Is There Light at the End of the Tunnel for Japan’s Ailing Economy?

Corporate Luncheon

Speaker
Taichi Sakaiya, Special Adviser to the Prime Minister; Former Minister of State for Economic Planning

Presider
David H. Resler, Managing Director, Chief Economist, Nomura Securities International, Inc.

Taichi Sakaiya, Special Adviser to the Prime Minister, and Former Minister of State for Economic Planning, takes aim at the seemingly unsolvable problems plaguing the Japanese economy. After 10 years of economic malaise, many frustrated Japan watchers are asking why Japan can’t get its economic act together. Mr. Sakaiya explores what needs to be done to get consumers spending again and gives his assessment of the structural reforms and economic stimulus policies to date. A bestselling novelist and author in his own right, Mr. Sakaiya also examines the U.S.-Japan relationship, including the effects Japan’s delayed recovery and an economic downturn in the United States could have on intensifying bilateral trade tensions.

Mr. Sakaiya joined the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) in 1960, where he directed the World Exposition in Osaka in 1970 and the International Ocean Exposition in Okinawa in 1975. After leaving MITI in 1978, he became a prominent writer and critic. His non-fiction works include The Knowledge-Value Revolution and The Rise and Fall of Organizations. In 1998, he was appointed Minister of State for Economic Planning. Mr. Sakaiya has been Special Advisor to the Prime Minister since administrative reorganization of the central government took effect earlier this year.

Tickets for lunch & lecture: $55, Japan Society and Asia Society members $45. Lecture only: $15, Japan Society and Asia Society members $10.