The AJRC’s partnership with the Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI) is anchored around an annual symposium and has produced research papers, columns, seminars and policy briefs. Our collaboration focuses on promoting Australia–Japan relations in a broader regional context and connects research with business and the policy sphere. This collaboration has continued throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, with symposiums taking place via webinar and/or being uploaded to streaming platforms such as YouTube. Each link below takes you to summaries, youtube recordings, papers and programs.

An Asian Agenda for Economic Security and Prosperity (2024)
This symposium addressed the challenges and strategies for enhancing supply chain resilience and shaping the future of the world economic order, featuring insights from leading experts in Japan and Australia.

Multilateral Governance for the Digital Economy and Artificial Intelligence (2024)
This paper discussed how the digital economy, now the primary driver of global value, has grown rapidly, presenting significant challenges such as digital divides, privacy concerns, and geopolitical fragmentation, emphasising the need for new multilateral governance approaches to balance these benefits and risks, noting Japan’s role in promoting inclusive and competitive digital economic activity.

An Asian Agenda for Securing the Multilateral Rules-based Economic Order (2023)
This symposium examined how Australia and Japan have played leading roles in navigating international economic policy uncertainty in East Asia while exploring how ASEAN centrality be strengthened to keep Asia free and open.

Towards Comprehensive Regional Security in Asia (2023)
This symposium highlighted the escalating security threats facing Asia, the importance of navigating the balance between continuing economic recovery and ensuring regional stability and security, and the role of ASEAN in facilitating regional cooperation.

Full synopsis of the event can be found here.

Australia, Japan, ASEAN and Economic Security in Asia (2022)
This symposium focused on the rise of geopolitical and economic uncertainty across the globe, how this complicates political and economic relations in East Asia, and what strategies Japan and Australia can implement to keep markets open and strengthen ASEAN centrality.

CPTPP and Beyond: Multilateralism in an Era of Great Power Strategic Competition (2022)
This symposium focused on the strategic competition between the US and China, and how the capacity of regional agreements to facilitate and promote multilateralism.

Towards an Asia-Pacific Digital Economy Governance Regime (2021)
This symposium discussed the digitalisation of the global economy and the lack of multilateral regulations in place to govern the digital economy.

Asian Integration and the Global Economy: Economics of geopolitics (2019)
This symposium tackled issues such as how to engage with the PRC and with the US, how to increase the resilience of institutions both in Asia and globally, and how to strengthen the rules-based international order.

Asia’s Response to the Trade War (2018)
This symposium explored potential policy responses that promote liberal trade and investment policies and aid the preservation of the rules-based economic order.

Japan and Australia: Leading Asia Pacific regionalism in uncertain times (2018)
This symposium highlighted the threats facing the global trade regime from protectionist forces, and discussed potential trade and investment and strategies that could be implemented to combat this threat.

Major Research Projects

Australia, Japan and the regional economic order: collaboration with the Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI) of the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (2018)

Joint Policy Updates

Armstrong, Shiro, Rebecca Sta Maria and Tetsuya Watanabe (2021) ‘Towards an Asia-Pacific Digital Economy Governance Regime’ RIETI-ANU report, Tokyo. https://www.rieti.go.jp/en/special/policy-update/092.html

Armstrong, Shiro (2021) ‘Government as Investor to Individuals: Lessons from Australian “Income-Contingent Loans’’’. https://www.rieti.go.jp/en/special/policy-update/082.html