Update tackles Japan’s reinvention after PM’s resignation

Photo: Satoshi Hirayama / Pexels - The resignation of Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga after successfully hosting the most difficult Olympic and Paralympic games in history will be the key focus of how Japan can reinvent itself during the 2021 Japan Update this Wednesday. Hosted by The Australian National University (ANU) and organised by the University's Australia-Japan Research Centre and Japan Institute, the annual update is Australia's flagship conference on the East Asian nation. It brings together experts from Australia, Japan and the region, including Professor Keiichiro Kobayashi, who was a member of the Japanese government's COVID response committee, and New York Times reporter Ms Motoko Rich. The keynote address will be delivered by Professor Sawada Yasuyuki, who until recently was the Asian Development Bank's chief economist. Director of the ANU Australia-Japan Research Centre Dr Shiro Armstrong and Director of the ANU Japan Institute Dr Lauren Richardson will chair the panels. The update will focus on the impact of COVID-19 on Japanese society and prospects for recovery, governance challenges, and science, defence and technology issues. Dr Armstrong said the update comes at a critical point in time for the nation as well as its relations with Australia.