General Secretary Xi Jinping has been concentrating power on his own person. However, the policy is deeply engraved with decades of efforts for reform and opening up as well as “intra-party democracy.” Using Xi’s speech at the commemorative ceremony of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party, we decipher its historical continuity and transformation.   Miyamoto Yuji (former Ambassador of Japan to the People’s Republic of China, Chairman of the Miyamoto Institute of Asian Research) Okazaki Kumiko (Research Director, the Canon Institute for Global Studies) Kawashima Shin (Professor, University of Tokyo)     —On July 1, 2021, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) held a grand ceremony celebrating the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party at Tiananmen Square in Beijing. From a historical point of view, how do you see the current government of the Xi Jinping administration? ... ... [Read more]

Masuno Shunmyo, Head Priest of Kenkohji Temple   Increasingly, I feel that “Zen” is now an international word like judo and karate. Twelve years ago, I wrote a book in Japanese called Zen, shinpuru seikatsu no susume (Zen, Recommendations for a Simple Life) (Mikasa Shobo). Then in 2019, the major UK publisher Penguin released an English translation called Zen: The Art of Simple Living. There was a huge response and I hear that the Penguin Group has already received requests to translate the book into around 30 languages. Things have happened so quickly that I’m surprised too. What underlies this overseas focus on Zen is increased interest in mental issues. More and more people are now thinking, “Surely living each day with a peaceful heart is the greatest happiness?” Zen means addressing a question for yourself. How can I live so that in my ... ... [Read more]

Shirai Sayuri, Professor, Keio Universit   Key points Governments should promote measures to develop green finance Governments should support environmental projects by actively issuing green bonds The Bank of Japan should make greater contributions to climate issues through purchasing green corporate bonds and Exchange Traded Funds (ETF)   Green finance that supports improvements in environmental issues has drawn attention in recent years. To limit the global average rise in temperature to 1.5 degrees by the end of this century as compared to pre-industrial levels, a large amount of capital spending and R&D is needed to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to net zero by 2050. According to an estimate by the International Energy Agency (IEA), more than double the current annual global investments (550 trillion JPY) will be needed by 2030 and around the same amount will be needed until 2050. Europe is leading ... ... [Read more]

Tsuru Kotaro, Program Director and Faculty Fellow, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI)   Despite the progress in vaccination, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage on. Following the issuance of the fourth declaration of a state of emergency, the government has frequently called for companies to reduce the number of commuting workers by 70%, but there has been little progress in the effort to reduce the flow of commuters. Looking back at the pre-pandemic status of teleworking arrangements, including working from home, although large and listed firms were accelerating the teleworking schemes, the number of people actually working from home continued to be low. Under the COVID-19 crisis, particularly since the issuance of the first declaration of a state of emergency in April 2020, the percentage of employees working from home (telework rate) has risen rapidly (see Figure 1). According to various ... ... [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]

Kitamura Shigeru, former Secretary General of the National Security Secretariat   Kitamura Shigeru served as Secretary General of the National Security Secretariat before stepping down for health reasons in July 2021. Committed to developing Japan’s national security system and information organizations, Kitamura handled various situations while serving under three prime ministers after assuming the Director of Cabinet Intelligence post to the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) Administration in 2011. On the publication of his book Joho to Kokka (Intelligence and the state) by Chuo Koron Shinsha in September, Chuo Koron magazine asked Mr. Kitamura about Japan’s national security and what makes an excellent bureaucrat. The Abe Cabinet Improved the System ——Japan’s security and intelligence systems were improved considerably during the seven years and eight months of the Abe Shinzo Cabinet. That’s right. The Abe Cabinet, inaugurated in December 2012, introduced groundbreaking reforms across the whole national security organization. ... ... [Read more]

Morinobu Shigeki, Senior Research Fellow, The Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research   Key points EU considers tax to collect the difference in carbon prices A carbon tax on emissions is simple and straightforward Use of carbon tax revenues should take into account growth strategy   On July 14, the European Commission (EC) announced its intention to introduce a carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM). The CBAM will apply the European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) to imports of specific products to regulate greenhouse gas emissions in imported products, in order to prevent “carbon leakage,” whereby EU companies shift production bases to countries with less stringent carbon regulations. Full-scale introduction of the mechanism is planned from 2026 for five products: cement, electricity, fertilizers, steel and aluminum. Under the new mechanism, importers will have to purchase certificates to cover their CO2 emission per ton in accordance ... ... [Read more]

As COVID-19 infections spread across the world, the question of how vulnerable health and medical systems in developing countries will weather the crisis is an urgent issue. We track new approaches and the progress of a health diplomacy based on Universal Health Coverage. (The interview was held on January 6, 2021 and the transcript was finalized on January 19.)   Dr. Ezoe Satoshi, Director, Global Health Policy Division, International Cooperation Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Interview by Nakamura Kiichiro, editor-in-chief, Gaiko (Diplomacy)   ——Dr. Ezoe, until August 2020 you were mainly overseeing global health at the Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations in New York. Dr. Ezoe Satoshi: In January 2020, we had reports from Wuhan in China of an outbreak of infection. By February, the spread of infection on the Diamond Princess was widely reported in Japan, but in New York ... ... [Read more]

Amari Akira, Member of the House of Representatives Interviewed by Tanaka Akihiko, President of the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS)     Tanaka Akihiko: As Chairperson of the Strategic Headquarters on the Creation of a New International Order, Policy Research Council of the Liberal Democratic Party you put together two proposals: “Towards ‘Formulating Economic Security Strategy’” (December 2020) and “Interim report: Basic Policy for Economic and Fiscal Management and Structural Reform 2021” (May 2021).   Amari Akira: Economic statecraft, to put it bluntly, is forcing the other party to accept one’s demands using economic means… and such a thing has been used repeatedly throughout history all over the world. For example, following a 2010 incident in the sea off the Senkaku Islands, China effectively halted exports of rare earth materials to Japan. There are also people who criticize the United States for ... ... [Read more]