The Canadian International Council and its partners present to you the following event, free of charge and open to all:

TOPIC:   Japan’s Relations with North Korea and its Implications on Japanese National Security

SPEAKER:             Dr. Seung Hyok Lee of Tohoku Gakuin University

DATE:                    Wednesday, September 28, 2023

PLACE:                  Room 143 Arts Building, University of Saskatchewan  Saskatoon

TIME:                    Presentation 4:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Although the biggest current concern around Japanese security is understandably focused on the US-China rivalry in the Asia-Pacific region and Japan’s role within that framework, North Korea constitutes an equally significant factor in deciding the trajectory of Japanese national security thinking. Worsening images of North Korea in the minds of the Japanese public have provided both society and government with a rationale for Japan’s gradual post-Cold War security transformations.

This talk provides a historical overview of Japan-North Korea interactions on both the social and political levels, highlighting the fact that North Korea-related issues have been embedded in Japanese domestic politics throughout the postwar period. This historical trajectory has led to the current Japanese reaction to North Korean security threats, and the unlikeliness of improved bilateral relations in the foreseeable future.

About our speaker:

Seung Hyok Lee is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of International Studies, Tohoku Gakuin University, Sendai, Japan. Previously, he worked at the University of Toronto, University of Waterloo, Hokkaido University, and The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His research interest is domestic society’s influence on publicized foreign policy issues via collective identity and national narratives, with main focus on Japan and the Korean Peninsula.

The CIC thanks its partners,  Department of Political Studies at the University of Saskatchewan, the Japan Foundation,  and the Japan Studies Association of Canada, for their part in making this event possible.