The 48th ASEAN-Japan Business Meeting "ASEAN-Japan cooperation to create future values together: Building a sustainable society and human resources"

As of January 30, 2023

HIRAKO Yuji
Chairman, the 48th ASEAN-Japan Business Meeting
Chairman, Asia Project Team, Keizai Doyukai
Vice Chairman, ANA Holdings Inc.

PDF　Agenda

Chairman's Statement

In December 2022, Keizai Doyukai and business executives from ASEAN countries held the 48th ASEAN-Japan Business Meeting (AJBM). The purpose of the meeting was to share awareness on the need to update and further strengthen the partnership between ASEAN and Japan in a manner that is relevant to the times, in preparation for the two milestones of the 50th anniversary of ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation in 2023 and the 50th AJBM to be held in 2024.

At the meeting, participants exchanged views on the significance and expectations of the ASEAN-Japan partnership in light of the global trends of change and the challenges faced by each country.

Those challenges include how to recover and rebuild global supply chains from the tensions in international relations symbolized by the China-America conflict and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic; how to respond to changes in industry, work and employment in the face of discontinuous changes in people's lives and values as a result of the implementation of advanced technologies in society.

Against the backdrop of these common issues, the potential to utilize the complementarities between Japan and ASEAN in various fields was discussed, and the following areas were identified as key targets for the ASEAN-Japan collaboration: upgrading industrial structures in response to technological innovation; transforming business models and strengthening the competitiveness of existing industries and companies; creating new social models related to common issues such as population ageing and energy transitions; supporting the global expansion of start-ups that are leading social change; the optimization of food value chains that lead to food security and increased productivity in primary industries and increasing the investments by Japanese SMEs into ASEAN.

The participants also confirmed and shared that the development, acquisition and utilization of the necessary human resources is a top priority for each country in the context of global competition, in order to promote the resolution of issues and enhance Asia's presence as an epicentre of innovation and growth.
ASEAN and Japan together aim to improve the wellbeing and sustainable quality of life of people in the region, and to create diverse opportunities to maximize individual potential. The objective of strengthening relations is to remove obstacles to realizing these goals and to solve problems together.

The foundation for tackling challenges for which there are no precedents or existing solutions is human resources. It is essential for each country to focus on acquiring and developing human resources that will support the realization of the economic and social vision it aspires to, and to develop a framework to promote the movement and circulation of people across borders in the region, to learn from each other and to share wisdom, experience and prescriptions for resolving issues.

ASEAN and Japan should aim to contribute to their own development and to the world as a diverse, yet interconnected community that encourages people's intrinsic will, free choice and challenge, and harnesses the power of people to create values. The AJBM, as a business leaders' forum, will continue and accelerate further discussions and exchanges with the aim of building such momentum and creating concrete mechanisms toward the milestone years of "two 50th anniversaries".

---