Dr. FUNABASHI Yoichi, Chairman of Asia Pacific Initiative, gave a keynote lecture at the 2021 Hiroshima Business Forum for Global Peace. This online forum, organized by Hiroshima Organization for Global Peace (HOPe), was held between September 8-9, 2021.

Under the theme of “how we can revitalize the world and build an even better global community in 2021: conquering the pandemic and overcoming discrimination, disparities and national favoritism,” Chairman Funabashi highlighted the following:

• The liberal international order that underpinned the virtuous cycle of peace and the economy since the end of the World War II is struggling. Geoeconomic tensions, in which large countries are weaponizing the economy, are rising.
• The COVID-19 crisis brought challenges to democracy globally on such fronts as emergency preparedness and crisis management.
• Under such circumstances, private companies and business leaders need to be aware of how fragile Japan is to threats and prepare for crises. Also, it will be important to not use COVID-19 as an excuse, but to manage risks while not being afraid to speak out against populism.

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