John Kirton, professor of political science at the University of Toronto's Munk School of Global Affairs, delivered the CIGI Signature Lecture on March 14, 2012. It was the keynote address for the 2012 Japan Futures Initiative Spring Symposium. Kirton discussed Japan's position, power, and place in the world. The Japan Futures Initiative (JFI) is a network of scholars and practitioners dedicated to the promotion of the policy-relevant social scientific study of Japan, with an eye toward better understanding challenges that Japan, Canada, and other OECD countries face in the future, and to the identification of opportunities to enhance Canada-Japan cooperation.