SCERU
In today’s international environment, where policymakers in Europe and the Indo-Pacific region debate the future of democracy and security, strategic communications, through shaping and shifting of significant discourses in societies to bring about “positive change” rooted in the rule of law and the shared values of democratic nations, is of critical importance. Japan and the European Union (EU) are mutually cooperating to improve the international environment through economic and strategic partnership agreements. The most recent attempt to this end is a program to strengthen strategic communications between Japan and the EU under the “Enhancing EU Security Cooperation in and with Asia (ESIWA)” project. The ESIWA project supported the establishment in June 2022 of the Strategic Communications Education and Research Unit (SCERU) at GraSPP. The Joint Statement of the Japan-EU Summit 2023 on July 13 recognized establishing SCERU at GraSPP as a positive outcome of Japan-Europe cooperation.
”We welcome our cooperation through the EU-funded Enhancing Security Cooperation In and With Asia (ESIWA) project, and its positive outcomes such as the establishment of the Strategic Communicationｓ Education and Research Unit (SCERU) at the Graduate School of Public Policy (GraSPP) at the University of Tokyo.”