Arab News Japan

TOKYO: HARADA Takeo, the founder, CEO and Chairman of the Institute for International Strategy and Information Analysis think tank, believes “many global leaders are looking to Japan as the potential key to unlocking breakthroughs for a world in distress.”

Speaking at the Harvard Project for Asian and International Relations (HPAIR) in Tokyo on Thursday, Harada delivered a speech titled, “What Is Global Leadership? Toward Solutions for the Global Agenda,” which addressed the nature of leadership in the context of the challenges facing society today.

Harada said it is essential to think seriously about the future together and what new form of global leadership should be envisioned. Harada’s Institute for International Strategy and Information Analysis seeks solutions to global problems and challenges.

Harada, a former diplomat, believes that “there is a shared responsibility for all nations to contribute intellectual effort and concerted action toward addressing these challenges” and says that Japan’s answers to its own problems “could serve as a model for other nations.”

Harada says in a period of profound transformation, Japan has found itself particularly compelled to confront change, something it has achieved since the end of World War II. “Japan achieved an extraordinary post-war recovery, consolidating its status as an advanced industrialized nation,” Harada said.

He believes that the model Japan established during this era has been emulated by numerous countries worldwide and many of the challenges that Japan faces today are likely to appear elsewhere in the global arena. 

“Consequently, the manner in which Japan ultimately resolves these pressing issues will bear immense significance for enabling other nations to address analogous problems swiftly and effectively in the future,” Harada says.

The Harvard Project for Asian and International Relations are an international conference jointly hosted every summer by Harvard University and leading universities across Asia. Thursday’s event was held at the University of Tokyo’s Hongo Campus. HPAIR, founded in 1991, has served as a global platform for students to engage in discussions on political, economic, and social issues in the Asia-Pacific region.