NEWS LETTER

2024

January

New research theme of “technology and theinternational order” is launched
The 21st Century Public Policy Institute has long
researched the future of the international order frommultiple perspectives, including political, economic
and science and technology viewpoints, anddisseminated those research results through, forexample, the holding of seminars and symposiums
and publication of pocketbooks.
The Institute has now welcomed Kazuto Suzuki,
Professor of the University of Tokyo’s Graduate
School of Public Policy and Director of the Instituteof Geoeconomics at the International House ofJapan, who has shared his highly respected opinionsand advice on various occasions in the past, to serveas an Executive Visiting Research Fellow at the 21stCentury Public Policy Institute and launched newresearch from October 2023 on the theme of“technology and the international order.”Understanding technology and thinking of
economic security
Under the new research theme of “technology and theinternational order,” the 21st Century Public Policy
Institute will advance research with a focus on
economic security while deepening the understandingof technology that has achieved remarkablebreakthroughs.
The world around us faces mounting uncertainty dueto the geopolitical risk and supply chain disruptions
that have emerged from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
and the Gaza conflict as well as complicated US-Chinarelations. At almost the same time, the importance of“economic security,” or achieving national security
through economic measures, has once again been

Kazuto Suzuki, Executive Visiting Research Fellow, The 21st Public Policy
Institute/Professor, Graduate School of Public Policy, The University ofTokyo/Director, Institute of Geoeconomics, International House of Japan

recognized. Japan, too, is promoting the developmentof policies and laws to this end.
Why is economic security called into question in thecurrent era? How will corporate competition in themarkets evolve amid conflict between nations? Wehope to hear many suggestions from Professor Suzuki
on topics that warrant the attention of the economic
community in relation to challenges stemming fromthe development of technology such as artificial
intelligence (AI), semiconductors and spacedevelopment.
About future activities
The 21st Century Public Policy Institute is planning tohold online seminars on multiple occasions as anopportunity to share Professor Suzuki’s research
results with you. The content of his reports will be
documented and disseminated broadly. We will strive
to contribute to your business activity, so hope you
will look forward to future developments.
(Yasuhiro Iwasaki, Senior Fellow)

1First seminar in a series on “business portfolio
restructuring aimed at the sustainable growth ofJapanese companies” is held
On 12 October, the 21st Century Public Policy Instituteand the Research Institute of Economy, Trade andIndustry (RIETI) jointly held an online Brown Bag
Lunch (BBL) Seminar as part of a series on the themeof “business portfolio restructuring.”
What is the “business portfolio restructuring”
seminar series
Amid calls about the need for carbon neutrality anddigital transformation and arguments that the very
structure of the economic community will undergo
major change, there is also a demand to transformbusiness strategy. The traditional business model ofholding multiple businesses and pursuing profits ineach segment is not enough. Going forward, it will beessential to revise existing businesses from the groundup under the clear vision and strong leadership ofmanagement and to be strategic and bold intransforming business portfolios in order to achievesustainable growth and earning power.

offered an encouraging message and closed the eventon a high note.
This series will be disseminated exclusively on
YouTube Live and archived on a subsequent date (seeabove URL). We will send an email to all Keidanren
members (organizations/companies) with instructions
on how to apply in advance, so we hope you will beable to watch future seminars in real time and await
any questions you have for the speakers.
Speaker, etc.
Speaker: Toshiaki Higashihara, Executive Chairman,
Representative Executive Officer and Director, Hitachi, Ltd./Vice Chairman, Keidanren
Moderator/commentator: Katsuhiro Sato, Consulting Fellow,RIET/ Professor, Graduate School of Business and Finance,Waseda University
Commentator: Norio Sawabe, Business Administration Chairand Professor, Graduate School of Management, Kyoto
University
Commentator: Takashi Yoshimura, Director, The 21st Century
Public Policy Institute, Keidanren (Secretariat)(Titles as of October 2023)

At this seminar, the management of companies thathave actively and resolutely taken on the challenge ofsuch business portfolio restructuring and achieved
results will be invited on stage to speak about their
specific efforts at restructuring and the mindset
necessary to succeed.
First seminar: Toshiaki Higashihara, ExecutiveChairman, Representative Executive Officer andDirector, Hitachi, Ltd.
The first seminar held this time around welcomed
To s h i a k i H i g a s h i h a r a , E x e c u t i v e C h a i r m a n ,Representative Executive Officer and Director ofHitachi, Ltd., who also serves as Vice Chairman of theJapan Business Federation (Keidanren). Drawing on
his experience of utilizing multiple large-scale M&Ato restructure the company’s business portfolio andthereby strengthen its earning power, Mr. Higashihara
Archive (Japanese language site)
https://www.rieti.go.jp/jp/events/23101201/
handout.html

2What is a BBL seminar?
BBL seminars are seminars held during lunch hours
where participants bring their own lunches – a format
that has long been utilized at US universities andresearch institutes. The name comes from the practiceof putting a purchased lunch into a brown bag. InJapan, RIETI actively works to hold seminars in thisformat. The seminar held jointly with RIETI this timearound also took this format.
(Kota Aono, Senior Fellow)

Current events commentary on the “Bidenadministration’s first half and outlook goingforward” is posted
The 21st Century Public Policy Institute’s US researchWriterproject (Principal Research Director: Fumiaki Kubo,
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Fumiaki Kubo, Principal ResearchDirector(President, National DefenseAcademy)

2

Kazuhiro Maeshima, Deputy
Research Director(Professor, Dean, Faculty of Global
Studies, Sophia University)

3

Ryuji Fujimoto, Research Fellow(Associate Professor, Faculty ofLiberal Arts Department ofSociology, Teikyo University)

4

Yusuke Nishizumi, Research Fellow(Concurrent Lecturer, Faculty ofLaw, Chuo University)

5

Takeshi Umekawa, Research Fellow(Professor, Graduate Schools for
Law and Politics, Faculty of Law,
The University of Tokyo)

6

Ayako Sugino, Research Fellow(Associate Professor, Department of
Political Science, Faculty of Law,Musashino University)

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Kota Matsui, Research Fellow(Associate Professor, Faculty ofSocial Sciences, Kyorin University)

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Hana Umekawa, Research Fellow(Associate Professor, Faculty ofLaw, Komazawa University)

President, National Defense Academy) publishes thecurrent events commentary of its researchers on theInstitute’s website.
With the Biden administration having entered thesecond half of its term following the November 2022
interim elections, our researchers analyzed the trend in
the administration’s major policies during the first half
and the current state of US democracy and commented
on the outlook for the coming US presidential election
in 2024.
Research area/US (Japanese language site)
http://www.21ppi.org/theme/usa/index.html

Toshiaki Higashihara, Executive Chairman, Representative Executive3

Symposium on “US foreign relations and domestic
affairs focused on Russia, China and the MiddleEast” is held
On 14 November, the 21 st Century Public Policy
Institute held a symposium on “US foreign relations
and domestic affairs focused on Russia, China and theMiddle East” as part of its US research project(Principal research director: Fumiaki Kubo, President,
National Defense Academy). During the first half ofthe symposium, Chiaki Akimoto, Director of the Royal
United Services Institute for Defence and Security
Studies （ RUSI ）Japan, delivered a speech on thetopic of “Ukraine war – current conditions andmechanism of escalation.” During the second half, apanel discussion was held with the three panelists (Mr.
Akimoto, Principal Research Director Kubo andDeputy Research Director Maeshima) exploring thefuture direction of US foreign relations and domestic

affairs amid the tense international situation. The
remarks of the three are summarized below.
Mr. Akimoto
It is a mistake to discuss the Israel/Gaza conflict inparallel with the Ukraine war. Although it could
develop into a major war depending on the situation
going forward, it might currently be described ashistorical fate and a Middle East conflict triggered byterrorism. The Ukraine war, on the other hand, isRussia attempting to destroy the foundation of theinternational order established by nations after WWII
under which large nations respect the sovereignty ofsmall nations without limitation and resolve any
problems based on international law rather than

From left: Deputy Research Director Maeshima, Principal Research Director Kubo, Mr. Akimotochanging the status quo by force. It can also be
described as a war related to Japan’s security. A
recognition shared by Western nations that “the war
cannot end in a way that benefits Russia” is oneguideline for reaching a resolution. The Ukraine side
has introduced military AI and drones into its militarys y s t e m . I n m o d e r n w a r, h u m a n s c a n n o tcomprehensively process all the information thatfloods the battle field. It has reached a situation where
AI takes charge of the analysis and evaluation hitherto
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conducted by humans and even proposes the strategic
options that should be followed next, with humans
only making the final decisions.
US support for Ukraine is important in the sense of US
cooperation for European security, and the UK plays
the role of a bridge between the US and Europe. And
considering the Russia/China situation going forward,
the UK’s involvement in the Indo-Pacific will
strengthen. Japan is deepening its relations with theUK by, for example, advancing plans for the joint
development of next-generation fighter jets. Throughbroad cooperation in such areas as security
cooperation, anti-terrorism, anti-cyber warfare andhybrid warfare, Japan-UK relations should be viewed
as an effective alliance.
Principal Research Director Kubo
The international order is in great danger and at ahistorical crossroads. The main cause is Russia’s
invasion of Ukraine, but for the international
community, there are also great doubts about the stateof China in recent years. If there is a strengthening
interpretation that unilateral invasion will be allowed
and succeed without resistance from the international
community, the situation could also turn serious forthe international order in East Asia surrounding areas
such as the East China Sea and Taiwan Strait.
Instability factors within the US and the nation’s
increasingly inward-looking orientation are also
sources of concern.
In this context, the result of the US presidential
election taking place in November 2024 will be amajor factor influencing the outcome of the war. In theevent that Trump becomes president, US support forUkraine would likely cease. The possibility of asecond Trump administration cannot be ruled out andis thought to be around 50%. For Japan, appealing toand boosting its attractiveness and value as a partner tothe US will be important.
Deputy Research Director Maeshima
Since the outbreak of the Israel conflict, the Ukraine
problem has been put on the back burner in the US.
For both Democrats and Republicans, the point is how
to compile a budget to support Ukraine in Congress. If
the US presidential election ends up being a battle
between Trump and Biden, it could be a 50-50 result
depending on several battleground states. Japan will
also need to assume a scenario where Trump wins andthinks seriously about seceding from the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Regardless of
the administration that forms after the US presidentialelection, Japan will need to firmly communicate
through, for example, the Japan-US-Korea frameworkthat US neglect of Japan is not possible option.
(Hiroyasu Hatayama, Senior Fellow)

Publications introduced
The 21 Century Public Policy Institute holds
stBooklets/Videossymposiums, seminars and dialogues asappropriate. It then compiles the contents into
pocketbooks and videos for later release. The
dayʼs speeches, Q&A and panel discussions arerecorded so those who could not attend canrelive the events and utilize the archive of past
discussions. The entire text is published on thewebsite.

Research area/philosophy, liberal arts (Japanese language site)
http://www.21ppi.org/theme/philosophy/index.html

5Pocketbooks

The 21st Century Public Policy Institute pocketbooks (Japanese language site)
http://www.21ppi.org/theme/pocket/index.html

The 21st Century Public Policy Institute renews
its logo
The 21st Century Public Policy Institute renewed
its logo in January of this year.
The institute designed the logo to make its
concept of “challenging domestic and overseas
issues as an open think tank” easy to understandand to enhance its visibility with a clear
impression.

The concept of the emblem is “unleashing theenergy.” It envisages energy packed with various
research results and information as a sphere andexpresses this sphere eventually reaching a fullstate and being released toward the creation of thefuture. The overlapping red and blue represent thefusion of the business world and academia andthe sphere is structured to overlay one part of theEnglish acronym for The 21 st Century Public
Policy Institute.

New logo

Publishing/editing

The 21st Century Public Policy Institute, Keidanren (Japan Business Federation)
1-3-2, Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100 - 8188 Japan
TEL +81 (0) 3- 6741- 0901

http://www.21ppi.org/english/index.html

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