Message from the chairman: “on the occasion of our 15th anniversary”

Abstract

The inspiration for establishing the Institute for International Policy Studies (IIPS) came to me while I was prime minister. At that time I was acutely aware of the dearth of effective public research institutions that were dedicated to the formulation of political and economic policy, yet which were free from the influence of government subsidy. Thus I decided that, as soon as I had completed my term as prime minister, I would establish just such an organization and help Japan develop into a leading world power.In 1988, with assistance from the worlds of finance and academia, I was fortunate enough to be able to establish IIPS. Since then, IIPS has steadily grown in size and capability. As a result of the hard work of its directors and research fellows (and thanks in particular to the devoted efforts of our former vice-president, Mr Akazawa, who passed away a short while ago), IIPS has become active in many areas. We have given advice to the government in various fields, including security and foreign affairs, finance and economics, government reform, and educational policy. We have made policy announcements to newspapers and general-interest magazines. By staging seminars and symposia, we have sought intellectual exchange with people from all over the world. Through our advice we have drawn the attention of political parties and the government to numerous issues vital to Japan, including the formulation of general strategic principles, the importance of educational reform, measures for combating terrorism, and revision of the constitutional interpretation of collective self-defense.