The Stars and the Sun: Advancing EU-Japan cooperation in an evolving global environment

This research and networking project ran from October 2015 to March 2016.

The project aimed at providing a timely and objective review of the state of play, challenges and prospects of bilateral cooperation between the European Union (EU) and Japan in a variety of policy areas, notably in the economic and external relations domains, also in the light of transforming regional and global challenges.

The project involved the organisation of a closed-door EU-Japan Expert Roundtable and a public EU-Japan Policy Dialogue, as well as the production of a series of restricted and public reports and publications. The Roundtable and Policy Dialogue were held in Brussels in mid-January 2016.

Dissemination activities and shorter publications, notably in the form of op-eds, were also planned in the context of the project, which took place in 2016.

On 12 February, an op-ed on ‘Japan is back: Is Europe ready?’ was published on EUobserver.

On 3 March, a Policy Brief on ‘Advancing the EU-Japan strategic partnership in a transforming global environment: challenges, opportunities and prospects’ was issued.

The ‘Stars and the Sun’ project was kindly supported by the Mission of Japan to the EU and the Toshiba International Foundation.