"Japan and the EU in the global economy - challenges and opportunities"

Bruegel-Graduate School of Economics, Kobe University, Fondation France-Japon de l’EHESS
7 October 2013,
Bruegel, Rue de la Charité 33, 1210 Brussels, Belgium
Brief
Japan and the EU are both open economies with significant trade and financial links and facing in many respects
similar challenges. Both economies are affected by the rise of emerging market economies, which represent a huge
opportunity but also imply the need to continuously adapt the production structure to the new competition. Botheconomies are also facing similar comparable internal economic adjustments. Japan in the 1990s had to overcome
the bursting of a housing bubble and struggle with significant corporate balance sheet adjustment. Europe, in turn, iscurrently undergoing one of its most severe crisis in recent history with similar balance sheet adjustments happening
in some parts of the economy. In Europe as in Japan, the role of monetary policy and central banks in addressing andovercoming the crisis is hotly debated. Also the appropriate role of fiscal policy and structural reforms is debatedcontroversially in both economies.
The conference with four sessions intends to debate these issues in depth. A first panel would focus on the trade andfinancial links of the two economies in a period of rising emerging markets. The second panel would consist of adeep comparative discussion between Japanese and Europe expert on the housing bubbles, the deleveraging andthe appropriate structural response. The third panel will study and compare the monetary policy reactions of theBank of Japan with that of the European Central Bank as well as the fiscal policy reactions in the context of a fragile
financial system. A final discussion of high level policy makers will draw lessons and come up with concrete policy
suggestions for Japan, Europe and their economic relation.
The conference and exchange offers a unique opportunity to deepen the economic understanding of two major
economies facing similar challenges and opportunities. It will bring together scholars from Kobe University, Bruegeland Fondation France-Japon de l’EHESS (École des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales), as well as selected outside
speakers from Japan and the EU from government and leading policy institutions.

Draft Programme
Welcome remarks by Professor Masahiko Yoshii, Dean of Graduate School of Economics, Kobe University, Dr.
Sébastien Lechevalier, Director, Fondation France-Japon de l’EHESS and Dr. Guntram Wolff, Director, Bruegel.
9AM-10AMFirst panel: Trade and financial linkages between Europe and Japan: new evidence and scope for improvement
 Prof. André Sapir, Bruegel Senior Fellow and Professor at Free University of Brussels (confirmed)
 Prof. Takuji Kinkyo; Graduate School of Economics, Kobe University; former Senior Research Fellow, Policy
Research Institute, Ministry of Finance, Japan (confirmed)
Discussant: Prof. Pablo Bustelo, Elcano Royal Institute tbc
10.15AM-11.15AM
Second panel: Housing Bubbles and Government Responses: can Europe learn from Japan?
 Prof. Tomomi Miyazaki, Graduate School of Economics, Kobe University (confirmed)
 Dr. Sebastien Lechevalier, Maître de conférences à l’EHESS, Fondateur de la Fondation France-Japon del’EHESS (confirmed)
Discussant: Joachim Fels, Global Head of Economics, Morgan Stanley (confirmed)
11.30AM-12.30AM
Third panel: Monetary, fiscal policy and the financial system in Japan and Europe: a comparative perspective
 Prof. Wataru Takahashi, Faculty of Economics, Osaka University of Economics, former Director General ofthe Institute for Monetary and Economic Studies of the Bank of Japan (confirmed)
 Jens Ulbrich, Head of Economics Department, Bundesbank tbc
Discussant: Agnes Benassy-Queré (CAE) tbc
12.30AM-1PM – Break
1-2PM - Lunch with Keynote speech by Hiroshi Nakaso, Deputy Governor, Bank of Japan tbc
2-3PM
Fourth Panel: Policy panel: What policy lessons to draw?
 Kiyohiko Nishimura, Professor of Economics at the Graduate School of Economics, Faculty of Economics atTokyo University tbc
 Peter Praet, Member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank (confirmed)
 Jean-Paul Nicolaï, Chief of the Economic and Finances Department ; Frenc h General Commission for Strategyand Prospective (confirmed)
 Dr. Guntram Wolff, Director Bruegel (confirmed)
3.00PM-3.30PM
Closing remarks by Prof. Fukuda, President of Kobe University (confirmed), Dr. Sebastien Lechevalier, Director,
Fondation France-Japon de l’EHESS and Dr. Guntram Wolff, Director, Bruegel