On 3 September 2026, UNU will host “Trajectories of Change in the Japanese Economy”, a conversation with Professor D. Hugh Whittaker, Professor in the Economy and Business of Japan at the Nissan Institute of Japanese Studies, University of Oxford. This event will start at 18:30 in the 2F Reception Hall at UNU Headquarters in Tokyo.
Japan is seeking to reshape its economy through digital and green transformation while responding to demographic change, slower growth, technological disruption and an increasingly uncertain global environment. In his 2024 book Building a New Economy: Japan’s Digital and Green Transformation, Professor Whittaker identifies three interacting trajectories, or “spirits”, of contemporary Japanese capitalism: financialized capitalism, the new developmental state and communitarian capitalism. Together, they offer a way of understanding the tensions within Japan’s economic model and the different directions in which it may evolve.
Much has changed since the book was published. Financialized capitalism has continued to strengthen, reflected in rising shareholder returns and corporate share buybacks. At the same time, the role of the state in shaping economic development has become more prominent, including through the government’s identification of 17 strategic sectors and growing investment in areas such as digital infrastructure and data centres. A third trajectory, communitarian capitalism, is increasingly visible at the regional and local level through initiatives focused on regional regeneration, circular economies and the social and solidarity economy.
Professor D. Hugh Whittaker will join UNU Rector Tshilidzi Marwala to discuss how these different trajectories are reshaping Japan’s economy and how they interact with the country’s digital and green transformation. Drawing on contrasting regional and industrial cluster initiatives, the conversation will explore the changing relationship between markets, the state and communities in Japan, and what these developments may mean for the country’s future economic model.
This event is part of the UNU Conversation Series, which aims to foster audience participation. You are encouraged to engage with the speakers during the conversation and at the reception that will follow, where all event attendees are invited to enjoy hors d’oeuvres and drinks while exchanging ideas and making new contacts.
This event will be conducted in English. Advance registration is required. Please click on the REGISTER button above to access the online registration page. Please be prepared to present identification at check-in.
Please note that food and photography are prohibited during events at UNU Headquarters, unless prior permission is granted by UNU.
About the speaker
Professor D. Hugh Whittaker is Professor in the Economy and Business of Japan at the Nissan Institute of Japanese Studies, University of Oxford, and Visiting Professor at Doshisha University. His research encompasses Japanese and comparative corporate governance, innovation management, employment, entrepreneurship and economic development. His recent book, Building a New Economy: Japan’s Digital and Green Transformation (Oxford University Press, 2024), examines Japan’s efforts to build a new economic model through digital and green transformation. The book was published in Japanese in 2025 as 新しい経済のつくり方: 「人間中心」の日本型資本主義へ by Toyo Keizai.
