Messrs. Baba and Gemba have studied how industrial products need many parts and materials. For example, an automobile consists of three million parts. Supporting Industries (SI) supply various components and materials for the manufacturing of industrial products.Previous studies suggested that SI was important for industrial linkage, trade balance and research and development. However, no one showed quantitative analysis for SI very well. Messrs. Baba and Gemba measured the level of SI by using an output-input table. As a result, they found that Korean SI has become less dependent on Japanese SI while ASEAN's SI still depends on Japanese SI. Messrs. Baba and Gemba will discuss their research findings and their conclusion that local automobile parts suppliers in Indonesia need to improve client approval functions urgently in order to survive in the industry.

Fidel Ramos' term as President of the Philippines was marked, among other things, by the highest economic growth since the Republic's independence, massive investments in infrastructure, and a peace agreement with the Southern Muslim secessionist movement. In 1998 he was awarded the UNESCO Peace Award for his role in promoting stability in the Southeast Asian region. Following his term of office, Mr. Ramos has continued to exercise a significant influence on Filipino politics. In January 2000 he led a pivotal march demanding the resignation of his successor, Joseph Estrada, which occurred two days later. A graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, he now serves as Special Roving Ambassador for the current president, Gloria Arroyo.

Lunch will be served at this special event. Please RSVP to Neeley Main by 10am on July 5, 2001 to secure your place. In addition to his post at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Professor Liu is Research Director of Hong Kong Centre for Economic Research, the Director of the Hong Kong and Asia-Pacific Economics Reseach Programme, and the Secretary-General of the East Asian Economic Association.

In August 1997, after financial crisis had broken out in Thailand, Japanese officials proposed the establishment of an Asian Monetary Fund (AMF). The proposal encountered a number of obstacles, the most formidable of which was opposition by the United States and the IMF. Consequently, Japanese officials aborted the initiative. However, the notion of an AMF resurfaced in a variety of forms thereafter,. Most recently, a network of bilateral currency swap arrangements has begun to emerge among the ASEAN + 3 nations under the auspices of the May 2000 Chiang Mai Initiative. This talk will examine the political dynamics surrounding the Japanese Government's initial proposal for the creation of an AMF in 1997, and the arrangements that have emerged in its place. In doing so, the talk will attempt to draw out the significance of the AMF idea, its institutional evolution for the U.S.-Japan bilateral relationship, and for U.S. and Japanese roles in multilateral financial institutions today.

While Asia and Europe's bilateral links with the United States are deep, ties between Europe and Asia need to be strengthened. In the aftermath of the Asian economic crisis and Europe's focus on issues closer to home (European single currency and the enlargement process), is the building of a new Asia-Europe partnership a priority for the European Union? Can the Asian economic crisis serve as a window of opportunity for closer and lasting economic cooperation between Asia and Europe? How can Europe assist in the implementation of economic reform programs and the process of market liberalization? What is the future of enhanced EU-Asia political cooperation in the areas of the environment, crime and drugs, terrorism, and human rights? How can Europe and Asia best pursue their common interests in arms control, disarmament, and non-proliferation? Professor Rinsche has had a distinguished career in German and European politics spanning more than three decades: as a member of the German Parliament (1965-1972) and a member of the European Parliament for twenty years (1979-1999). He was president of the EP-Delegation for ASEAN, South-East Asia, and South Korea (1979-1999), and chairman of the CDU/CSU-Group from 1989-1999. He is currently president of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, a German political foundation promoting civic education in Germany and democracy and development abroad. Professor Rinsche will have just returned from an extended trip to South-East Asia and China and will share his recent insights in the current situation in that region.

Starting his career with India Today in 1992, Bahal moved to the science and environment magazine Down To Earth, followed by the Financial Express. He was part of the original team that launched Outlook magazine in 1995 and has reported on a range of subjects from environment to travel, sports and defence. He is best-known, though, for his groundbreaking investigation on match-fixing which rocked international cricket. Please RSVP to Rafael Ulate by June 6, 2001.

Since the early 1990s the issue of how the Japanese remember World War II has been in the headlines over and over again. The most recent round of junior high school textbook revisions, for example, has created a firestorm of protest in Korea and China. But there is much evidence to belie the charge that the Japanese suffer from collective amnesia. War memory is not fixed but remains highly contested. Peter Duus, a historian of modern Japan, William H. Bonsall Professor of History at Stanford. He has written and edited several book on prewar Japanese imperialism, including The Abacus and the Sword: The Japanese Penetration of Korea, 1895-1910.