On April 3, 2023, the NATO Association of Canada and the Canadian International Council co-sponsored “Building a More Secure Indo-Pacific: Canada and Japan,” a virtual discussion that Valerie Keyes, President and CEO, GTM Leadership Matters, moderated between the Hon. Robert Oliphant, M.P. and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and H.E. Kanji Yamanouchi, Japan’s ambassador to Canada. The 90-minute event explored global and regional security challenges, as well as how Canada and Japan can work together to address them. Prior to the discussion, the event began with introductions and remarks from the Ambassador and Parliamentary Secretary. Topics discussed between the panellists include bilateral, multilateral, and plurilateral engagement; North Korea and nuclear weapons; Japan-South Korea relations; AUKUS; Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy; Canada-Japan six shared priorities; the security situation in the South and East China Seas; China-Russia relations in the context of the war in Ukraine; and Canadian and Japanese joint engagement with the Global South.

Valerie Keyes Biography

Valerie Keyes had nearly thirty-five years of experience in the federal Public Service,
having previously served in the Canadian Armed Forces for thirteen years. A graduate of
the University of Toronto and the Royal Military College of Canada, she is the first (and
only) Canadian to receive the Master of Science in Leadership from the Olin School of
Business, Washington University in St. Louis.

Prior to her retirement in 2021, Valerie spent most of her Public Service career in
National Defence, in such diverse domains as government relations, humanitarian policy
operations, and Western Hemisphere defence relations, all with a backdrop of security
and intelligence. She also served as Special Adviser to the British Army on peacekeeping
policies and doctrine, as well as ethos and leadership.

Valerie is now the President and CEO of GTM Leadership Matters, a consulting firm that
specializes in leadership training and education for government and private sector
employees.

Kajin Yamanouchi’s Biography

KANJI YAMANOUCHI has been the Ambassador of Japan to Canada since May, 2022. Prior
to this assignment, he was the Ambassador / Consul-General of Japan in New York (2018 -
2022).

Ambassador Yamanouchi has been serving Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs for over 38
years, during which he has held the positions of: Director of the First Southeast Asia Division
in 2003; Director of the Press Division in 2004; Director of the First North America Division in
2007; Executive Assistant to the Prime Minister in 2009; Deputy Director-General of the Asian
and Oceanian Affairs Bureau in 2011, and Assistant Minister / Director-General for the
Economic Affairs Bureau in 2016.

His diplomatic postings include assignments to the Embassy of Japan in the U.S. as First
Secretary in 1997 and the Embassy of Japan in Korea as Counsellor in 2001. In 2013, he was
posted to the Embassy of Japan in Washington, D.C. for the second time as the Minister for
Economic Affairs.

Ambassador Yamanouchi graduated from Tokyo University of Foreign Studies and went on to
receive his M.A. in Political Science from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut.
He is married and has one daughter.

Robert Oliphant’s Biography

The Hon. Dr. Robert Oliphant, P.C., M.P. was elected as the Member of Parliament for Don Valley West to the House of Commons in 2021, having been elected previously in 2015 and 2019. He previously served in that role from 2008 until 2011 where he served as Official Opposition Critic for Veterans Affairs and for Multiculturalism.

In 2019, Rob was appointed as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Rob works closely with the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs, to ensure constructive Canadian leadership in the world and promote Canada’s interests and values globally. Rob previously served in this role working with the former Ministers of Foreign Affairs, the Honourable Chrystia Freeland, the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, and the Honourable Marc Garneau.

Rob is also the Vice-Chair of the Canada-Africa Parliamentary Association. He served as Co-Chair of the House of Commons and Senate Special Joint Committee on Physician-Assisted Dying, as Chair of the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security from 2015 to 2017, and as Chair of the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration from 2017 to 2019. Rob’s legislative accomplishments include an Act which outlaws discrimination against genetic characteristics as well as an Act he co-sponsored which creates a national dementia strategy. He has been actively engaged in social and economic justice issues, housing for vulnerable Canadians, welcoming of refugees and newcomers, gender justice, the inclusion of people with disabilities, LGBTQ2S and other human rights issues.