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Table of Contents
About APIR............................................................................................................... ii
Message from the Research Director............................................................... iv
Editors & Contributors........................................................................................ ix
Preface: Will Japan Be Back?.......................................................................... xiv

PartⅠ: The Dawn of the Post-Corona Era:
Changes and Challenges................................................ 1
Chapter 1

Major Issues in the Asia-Pacific Region in 2023–2024...................... 3

Section 1 Transformation of the International Order and the World
Economy..................................................................................... 3
Section 2 The U.S. Economy Aiming for a Soft Landing...................... 13
Section 3 Risks in the Chinese Economy: Real Estate and Local
Public Finance.......................................................................... 28
Section 4 Economic Strategies of Japan and Japanese Companies
toward East Asia....................................................................... 38
Column A Considering Business and Human Rights: What are
Universal Human Rights?........................................................ 49
Section 5 Household Debt and the Housing Market in Asia................ 58
Column B New Population Dynamics: From WPP2022......................... 79

Part Ⅱ: Topics in Kansai: A Crossroads for its
Economic Turnaround.................................................. 97
Chapter 2	The Economies of Japan and Kansai: A Retrospective andOutlook............................................................................................... 102
Section 1 Virtuous Cycle Mechanism of Prices and Wages............... 102
Section 2 The Japanese Economy: Recent Developments andShort-Term Forecasts............................................................ 122

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Section 3 The Kansai Economy: Recent Developments andShort-Term Forecasts............................................................ 141
Column C Economic Impact of Hanshin-Orix Championships
by Region in 2023................................................................... 155
Section 4 Inflation, its Burden on Households, and theEffects of Government Measures......................................... 166
Chapter 3

Exploring Kansai’s Profitable Industrial Structure....................... 181

Section 1 Characteristics of Kansai’s Industrial Structure:
The Relationship between Value-Added
Share and Productivity.......................................................... 182
Section 2 Expectations for Kansai’s Industrial Structure:
Attracting Investment and Human Resources.................... 202
Section 3 Labor Shortages Confronted by Kansai............................... 215
Chapter 4

Inbound Demand Recovery and Tourism Strategy....................... 235

Section 1 Reviewing Ten Years of Kansai’s Tourism Strategy:
The Tourism Agency’s Budget and Large Hotel
Construction Trends.............................................................. 235
Section 2 Characteristics of Recovering InboundTourism Demand.................................................................... 249
Chapter 5

Greater EXPO Development and DX.............................................. 261

Section 1 Greater EXPO and the Economic Impact of Promoting
Tourism to a Wider Extent.................................................... 261
Section 2 Leveraging DX in Kansai and Osaka.................................... 279

viiiPart Ⅲ: Chronology..................................................................................... 287
EXPO 2025 Chronology............................................................................ 287
Tourism Chronology................................................................................. 301

Part Ⅳ: Statistical Annex......................................................................... 317