The refugee crisis will no doubt reshape the geopolitical, cultural , global economic policies and challenge the core principles of the Europe Union. The Syria crisis will not only continue to drive the refugee crisis but also potentially trigger revolution in Syria and other Middle East countries. We would like to share a mosaic view of these complicated issues. France has historical ties with Syria, North Africa and the Middle East,and in general, the French have a rich knowledge about the issues in the region. I was fortunate to be introduced to Patrice Barrat, founder of Bridge Initiative International, by my good friends Byron Janis and his wife, Maria Cooper Janis.**

Patrice has worked at the grass-roots level for many years on his concept to build the bridge to transcend traditional barriers of culture and ideology. In recent years, he lived in Tunisia to promote his mission at the fount of the Arab Spring and witness the activities of the Quartet, this year’s Nobel Peace Prize laureates. I am very pleased to introduce his noble work.

(**Byron Janis, the world famous concert pianist, composed the Global Forum theme song “One World “ – with lyrics by the four time Oscar winner Sammy Cahn and sung by John Denver. Maria Cooper Janis is the daughter of the renowned actor Gary Cooper.)

— Akio Matsumura

The Tunisian Nobel Prize

Dialogue as a Political Virtue

It seemed so simple. They were here, on stage, all together for the first time since the news came from Oslo – on October 9, 2015, a week earlier – that the union of their forces in the summer of 2013 had earned them the Nobel Peace Prize.… Continue reading

September 2, 2009April 27, 2011

Amartya Sen: Discussion and reason, our tools against terrorism

Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen has published a new book, The Idea of Justice. In it, he argues that to achieve justice you need public reasonable discussion, outlawing the use of torture no matter what the situation. (Christopher Hitchens gets water boarded to get the inside scoop, check out the video here ) Sen argues, “Dedicated terrorists survive on the basis of very large number of people who are compliant in some sense,” so, we need to reduce the bases on which terrorists depend in order to continue their actions. How? Public reasoning and debate. Terrorists may not be reasoned with, but the compliant masses, the guard that says, “Sure go ahead, I’ll be quiet about it,” can be brought to discussion.

This is just one case for the importance of public discussion. Expanding the reach of law and order toward a public discussion. The interview reaches a lot of points of contention, but Dr. Sen dismisses them all. Do you have any more?
Each day of this week, the Blog of Akio Matsumura will see a new post about the power of dialogue.
Use this blog as a launching point for a discussion or at least a thought-provoking read. Check back in tomorrow for Global Hip Hop.… Continue reading

June 6, 2009September 25, 2011

On the Eve of the Creation of Japan Parliamentarians’ Federation for Population (JPFP)

Dr. Osamu Kusumoto
Secretary General/Executive Director
Asian Population and Development Association (APDA)
Secretariat of Parliamentarians Federation for Population (JPFP)

On the Eve of the Creation of Japan Parliamentarians’ Federation for Population:
General Draper and parliamentarians’ activities on Population and Development

Background of Mr. Akio Matsumura’s article

Japan Parliamentarians’ Federation for Population (JPFP) was established as the world’s first non-partisan parliamentarians group on population and sustainable development in 1974 It is not well known that General Draper who was American Retired General of Army played a key role in creating the JPFP. Nor is it widely known that General Draper is a great benefactor of Japanese recovery from World war II.

William H. Draper was a famous banker before the war, and he was the key figure in the 180-degree shift of U.S. policy for Japan. As the Under Secretary of the Army, General Draper submitted the report to the U.S. Government in 1948 in favor of redirection of the Occupation policy by General Douglas MacArthur, which had been repressive and crippling Japan’s economic recovery.

In fact, General Draper’s plan laid the basis of economic growth of Japan after World War II. Some of his contributions include: his lobbying the U.S. Congress for foreign aid for Japan; his appointment of Joseph Morrell Dodge as an economic advisor to Japanese economic recovery; and fixing the exchange rate at 360 Japanese yen per of US dollar. Such General Draper’s plans helped Japan leap from a developing to a developed economy. Such contributions made by General Draper are not adequately recognized or appreciated by Japanese people.

Category: Development