Q1/2019 - G20
Tokyo, January 2019
On 1 January 2019, Japan took over the G20 presidency. In his speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, the Japanese Prime Minister Abe announced that under the G20 presidency of Japan the issue of “data governance” was going to be discussed at the highest level. Moreover, Japan intended to start an “Osaka Fast Track” under the auspices of the WTO (World Trade Organization). Osaka will be the host of this year’s G20 Summit on 28 and 29 June.
Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe wants the G20 process to contribute in 2019 to fostering “free trade and innovation, achieving both economic growth and reduction of disparities, and contributing to the development agenda and other global issues with the SDGs at its core”. One of the focal issues is to find a solution how to tackle the challenges of digital economy also on the institutional level. Abe announced to look into the social consequences of the information era. In this context, Japan wants to put its national approach to implementing the so-called “Society 5.0” concept to discussion. Japan perceives “Society 5.0” as designed to creating a society, where all individuals are actively engaged.
The G20 Summit will be held in Osaka (28 to 29 June 2019). It will be preceded by a meeting of the so-called digital ministers on 8 and 9 June in Tsukuba. The G20 foreign ministers’ meeting is scheduled for 22 and 23 November 2019 in Nagoya.