The Japanese economy appears to have recovered from a two-decade long recession, which began in the early 1990s, as it is currently experiencing continuous growth for a seven-quarter period albeit meager growth rate of approximately 1 percent per year. Low unemployment rate of 2.7 percent and record high corporate profits also reflect relatively favorable economic situation. Despite favorable performance of the Japanese economy at the moment, future prospects are rather dim unless Japan can successfully deal with various structural problems, which include shrinking and ageing population, increasing government debt, and low exposure to the global economy. One important and effective policy that may contribute to solving/mitigating these problems is activist international economic policy such as free trade agreements (FTAs) and economic assistance policy such as official development assistance. Professor Shujiro URATA examines Japan’s current economic situation and identifies the problems, then he discusses the importance of adopting an activist international economic policy with a focus on its relationship with the United States, in order to overcome the problems and achieve sustained economic growth.

Shujiro Urata is Dean and Professor of Economics at Graduate School Asia-Pacific Studies, Waseda University. He is also Specially Appointed Fellow at the Japanese Centre for Economic Research (JCER), Faculty Fellow at the Research Institute of Economy, Trade & Industry (RIETI), and Senior Research Adviser for the Executive Director of the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) in Jakarta. Professor Urata received his B.A. in Economics from Keio University and his M.A. and Ph.D. in Economics at Stanford University. He is a former Research Associate at the Brookings Institution, an Economist at the World Bank. He specializes in International Economics and Economics of Development. He has held a number of research and advisory positions including senior advisor to the Government of Indonesia, consultant to the World Bank, OECD, the Asian Development Bank and the Government of Japan. He published and edited a number of books on international economic issues and is an author and co-author of numerous articles in professional journals. His book publications in English include Multinationals and Economic Growth in East Asia, co-editor, Routledge, 2006, Free Trade Agreements in the Asia-Pacific, co-editor, World Scientific, 2010, Economic Consequences of Globalization: Evidence from East Asia, co-editor, Routledge,2012, and others.

Cosponsored by the Consulate-General of Japan in Detroit .