Fighting the COVID-19 crisis

Urgent Policy Proposals

Priority should be given to fighting the virus,not stimulating the economy
-- Direct spending of 11tn yen to protect livelihoods, businesses
-- Action plans based on prolonged infection are essential

主査：Kazumasa IWATA: President

2020/04/02

PDFUrgent Policy Proposals — Priority should be given to fighting the virus,not stimulating the economy

The U.S., Europe, and Japan may be on the verge of a “coronavirus depression,” with the rapid spread of the new coronavirus from China paralyzing economic activities. If the pandemic does not dissipate until the end of this year, Japan’s economy could experience a decline of about 4% in fiscal 2020. The growth rate in the medium-to-long term may also decline if global supply chains are reconfigured and the number of foreign visitors to Japan fails to reach the pre-crisis level. The priority should be placed on the prevention of the spread of the disease even if that means that short-term economic growth will be sacrificed. The government should spend about 10 trillion yen to protect people’s livelihood and support businesses.

(*) Kazumasa Iwata, the President of Japan Center for Economic Research, supervised this policy proposal in collaboration with the following economists: Shin-ichi Nishioka, Kengo Tahara, Ikuko Samikawa,Takashi Miyazaki, Akira Tanaka,Yuto Kajita, Tomoki Matuo, Sumio Saruyama, and Takashi Onodera.

2020/04/02

Urgent Policy Proposals

Priority should be given to fighting the virus,not stimulating the economy
-- Direct spending of 11tn yen to protect livelihoods, businesses
-- Action plans based on prolonged infection are essential

主査：Kazumasa IWATA

2019/07/03

Accident Cleanup Costs Rising to 35-80 Trillion Yen in 40 Years

Considering the postponing of decommissioning with “Confinement-managing” scenario as a possible option
Urgent need for measures to manage contaminated water

Public Financial Burden of the Fukushima Nuclear Accident

2018/08/28

In fiscal 2018, we will revise our long-term macroeconomic forecasts to 2060.

2018/03/13

Productivity has not been growing in tandem with increasing PhDs in Japan

- Problem may be rooted in university education or business misapplication
- As imported technology stalls, "self-sufficiency" remains the rule in Japan

Does Japanese research and development contribute to economic growth?

2018/01/12

CO2 Emissions Reduction of 70% by 2050 is Possible with the Introduction of an Environmental Tax

- Making the Environment Protection Compatible with Economic Growth is Possible with Structural Economic Reforms
- Tax Revenues of ¥12 Trillion would be needed if fossil fuel prices remain unchanged

2017/09/05

Japan’s Non-Manufacturing Sector Must Seek to Utilize AI & IoT Technologies

-- Breaking Away from Existing Operations is Crucial

Moving to an information-oriented society

2017/03/07

Accident Cleanup Costs May Rise to 50-70 Trillion Yen

--It's Time to Examine legal liquidation of TEPCO
--Higher Transparency is Needed for the Reasons to Maintaining Nuclear Power

Public Financial Burden of the Fukushima Nuclear Accident