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Japanese society is undergoing tremendous changes. A change in government has significantly altered the frameworks of politics and administration. Against the background of a prevalent feeling of economic stagnation, changes are being sought that will introduce greater dynamism to the Japanese economy. And as the nation enters further onto its trajectory of population decline and population aging, attempts are being made to envision new directions for Japanese society.

I believe that the roles played by think tanks are becoming increasingly important precisely because we are in the midst of a period of great change. Bringing together specialized knowledge, delineating important issues, and providing guidelines for policy agendas – these are the major roles of think tanks. The provision of information to the intellectual community which is concerned with the necessary direction of public policy is another important role. Having become a private-sector think tank, the National Institute for Research Advancement (NIRA) has proceeded with its research activities and the provision of information while seeking the appropriate form to enable a think tank to fulfill the roles described above. The results of NIRA's research activities are all available on this website, and we urge you to make use of the resource that they provide.

Reviewing NIRA's activities since its privatization in November 2007, I can affirm that the institute has achieved significant outcomes in a variety of important fields. The institute's policy analyses, published in the NIRA Policy Review or as monographs, are widely regarded as being of considerable value. Part of our Dialogue Series, in which I discuss important issues with a range of specialists, has been published in book form. We will continue to use these various media to present timely analyses and interpretations of the issues of greatest importance at the time.

Several of NIRA's policy proposals have contributed to sparking debate among the public. The institute's proposals concerning the use of the immense assets slumbering in the household sector in order to activate the Japanese economy, its proposal for the improvement of the mechanism of production of government statistics, its research that discussed the potential for activation of the labor market by revising the system of lifetime employment (a system which has reached a turning point), and further, its outline of the policy orientations necessary to making Asia a single "domestic market," all focused on issues of tremendous importance for today's Japan. Such issues demand accurate understanding, the gathering of opinion from leading experts, and the formulation of robust policy proposals.

My desire now is to enhance NIRA's function as a hub for policy analysis and policy research. I seek also to make greater use of the knowledge of experts outside the institute, and to deepen NIRA's involvement with the policy community, both in Japan and overseas. To achieve these goals, I believe that it will be essential to make NIRA's results available to as many users as possible, and to expand opportunities for the institute to receive opinions and advice. In addition, providing more occasions for the development of young people who will become the policy analysts of the future and broadening the policy analysis community are also important roles to be fulfilled by NIRA. I am hoping that many more people will come into contact with the outcomes produced by NIRA, and that in this way we will provide them with opportunities to reflect on Japan's necessary future direction.

Motoshige Itoh
President
National Institute for Research Advancement

December 2009

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