This seminar is the first in a series of recurring seminars in the Gothenburg seminar on international business and trade series, in memory of Professor Claes-Göran Alvstam. Claes was one of the pioneers in Area Studies both for research and education, where he early on came to realize the importance of East and Southeast Asia. He has been a long-term friend of the European Institute of Japanese Studies (EIJS) since the start 30 years ago. With his keen interest in EU-Japan trade relations, he has actively been involved in many of the Stockholm Seminars on Japan series, that in November last year saw its 100th seminar.