How Japan can meet global, domestic challenges and develop the human resources needed for a brighter future

On November 9, 2023, representatives from the Sasakawa Peace Foundation (SPF) and the Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research, which are both part of the more than 20 organizations affiliated with The Nippon Foundation, joined forces to discuss the role of Japan, which itself stands at a crossroads, and consider the human resources necessary to tackle the challenges posed by the rapidly changing global situation. At the symposium, the first to be co-hosted by the two foundations, there was a shared sense of urgency about stagnation in Japan as well as broad agreement about the critical role of think tanks to develop the human resources needed to lead Japan and the international community.

The opening remarks were delivered by Dr. Atsushi Sunami, president of SPF. He specified the key issues for the symposium as being how we should respond to the international situation and changing world order; climate change and other environmental developments at the global level; technical innovations such as space development; and demographic trends such as declining birthrates and aging populations. Dr. Sunami also noted the limitations of current approaches and spoke of the need for new ways to develop human resources.

The panel for Session 1 featured SPF Executive Director and Ocean Policy Research Institute (OPRI) President Hide Sakaguchi, SPF Executive Director Nobukatsu Kanehara, and SPF Trustee Akio Takahara, along with SPF President Sunami as moderator.

For much of the postwar period, Japan's GDP was second only to the United States. However, when the economic bubble burst, there followed a period of economic stagnation and by 2010, Japan found itself displaced by China. Today, China boasts a GDP four times that of Japan, and it is only a matter of time before Japan is also overtaken by India. ASEAN is expected to enjoy moderate growth for the foreseeable future, while the Global South, the emerging and developing countries located predominantly in the southern hemisphere, is steadily growing in stature. There are fears of a further decline in Japan's influence within the international community. 

In consideration of these trends, Mr. Kanehara pointed out that India and ASEAN were both expected to surpass Japan in GDP terms within the next 10 years. "Developing countries are not necessarily united," noted Mr. Kanehara. "Russia and China, nations that stand in steadfast opposition to liberal societies, haven't managed to bring developing nations together through the medium of a shared ideology. Meanwhile, liberal nations themselves are becoming increasingly multipolar, producing a new style of leadership in countries such as India, Indonesia, Mexico and Brazil."

According to Mr. Kanehara, this poses the fundamental question of how we go about redesigning the international community of nations. It also means that we need Japanese people who are capable of designing a new Japan. Mr. Kanehara stressed the need for a more pragmatic and realistic approach, both internally and externally, to the core question of the state, its reason for being, and its ability to survive and even flourish. He noted that SPF is actively engaged in nurturing future leaders both in Japan and on the international stage.

Dr. Takahara defined our current predicament as "the age of compound crisis."

"Have we ever had a summer in Japan like this year, thanks to climate change?" he asked. "And then there's the COVID-19 pandemic and wars breaking out around the world. We live in a climate of fear and uncertainty. We have lost our sense of safety and security. It is this sense of compound crisis that leads to division."

According to Dr. Takahara, this age of compound crisis requires a measured approach predicated on “human security.” Every single human life is important, so we need to respect the sanctity of life and the basic right of people to live their lives in safety.  Dr. Takahara added that Japan has a duty to lead the way in coordinating international cooperation efforts designed to address the many common challenges we face in the current era, predicated on the fundamental principle of safety and security for all.

Dr. Sakaguchi then spoke about the relationship between ocean policy and peace.

He pointed out that there is still much we don't know about the world’s ocean, around 90% of which remain unmapped and unexplored  to this day. This is partly due to the enormous expenses of oceanic surveying. As a result, we have not been fully aware of the rise in sea temperatures due to climate change and the devastating impact on marine ecosystems. Dr. Sakaguchi outlined the key role of ocean policy and issued the following plea in regard to ocean studies and associated international rules.

"The ocean is a shared resource for all humankind. Focusing on the ocean might seem counter-intuitive to the needs of humans perpetually in conflict over land. Rather than channeling our energies into snatching land from each other, surely it is more important for us all to come together and focus our efforts on protecting our ocean. Working to protect the ocean, our common shared asset, is something that can bring us all together. That is why I believe that a genuine commitment to ocean policy is a means of bringing peace to humanity."

Dr. Sakaguchi also pointed to the recent surge of interest in ocean policy studies, as evidenced by the proliferation of ocean and marine policy courses at universities around the world. At the same time, he pointed out the almost complete absence of dedicated ocean policy institutions in Japan, with the notable exception of OPRI at SPF. According to Dr. Sakaguchi, although OPRI is not a university, it is committed to leading the way on ocean policy at the global level as a think tank.

The panel for Session 2 consisted of Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research Executive Director Mari Suzuki, Research Director Makiko Nakamuro and Senior Fellow Hikaru Hiranuma, with CEO and Executive Director Yuichiro Anzai as moderator.

The Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research is currently pursuing some 30 research programs across 5 broad research domains including: economy, fiscal policy, environment, resources, and energy; education, human resources development, employment, and social security; and social-structural transformation through digital revolution and digitalization.

Ms. Suzuki began by describing the Ryoichi Sasakawa Young Leaders Fellowship Fund (SYLFF), a key education and human resources development program that dispenses scholarships to postgraduate students at 69 universities in 44 countries around the world. She told the symposium that the fund has already awarded more than 17,000 scholarships designed to nurture future leaders capable of tackling the major common issues of humankind. Ms. Suzuki noted the recent proliferation of pressing global issues and stressed the importance of equipping young people with the skills and competencies to deal with challenges such as climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic (still fresh in the memory), and advances in digitalization.

Dr. Hiranuma, whose research focuses on regional policy to promote renewable energy, stressed that promoting the uptake of renewable energy is without a doubt one of the key shared strategies that we can use to address the global issue of resources and energy at a time of great upheaval. However, Dr. Hiranuma also pointed out that proposed renewable energy facilities sometimes encounter setbacks such as opposition from local residents concerned about the visual impact on the environment. According to Dr. Hiranuma, we need to fundamentally change our approach and engage constructively with local communities to prevent these concerns from arising in the first place. 

Dr. Hiranuma gave two examples of this approach. The first was the solar sharing model, whereby solar panels are installed on unused farmland and crops such as soybeans are grown underneath. This has the dual benefit of generating income for the local community and making use of land that would otherwise remain idle. The second example was the microgrid (small-scale power grid) model, whereby power generators – typically solar, wind, or biomass – are owned by the local community, with the power being consumed directly within the local community. According to Dr. Hiranuma, we need people who can effectively promote the uptake of community-led renewable energy projects such as these. 

Dr. Nakamuro is a leading researcher in the field of education economics and author of the best-selling book Gakuryoku no Keizaigaku (The Economics of Academic Achievement). She currently serves on the Meeting on Digital Administrative and Fiscal Reform  panel of experts advising the Kishida administration.

Dr. Nakamuro outlined two methodologies for addressing anticipated labor shortages associated with a steep drop in the working-age population: higher added-value productivity per capita; and Business Transformation (BX), often through automation of many processes typically performed by human operators. Dr. Nakamuro called for caution, however, in the education space, warning that high-quality teachers will still be very much required for teacher-led educational approaches even in individually tailored computer-assisted learning approaches where all students are using so-called “Global and Innovation Gateway for All (GIGA) School” devices.

The final session, featuring SPF President Sunami and Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research CEO and Executive Director Anzai, along with University of Tokyo Graduate School of Public Policy Professor Kan Suzuki as moderator, looked at the qualities needed to address the plethora of challenges that we face in the modern era, and the role of think tanks in helping to develop these qualities.

Dr. Sunami pointed out that everything in life comes down to people. "Particularly in Japan," he said, "we need people who have a better understanding of the wider world. So the question is: how do we equip people with the skills and competencies to come up with different approaches and new ways to tackle these challenges? This is the question that lies at the heart of SPF," he concluded.

Dr. Anzai agreed that Japan needs "people who can understand how the world sees Japan. Our ability to produce innovators who can change society and its constructs for the better is going to be vital to the future of our nation. And that's our main focus at the Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research," he added.

Dr. Suzuki followed up with the observation that Japan was the world's second-largest economic power in the 20th century and had a seat at the international table, but has since lost that seat and today is increasingly seen as irrelevant. He called for more forceful recognition by Japanese politicians, government officials, and the media of the phenomenon of Japan being overlooked or even disregarded completely in international relations. Dr. Suzuki proposed that bureaucratic sectionalism and the increasing fragmentation of academia as the biggest obstacles holding Japan back today, and argued that think tanks such as SPF and the Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research are best positioned to articulate and pursue the type of grand vision that is needed.

Dr. Sunami agreed with Dr. Suzuki on barriers within bureaucracy and fragmentation in academia, and added that think tanks are inherently problem-solving by nature and therefore provide the ideal framework for harnessing different ideas and approaches and working with people from all over the world to identify and address issues. According to Dr. Sunami, this is the key role of think tanks, which provide an environment for people to learn and grow. Dr. Anzai argued that Japan now finds itself playing catch-up with the rest of the world. He noted that think tanks have an important role to play in nurturing future leaders and articulating the way forward, and said he hoped to work more closely with SPF in future.

The symposium concluded with closing remarks from Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research President Izumi Kadono, who hailed the event as the first step in developing the human resources needed for a brighter future and expressed her ambition for the foundation to develop into a powerful think tank capable of bringing together ideas and knowledge to make meaningful contributions to Japan and the wider world.