“We will promote bold investments and reforms to concentrate our country’s people and money” in fields like startups, innovations and decarbonisation, he told an audience of businesspeople at the “2022 Special Lecture” event hosted by Nikkei, TV Tokyo Holdings and the Japan Center for Economic Research on Friday in Tokyo.
The prime minister pointed to a five-year plan unveiled in November aiming to increase investment in startups tenfold. “The large companies that now drive the Japanese economy were once startups founded in the postwar period,” he said. “We hope to realise a second boom in business startups through these efforts.”
Kishida also stressed his enthusiasm to “achieve wage increases that will not be defeated by high prices”. The government aims to achieve sustainable structural pay hikes through a package of policies in human investment, such as reskilling.
Such efforts are important for Japan to “realise a sustainable economic model of the new era” without lagging in the world, an issue that “cannot be pushed back”, he said.
Another such issue is decarbonisation. The government approved on Thursday a set of policies to transform society toward carbon neutrality, including a goal to invest over ¥150 trillion (US$1.13 trillion) in the public and private sectors over the course of 10 years. The government will lead the way with upfront investment support of ¥20 trillion for energy conversion and drastic energy conservation, he said.
“We will also move forward from our past policies on nuclear power, such as by materialising the rebuilding of nuclear power plants to next-generation innovative reactors,” Kishida added. The strategy also includes plans to develop power transmission facilities to enable the increased introduction of renewable energy.
On security, the prime minister appealed for understanding of the country’s new defence policy approved earlier this month, listing concerns stemming from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the increasing threat of missiles from North Korea.
The government will tax corporations to support defence expenses. “Strengthening defence capabilities directly contributes to smooth economic activities in many ways, such as securing sea lanes, maintaining supply chains and reducing the risk of market disruption by strengthening deterrence,” he said. “We hope that the business community, as well as the public, will understand the importance of this policy.”
Following Kishida, Akira Yoshino, winner of the 2019 Nobel Prize in chemistry, gave a speech on the future of a carbon-neutral society and the role of businesses. Yoshino was recognised for his work on developing lithium-ion batteries while he was a researcher at the chemical company Asahi Kasei, where he is now a group fellow.
He echoed the importance of supporting startups. Greening society starts with research and development, whose results must then be applied. “This is when, basically, one starts a new business,” he said. He also underlined the necessity of “well-balanced” aid in the early stages.
He also called on the audience of businesspeople to support company-affiliated researchers, who face an “overwhelming disadvantage” against academics in getting recognition through academic prizes, since their achievements usually take the form of patents, which are generally not considered much in the evaluation process.
“Do appraise their achievements and show that they tie to practical use,” he said. “That would be a very big encouragement for us.”