The National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS), a graduate school and research institute established in Tokyo in October 1997, will hold a forum titled "Culture as 'Soft Power': International Cultural Exchange of Government-Citizen Cooperation" on March 25. "Soft power" is a term used in international relations to describe political developments being influenced without recourse to "hard" (military) power.

Part I of the forum is a three-way conversation titled "The Soft Power of Culture: Based on the Case of the Cambodian Peace Talks" between the cultural counselor of the French Embassy in Tokyo, Jean-Louis Muchielli, a former Japanese ambassador to Cambodia, Yukio Imagawa, and Koji Kakizawa, former minister of Foreign Affairs.

Part II is a discussion focused on international cultural exchange and the creation and transmission of culture. Contributors include David Elliott, director of the Mori Arts Center Gallery. The forum will close with a question and answer session.

The forum runs 10:30 a.m.-5:10 p.m. at GRIPS, Soukairou Hall, 7-22-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku. The venue is a short walk from Roppongi Station's Exit 7 on the Toei Oedo Line. Admission is free. For more information, call (03) 6439-6000.