international standards. Unlike in the US or Europe where NGOs have worked in harmony with government agencies for decades, in Japan the idea that NGOs can use tax money to deliver humanitarian assistance is new.

In the hope that a comparison of State-NGO relations might help to enrich domestic political debate in Japan, The Asia Foundation and the Japan CSO Network, with the co-operation of the Asahi Shimbun and the Center for Global partnership has invited American and European practitioners to compare notes with Japanese counterparts on this subject.

Speakers:
Akira Kojima, Chief Editorial Writer, Nihon Keizai Shimbun
Curtis Milhaupt, Professor, Columbia University
Hugh Patrick, Professor, Columbia Business School
Masamoto Yashiro, CEO, Shinsei Bank

materials:
 Profiles of Speakers
 Conference Notes (Japanese)
 Creating an Enabling Environment by Barnett Baron, Executive Vice President, The Asia Foundation