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Research Areas & Themes ( 2011 ): Politics / Economics

Economic and fiscal management and industrial policy following the financial crisis

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"Post-financial crisis" research has been ongoing since 2009. We prioritize analysis and proposals regarding research themes with high policy importance, such as fiscal issues in Japan. Because the critical situation of Japan's finances is expected to worsen year by year into the future, we will continue research on policies to respond to financial collapse and other crisis responses, without conforming to the boundaries of conventional academic research.
In addition, because issues with bad debt/nonperforming assets are expected to continue over the long term in Europe and the USA, we will work on empirical analysis of these problems and seek to offer effective policy proposals.

The political economy of institutional change

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Research on "the political economy of institutional change" has been ongoing since 2009. Since we have made progress on data analysis at the industry level, we will sum up those findings and broaden our analysis by developing a theoretical model and carrying out positive analysis at the national level.

Joint training and discussion program with Harvard Business School

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The Japanese economy, in the doldrums, has currently a so-called inward-looking orientation. As globalization progresses overseas, especially in the US and Chinese economies, Japan faces the danger of greater separation. In order to break free from this sense of entrapment, CIGS has formed a joint training and discussion program with up and coming researchers from U.S. academic institution including Harvard Business School (HBS). The goal is to develop "one-in-a-thousand global businesspeople" in Japan. At a time when Japanese corporations are reconsidering aggressive initiatives in overseas markets, this program is likely to be highly significant.
Compared with other training programs currently operated by Japanese institutions, this program will be carried out with the following four noteworthy characteristics. 1) It is based on relationships of trust built over many years among researchers and on cooperation with our American counterparts, a first-rate educational and research institution. 2) On the U.S. side, the new program will be carried out based on the active cooperation of up-and-coming researchers. 3) The program will be carried out such that it bears in mind concrete results with practical benefits to Japanese businesspeople. 4) The program will be planned with an awareness that, in principle, its results will be published and there will be ongoing feedback. (In other words, it will not be a one-off "study group.") This training and discussion program is beginning in 2011. We plan to refine and expand it every year through a process of trial and error.

Analysis of the Chinese economy

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Excessively negative bias regarding the Chinese economy is common in media information. My objective is to eliminate bias that distorts corporate management decisions and government policy judgments and work towards a shared view of the Chinese economy that is more objective and accurate. In order to obtain accurate and timely information on the Chinese economy, we travel to various parts of China six times per year so that I can receive information directly from Chinese government personnel, reliable economists, and Japanese companies. I compile trip reports and transmit information based on the latest data, including trends in the regional economies that are the center of change.

Proposals for agricultural policy reform

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One factor that has hindered the sufficient realization of international competitiveness in agriculture has been agricultural policy. It has been propped up by three pillars: 1) a farm income guarantee system that is over-reliant on price support policies such as the food control system, 2) a farmland system that considers only maintenance of the owner-farmers who were the fruit of farmland reform after World War Ⅱ, thus preventing agricultural scale from increasing through farmland fluidity, and 3) the agricultural cooperative system that has supported the Japan Agricultural Cooperatives (JA), which developed as farming became a side business for most of farmers and became the nation's most powerful pressure group while leading the fight for high rice prices. The beginnings of movement towards reform have loomed, but thus far reform has been insufficient. We will offer proposals for reform by means of exchanging opinions with corporate-style farmers and agricultural product processers and distributers around Japan in order to stay grounded in the frontlines of agriculture. We will also explore the improvement of agricultural management through the adoption and utilization of information technology and biotechnology and the use of corporate-style management technology.
The Japanese government is attempting to settle on the direction of needed agricultural policy reform for participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). We will use a variety of media to actively offer policy proposals.

Forestry policy research

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Forests account for two-thirds of Japan's land area. They have come to be noticed for the role they play in recharging water resources and preventing flooding, as well as absorbing greenhouse gases. However, even though it is said that Japan has entered an era of domestic lumber production, the low price of lumber has depressed the forestry industry, and appropriate practices such as thinning are not being carried out, so those external economic functions are not being fully realized. Along with analyzing forestry issues from a variety of angles, we will research the conditions and policies necessary to revive forestry.

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