Warren King, Australia

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Director Japan Section, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Public Policy Program (’96/’98)

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What is your area of specialization and how did you come to work in this area?

Although I have worked on a number of different issues in the public service, I have tended to specialize on strategic issues in North East Asia. This was not by conscious design, but was the consequence of various work roles that I had. After working on these issues in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet I developed some experience and expertise, and I chose to do further study in Japan to build on that expertise and to experience life in another country. After I returned from Japan I was able to put that experience to good use. That said, I don’t really like to describe myself as a specialist. In the public service, and especially in the foreign affairs and trade department, it is important to be able to work on many different issues at short notice. While there is a place for specialists, many of us aren’t.

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From 2004 – 2007 you were posted to the Australian Embassy in Washington. What were your responsibilities and duties while working in the US? How did you enjoy your stay in Washington?

While I was in Washington I was mainly responsible for reporting and advocacy in relation to US Asia policy in a broad sense, with a particular focus on North East Asia as well as issues of regional architecture. The biggest issues in this portfolio were US-China relations, the North Korean nuclear issue, and the longer-term development of multilateral structures in the Asia-Pacific. This was a very active and important period, with much tension and uncertainty surrounding the cross-Strait issue and fast-paced developments on the Korean Peninsula. For someone of my background, this was an ideal set of issues and the ideal environment in which to work on them. Washington is possibly the most intellectually stimulating city in the world. Many of the best scholars in the world on East Asia can be found in Washington. By walking less than ten minutes from the Australian Embassy, one could visit the five or six most important foreign policy think tanks in the United States. And the quality and commitment of US officials working on these issues was outstanding. Despite the popular perception that this was a time when the United States was pre-occupied with events in the Middle East, it was in fact a very productive time in US-Asia relations. I think that now would also be a fantastic time to be working in Washington, with a fresh new Administration.

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You are now back at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Canberra, where have been appointed as Director of the Japan Section. What do you see as the main challenges in the current Australia – Japan relations?

This is a great time to be working on the relationship with Japan. Our two countries have a full and active agenda at the moment. We are negotiating a free trade agreement, which is a natural evolution of our close, extensive and complementary economic relationship. But there is still much potential for growth in services trade – two-thirds of our economies are accounted for by services, yet this is not reflected in our trade. We are also expanding our defence and security relationship, both on a bilateral level and trilaterally with the United States. Australia now has joint foreign and defence ministerial meetings with Japan – we have such meetings with only the United States, Japan and the United Kingdom, and Japan has such meetings with only the United States and Australia. Australia and Japan share very similar views on most of the big issues facing the world; we are natural partners.

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It is also a relationship that has great popular goodwill on both sides, mainly as a result of the exchange of students and tourists over many years. Australians spend a lot of time overseas. Nearly one half of all Australians have a passport, and at any one time, up to a million of them – about 5 per cent of the population – are living or traveling overseas. Of those, around 15,000 are in Japan at any one time. So Australians know Japan very well.

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Perhaps the biggest challenge in the relationship is that, because it is so positive, and because it has been positive for so many years, many people take it for granted. The relationship with Japan doesn’t always get a high level of media attention as those with countries such as China and India. That is probably because of the huge growth in our trade with China and India in recent years. But the scale of the relationship with Japan is still impressive. In 2008, Japan was by far our largest export market, taking a fifth of our exports. Australia’s trade surplus with Japan was worth more than its entire trade with the United States. Whaling is another challenging issue as Australia is pushing Japan very hard to end the killing of all whales. But both Governments are working hard to move this difficult issue forward constructively.

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The last few years has been a very interesting time to be working on Japan. It is a time when many people in Japan are thinking hard about the country’s future, looking at whether policies which have served Japan well for many years, even decades, perhaps need to be reconsidered. This affects everything from domestic policy to trade and foreign and defence policy. And, of course, the global financial crisis will only accelerate this process.

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What was the most important thing you learned while at GRIPS/GSPS? And how has your time in Japan influenced you in your subsequent career?

My time in Japan has helped me in many respects. It was firstly an opportunity for me to take time out from work and to refine my thinking about foreign and strategic policy issues – in other words to go back to basics. This refreshed me and prepared me for my future work. I also used the time to fill out my knowledge of subjects that I had not previously studied in any detail. I especially valued the opportunity to build a base of knowledge of economics. What I learned about Japanese policies more broadly has helped me greatly in my current role, as has the experience of simply living in Japan. No matter how much you learn about a country through books, there is no substitute for actually living there. My time in Japan helped to set the direction of my career subsequently. Whatever I do in the future, and wherever I work, I am sure that I will have a long-term continuing involvement with Japan.

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The other real advantage of my time in Japan was the insight it gave me into working with people from other countries in the region. At GSPS I met many others from South East Asia, China, Korea, India and elsewhere in Asia. I could think of no more effective way of becoming familiar with many different cultures in a short space of time.

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During your career in the Australian civil service, what achievement(s) are you most proud of and what has been the most rewarding aspect of your career thus far?

It’s not really relevant to point to personal achievements, because most of the big things I have been involved in while in the public service were in close cooperation with others. No single person can really achieve anything in the public service. Even if you are the hardest worker possible, you always need to persuade others to agree with what you are doing. And in our democratic system, public servants only advise, whereas Ministers decide. So any achievements I have been responsible for have been collective. This is true whether it has been working in my current role, in Washington, on the China desk, or in other departments.

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But I do like to think that I have helped to shape our foreign policy, in however small a way. A common thread in all of my working roles is that they have all involved helping the Australian Government get the mix right in its relations with the major powers of the Asia-Pacific – especially the United States, Japan and China. It is important that the substance of our most important relationships and the way we manage those relationships reflects our strategic interests as well as our values. I hope I have been able to help achieve this. I am proud to have been able to help develop the strategic relationship with Japan, which is a key piece in the framework of our evolving foreign policy and which ties in neatly with my own academic interests. I also enjoyed working on the 2000 Defence White Paper when I was an adviser in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. I’ve also been involved in managing some important visits, which can be great experiences. For example, in 2006 I coordinated a state visit to the United States by the Australian Prime Minister.

Did the, perhaps more lucrative, private sector ever hold any appeal for you?

If some major company would like to employ me to provide foreign policy advice, I would gladly consider their offer. But it is primarily an issue for governments. Also, most people who work on foreign policy do so because they enjoy it rather than because it pays well.

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If you could choose another profession to be in, what would it be?

It would probably be some other profession involving writing, such as journalism.

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What is your fondest memory of your time spent in Japan?

I really enjoyed traveling to regional Japan, especially onsen and historical sites – such as in Hokkaido, and also to other parts of Honshu such as Kyoto, Nikko, Kanazawa, Hiroshima and Shimonoseki.

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What do you miss about Japan?

Polite service in shops, snow and sakura.

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What is your favorite thing to do when you are not working?

Thinking about my next holiday.

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How do you maintain a balance between your work and the rest of your life?

This is an issue that gets much attention in Australia. We like to think of ourselves as a very relaxed nation, and we have a reputation overseas for caring more about sport than anything else. Having a good work-life balance is seen as important – much more so than in other countries. I think the key to work-life balance is to be doing a job that you enjoy but which also gives you time to do other things, and fortunately my current job is like that. Another really important thing is to work more efficiently so that you have more free time or are in a better frame of mind when you do leave work. Also, it helps to force yourself not to work beyond certain hours unless absolutely necessary. There needs to be a time each evening when you ask yourself “do I really need to be here?”. Canberra is a great place to live if you are looking for a better work-life balance; the natural environment is so good and accessible.

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What advice would you give to current GRIPS students?

I would advise them to make the most of the opportunity of living in Japan, even if it is only for a year, by trying to learn some of the language and by meeting Japanese people in the general community. My one regret is that I did not learn as much Japanese language as I could have; if I had my time again I would definitely focus more on learning the language.