Sukegawa Seiya

Sukegawa Seiya

Professor, Faculty of Political Science and Economics, Kokushikan University

Seiya Sukegawa is a professor at the Faculty of Political Science and Economics, Kokushikan University. He graduated from Kyushu University, earning his PhD in Economics. He specialises in international economics, free trade agreements/economic partnership agreements, and the ASEAN Economic Community. After working at JETRO, he became an associate professor in 2017 and has been in his current position since 2020. His publications include Strategies for the Utilization of Asian FTAs by Japanese Companies: Guidelines for the Utilization of FTAs in the TPP Era (co-authored).

Visitors view a BYD Dolphin EV car at a BYD show room in Bangkok, Thailand, on 17 January 2024. (Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters)

'Made in Thailand' Chinese EVs could fill the auto market

Japanese academic Sukegawa Seiya notes that with the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement and the Thai government’s aggressive promotion policies, the Thai auto market and even the global auto market could soon be filled with China EV brands that are made in Thailand.
US President Joe Biden, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida listen to other leaders joining the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) launch event virtually, at Izumi Garden Gallery in Tokyo, Japan, 23 May 2022. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

IPEF: How committed are the US and ASEAN countries?

Recent moves by the US, not least President Biden's recent launch of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF), are meant to woo Asian countries. Several ASEAN countries are receptive to the IPEF and the US naturally considers those who join as "friends". But will this count for much? Japanese academic Seiya Sukegawa examines the many unanswered questions with regard to the new framework.
This picture taken on 7 July 2021 shows vehicles in Tokyo. (Philip Fong/AFP)

Covid-19 pandemic: Supply chain disruptions in Southeast Asia affecting Japan and the world

In 2020, Japan was ASEAN’s largest export partner of auto parts, making up 17.8% of ASEAN's exports, followed by the US (15.4%) and China (10.2%). However, with the onslaught of the Delta variant of Covid-19 this year, many Southeast Asian countries have imposed factory operation restrictions that have disrupted the supply chain, with Japanese firm Toyota Motor suffering the greatest impact. Japanese academic Sukegawa Seiya examines the issue.