Koji Watanabe, the executive director of Japan’s most influential business association, the Japan Federation of Economic Organizations (Keidanren), will give a lecture at a meeting of the Japan-America Society of Georgia (JASG) to be held on Wednesday, March 17, 6 p.m.-7:30 p.m., at the Grand Hyatt Atlanta.
Mr. Watanabe, who was Japan’s ambassador to Russia from 1993-96 and to Italy from 1992-93, is to discuss the current state of the Asian crisis and Japan’s efforts to revive its economy.
The Keidanren is composed of more than 1,000 of Japan’s leading corporations, including 52 foreign firms, as well as 121 industry-wide groups representing such major sectors as manufacturing, trade, distribution, finance and energy.
Among other activities, the association cooperates with international bodies as well as governments and business organizations from other countries to solve international problems and foster closer contacts.
Other overseas posts in which Mr. Watanabe has served include Counsellor at the Japanese Embassy in Vietnam (1974-76), Minister at the Japanese Embassy in Beijing (1981-84) and Ambassador to Saudi Arabia (1988-89).
The program is open to the public but reservations are required through JASG by Monday, March 15. The cost is $10 per person. For more information, call (404) 524-7399 or send an E-mail jasg@mindspring.com