Date & Time: Monday 26 May, 2025, 11:15-12:15 (Open 10:45-)
Venue: Large Meeting Room (I333), 3rd Floor, Inamori Center, Kyoto University
Language: English
Attendance Registration: Required (No fee to participate)
Registration Deadline: May 23, 2025
※Registration is closed as we have reached full capacity.
ABOUT EVENT
The world is entering an age of turmoil. Violent conflicts erupt in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and South Asia, and a brutal civil war continues in Myanmar. Amid this global trend of political instability, the United States, under the Trump administration, is accelerating its turn toward pragmatism and unilateralism. It appears to have abandoned the pursuit of a free, open, and rules-based international order. The future of the relationship between the two global powers, the U.S. and China, is entirely unpredictable. What lies ahead for the political and economic order in Asia—and the world? What course should we take, and can we take it? How should Japan engage with the countries of Asia? In this special lecture, we will invite former Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad, who led his country through numerous political and economic crises, including the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s, to share his thoughts freely on these pressing issues. Following his lecture, Tun Dr. Mahathir and the participants have a dialogue session about these challenges.
PROGRAM
Moderator: YAMAMOTO Hiroyuki, Associate Professor, Center for Southeast Asian Studies (CSEAS)
| 10:45 – | Venue Open |
| 11:15 – 11:20 |
Welcome Remarks MIENO Fumiharu, Director, Center for Southeast Asian Studies (CSEAS) |
| 11:20 – 11:40 |
Special Lecture Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad |
| 11:40 – 12:15 | Interactive Session |
Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad
Born in 1925 in the northern Malaysian state of Kedah, Tun Dr. Mahathir graduated from King Edward VII College of Medicine. While still a student in 1946, he began his political career by being involved in founding the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO). He served as Prime Minister from 1981 to 2003, and his first major policy after taking office was the “Look East Policy,” which encouraged Malaysians to emulate the diligence of the Japanese people. On May 9, 2018, he ran the general election as the leader of an opposition coalition, focusing on the massive corruption scandal involving the former prime minister. At the age of 92, he returned to office, becoming the world’s oldest elected prime minister in a democracy — a feat recognized by the Guinness Book of Records. He served until March 2020. Tun Dr. Mahathir has visited Japan more than 100 times and is widely known as a pro-Japanese figure.