Kariya Takehiko, Professor, Oxford University   Key points Despite higher levels of education, labor productivity is not rising. The closed nature of the human capital market is also affecting non-regular employees. We must increase diversity of human resources, not rest on our laurels here in Japan. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries temporarily closed their borders, putting a brake on the free movement of human resources. Bearing in mind the small number of infected people, by refusing entry to foreign students for an extended period, Japan’s response is like its historic “national isolation.” Amid competition for human resources in the global arena, will post-COVID-19 Japan be able to make its human resources more skilled and diverse? The famous French thinker Michel Foucault made a fascinating point in a lecture in his later years. It was that the market, which had long been a place ... ... [Read more]

Hirayama Yosuke, Professor, Kobe University   The popularization of home ownership characterizes the social changes in postwar Japan. The homeowner society was formed when the middle class expanded and more people lived in their own homes as a consequence of spectacular economic growth. Many people enjoyed stable employment and income, and moved from rented housing into their own housing. Aiming to form a society based on promoting home ownership, the government, which formulates and implements housing policies, focused on driving the expansion of the owner-occupied housing sector. It was thought that facilitating home ownership would not only improve housing conditions, but also stimulate economic growth and encourage social integration.  The spread of home ownership into wider segments of society is a phenomenon that became viable under the specific socioeconomic conditions characteristic of the latter half of the twentieth century: population growth and a youthful ... ... [Read more]

Nozawa Chie, Professor, School of Political Science and Economics, Meiji University   For many years, the dream of owning a plot of land and a home has characterized the Japanese. Nonetheless, we are now faced with a strange situation where the issue of land with unknown owners and the issue of vacant houses is becoming increasingly serious. The underlying factors for these two issues are identical. Not long ago, the norm was for land and houses to be passed from the older to the younger generation. However, in the context of the population outflow from rural to urban areas and the nuclearization of families, land and houses in hometowns are no longer valuable assets. In addition to deficiencies in the real property registration system, there are cases where people who have left their hometowns do not even realize that they have inheritance rights. This ... ... [Read more]

Murai Jun, Distinguished Professor, Keio University   The Digital Agency was launched on September 1, 2021, amid a COVID-19 pandemic that was highlighting the lack of progress on digitalization in Japan. The editorial team of Chuokoron spoke to Professor Murai Jun, Special Adviser to the Cabinet on digitalization policy and Chair of the Digital Agency’s Digital Society Concept Conference, regarding these issues and what may happen next. Strict regulations obstructed IT use and application —During the COVID-19 response, many people became aware of Japan’s lack of progress on digitalization. What do you think are the biggest reasons for that?   I think it’s fair to say that, while in some respects Japan’s digitalization is not going smoothly compared to other countries or it has not made the progress that it should, in other regards, it is going well. Japan’s IT strategy, the IT Basic ... ... [Read more]

Sasao Shinta, Associate Professor, Tokyo Women’s College of Physical Education & Tokyo Women’s Junior College of Physical Education   The Olympic Charter lists “promoting a peaceful society” as its goal. The Host Town Initiative works to achieve that goal by encouraging mutually beneficial exchanges between participant countries and regions and local municipalities. I would like to detail those ideas and their actual implementation, then end by discussing my hopes for the future. Why We Even Have the Olympics This article will review the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games (hereinafter, “Tokyo 2020”) with a focus on host towns, one initiative enacted during Tokyo 2020. What is the purpose of the Olympics? In 2021, with Tokyo 2020 right around the corner, many people in Japan—especially those in Tokyo—undoubtedly thought hard upon this question. I doubt many people knew this before Tokyo 2020, but the goal ... ... [Read more]

Miyata Hiroaki, Professor, Keio University Confusion caused by digitalization delays ―Can you name some issues caused by digitalization delays in COVID-19 measures? Firstly, the operation of COVID-19 measures involves a variety of intertwining elements, so it’s not possible to explain all of it with just digitalization delays. I’d like to talk only about what’s based on facts. I think the first thing many Japanese people felt was strange was the shortage of the face masks. Even with the same volumes in stock, it’s possible that digital management could have kept track of how much is where and distribute it to avoid a situation where those who need it don’t get it. As an example, if they had clearly communicated that “there’s at least one month’s worth for “essential workers and high-risk people with chronic illness and two weeks’ worth for others,” then people would ... ... [Read more]

“The self-cultivation boom in modern Japan was richly varied, ranging from cold-water bathing to meditation, reading, even savings. […] Even though the approaches have changed with the times, self-cultivation emerges out of similar soil and seeds to blossom differently in each age.”   Osawa Ayako, Religious scholar, Research fellow, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science The Roots of Self-Development From day to day, quite a few people harbor the feeling that they want to grow and become a wonderful person. Some people make stoic efforts to turn themselves into the person they want to be, practicing Zen meditation or other behaviors advocated by people they idealize. The thoughts and actions that encourage us to improve ourselves are called self-development. How have these practices and this kind of thinking taken root in Japanese society? The clue is in the idea of shuyo (hereinafter, self-cultivation). ... ... [Read more]

Ishida Mitsunori, Professor at Waseda University   　 The phrase “loneliness and isolation” has often caught my eye since NHK (the Japan Broadcasting Corporation) produced a special edition on the muen shakai (a society where individuals are isolated and have weak links with each other). Ten years have now passed and there is renewed interest in the issue with the Suga Cabinet installing a “minister in charge of loneliness and isolation.”     As soon as attention turns to loneliness and isolation, there emerges, as if in a backlash, a discussion about reexamining the value of loneliness and isolation. In short, a discussion about the need to recognize the value of being alone. Possibly out of consideration for such opinions, the phrase “unwanted loneliness and isolation” has recently come into use, and there is also a tendency to limit the nature of the problem. However, ... ... [Read more]

Sawada Akihiro, Journalist   Since moving from Tokyo to Awaji Island in Hyogo Prefecture because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Sawada Akihiro has painstakingly reported on the realities of the corona migration and of rural life. He has now published his findings in Tokyo wo suteru: korona iju no genjitsu (Leaving Tokyo: the reality of corona migration) (Chuko Shinsho La Clef), a book that engages with the real face of the corona migrants who have left Tokyo. Windsurfing on the Fuji Five Lakes  “Exiting the subway station closest to my home in Tokyo, I couldn’t see the moon.” Ishibashi Minako (pseudonym, 33), PR officer at the IT venture company Thinkings (Chuo Ward, Tokyo), lived in a rented apartment in Chuo Ward, Tokyo. Her rent for the one room apartment with a kitchen (26 m2) was 106,000 yen. After the declaration of a state of emergency ... ... [Read more]

  It is seventy-five years since women first entered the University of Tokyo. The hidden struggles behind impressive careers. Akiyama Chika, journalist   “I feel like I’ve been driven to this point…” Wearing a satin blouse with a colorful pattern, the woman falters as she speaks, and huge tears trickle down. Her name is Yamaguchi Mayu. One of her jobs is working as a media commentator, but while a student in the University of Tokyo’s (Tokyo University below) Faculty of Law, Yamaguchi passed both the national bar examination and the National Civil Service (Level 1) exam (formerly, National Civil Service Comprehensive Service exam). When she graduated in 2006, she gained top marks in all subjects and was awarded the University of Tokyo President’s Award. After working as a civil servant in the Ministry of Finance, she became a lawyer and worked at a well-known ... ... [Read more]