Press Conference:
Seishiro Eto, LDP Lower House Member;
Hajime Izumi, Professor, Shizuoka University;
Toshimitsu Shigemura, Professor, Waseda University

The speech and Q & A will be in Japanese with simultaneous English Interpretation.

Is The Dear Leader's Nuke Report For Real?
Implications For Japan And The U.S.-Japan Alliance

With North Korea delivering its long delayed nuclear declaration, President George W. Bush has said that the U.S. will move to take Pyongyang off the list of states that sponsor terrorism.

The move has raised many questions about the North's declaration, including its reported uranium enrichment program and suspected proliferation activities with Syria and possibly other nations.

Is Bush's move the last desperate act of a lame duck president to secure a foreign policy victory, or is it a first step to bring the North back into the international community and resolve its nuclear and missile activities?

Of course, the move raised big questions in Tokyo that Washington is putting the issue of Japanese citizens abducted by Pyongyang on the back burner. Some editorial opinion even suggested that ignoring the kidnapping issue could put the half-century old U.S.-Japan security alliance on the rocks.

Experts on North Korean and Japanese foreign policy will come to the club to discuss these and other issues. Seishiro Etoh is an LDP Lower House Member, Hajime Izumi is a professor of international relations at Shizuoka University and Toshimitsu Shigemura is a professor of international liberal studies at Waseda University.

Hajime Izumi

Seishiro Eto

Toshimitsu Shigemura