Yasuchika Hasegawa
Chairman of the Board, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Ltd.

This year will likely continue to see geopolitical confusion, like the situation in Ukraine, the relationship between Russia and Turkey, the Islamic State and regional conflicts surrounding the South China Sea. It is unlikely that these issues will be resolved overnight and they will continue to affect the world.

But there are positive developments. While the economic slowdown in China is being trumpeted, the country continues to see growth of nearly 7 percent and is very likely to meet the target of doubling its growth from 2010 by 2020. Meanwhile, the IMF has forecast global economic growth of over 3 percent, driven not only by developed countries like the United States, Germany and Britain, but also largely due to the emerging economies. While the Russian and Brazilian economies are showing signs of slowing down, and India's growth rate has dropped below 10 percent, these countries along with China are likely to continue to drive the global economy.

Amid such an environment, Japan needs to maintain its proactive pacifism as there are many non-combat areas that Japan can contribute to, such as environmental issues, considered one of the major tasks on the global agenda. Other issues may be food and water shortages, and clean energy. With the "Millennium Development Goals" ending in 2015, the United Nations has listed 17 issues as "Sustainable Development Goals" to be pursued until 2030. Japan will be able to contribute to improving many of the listed issues through its technology.

Also, as Japan faces a declining population, there is a need to successfully implement Abenomics 2.0, which offers solutions to the problem, and turn Japan into a model for the rest of the world. By taking advantage of science and technology, and by changing society through such efforts, Japan can become a model for other nations. Such endeavors should allow Japan to contribute to resolving the global agenda, and ultimately contribute to creating a safe and prosperous world. Continuing to pursue such peaceful tactics is what should be expected of Japan.

⇒ Yasushi Akashi
Chairman, International House of Japan, former United Nations Undersecretary-General
⇒ Yasuchika Hasegawa
Chairman of the Board, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Ltd.
⇒ Hiroya Masuda
Advisor, Nomura Research Institute, former Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications
⇒ Yuji Miyamoto
Chairman, Miyamoto Institute of Asian Research, former Ambassador to the People's Republic of China
⇒ Akihiko Tanaka
Professor of International Politics at the Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia, University of Tokyo