COVERLEAD

Global Governance at a Crossroads– a Roadmap Towards the G20 Summit in Osaka
By Naoyuki Haraoka

The G20 Summit in 2019 is being hosted by Japan inOsaka in the first year of “Reiwa”, the new name of theera marking the reign of Japanese Emperor Naruhito
who ascended the throne on May 1. “Reiwa” can betranslated into English as “beautiful harmony”. As thisyear’s G20 host, Japan should work towards achieving
such harmony not only at home but also around theworld. It cannot, of course, do this alone. But in light ofthe decline in US leadership in global governance, inparticular in the domain of international trade, theincreasing struggle for hegemony in high technology
between China and the US, and the spread ofanti-globalization sentiment among voters in many
countries, this summit is expected to play a pivotal role
in restoring order in global governance to achieve
economic prosperity and political security. In addition,
long-term challenges such as widening income
inequality, partly against the background of an aging
society, as well as global environmental issues areovershadowing the merits of the Fourth Industrial
Revolution, with its unprecedentedly widespread ITinnovation. These issues are challenges for developed
and developing nations equally, and thus the so-called
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are increasingly
considered as crucial to realizing global welfare.
The issues that the G20 has to deal with from various
perspectives are extremely complex, both domesticallyand internationally, and so the intellectual assistance ofthink-tanks worldwide is often required. We have theso-called T20 process prior to the G20 Summit itself inwhich experts from think-tanks in member nations
scrutinize the issues and challenges to be discussed at
2 Japan SPOTLIGHT • May / June 2019the summit and prioritize them for the G20 leaders.
For our May/June 2019 issue, we invited articles forour cover story mostly from authors who are directly
involved in the T20 process or in internationalorganizations such as the OECD, and thereby hope toshowcase the priorities for the G20 Summit in Osaka.
(Brief Introductions)
COVER STORY 1
Interview with Dr. Laurence Boone, Chief Economist at the Organization for
Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD)

Global Economic Outlook Not So Grim as G20 Summit in OsakaApproaches
By Japan SPOTLIGHT

The OECD’s chief economist describes global economic
outlook as being not so grim, but suggests coordinatedfiscal policy to consolidate economic growth.
COVER STORY 2Interview with Dr. Dennis J. Snower, President of the Global Solutions Initiative,
Senior Professor of Economics at the Hertie School of Governance, Berlin;
Senior Research Fellow at the Blavatnik School of Governance, Oxford
University; and Non-Resident Fellow, Brookings Institution & former Presidentof the Kiel Institute for the World Economy

Restoring Social Cohesion – a Crucial Issue for the G20 in 2019
By Japan SPOTLIGHT

The former president of the Kiel Institute for the World
Economy embraces “social cohesion” in his book Caring
Economics as central to restoring democracy.
COVER STORY 3
The Global Trading System: What Went Wrong & How to Fix It
By Edward Alden

A senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, anda distinguished trade policy expert, highlights the G20 asa possible venue for starting discussions on bolder
proposals to strengthen the role and function of theWTO to fill a leadership vacuum.
https://www.jef.or.jp/journal/

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COVER STORY 4
Interview with Amar Bhattacharya, Senior Fellow at the Global Economy andDevelopment Program at the Brookings Institution

Quality of Infrastructure Will Be Enhanced with Better
Globalization Under the G20
By Japan SPOTLIGHT

A senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, one of thedistinguished promotors of “Better Globalization” in theT20 process, discusses the importance of both quantityand quality of infrastructure for developing nations.
COVER STORY 5Interview with Dr. Tae Suk Lee, Vice President & Director, Department of Public
Finance & Social Policy, Korea Development Institute

Aging Populations & Their Economic Impact: Focus on Asia
By Japan SPOTLIGHT

The vice president of the Korea Development Institute,believing the aging of populations to be a highly relevant
issue for discussion by the G20, proposes a two-track
approach – one for those who are stronger and in good
health, encouraging them to work longer, and the otherfor those who are weaker, trying to improve their work
capacity.
COVER STORY 6
Challenges & Proposals for SME Policies in G20 Countries
By Hiroyuki Okamuro

A professor of economics at Hitotsubashi University
specializing in SME-related issue, suggests anevidence-based policy-making approach to enhance theefficiency of SME policies.
COVER STORY 7Interview with Shigeru Ariizumi, Deputy Commissioner for International
Affairs, Financial Services Agency, Government of Japan

Digitalization of Financial Services – a New Challenge for the G20
By Japan SPOTLIGHT

A Japanese FSA representative in international
governmental negotiations talks about what should be
discussed at the G20 concerning digitalization offinancial services, a new challenge for the G20.
COVER STORY 8
The G20 & Global Governance
By Sachin Chaturvedi & Priyadarshi Dash

The head of a distinguished Indian think-tank, one of theT20, and his colleague propose that the G20 should
proactively advocate for necessary reforms to theexisting institutions for global governance.
COVER STORY 9
Strengthening Global Governance & Multilateralism: a Special
Mission for the G20 in Osaka
By Anita Prakash

A distinguished ERIA official says that restoration ofmultilateralism would be a special and importantmission for the G20 in Osaka.
COVER STORY 10Interview with Dr. Frank Rijsberman, Director-General of the Global Green
Growth Institute (GGGI)

Searching for Environmentally Sustainable & Socially Inclusive
Economic Growth at the G20
By Japan SPOTLIGHT

The director-general of the GGGI, a Seoul-based
intergovernmental organization, says that a “green”
economy does provide additional employment
opportunities, and smart cities and green cities using
high technology for energy saving should be considered
as positive contributions.
Naoyuki Haraoka is editor-in-chief of Japan SPOTLIGHT & executive
managing director of the Japan Economic Foundation (JEF).
Japan SPOTLIGHT • May / June 20193