BBL Seminars

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RIETI's periodic Brown Bag Lunch (BBL) seminars welcome an array of guest experts to share their research and views. The sessions encourage lively discussion that contributes to dynamic policy-related debate.
Presently, BBL Seminars are not open to the public as spaces are limited. Select transcripts are available below.

Past BBL Seminars Reports and Summaries

  • May 15, 2025

    Economic Security in a World of Disruptive Power

    • Speaker: Beatrice WEDER DI MAURO (President, CEPR & Professor, Geneva Graduate Institute)
    • Commentator: YAMAGUCHI Jin (Senior Director, Trade Policy Bureau, METI)
    • Moderator: TOMIURA Eiichi (President and Chief Research Officer (CRO) / Dean, Faculty of Data Science, Otsuma Women's University)

  • May 14, 2025

    2025 White Paper on Small and Medium Enterprises in Japan / 2025 White Paper on Small Enterprises in Japan

    • Speaker: OKADA Yo (Consulting Fellow, RIETI / Director, Research Office, Business Environment Department, Small and Medium Enterprise Agency)
    • Commentator: MIYAKAWA Daisuke (Professor, Faculty of Commerce, School of Commerce, WASEDA University)
    • Moderator: SEKIGUCHI Yoichi (Director of Research and Senior Fellow, RIETI)

    Japanese

  • May 8, 2025

    Unlock the Genius that will Move the World: Japan as the global startup hub

    • Speaker: Phil WICKHAM (Executive Managing Director, Sozo Ventures / Chairman, 11KS)
    • Speaker: SAKOTA Shohei (PIVOT Project Innovation Team Mentor, METI)
    • Commentator: SHIMIZU Hiroshi (Faculty Fellow, RIETI / Professor, Faculty of Commerce, Waseda University)
    • Moderator: ISHII Yoshiaki (Consulting Fellow, RIETI / Director General, Entrepreneur and Startup Support Department, SME Support, JAPAN)

    Japanese

  • April 25, 2025

    DX Series

    AI Development for the Benefit of Mankind – The Challenge for Microsoft Research Asia Tokyo

    • Speaker: MATSUSHITA Yasuyuki (Senior Director, Microsoft Research Asia - Tokyo)
    • Commentator: UCHIDA Ryoji (Director, IT Innovation Division, Commerce and Information Policy Bureau, METI)
    • Moderator: KIDO Fuyuko (Consulting Fellow, RIETI)

    Japanese

  • April 17, 2025

    Nurturing Entrepreneurship: What policymakers can do

  • April 10, 2025

    Capitalism and Crises: How to Fix Them

  • April 4, 2025

    Trump 2.0 and the Chinese Dream

    • Speaker: MUNAKATA Naoko (Consulting Fellow, RIETI / Professor, Graduate School of Public Policy, The University of Tokyo)
    • Commentator: MATSUO Takehiko (Vice-Minister for International Affairs, METI)
    • Moderator: TOMIURA Eiichi (President and Chief Research Officer (CRO) and Chief EBPM Officer, RIETI)

    Japanese

  • March 26, 2025

    Are Pro-productivity Policies Fit for Purpose?

    • Speaker: Bart VAN ARK (Non-Resident Fellow, RIETI / Professor of Productivity Studies & Managing Director of The Productivity Institute, Alliance Manchester Business School (AMBS) at the University of Manchester
    • Commentator: FUKAO Kyoji (Chairman, RIETI / University Professor, IER, Hitotsubashi University)
    • Moderator: INUI Tomohiko (Faculty Fellow, RIETI / Faculty of international Social Sciences, Gakushuin University)
    • Presentation (Prof. Van Ark) [PDF:2.9MB]
    • Comment (Prof. Fukao) [PDF:274KB]

  • March 12, 2025

    RIETI-JETRO-EUJC Joint BBL Webinar

    Current Situation in Ukraine and Opportunities for Contributions of Japanese Companies

    • Speaker: HIRAKI Tadayoshi (First Secretary, Embassy of Japan)
    • Commentator: TANABE Yasuo (Consulting Fellow, RIETI / Managing Director, EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation)
    • Moderator: CHINEN Takeshi (Principal Deputy Director, Europe Division, Trade Policy Bureau, METI)

    Japanese

  • February 27, 2025

    The Data Holds The Answer: Timeless analysis methods for researchers

    • Speaker: KONISHI Yoko (Senior Research Fellow, RIETI)
    • Commentator: HIROSE Akiharu (Editor, KADOKAWA Corp.)
    • Commentator: HASEGAWA Hitoshi (Designer, CMD+G Design Inc.)
    • Moderator: SABURI Masataka (Senior Fellow, RIETI / Special Advisor to the Minister, METI)

    Japanese