The Centre for Policy Research is pleased to invite you to the third talk as part of the new ‘Imagining Asia’ series, on: Japan after Abe: Will His Legacy Endure?
Talk by:
Ambassador Deepa Gopalan Wadhwa, Former Indian Ambassador to Japan
Moderator:
Sandeep Bhardwaj, Research Associate, CPR
The session will be held online via Zoom. To register, kindly fill this form. It will also be live-streamed on CPR’s Facebook page.
If there is an issue, please email communication@cprindia.org
About the talk:
Last month, Shinzo Abe stepped down from his position as Japan’s Prime Minister after a nine-year term which made him the longest-serving Prime Minister in the country’s history. His time in office has been characterised as transformational not just for Japan but for the entire “Asia-Pacific” region, a term that he helped popularise. His tenure also witnessed a marked intensification of strategic and economic ties between India and Japan, a development which is likely to have long-lasting implications for Asian geopolitics. He is succeeded by Yoshihide Suga, a relatively unknown figure in wider Asia. In this talk, Ambassador Wadhawa aims to reassess Abe’s legacy from the Indian perspective as well as ask what his departure means for regional geopolitics and India-Japan relations. The talk will also examine what India can expect from the Suga administration going forward.
About the speaker:
Ambassador Deepa Gopalan Wadhwa has been a distinguished career diplomat who joined the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) in 1979 and retired in December 2015. She has served as Ambassador of India to Japan (2012-2015), Qatar (2009-2012) and Sweden (2005-2009). She was concurrently accredited as Ambassador to Latvia (from Stockholm), and Republic of the Marshall Islands (from Tokyo). During her career, she has also held other significant assignments in Geneva, Hong Kong, China, The Netherlands, the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Ministry of External Affairs. Ambassador Wadhwa is Chairperson of the India-Japan Friendship Forum, Member Governing Council of the Institute of Chinese Studies and is on the Governing Council of the Asian Confluence based in Shillong. A graduate from Madras University, she has an undergraduate degree in Chemistry and a post graduate degree in English Literature.
About the series:
CPR is delighted to introduce a new series entitled, ‘Imagining Asia’ aimed at examining opportunities and challenges for Indian foreign policy in the regions around it including South Asia, Southeast Asia, Northeast Asia and West Asia. In the last few years, Asia has witnessed dramatic geopolitical and economic shifts as globalisation is coming under increasing pressure and traditional balance of power structure is eroding. At this moment it is critical for India to reimagine its approach to these regions as the country seeks to play a more meaningful role as a force for stability and prosperity. This is not only necessary to safeguard India’s own material interests but also realise its growing ambitions to become a major actor on the international stage. This series will bring together scholars and policy practitioners from across Asia and beyond in conversations about strategic and economic issues pertaining to these regions and India’s role in them. Drawing expertise from a variety of fields including international relations, politics, economics, finance and history, the series hopes to create a new platform for exchange of ideas across regions as well as spark new discussions within India about the country’s role in the continent.
