Eduardo González
The twenty-fourth edition of the Spain Japan Forum will be held in Takamatsu, capital of the Japanese prefecture of Kagawa, between October 22 and 24, as reported by the Spain-Japan Council Foundation.
The Forum, the main platform for dialogue between representatives of civil society and the Administration of Spain and Japan, is organized jointly by the Spain Japan Council Foundation and the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of both countries. It has been held annually since 1997, alternately in Japan and Spain, around an agenda of strategic issues for bilateral relations.
This is the first time that the main public diplomacy event between the two countries travels to Shikoku, the smallest of Japan’s four main islands. Takamatsu was the gateway to the island until 1988, when the Seto Ohashi Bridge was inaugurated, linking it to the main island of Honshu. Even today it remains an important port on the Seto Sea and the second most populous city in Shikoku.
Among its main tourist attractions are the traditional Ritsurin gardens, Takamatsu Castle and the covered Takamatsu Shotengai shopping street, one of the longest in Japan. Takamatsu is also connected, through its port, to a group of islands closely linked to contemporary art, with artistic installations, avant-garde museums and architectural gems. Naoshima is the best known.
The agenda of the main day of the Forum is not closed, but, once again, it will be a platform for debate on geopolitics, economics, science, technology and culture that will bring together experts from both countries, from very different fields, to discuss strategic issues. for the bilateral agenda.
The twenty-third edition of the Forum was held in Salamanca between November 28 and 30, 2023. With the motto ‘Geopolitics, security and collaboration: strengthening Spain-Japan ties’, defense cooperation was the central axis of the debates. There were also round tables on the role of the university in bilateral relations or the governance of artificial intelligence.
The Salamanca Forum was the first without the former Minister of Foreign Affairs Josep Piqué, who co-chaired this instrument of dialogue between 2010 and 2022. In October 2022, just a few months before his death, he handed over the Spanish co-presidency to Ángeles Delgado, CEO of Fujitsu in Spain and president of the Spain Japan Council Foundation. In fact, the most important day of the event began with a tribute to Josep Piqué.
