This report covers the BBL webinar "Structural Challenges and Directions for Growth and Distribution Policies for Japan's Prosperous Growth" hosted by the Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI) on July 10, 2025.
The lecture featured Hiroaki Niihara, who served as a key architect of Japanese government economic policies including "Abenomics" under the Abe administration and "New Capitalism" under the Kishida administration, and currently serves as Executive Fellow at Harvard Business School. Mr. Niihara graduated from the University of Tokyo's Faculty of Economics, pursued doctoral studies at the University of Michigan, served as visiting researcher at Harvard University, and joined the Ministry of International Trade and Industry in 1984. He held key positions including Director-General for Economic and Fiscal Management at the Cabinet Office, Director-General of the Economic and Industrial Policy Bureau at METI, and Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary at the Headquarters for the Realization of New Capitalism, retiring on September 30, 2024. He currently teaches as visiting professor at the University of Tokyo's School of Public Policy and Waseda Business School, specializing in organizational economics and creativity and innovation.
The lecture summarized growth policies under the Abe and Kishida administrations and identified structural challenges and bottlenecks for Japan's prosperous growth. It deeply explored fundamental issues facing the Japanese economy, including analysis of factors behind prolonged economic stagnation, barriers to productivity improvement, growth strategies in an aging society with declining birthrate, and environmental development for innovation creation. Based on extensive experience in policy planning, specific recommendations were presented on the direction of growth and distribution policies to address these challenges.
This seminar, with participation from Yoko Ikeda, Director of the Competition Environment Development Office at METI's Economic and Industrial Policy Bureau (RIETI Consulting Fellow) as commentator and moderated by Eiichi Tomiura, President, CRO, and Director of the EBPM Center at RIETI, featured active discussion from both policy practice and academic research perspectives on pathways to realize Japan's sustainable economic growth.
The article indicates that overcoming structural challenges and achieving prosperous growth requires a comprehensive policy approach that creates a virtuous cycle of growth and distribution.