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Lunch With LDP Diet Member – Lifting Japan’s Productivity
July 11, 2023 @ 12:30 pm - 2:00 pm JST
Free
Following World War 2, the post-war generation of locals in Japan worked very hard to take the country from the pit to the pinnacle. Japan went from a land devastated by the war machine and industrial production wiped out, to the second largest economy in the world by GDP. There is no doubt that the people worked hard to attain economic success and prosperity for their children.
However, since the bubble burst, Japan has been experiencing little growth for more than three decades. Wage growth has stalled during that time. The third arrow of Abenomics was focused on growth strategies but didn’t really ripe fruit. Implementing a true growth strategy and improving productivity has always been a challenge for top politicians.
In July, we have the opportunity to meet with a Diet member in the controlling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). Mr. Keiichiro Asao has been a Diet member for more than 20 years and is currently the Deputy Head of International Affairs within the LDP (国際局長代理). In the past, he was the Head of the House of Councilors Committee on Finance and Monetary Policy (参議院財政金融委員長) and headed the Your Party (みんなの党). Mr. Asao will be discussing how to improve Japan’s productivity as he thinks that improving productivity is the best solution for many of Japan’s problems. Deriving from this main theme, he can also discuss the following:
- how to alleviate labor shortage issues by enhancing usage and promotion of foreign and female workers;
- how to bring in more foreign investments into Japan;
- how to promote Japan’s (particularly Tokyo’s) position as an international finance center; and
- how to realize digital transformation
Apart from the main theme, he can also talk about the geopolitical situation surrounding Japan and defense-related issues, as well as many other political issues. This is the second time for Mr. Asao to speak at our lunch meeting. We are thankful that he is making the time to visit business leaders such as CEO Insights. We hope to gain insights from him and to suggest ideas that may help him make a positive influence on Japan, and our professional and personal futures.