Two key London events this month will consider the competitiveness of Tokyo as a leading global hub in Asia, especially in light of recent developments in Japanese economic policy and its staging of the 2020 Olympic Games.
Chatham House, the Royal Institute of International Affairs, will host ‘Tokyo: A World Financial Centre in the Asia-Pacific?’. This morning roundtable event on January 17 will focus on the potential role of Tokyo as a global mega-city and financial centre in the Asia-Pacific, drawing comparisons with London in Europe, and consider whether its position is being challenged by other Asian cities. It will also address the various fiscal policies used by the Japanese government to further develop the country’s financial market, as well as the potential impact of the 2020 Olympic Games on Tokyo’s identity. The event is the first of four roundtables as part of Chatham House’s series The ‘Return’ of Japan: Abenomics, Structural Reforms and Global Competitiveness – A Dialogue with Europe, with later events on corporate governance and infrastructure investment, and will include speakers from both Tokyo and London city governments, among others. You can register interest via the Chatham House website.
Later this month, on January 30 (at 6.30pm), Lord Deighton, Commercial Secretary to the Treasury and former CEO of the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (LOCOG), will speak at a Japan Society Forum. In his lecture ‘2020 Vision’: insights from the London 2012 Games’, he will share his views on London’s experiences during the run-up to the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics and discuss lessons which can be exchanged with the 2020 Games organisers in Tokyo. Now a UK Government Minister for Infrastructure (including Olympic Legacy), Lord Deighton met with former Tokyo Governor Naoki Inose last year to share such insights from the London Games for Tokyo’s benefit. You can book a place via the Japan Society website, by January 28.
