Todo Yasuyuki, Professor, Waseda University Key points: Bringing manufacturing back to Japan comes with risks Don’t fall behind the expansion of global value chains Build strong ties with mutual help with partners abroad The disorder caused by the spread of COVID-19 continues. Nonetheless, we need to look toward the “Post-Coronavirus world” amid this confusion. This paper is a consideration of what supply chains and value chains Japan ought to build in the world after the coronavirus crisis. Value chains refer to networks of economic activities that generate value, including upstream R&D and design as well as downstream marketing and data analysis, and that exist in addition to the supply chains for materials and components. The Japanese government is already taking action. The spread in China disrupted the procurement of parts, components and materials from China. This is why the government is now going to ... ... [Read more]

Shiraishi Takashi, Chancellor, Prefectural University of Kumamoto   US–China rivalry, the “new” Cold War, strategic competition… people have given it many names. Yet it is evident that the intensification of US–China rivalry is bringing considerable changes to the international relations of Asia and the world. How did it turn out like this? What is happening? How is it different from the Cold War? What does it mean for Japan? The Larger Context of World History Let us start by checking a few aspects of the larger context of world history. The first is the rise of emerging countries. Entering the twenty-first century, emerging countries’ share of the world economy has grown while that of developed countries has contracted. Globalization has facilitated significant growth of emerging countries and these emerging countries see the twenty-first century as their time. However, their income per capita is no ... ... [Read more]

Oshitani Hitoshi, Professor, Department of Virology, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine   ―― COVID-19 (virus is SARS-CoV2) has spread globally and countries around the world are still working to suppress transmissions and treat patients.   Dr. Oshitani Hitoshi: The first report of COVID-19 by the Chinese government was at the end of last year, but it is likely that by late November, there were transmissions spreading in Wuhan City and surround areas of Hubei Province. Spread of COVID-19 in Japan had two major waves so far. The first wave was originated by people with travel history to Wuhan and other places in China. From January to early February, the number of cases from China found in Japan was 11. Of course, there were considered to be more imported cases from China in reality, but it was likely somewhere around several tens to about a ... ... [Read more]

  Omi Shigeru, Vice Chair, Novel Coronavirus Expert Meeting at the Prime Minister’s Office, interviewed by Takase Fumihito, editor, Gaiko (Diplomacy)   ―― Since the COVID-19 outbreak was first confirmed in China toward the end of January 2020, the disease has been confirmed in many regions across the world. COVID-19 is significantly affecting not only people’s health but also the world economy.   Dr. Omi Shigeru: Health matters were dealt with by highly specialized government offices worldwide, for example, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) in Japan. Since the SARS outbreak, however, health matters have become an important subject that requires the involvement of offices outside that specialized field, including the Foreign Minister, the Prime Minister and the United Nations Secretary-General.   ―― Dr. Omi served as Regional Director of the Western Pacific Regional Office for the World Health Organization (WHO) for ten years ... ... [Read more]

The Host Town Initiative of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games uses interaction with participant countries during pre-games training camps for regional revitalization. This article looks back at the experience of the 2002 FIFA World Cup, introduces projects that look past 2020, and investigates what conditions enable these projects to produce results.   [This article first appeared in the January 2020 edition of THE TOSHI MONDAI (Municipal Problems), before the March 24 decision to postpone the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games.]   Matsuhashi Takashi, Associate Professor, Faculty of Commerce, Takushoku University 1. Introduction Compared to other mega sporting events that have taken place in Japan, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games (Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics) have one main distinctive feature: an initiative to use the games in regional revitalization around Japan. At present, the most significant project is the Host Town ... ... [Read more]