A futures studies approach to Japan's futures

Abstract

This thesis is explores Japan's futures that are alternative to today's dominant future. The official future espoused by Prime Minister Abe is losing popularity quickly. There is a real possibility for other futures beneath the surface to become important. Unlike the stable det1ation of the 1990s, starting around 2003 Japan entered another era of rapid change that is difficult to grasp through extrapolating trends.

Open futures-thinking is particularly important in this context. Today's thinking about Japan's futures works in a narrow space, working with futures that are only a little different from each other. For example, Keidanren provides forecasts that are considered very optimistic, which is 2% GDP growth. In contrast, Deutsche Bank Research's forecasts are pessimistic. They project 0% growth. Japanese leaders, organizations, and citizens need to take a much wider range of possible futures into account, because those futures are also very real and very possible.