[Mission] The Japan Forum on International Relations, Inc. (JFIR or The Forum) was founded on March 12, 1987 in Tokyo on the private initiative of Dr. Okita Saburo, Mr. Hattori Ichiro and 61 other independent citizens from business, academic, political and mass media circles of Japan. They agreed that a policy - oriented research institution in the field of international affairs independent from the government was most urgently looked for in Japan because the world now wanted to know not only what the Japanese Government spoke about but also what the Japanese people thought about. They were also convinced that Japan was now expected not only to think about its own role in the international community but also to contribute to breaking new ground in the search for a new world order.

The Forum is a nonprofit and nonpartisan membership organization dedicated to improved understanding of Japanese foreign policy and international relations.

The Forum takes no institutional position on issues of foreign policy, though its members are encouraged not only to analyze but to propose alternatives on matters of foreign policy. Though the Forum helps its members to formulate policy recommendations on matters of public policy, the views expressed in such recommendations represent in no way those of the Forum as an institution and the responsibility for the contents of the recommendations is that of those members of the Forum who sign them alone.

　

[Organization] The Japan Forum on International Relations is a membership organization. There are four categories of membership in the Forum; corporate membership, associate corporate membership, individual membership and associate individual membership. The Forum as a whole is governed by the Board of Directors, which is in charge of the management, and is supervised by the Board of Trustees, which is a consultative body. The Board of Trustees elects Directors and Auditors and advises the Board of Directors on such important issues as the adoption of an annual budget and an annual work program. The work program of the Forum is coordinated and directed by the Steering Committee, while the fund raising and other financial matters of the Forum is taken care of by the Finance Committee. Advisers can attend the Board of Directors meeting and give advice on important issues of the management of the Forum, though they do not have a voting right. The Officers of the Forum, Chairman. President and Vice President, are elected for a term of two years by the Board of Directors and are eligible for reelection.