PECC is a track-two, tripartite organization in the Asia-Pacific region serving as a regional forum for cooperation and policy coordination to promote economic growth and development in this vast region covering parts of East Asia, parts of North and South Americas, and Oceania. The Asia-Pacific region accounts for 60% of the world's GDP and about half of its membership are included in the G-20.
PECC was founded in 1980, because of the need to facilitate policy dialogues among the economies around the Pacific Rim, which were becoming increasingly interdependent. PECC currently has 26 Member Committees, including two institutional members, the Pacific Trade and Development Conference (PAFTAD) and the Pacific Basin Economic Council (PBEC). With its unique composition of representatives from business and industry, government, and academic/research circles, PECC brings to the fore current and practical policy issues of the Asia-Pacific region. As the only non-governmental official observer of APEC, PECC also facilitates private sector and civil society participation in the official processes of APEC.
Japan National Committee for Pacific Economic Cooperation (JANCPEC)
National/regional committees support PECC's activities at the domestic level. In Japan, JANCPEC coordinates domestic activities pertinent to PECC's international activities and serves as a core organization for promoting Pacific region cooperation activities in Japan. Its membership comprises about 90 leading figures from Japanese industry, academia and government, and JANCPEC holds a national conference once or twice each year.
The Japan Institute of International Affairs (JIIA)
JIIA, now celebrating its 50th anniversary, is a private, nonpartisan policy think-tank focused on foreign and security policy issues. On top of a wide range of research programs, the institute promotes dialogues and joint studies with other institutions and experts at home and abroad, examines Japanese foreign policy and makes proposals to the government, and disseminates information on international relations to the public.
In 1959, former Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida founded the Japan Institute of International Affairs to deepen Japan's knowledge of world affairs and to bolster the foreign relations of a democratic Japan. In this effort, he garnered the support of key members of parliament, luminaries including the foreign minister, president of the Bank of Japan, chairman of the Japan Federation of Economic Associations, as well as leading figures of the academy and media. As Prime Minister, Yoshida steered Japan through the post-1945 democratic transformation, stepping down from office in 1954. Yoshida then served as the first chairman of the Institute. In 1960, the Institute received accreditation as an independent foundation from the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Institute, together with a large network of affiliated scholars, aims to serve as an indispensable resource related to international affairs in a complex world.
The Japan Institute of International Affairs (JIIA)
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http://www.jiia.or.jp/
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