On November 11, Dr. FUNABASHI Yoichi, Chairman of Asia Pacific Initiative, was featured in a panel on “Panel III: East Asia and the Post-COVID World” as part of the Johns Hopkins University SAIS Reischauer Center’s virtual conference with the T-20 Global Think Tank Summit. This conference on “COVID-19, East Asia, and the Global Response” considered a variety of lessons from East Asia for the international community, covering topics from health systems and supply chains to the environment and food system resilience.

The panel was moderated by Ambassador David Shear (Senior Fellow, Reischauer Center for East Asian Studies, Johns Hopkins University SAIS) and Dr. Funabashi was a panelist alongside Ambassador Bilahari Kausikan (Former Permanent Secretary, Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs).

In his remarks, Dr. Funabashi drew attention to Japan’s ability to battle COVID-19 through its use of a soft lockdown as well as East Asia’s success in part due to the strengthening of its government institutions and ready acceptance of masks. He commented on China’s strong economic recovery and the potential effect of Chinese consumers on boosting other Asian economies. Meanwhile, he urged attention to the US’ domestic handling of COVID-19 and its implications for the US’ standing in the world. He also outlined Japan’s potential role going forward as a rule-shaper and proactive stabilizer in the world.

A recording of the event can be found on John Hopkins’ website. Dr. Funabashi’s panel begins at 02:17:00.

For the full schedule, please see the T-20 event guide.