Khaldon Azhari

TOKYO: The 11th G1 Global Conference started on Wednesday in Tokyo and features contributions from popular Japanese politician KONO Taro, former Minister of State for Economic and Fiscal Policy and Minister of State for Financial Services Heizo Takanaka, Audrey Tang the Digital Minister of Taiwan. Robin Niblett, the Chief Executive of Chatham House, and Bilahari Kausikan, Chairman of the Middle East Institute at the National University of Singapore.

Kono opened the session “Innovative Resilience in Politics, Business, Technology, and Society” with remarks on the recent election in Japan: “We beat Communism in the elections. The LDP was not supposed to lose.. but we didn’t do too bad by losing about 15 seats. The election result realized our initial goal of beating the combined socialist opposition, which I was worried about. It was how Communism spread across the Eastern Europe,” Kono said noting that communists in Europe started by allying with other parties before removing them out to get the absolute power.

Kono, who was also in charge of Japan’s vaccine program noted that Japan was performing well in terms of vaccination, but he said that Japan needs to change to effect real progress in the country.

“We need to break down the old bureaucracy by bringing in 5G to promote a better remote work environment,” Kono said. “Japanese bureaucrats are resisting remote work and we need to change this mindset. Our Digital Agency started one month ago and there are several things it needs to do, such as eliminating paper. All the paper processes are time consuming. We need to change to a digital system in the national government and move forward in the digital age.”

The conference will have a number of talks and seminars on a range of subjects, including the U.S. elections, how COVID-19 will disrupt working habits, sustainability and Japan’s global role.

The event was held as after almost two years, we are beginning to see some glimpses of the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, organizers said. “While certainly not over, infections tend to be decreasing in some countries such as Japan and Taiwan, which each had their own unique challenges and strategies. “

The pandemic has brought many rapid changes and opportunities for breakthroughs in digitization, workstyle, health, and social change. Meanwhile, there have been political transitions in the US, Japan, and Europe, while climate change, cybersecurity, and the US-China relationship remain major global challenges.

“As we move forward, what have we learned? What is new and what will stay the same? What types of innovative resilience have we developed to move forward in politics, business, technology and society? Panelists discuss the global roles for Japan and Taiwan now and in the years ahead, setting the stage for today’s conference.