We will expand personal networks with the Asian Development Bank, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, and ministries of finance and central banks, and their affiliated research institutes, as well as universities in Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia and Laos etc., by holding symposiums when their leaders visit Japan.

The Chinese economy is predicted to remain stable for the time being, although there are certain risk factors including the spread of COVID-19 infection and increasingly fierce conflict between the United States and China. The Chinese economy, however, is expected to begin transitioning from a rapid growth period to a stable growth period in and after the mid-2020s, and China's most important task is how it will carry out structural reforms prior to that while securing the stability of its macroeconomy. It is concerned that the risk factors involving the U.S.-China relation will affect them. Based on the abovementioned present situations, we will provide an easy-to-understand overview of the Chinese economy as a whole, paying attention to the interactions of the real factors.

Forestry policy has justified protection of the forestry industry on the grounds of the multifunctionality of forestry. We will examine how the forestry industry should be and the need for an ideal forestry policy from the national economic point of view, not merely because the forestry industry should be protected for the sake of its own existence. Moreover, wood supplies would have increased and stumpage values of mountain owners would have stagnated, both due to the wrong policies developed based on the contentions that that the forestry should be identified as a growth industry and that the timber self-sufficiency rate should be increased; doing so would make reforestation, and eventually a stable supply of wood in the future, difficult. Based on these factors, we will examine ideal approaches for a sustainable forestry industry, as well as relevant forestry policy.

The Abe administration degraded the agricultural policy system and increased agricultural protection, which were revealed in its substantial reinforcement of the rice-acreage reduction policy for the sake of pegging high rice prices or excessive compensatory measures against trade liberalization. In addition, the agricultural policies have been developed upon a false recognition of agriculture, because the distance between the people and agriculture has expanded. Agricultural economics research has avoided conducting policy analysis on the basis of cost-benefit analysis. We, therefore, will provide policy recommendations on agricultural policy reform from these viewpoints. At the same time, in order to use IT and AI for agriculture, it will be necessary to examine formation of an agricultural IT cooperative, and potential use of blockchain for traceability.

Former President Trump adopted international trade policies that ignored the rules and disciplines of the World Trade Organization (WTO). As a result, the WTO’s legislative roles became dysfunctional, which made it difficult for the WTO to draw up new agreements. The Biden administration, however, would shift to policies focused on multinational frameworks. By inducing the United States to return to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), we can expect that certain provisions of the TPP Agreement will be incorporated into the WTO agreements and restore the WTO’s legislative and judicial functions. From these viewpoints, we will analyze these issues according to the ongoing movements and provide policy recommendations.

How can Japan contribute to peaceful and stable international relations as the U.S.-China friction intensifies? We will examine it from the military perspective, as well as from the viewpoint of dual-use technology (DUT), and will exchange information with research institutes in Japan and abroad and disseminate our opinions, including policy recommendations.

We will study an ideal approach for new equity governance (governance by shareholders) to increase productivity and drive economic growth in Japan, and investigate how the capital market should be reformed for that purpose. We will explore the potential for the trinitarian management structure, which comprises shareholders, top management, and employees, with a special focus on employee shareholding.

In response to the COVID-19 crisis, we will examine an ideal approach to reforming the system for providing healthcare services and ways to tackle it taking into account the deteriorated balance sheets of small- and medium-sized companies, and compile our practical policy recommendations and send them to related parties. We will also study policy issues surrounding the imminent super-aging society, and aim to compile and disseminate our policy recommendations. In addition, comprehensive analysis from various viewpoints will be performed on policy measures to be taken when public finance falls into a critical situation, as well as on countermeasures for extra long-term policy issues across generations. We will also consider the progress of artificial intelligence through deep learning and its involvement with the market and society, from the standpoint of inter-generational issues.

We will analyze, mainly using theoretical modeling and computer simulations, each of the following subjects: deflationary balance, credit bubbles, non-performing loans, monetary theories and banking crises, and tail risks in fiscal crises and economic growth. Results of our analysis will be presented at academic conferences and seminars in Japan and abroad, and published in academic journals. We will host an Economic Conference twice a year by inviting Japanese and foreign cutting-edge researchers.

Innovations are essential to the sustained growth of the Japanese economy. This research is designed to build and analyze long-term micro data on patents, in particular to clarify the mechanisms by which innovation was created, as well as the effects of innovation policies.

We will analyze the impact of banks on the efficiency of inter-regional fund allocation, and the impact of the central bank's supply of liquidity on the financial system and industry, using data from prewar Japan.

Japan’s electric power industry started developing in the early 20th century, driven by many dispersed companies, and has since formed a large network through mergers and business-to-business partnerships. Focusing on the electric power industry in prewar Japan, we analyze the expansion mechanism of this network and its implications, based on micro-data.

We will quantitatively analyze and understand, based on micro-data, under what political and social backgrounds the long-term economic development of Japan since the prewar days has been accomplished, and how such economic development has in turn influenced the country’s political and social structures.

Industrial and corporate organizations dynamically change in the process of economic development. We will study the internationalization of Japanese companies using data for each target company in the cotton-spinning industry since the end of the 19th century. In addition, issues such as the impacts of changes in the production units on people’s work styles, and growth of multiple-plant companies and management of them, will be explored.

We will collect large-scale business data and elucidate the mechanisms behind the economic behavior of businesses, financial institutions, households, government, etc. Specifically, the subjects of our analysis include economic networks (business-to-business and trade), demographics and asset value fluctuations.

We will elucidate the mechanisms by which product prices (prices of consumables, durable appliances, etc.) and real estate prices (condominium sales prices, rents, etc.) fluctuate. In particular, we aim to elucidate the mechanisms of inflation, deflation and real estate bubbles through an integrated understanding of the characteristics of fluctuations in individual prices and their aggregates (consumer price indices, real estate price indices, etc.).

We will analyze the current situation of international capital flows in China, and consider how it should be the capital transaction deregulation. Moreover, we will organize information on China's driving force to increase presence in the international financial market and their future challenges.

We will continue our studies on the soundness and sustainability of China's fiscal policy. In particular, we will deepen our examination into the development of infrastructure investment for filling regional gaps and the reform of the social security system under the aging population, with emphasis on allocation of roles between the central government and local governments and ideal approaches for securing financial resources.

China has been continuously working to reform its financial sector, such as through financial marketization, innovation, and opening of the financial markets, while coping with the problem of excessive debt. Recognizing these difficult tasks, we will analyze the current state of challenges facing the Chinese financial sector, and explore problem-solving paths by focusing on its improvement of efficiency, transparency, and risk management capabilities.