In search of globalization beneficial for Japan and the world -JICA President KITAOKA Shinichi talks with President ITAMI Hiroyuki of the International University of Japan-
June 30, 2020
On Jun. 30, JICA President KITAOKA Shinichi had an online discussion with ITAMI Hiroyuki, president of the International University of Japan. This dialogue was conducted as a part of a research project entitled "International Cooperation in the Post-Corona World" launched by JICA, designed to comprehensively examine the future of the world and international cooperation through a series of dialogues between Dr. Kitaoka and intellectuals inside and outside Japan.
Dr. Kitaoka introduced Dr. Itami as a respected scholar who has a high reputation in the study of Japanese-style management in a global perspective. He asked Dr. Itami about the following three key questions relating to this research project:
1. What lessons can we learn from the coronavirus pandemic?
2. What will the world be like after the pandemic?
3. How should Japan and JICA contribute to building a better world?
Dr. Itami predicted that the impact of the corona crisis on the world economy would be the most severe since the Great Depression of 1929, but Japan would suffer relatively mild damage. He noted that "one extra consideration to others, one extra action for details" were principles of action that have long been practiced in Japanese industrial fields, and have also helped prevent the spread of corona infection in Japan. Based on the assessment that the globalization driven by market-fundamentalism would be reversed to a certain extent in the post-corona world, Dr. Itami argued that it is high time for Japanese public and private sectors to jointly promote globalization beneficial for all that aims for "good for Japan, good for countries receiving Japanese investment and good for the entire world."
Dr. Itami and the members of the study group then discussed the relevance and the replicability of the Japanese model in other countries that are trying to build a resilient, sustainable and inclusive society after the corona crisis.
This dialogue confirmed that the strengths of Japanese society that we tend to forget can be utilized not only to overcome the corona crisis but also to rebuild the post-corona world in a better way.