Research Directions for the RIETI's Sixth Medium-Term Plan
Toko Tanimoto (Deputy Director of International Coordination / PR Strategy, RIETI):
First of all, could you tell us about your aspirations for the overall direction of RIETI’s research in the Sixth Mid-Term Plan?
Tomiura:
In the 6th period, in addition to maintaining the same high research standards as in the 5th period, research deeply related to policy will be emphasized. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen research that also captures changes in the economic environment and that is based on an awareness of policy issues. In the past, RIETI has accumulated research directly related to policy issues such as innovation, productivity, and industrial policy. However, while strengthening the international competitiveness of Japanese industry and Japan’s economic growth remain important themes, economic security has recently become a particularly important global issue . It will be important to determine methods of incorporating this into RIETI’s projects as an extension of economic analysis.
Having said that, economic security is a multifaceted and expansive topic, and it is difficult to conduct research in immediate response to the news of the day. I think that such immediate responses are not necessarily RIETI’s primary mission. Therefore, the fundamentals still remain the same, and we will continue to conduct research that is properly based on data and that has an academic foundation, as an extension of the economics-based research we have accumulated to date, with a good focus on long-term global issues. On top of that, we will work on new themes based on the changing international situation.
RIETI's Role in Economic and Industrial Policy
Tanimoto:
I assume that you will play a bridging role with the policy field, given your background at the central government.
Tomiura:
In my case, I hope to contribute from the perspective of both my “inside” experience as a policy maker at the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI, current the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI)) and my “outside” experience as an academician. However, I was quite young when I was working in the MITI offices, and I have not been particularly involved in policy formation as a researcher. Therefore, I am entering this project afresh.
As RIETI itself is not an internal organization of METI, but an independent administrative agency, its responsibility is to be involved in policy from the “outside.” In 2022, RIETI established an “EBPM Center” to study Evidence-Based Policy Making (EBPM). I will serve as both the President of RIETI and Chief EBPM Officer. The EBPM/policy evaluation conducted by the government offices itself is different in nature from the EBPM/policy evaluation conducted by RIETI’s EBPM Center. The EBPM Center, in collaboration with researchers and policy makers in Japan and overseas, supports policy planning for large-scale projects implemented through public-private partnerships, such as projects to develop manufacturing infrastructure for advanced semiconductors, in addition to the data-based, ex-post evaluation of policies that have been promoted to date.
Through these activities, although we share the same goal of making METI policies useful to Japan, we would like to fulfill our role as a separate organization, looking at the policies from the outside and making them more resistant to future academic criticism, rather than being integrated with the ministry. For this reason, it will be important to maintain positive, constructive tension with the ministry. The Sixth Mid-Term Plan utterly calls for RIETI to contribute to policy making, and we will be attempting to proceed through specific projects so that we can provide advice based on academic results for policy making not only through EBPM but also through various other channels. Additionally, so that close exchange of opinions with policy makers will stimulate new research, we will continue to experiment with ways to proceed through specific projects.
The joy of being a researcher, after a period of steady preparation
Tanimoto:
Can you tell us what made you decide to become a researcher in the first place?
Tomiura:
After graduating from university, I joined MITI before the government offices were reorganized. Perhaps because of my aptitude, I was often assigned to work in the research and planning field. Over time, I gradually became more and more interested in setting my own research topics and conducting my own analysis, and when I was just about to reach the age of management, I moved to a university to devote myself to research and became a researcher.
When I was a student, I studied empirical analysis using statistical data and econometrics, but I was always more interested in the application of statistics than in the study of statistics itself.
Tanimoto:
When do you find the most inspiration in being a researcher?
Tomiura:
In researching economics, in my case, I undertake empirical analysis rather than theoretical work, looking at actual data to see what trends exist or to verify whether what is said in economic theory is really true.
The data collected itself is a jumbled mess of errors, and most of the time in each study is spent piecing together bugbears and mismatched data. I am most pleased when, at the end of the process, I analyze the nicely prepared data and find a trend. However, I think that those last moments are not even 5% of the total time spent in research.
Even after considerable preparation, the results are rarely as expected, but there are times when the process leads to unexpected discoveries, which are very interesting and provide a pleasant sense of satisfaction. As the French historical bacteriologist Louis Pasteur might say, the goddess of fortune only smiles on those who are prepared.
Once when I was collecting paper materials, after spending every waking hour for days on end in the stacks at the library, when I was about to leave, I happened to see a document that had been left there by chance, and it gave me a hint for my research. It was not the material I had originally set out to study, but upon closer inspection, I found the data to be very interesting, and digging deeper into it led to a variety of studies. So, I still think that if you are prepared, “every dog gets his bone.”
Tanimoto:
That led to your book "The International Economics of Outsourcing" and the Nikkei Prize for Excellent Books in Economic Science.
Tomiura:
Yes, it was the discovery of that data that triggered my book.
A Researcher's Perspective Rooted in Everyday Life
Tanimoto:
Finally, may I ask about any other interests you have?
Tomiura:
I am ashamed to say that I have no taste at all (laughs). When I was young, all I could think about was how to spend as much time as possible in my office so that I could devote myself to my research, so I was either at home or in the office.
But when I wasn’t able to commute to my university because of COVID-19, I started walking around the house, and it became interesting to make all sorts of new little discoveries in the neighborhood. Since then, I have started doing a bit of walking around town. The only other thing I do is watch movies at home.
Tanimoto:
What kind of films do you like?
Tomiura:
I watch various kinds of films regardless of genre. However, I would prefer something that has some message or theme. Not long ago, I saw Godzilla in a movie theater because occasionally I want to see movies on a big screen (laughs). Maybe it's an occupational hazard, but I'm curious to see if every film has a properly satisfying story. The same is true when writing a paper, but it is important to know how to make the plot convincing.
Tanimoto:
Thank you very much!
July 10, 2024
>> Original text in Japanese