What has caused the so-called "lost three decades" of Japan's economy? Quite simply stated, I believe a major cause was the corporate governance of companies focusing on short-term profit.
The criteria of corporate management and its method of evaluation differ according to the industry and business domain that a company deals in; thus it is intrinsically wrong to uniformly make decisions or evaluations based on stereotypical and externally-enforced standards or indicators. If a company is to keep up with worthy corporate values moving forward, it should reconsider the criteria of its corporate management from a medium-to-long term from the perspective of society in general.
Now, at the turning point of whether to continue stagnating or to make steps toward reconstructing Japan's economy, is the time for business world to rethink its role of leadership and take action by establishing coordinates for the corporations to pursue.

As the population of Japan continues to fall, we must find a way to sustain a level of labor productivity that will be essential to ensure growth and raise levels of Japan's competitiveness in industry. For this to be possible, investing in technological advancements or digital transformation (DX) will not be enough. We must also prioritize engaging our workforce and place more importance on their mental and emotional productivity.

Those in the workforce need to create their own future and should feel that they can work according to their own will rather than being forced. Such thinking can lead to better quality of labor and consequently improves productivity. Executives and managers of a company should be required to provide choices and venues that fully draw out, develop, and utilize the strengths of those in the workplace.

Another important cause of Japan's economic woes has been the deep-seated shareholder-first mindset, wherein companies in Japan emphasize stability-first management, valuing low-cost, low-risk and short-term profit. As a result, Japan has been suffering from the vicious circle of what has been called "stagnating but stable," in which decreasing domestic investment hinders economic growth. To bring an end to this vicious circle, we need to rethink this mindset and invest more assets and capital in domestic facilities, technological development and human resources under balanced capital allocation. The revitalization of local economies based on digital transformation and green transformation, investment in the digital and energy fields as well as human resources, and innovation through breakthroughs in science and technology such as biotechnology and mobility will be crucial for our future.

A company's growth, the appropriate distribution of its deliverables, and increased consumption form the cycle of sustainable capitalism. Now is the time to bid farewell to three decades of a stable-but-stagnating economy. It is our responsibility to establish more proactive and autonomous corporate governance where those in charge can act with more freedom and greater spontaneity.