<Augusut, 2025>

Beyond Trump tariffs:

Moves toward a new era originating in the United States

Seven months have passed since the inauguration of the Trump 2.0 administration. The world continues to be shaken by President Trump’s high tariff policy. Japan is no exception and has struggled to respond. However, this may not be merely a facet of trade policy, but rather a sign of changes that could affect the very foundations of the postwar system.

My hypothesis is as follows. President Trump may be attempting to correct the harmful effects caused by the going too far of the “American-style liberalism (liberal regime)” that the US spread throughout the world after World War II. Taken in this context, the high tariff policy can be seen as part of an effort to rebuild the relationship between the US and the rest of the world. Such excesses are not limited to the United States but have also spread to Japan and Europe. In particular Japan has been the most thorough in adopting the American model in Asia, and has suffered serious consequences in the form of the weakening of families and local communities, industrial hollowing out, and the uneven distribution of wealth.

Now is the time for us to reexamine what kind of future-oriented cooperative relationship Japan and the United States can build, while keeping an eye on the changes taking place in American society. What is needed is not just trade negotiations, but efforts to bring about structural change for a new era.

<April, 2023>

We are at a Major Turning Point, with No Turning Back.

In addition to the U.S.-China trade friction and the new Corona (COVID-19), there is also the unforeseen invasion of Ukraine by Russian’s Putin.

As we are in the year 2023, the world is experiencing even greater upheaval. However, this does not mean the end of the world. Rather, it should be seen as the dawn of a new era in which the world will undergo major changes and new trends will emerge.

Last February 24, three days after President Putin invaded Ukraine, German Chancellor Scholz delivered a speech to the German Bundestag in which he expressed the German government’s firm commitment to this attack. The word “Zeitenwende” is used in the title of this speech. The German word “Zeitenwende” originally meant the Western calendar. In other words, it means “the coming of a new era”, the world afterwards will no longer be the same as the world before. Although not yet widespread in Japan, this idea is becoming mainstream among thought leaders in the United States and the European Union, even in China. They, policy makers in these countries, are formulating “grand strategies” based on this idea.

The “grand strategy” is not as tremendous as we might imagine. On the contrary, what we missed much of the importance under the prosperity, despite the remarkable achievements, is “science (including so-called science, advanced technology, and the creation of innovation ecosystems)”. These countries have placed science at the core of their geopolitics to ensure prosperity in the next era.

I would like to share with you my thoughts on a grand strategy for the future of science in the world and in Japan.

(Note: I use the term “grand strategy” in the sense of a long-term strategy for the entire country, 10 or 20 years, rather than an ad hoc strategy.)

<Dec. 2020>

The pandemic of the new coronavirus (COVIT-19) has triggered a rapid trend toward a new digital era in the world. Supporting COVIT19 is an urgent issue in every country, in Japan, various digital measures are essential to transform our system for the revival of the Japanese economy. Therefore, in order to create our strategy for digital future, we need to examine what digital means, what digital will lead for future. The new digital era is by no means a dream, it is an era with many dangers and anxieties. However, there is no doubt that prosperity in the new digital era will make world history. We can learn from the case of the United States, which has been a world leader in digital so far, has a strategy for a new era in the future, and what kind of strategy China has, which has rapidly established a digital system in the last few years.

Takeda and Associates has compiled a “US-China Digital Strategy Report” as a verification material.
The goal of Takeda & Associates is to show the importance of digital verification and strategy development. In the new digital era, we need a geopolitical way of thinking about science and technology and innovation. To that end, it is important to collaborate not only with digital technology researchers but also with a wide range of people involved in business, education, international politics, civilization / cultural theory, values, philosophy of history, psychology, leadership theory, and ventures. Currently, Takeda & Associates is enthusiastic about developing young people, hosting exchanges and study meetings, etc. to think together about our digital future.
Thank you for your concern.