Report: Meeting with the mission of The Council for Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD)

In September 2024, a mission from The Council for Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD), a coalition of liberal and democratic political parties in Asia, visited Japan to promote democracy activities and meet Japanese political parties, think tanks, scivil society organizations and other stakeholders.

JANIC met with several parliamentarians affiliated with CALD at the international conference organized by the Asia Centre in Bangkok in August 2024.

Dr. Yasuhiro Shigeta, JANIC Policy Advisor, and Aoi Horiuchi, JANIC Senior Advocacy Officer and Deputy Director of THINK Lobby, introduced JANIC and THINK Lobby’s activities related to policy advocacy, in particular, the Tokyo Democracy Forum, which has been held continuously for the past few years, the publication of the THINK Lobby Journal, and efforts to expand civil society spaces, including the Japan Civil Society Action Network for Civic Space (NANCiS). Political engagement by youth in Japan,  campaigns by citizens and NGOs on climate change were also introduced.

One of the attending parliamentarian commented that, “Collaboration between politicians and civil society is essential to promote democracy and build a just society across Asia. Some issues, such as the climate crisis, must be tackled as common challenges that transcend party lines. We would like to continue our dialogue with civil society in the future“.