COVERLEAD

Future Design – Thinking About Our Legacy
to the Next Generation
By Naoyuki Haraoka

Against the background of long-term challenges
beyond generations, such as the aging of society anddepopulation, expanding government debt, and global
climate change, how can we leave a sustainable humansociety and economy to our succeeding generations?
A group of Japanese social and natural scientists, andlocal as well as central government officials, have beenworking on Future Design (FD) for social systems torespond to that question since a few years ago. They
have applied experimental economics methodology tothe issue and discovered that a group of people
assigned to represent the interests of a future generationin the experiments, a so-called “imaginary futuregeneration”, tend to protect the interests of the future
generation with a different thought process from that ofthe people in the current generation.
Short-termism is prominent today. Rising populism
around the world could perhaps be characterized as
short-termism, and not just as anti-globalization oranti-elitism. I think this academic project could show usthat short-termism may not always dominate humanthinking but be overwhelmed by FD.
A distinguished Japanese think-tank, the Tokyo
Foundation for Policy Research, hosted the Future
Design Workshop 2019 on Jan. 26-27, 2019, prompting
earnest discussions of FD among the public at thisseminar. It is also noteworthy that FD has recently been
applied to some Japanese local government policy
assessments in discussions with the local residents.
FD will need a wide range of expertise, and we have avariety of experts contributing articles to this issue ofJapan SPOTLIGHT.
Our Cover Story starts with an introduction to thebeginnings of FD by Prof. Tatsuyoshi Saijo, the founderof the project in Japan and a distinguished practitioner
2 Japan SPOTLIGHT • March / April 2019of experimental economics. Dr. Keiichiro Kobayashi, amember of our editorial committee, introduces also thebasic concepts of FD, its goals and how it works. Then
we have an article by Ritsuji Yoshioka, a young official
working for the town of Yahaba in Iwate Prefecture,
which reveals the town’s pioneering work on theapplication of FD to its waterworks project.
After a general understanding of FD has been outlinedin these three articles, we then offer a variety of pieces
on specific issues where FD can be applied as follows.
Toshiaki Hiromitsu, a Japanese Ministry of Financeofficial, introduces its application to fiscal policy, andProf. Tetsusei Kurashiki talks about its application to risk
communication, an important aspect of disastermanagement, especially bearing in mind the Great East
Japan Earthquake of March 11, 2011. Prof. Yoichi Hizen
shows how FD can be adopted by political systems,
while Prof. Chiaki Matsunaga and Prof. ShunsukeManagi, in their article, discuss Inclusive Wealth as animportant concept for policy evaluation in terms of
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and suggest
how FD could work well with this. Dr. Ryuta Aoki, aneuroscientist, introduces the intersecting of FD andneuroscience, showing how human brain functions canwork to support FD.
Finally, we interviewed Dr. Ashok Khosla, adistinguished Indian opinion leader on poverty and theenvironment, about how FD could contribute to humanwelfare. He emphasized it should also address extreme
poverty as well as other long-term issues.
(Brief Introductions)
COVER STORY 1
Beginning of Future Design
By Tatsuyoshi Saijo

Kochi University of Technology started its FD-related
https://www.jef.or.jp/journal/

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study in 2014 under Prof. Saijo’s leadership as founding
director of the university’s Research Institute for Future
Design.
COVER STORY 2
Future Design Research: the Issues
By Keiichiro Kobayashi

FD’s goal is to bring players into the current politicaldecision-making process who are assigned to represent
the interests of future generations. Political philosophy
justifies that those representing future generations’interests would work for them not through sympathy butby employing simple logic.
COVER STORY 3
Future Design Applied in the Town of Yahaba in Iwate Prefecture
By Ritsuji Yoshioka

A workshop on “Comprehensive Strategy on
Community, People, and Job Creation” for theimplementation of FD in the town of Yahaba has worked
well and shown it would be possible for the FD approachto create groups of people who will stand up for thebenefit of future generations.
COVER STORY 4
Reflection of Long-term Fiscal Policy Through Moral Philosophy &Experimental Social Science
By Toshiaki Hiromitsu

Research intensively applying ethics and experimentalsocial science shows it can help solve long-term fiscal
issues, something which has not been considered inthinking about fiscal policy up to now.
COVER STORY 5
Future Design-Based Risk Communication
By Tetsusei Kurashiki

Risk communication by dissemination of scientificknowledge about disasters was insufficient at the time of
the Great East Japan Earthquake. FD could be useful intackling disaster prevention and response education.

COVER STORY 6
Future Design for Political Systems
By Yoichi HizenEstablishing a new electoral system creating a
representative seat for future generations and a ballot
for the sake of future generations must be considered
for their benefit.
COVER STORY 7
Inclusive Wealth & Policy Making
By Chiaki Matsunaga & Shunsuke Managi

An “Inclusive Wealth Index” should be used as ayardstick for evaluating sustainability and a standard
economic indicator in the light of SDGs. This would leadto social progress incorporating FD.
COVER STORY 8
Neuro Future Design: Prospecting a New Transdisciplinary Science
for a Sustainable Society
By Ryuta Aoki

Human beings have the capacity to imagine a future
event as if they are experiencing it now, thus
differentiating them from chimpanzees and otheranimals. “Futurability” is thus a part of human nature.
The human brain also demonstrates incredible
malleability in response to social and environmental
factors, and changes in social systems could change
human nature.
COVER STORY 9Interview with Dr. Ashok Khosla, Chairman of the Development Alternatives GroupFuture Design Is a Good Idea, If It Also Addresses Extreme Poverty
By Japan SPOTLIGHT

Without solving extreme poverty, we cannot solve
environmental problems, since much of the damage tothe environment, such as deforestation, is often directly
related to or caused by poverty. FD would have to takethis into account.
Naoyuki Haraoka is editor-in-chief of Japan SPOTLIGHT & executive
managing director of the Japan Economic Foundation (JEF).
Japan SPOTLIGHT • March / April 20193