Following the success of the 40th anniversary celebrations of the Look East Policy in 2022, this page serves as a repository of articles, activities and events on the Malaysia-Japan bilateral, multilateral as well as Asean-centric engagements.
Since its founding in 1983, ISIS Malaysia has long enjoyed close relations with various Japanese organisations and institutions, including the Embassy of Japan in Malaysia; Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan; Japanese Chamber of Trade & Industry, Malaysia (JACTIM); Keidanren (Japan Business Federation); and Japan Foundation, to name a few.
Past and ongoing activities include the Centre for Japan Studies at ISIS Malaysia, engagements in the Network of East Asian Think-tanks (NEAT), the Malaysia-Japan colloquium, and the Asia-Pacific Roundtable.
Education best bet for Quad to win Asean ‘brownie points’
by Yanitha Meena, 20 July 2022
THE Quad fellowship was launched in May 2022 during the fourth Quadrilateral Security Dialogue Leaders’ Summit. This initiative seeks to bring 100 students from Quad countries (Australia, India, Japan and the United States) to the US each year to pursue graduate degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
Reboot Look East Policy for new generation
by Zarina Zainuddin, 22 February 2022
THIS year marks the 40th anniversary of the Look East Policy (LEP) but it is also the 65th anniversary of Malaysia-Japan relations. Japan was one of the first countries to recognise and establish diplomatic relations with our young nation. Days after Merdeka, Japan opened its consulate in Kuala Lumpur on 9 September, 1957.
Malaysia and Japan: Fanning old flames
by Zarina Zainuddin & Zul Izwan Hamzah, 25 October 2020
JAPAN’S new Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga seems to be quite the decisive fellow. Untroubled by opposition in the Home Islands, he is moving quickly to cement ties with friends and allies overseas. A surprise, as analysts initially believed that foreign policy would be one of Suga’s weak spots.
Malaysia can benefit from emulating Japan’s early education system
by Zarina Zainuddin, 27 March 2021
JAPAN is often described as a country of contrast, where modernity and high technology coexist with tradition and culture, with words such as polite, hardworking, punctual, helpful, clean and kind often used to describe its people.
Strategies for enhancing the Japan-Asean economic partnership
by Calvin Cheng, 27 November 2018
Paper presented by Dato’ Steven CM Wong at 35th Anniversary Conference of the Malaysian Association for American Studies (MAAS)
Malaysia-Japan relations: Heading towards stronger ties?
by Zarina Zainuddin, September 2015
Stable, steady, amicable — these are the words that come to mind when encapsulating the state of Malaysia-Japan relations. For many years, the focus of the relationship concentrated on economic cooperation — more specifically the manufacturing sector — but Malaysia-Japan ties quietly expanded to include culture, tourism, education and security. Recent developments at both domestic and international levels could pave the way towards a stronger, deeper and more comprehensive relationship.
Japan rail project trained it to excel
by Steven Wong, 7 October 2014
SHINKASEN GLORY: Success most often occurs in the presence of problems and limitations, not the absence of it
THIS October marks the 50th anniversary of Japan’s iconic Tokaido Shinkansen, or New Trunk Line. Launched on Oct 1, 1964, nine days before the start of the Tokyo Olympics, Hikari No. 1 left Tokyo station on a scheduled journey that would eventually carry 5.5 billion passengers over the next five decades.
Of tourism and the Japanese: Opportunities for expansion?
by Zarina Zainuddin, August 2014
Thee tourism industry has come a long way from a small insignificant sector to one of Malaysia’s top three income and foreign exchange generators. The first concerted effort to attract tourists came in 1990 with the launch of Visit Malaysia Year (VMY).
‘3 Arrows’ plan boosts Japan
by Tang Siew Mun, 31 July 2014
FORCEFUL STRATEGY: Shinzo Abe has confounded all expectations and succeeded in galvanising the region’s second largest economy
JAPANESE Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s “three arrows” strategy to reinvigorate the Japanese economy is finding its target.
A look at the post-March 11 impact on Japanese investment trends in Malaysia
by Zarina Zainuddin, 2013
Add 11 March 2011 to the list of dates to remember in Japan. On that day, an underwater earthquake of magnitude 9 struck the Tohoku coast of Japan, causing a massive tsunami to sweep inland and, tragically, to trigger the meltdown of the nuclear plant in Fukushima.
State of East Asian community concept and Asean integration
by Mohamed Jawhar Hassan, 7 September 2006
Initiatives for ASEAN integration have a relatively long history, dating from its inception in 1967. Integration is perceived in terms of economic integration more than anything else. There is no intention to have political integration in the real sense, although an ASEAN “parliament” of sorts is being pursued through an ASEAN caucus of parliamentarians.
