On November 9, American University (AU) and Ritsumeikan University (RU) organized an event for AU and RU students to discuss international relations after the 2020 US presidential election.
The event took a form of moderated online discussion providing an opportunity for the students to exchange views on how the election results are likely to affect global international relations, and Japan-US relations in particular.
At the outset, the moderators from AU and RU opened the discussion by giving briefings on foreign policies laid out by US President-elect Joe Biden and Japan's new Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga respectively.
Dr. Patrick Jackson, Professor, School of International Service, AU predicted that Biden would restore US global cooperation and there would be a much deeper understanding of the strategic value of the longstanding US-Japan relationship.
Dr. Akihiko Kimijima, Professor, College of International Relations, RU explained that the Suga administration would adhere to the former Prime Minister Abe's major policies, strategically promoting the Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) based on the Japan-US alliance.
Students, having invested a lot of time and energy in watching the coverage of the US election, exchanged their thoughts on the global impact of the Biden transition. Topics also included reflection on the Tramp administration, the nation's deep division as well as implications of the emerging new political regime, China.
The Q&A sessions was opened up for general questions about how their student life currently looked like during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The event proved to be a valuable opportunity for the students to learn the viewpoints from both countries, as well as to get to know each other across cohorts.
