Japan and Lebanon: Trajectories of Reconstruction

The AUB Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs (IFI), in collaboration with the Embassy of Japan in Lebanon, organized a conference titled “Japan and Lebanon: Trajectories of reconstruction.” This event was held at IFI’s Basile Antoine Meguerdiche Conference Hall on March 8, 2022.

The two-panel conference aimed to tackle the question of political and legal reconstruction and recovery efforts after two devastating wars: World War II's impact on Japan and the Civil War in Lebanon.

In the first panel, experts presented a comparative reading of post-war dynamics in both countries. The second panel tackled a more specific question, that of the rule of law and of the administration of justice. Panelists examined two case studies that seem to bear several similarities, both in their causes and natures, as well as in the way they were addressed on the political level:  The Fukushima nuclear accident, with a focus on the risk-mitigation responses, the investigation that followed, and the lessons learned; and the Beirut Port blast, with a focus on the chain of negligence that led to it, the very poor response, the dragging investigation, and the endless judicial stalling surrounding the case.