For many decades Japan enjoyed great success with its export-oriented economy and the outsourcing of its foreign policy to the United States under the US security umbrella. Its role in the world was simple, and times were good. But times have changed: with the end of the Cold War, the collapse of its bubble economy, a shrinking domestic population, global instabilities after 9-11, the rise of China, and other seismic shifts, Japan now faces a much more complicated world. A quiet but high-stakes debate is now taking place inside and outside Japan about the degree to which the country will be able to influence its own future, and how it should seek to evolve. Are Japan’s glory days behind it, and is it destined to retreat quietly with its aging population behind mercantilist walls? Or will it seamlessly reinvent itself and adapt to a new world order as a major power? Will Japan be able to maintain the benefits of both American military protection and Chinese economic dynamism for many decades to come?

In this groundbreaking and provocative discussion, three foreigners who have lived and worked in Japan – a Canadian, a Frenchman and a Spaniard – argue that Japan has much to gain by pursuing a more engaged, outward-looking, multilateral posture in its region and globally. While the country will continue to enjoy good relations with the West, the time has come for Japan to embrace its Asian heritage and future, as well as its own potential contribution to world affairs. A globally engaged, more open Japan, the authors argue, is win-win-win: good for Japan, good for Asia, and good for the world. If Japan is truly to become a global citizen, however, it must not only reach out more to the world, it must also admit more of the world – new ideas, people, and capital from afar – on its own soil. But is Japan - are Japanese - prepared to do so?

John Haffner

John Haffner moved to Japan in 2001 to study mixed martial arts. While in Japan he was also fortunate enough to find work at McKinsey & Company, where he developed and delivered an advocacy skill development program for senior Tokyo consultants, and coordinated a project to improve McKinsey’s knowledge of foreign-affiliated companies in Japan. Since 2004 Haffner has worked in strategic planning in the energy industry, with extensive experience in electricity regulation, climate change and nuclear policy. Haffner holds five degrees (from King’s, Dalhousie, Queen’s and McGill universities) and is a 2008 World Fellow at Yale University.

Tomas Casas i Klett

A decade ago, after working in Tokyo for three years at the headquarters of a leading Japanese electronics company, Tomas Casas i Klett crossed the Sea of Japan and started a new career in Shanghai. He has developed a number of entrepreneurial ventures with Chinese partners that lead him to travel frequently throughout China, his native Spain, and other Western countries. Casas i Klett holds an undergraduate degree from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, majoring in finance, multinational management and political science, a Master of Science in Business Administration from Fudan University in Shanghai, and a doctorate (Dr.oec) from the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland. He lectures on entrepreneurship, corporate governance and Asian business at institutions of higher learning around the world.

Jean-Pierre Lehmann

Jean-Pierre Lehmann first set foot in Japan in 1949 at the age of four, and has had extensive involvement in Japan since that time. Having taught and worked in many other parts of the world, he also offers insights into Japan from a global perspective. Since January 1997 Lehmann has been Professor of International Political Economy at IMD in Lausanne; he is also Founding Director of the Evian Group, a coalition for liberal global governance comprised of business, government and opinion leaders from Asia-Pacific, Europe and the Americas. Lehmann was born in 1945, of French nationality. He obtained his undergraduate degree from Georgetown University, and his doctorate on Japanese 19th century economic history from Oxford. He is the author of several books, numerous articles and reports on modern East Asian history and international political economy.