On September 17-18, 2025, the Japan Institute of International Affairs (JIIA), together with the Singapore Institute of International Affairs (SIIA), co-hosted the 18th Japan-Singapore Symposium in Tokyo. At the closed-door roundtable on September 17, candid discussions were held on three themes: (1) Regional political and security evolution amid global turmoil; (2) Enhancing mutual understanding and functional cooperation as the foundation of Japan-ASEAN relations; and (3) Economic cooperation and supply chain resilience amid uncertainty.
The public forum on September 18, titled "Japan-Singapore Cooperation in a World Remade," opened with remarks from the JSS Co-Chairs, Amb. Kenichiro Sasae, President of JIIA, and Mr. Ashok Mirpuri, Head of International Policy & Governance at Temasek International. Keynote addresses were then delivered by Mr. Taro Kono, Member of the House of Representatives and Chairman of the Japan-Singapore Parliamentary Friendship League, and Ms. Akiko Ikuina, Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs, from the Japanese side. From Singapore, Ms. Sim Ann, Senior Minister of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Home Affairs, contributed a recorded video of her address, which had originally been delivered at the September 17 roundtable.
During the panel discussion, moderated by Co-Chair Sasae, presentations were made by Amb. Takio Yamada, Executive Fellow at JIIA and Japan's inaugural Ambassador to ASEAN / former Ambassador to Vietnam; Prof. Simon Tay, Chairman of SIIA; Dr. Tomoo Kikuchi, Professor at the Graduate School of Asia-Pacific Studies, Waseda University; and Mr. Adrian Ng, Director-General (Asia, Middle East and Africa), Ministry of Trade and Industry of Singapore.