Introduction to the Council on East Asian Community (CEAC)

[Inauguration]

The concept of an "East Asian Community" has been spread quietly but steadily leading to the formation of a gigantic trend in the East Asian region. "The Council on East Asian Community (CEAC)" was inaugurated in Japan on May 18, 2004, considerably triggered by the launching in 2003 of "The Network of East Asian Think-Tanks(NEAT)" in Beijing and of "The East Asia Forum(EAF)" in Seoul in 2003. The establishment of CEAC was called for by 10 Think-Tanks such as the Japan Forum on International Relations (JFIR) and the Japan Institute of International Affairs (JIIA), and 30 scholars such as TANAKA Akihiko, Professor of the University of Tokyo and YOSHITOMI Masaru, President & Chief Research Officer of the Research Institute of Economy, Trade & Industry. CEAC consists of representatives from wide-ranging fields in Japan who are interested in the concept of an "East Asian Community", including those who represent businesses corporations such as Nippon Steel Corporation and Toyota Motor Corporation, and government agencies such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. Growing momentum for East Asian Community has finally come to take root in Japan whose attitude towards the issue tended to be passive until recently.

[Organization]

As an all-Japan intellectual platform covering business, government, and academic leaders, CEAC aims at the strengthening of intellectual collaboration, the building of intellectual foundation, and the sharing of strategic ideas among them. The membership of CEAC consists of 12 think-tank members, 107 Intellectual Members and 13 corporate members as of today. CEAC elected NAKASONE Yasuhiro, former Prime Minister of Japan, as Chairman, and ITO Kenichi, President of JFIR, as President at its Founding Meeting. CEAC is governed by its "Managing Plenary Meeting" and "Managing Executive Meeting" which is headed by Ito President. The "Policy Plenary Meeting," which is attended by the members of CEAC, conducts policy-debate among its members, and produce policy recommendations as occasions demand.

[Activities]

The activities of CEAC consist of the following four pillars: (1) the Policy Plenary Meeting, (2) the Research and Study, (3) the Website, and (4) the International Exchange. (1) The "Policy Plenary Meeting" is a forum where the members of CEAC are assembled to promote policy debate. They met eight times in their first year of activities and adopted a policy report entitled "The State of the Concept of East Asian Community and Japan's Strategic Response thereto." (2) The "Research and Study," mobilizing scholars of Japan, Asia and the US, organized an international research workshop under the topic of "East Asian Community and Regional Governance in East Asia" in June 2006. (3) The "Website" is an online network both in Japanese and in English for the purpose of publicity and enlightenment both within and beyond Japan and is accessible at http://www.ceac.jp/. (4) The "International Exchange" is a series of programs, which includes the holding in Tokyo of not only "Dialogues on an East Asian Community" with Korea in April 2005, ASEAN in June 2005 and US and Asia in June 2006, but the 3rd NEAT Annual Conference in August 2005. It also dispatches its members to conferences held abroad including the NEAT Annual Conferences in Bangkok in 2004, Kuala Lumpur in 2006, Singapore in 2007.

[CEAC Secretariat]

As of August 30, 2006