Economy

The 2nd EU-Japan-Asia Journalists Conference was held in Nagoya, Japan, from 17th-20th April, 2005 and co-organised by ASEF and the Delegation of the European Commission in Japan. This conference followed the successful formula from the previous year where ASEF's involvement brought forth the expansion of the annual EU-Japan Journalists' Conference to include journalists from other parts of Asia within the ASEM membership. Forty-eight journalists came together - 22 from Europe, 14 from Japan and 12 from the other Asian member countries - to mull over the 'Greening of International Co-operation', which is in conjunction with the theme (Nature's Wisdom) of the Aichi World Expo.

The former Indonesian Environment Minister, Prof. Emil Salim delivered a keynote speech on "Empowering Civil Society for Sustainable Development", which launched a stimulating debate between the journalists for the next few days. In session 1: The Environment and Civil Society, Prof. Koh Kheng Lian (Director, Asia-Pacific Centre for Environmental Law) and Dr. Soichiro Yoshida (Chairman, Yoshida & Co. Ltd) presented different angles on civil society and the environment. Session 2: The Environment and Economic Growth saw Mr Hiroyuki Watanabe (Senior Managing Director, Toyota Motor Corporation) and Ms Inger Schorling (Former Member of the European Parliament) further engaging the journalists in spirited discussion. The closing session consisted of reports from the journalist rapporteurs - Mr Frank McDonald, Environmental Editor of The Irish Times representing the European group of journalists, Mr Satoru Suzuki, Foreign News Editor of TV Asahi representing the Japanese journalists, and Mr Cho Hong-sup, Environment Correspondent of Hankyoreh Daily as the Asian representative.