Event Summary:
Joseph Caron, Ambassador of Canada to Japan
Toronto Branch Event, June 4, 2008
Summary by
Olga Tonkonojenkova, University of Toronto
On the third floor inside the Canadian International Council
headquarters in Toronto, Mr. Joseph Caron, Ambassador of Canada to
Japan, spoke to an anticipating audience of Japan’s future and its
possible effect on Canada. Even though his discussion was filled with
intricate facts and details, it had an informal air of a roundtable
discussion. To add to this atmosphere, Mr. Caron shared with us the
foreign policy aspect of the situation, something that he rarely
comments on in public and to the media.
Mr. Joseph Caron joined the Canadian Foreign Service in 1972 and was
appointed to several posts throughout his career, which included
assignments in Tokyo and Ambassador roles in China and North Korea; he
was appointed Ambassador of Canada to Japan in 2005. Mr. Caron
compared his visiting Japan to re-entering a party and finding the
atmosphere much changed: in the 1980s, Japan’s worldwide influence was
apparent, and following a “lost decade”, began growing again in 2002.
Despite this development, the buzz around Japan is much lower now than
it has been before due to the shadows cast on it by India and China,
hence we have “a Japan that is hidden in plain sight”. This has led
to an almost existentialist debate about Japan’s future among the
Japanese public.
Even though “Canada’s Japan”, a country of high technology and energy
efficiency, is not in danger, some figures look disconcerting when
examined comparatively. For example, Canada’s share of the Japanese market dropped from about 3.9 % to 2.6 %, while Australia’s has in fact increased; Japan’s GDP is now down at the 18th spot, and its
savings rates, which once were as high as 23%, decreased to 3%.
Japan’s population of people over 65 years of age is the highest in
OECD countries, and the country’s population is projected to decrease
by 13% by 2050 due to low birth rates. Many people cannot afford to
retire, permanent jobs are so hard to secure that about 1/3 of the
population works for agencies, only 1/3 of companies pay taxes, and
the government’s debt is unprecedented among the developed countries.
Even though such statistics arouse anxiety, Mr. Caron deems it facile
to conclude that Japan is in decline. In his opinion, many of the
existing issues are matters of public policy and can either be solved
or managed by means such as immigration. Most importantly, he
identified four characteristics that would buoy Japan up. The first
one is Japan’s creativity, which is evident in the areas of design,
art, anime and clothing, and is now as flourishing as it has ever
been. The second one is the ongoing transformation of Japan’s
political arena, which Mr. Caron compared to the 1832 reforms in
Britain. A coalescence of political forces is occurring in Japan, more
interesting people are entering politics nowadays, and the media
portrays them as national leaders. The third engine is the
modification of Japan’s relations with other states, particularly with
China. The two countries, which account for 83% of the GDP and 70% of
the population east of the Himalayas, are in a symbiotic trade
relationship and only stand to gain from peaceful cooperation. Even
though they would not be able to make a “grand bargain”, contended Mr.
Caron, their trade relations would certainly drive change in Japan.
Finally, if we look at the historical record, we will make out that
Japan has formerly been able to revive itself - Mr. Caron reminded us
that following the last samurai battle of 1876, Japan’s new navy
defeated the Russians in 1905.
Even though many Japanese are indifferent, the majority opinion in
Japan is against accepting a Sino-centric region. Mr. Caron believes
that Japan is undergoing an educational process and a psychological
movement that will lead it in an international direction. Thus, even
though “Canada’s Japan” is safe, it faces a set of domestic issues
that are in need of a solution.
Following a brief question period, the guests were able to personally
meet Mr. Caron at a reception that followed the discussion.
View the event flyer: Flyer.
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