Against the backdrop of instability of governance within the East Asian region and emergence of nationalism in various countries, the Genron NPO has initiated a dialogue between peoples of Japan and South Korea in the belief that inter-governmental talks alone do not suffice to solve the issues at hand. Under such circumstances, the so called multi-stake-holders, who are directly involved with the cause and direction of the challenges, need to take part in the transparent dialogue and such dialogue should be endorsed by the public opinion.

Having launched the dialogues with China and South Korea, the Genron NPO aims to further advocate Japanese stance on public policies to the international community, engage in vigorous solutions for the current challenges of the world and Asia, and to form an international consensus. Under the slogan of what we call the Solid Public Diplomacy, we will strive to strengthen ability as an opinion giver and a facilitator in the international arena. Leading the way for establishing platforms for discussion to stablise East Asian governance under this slogan of Solid Public Diplomacy, the innovative diplomatic relations between the peoples are to be initiated.

Yasushi Kudo, Representative of the Genron NPO states the following:

"The challenges that the world and East Asia are facing now are at the cornerstone where inter-governmental conferences alone cannot function to tackle the issues. In addition to the unstable governance issues within the East Asian region, diplomatic ties are weakening. Furthermore, the rise of nationalistic sentiments has complicated the issues. It is therefore not only desirable but also necessary to encourage multi-stake-holders to engage in the dialogues which should then be supported by the public opinion. Diplomacy indeed does require the force of citizenry and public.

The Genron NPO believes in the need for persistent participation by the public as in the case for dialogues between Japan and China, for the better Japan-South Korea relations. There exists a great degree of mistrust and lack of mutual understandings between the peoples of Japan and South Korea, which exacerbates the relationship between the two countries. We endeavour to overcome such situations with the power of debates and understandings about perceptions of the public of Japan and South Korea based on the joint public opinion poll and to foster a candid dialogue for the future of the two countries".