CCRS and The Japan Foundation, Phnom Penh Liaison Office will co-organize organize an Intellectual Exchange Public Lecture on “Japan’s Evolving Strategy in Indo-Pacific: Implications for Southeast Asia” on Thursday, 12 March 2026 at Raffles Hotel Le Royal in Phnom Penh. The event will feature an eminent Japanese international relations scholar, Professor Ken Jimbo, Managing Director, International House of Japan, and Professor, Faculty of Policy Management Keio University.
Registration Link: https://forms.gle/yHh8UcNrjWA4TwLm7
Concept Note
Indo-Pacific is situated at the heart of Japan’s strategic thinking. The regional landscapes are influential in shaping Japan’s security and prosperity, necessitating Tokyo to have an overarching regional strategy. After periods of developments and refinements, in 2016, Japan introduced the Free and Open Indo Pacific Vision, outlining the country’s thinking how it envisions to engage with the region, including Southeast Asia, in a way that contributes to regional peace and prosperity which is important to Japan. As the regional environment is dynamic, Japan’s Indo-Pacific strategy has also been evolving constantly in response to those changes.
In this regard, this public lecture aims to discuss Japan’s evolving strategy in the Indo-Pacific, particularly strategic imperatives and challenges, and ways that Japan posits itself in engaging the region including Southeast Asia. The discussion also centers on what Japan’s strategic postures means for Tokyo’s engagements with Southeast Asia, bilaterally and institutionally under the framework of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), especially how Japan and Southeast Asia can work together to foster commonalities in contributing to regional peace and prosperity.
The distinguished speaker of this public lecture is Dr. Ken Jimbo, Managing Director, International House of Japan, and Professor, Faculty of Policy Management Keio University. The talk will be moderated by Amb. Pou Sothirak, Distinguished Senior Advisor to CCRS. Prof. Jimbo will deliver a presentation for 20 minutes, followed by 1-hour Q&A discussion.
Program
| Time | Agenda |
|---|---|
| 8:30 – 9:00 am | Registration |
| 9:00 – 9:10 am | Welcoming Statements • Mr. Him Raksmey, Executive Director, CCRS • Mr. Isogaya Hiroyuki, Director, The Japan Foundation, Phnom Penh Liaison Office (TBC) |
| 9:10 – 10:50 am | Presentation by Distinguished Speaker, Dr. Ken Jimbo, Managing Director, International House of Japan, and Professor, Faculty of Policy Management Keio University Moderated by Amb. Pou Sothirak, Distinguished Senior Advisor to CCRS Q&A Discussion |
| 10:50 – 11:00 am | Closing Remarks Amb. Pou Sothirak, Distinguished Senior Advisor to CCRS |
About Distinguished Role Players
Dr. Ken JIMBO is a Managing Director, International House of Japan (IHJ/I-House), and Professor, Faculty of Policy Management Keio University. He is concurrently an Adjunct Senior Research Fellow at the Canon Institute for Global Studies (CIGS). He served as a Special Advisor to the Japan Ministry of Defense in 2020 and Senior Advisor to the National Security Secretariat from 2018 to 2020.
His main research interests lie in International Security, Japan-U.S. Security Relations, and Japan’s Foreign and Defense Policy. He has served as a policy advisor for various Japanese governmental commissions and research groups, including the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. His policy writings have been published by the RAND Corporation, NBR, the Stimson Center, the Pacific Forum CSIS, Japan Times, Nikkei, Yomiuri, Asahi, and Sankei Shimbun.
Ambassador Pou Sothirak is a retired academic currently serving as the Distinguished Senior Advisor to the Cambodian Center for Regional Studies (CCRS). He was the Executive Director of the Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace from May 2013 to August 2023. He was appointed as Secretary of State of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Cambodia from September 2013 to January 2014.
He was a Visiting Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of the Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS) in Singapore from January 2009 to December 2012. He also served as Cambodian Ambassador to Japan from April 2005 to November 2008. He was elected Cambodian Member of Parliaments twice during the national general election in 1993 and 2003. He was appointed as Minister of Industry Mines and Energy of the Royal Government of Cambodia from 1993 to 1998. He has written extensively on various issues concerning the development of Cambodia and the region.