 July 6-7, 2001
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The International Symposium "At the Front Lines of Conflict Prevention in Asia" was held in Tokyo on July 6-7 with cooperation from the Japan Center for Preventive Diplomacy (JCPD) and assistance from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, and The Japan Times. Our institute has since last year regarded "conflict prevention" as one of the pillars of our research activities, and in this connection we have pursued research projects, hosted international symposia, and prepared a directory of NGOs involved in conflict prevention; indeed, this year's symposium itself was part of these efforts. As illustrated by the title of the symposium, a particular focus was placed on Asia, with the main thrust being a broad discussion from the perspective of conflict prevention of three cases: Tajikistan, the issue of minorities in Myanmar, and Indonesia, particularly Aceh.
A rather large symposium was required to take up these three cases all at once, and there was some concern that the discussion might become too diffuse as a consequence. Thanks to the exceptional efforts of Mr. Hatsuhira Takashima, Director of the United Nations Information Center (UNIC), in directing the meeting, however, the audience of more than 200 were given their fill, in the best sense, of a wide variety of viewpoints on conflict prevention.
© Copyright 2002 by the Japan Institute of International Affairs