ARCHIVED Japan Macro Salon with Jesper and Bill
Date
Wednesday 2 April 2025
Time
1.00 - 2.00pm (BST)
9.00 - 10.00pm (JST)
Check the time in your location
Booking Details
Free - On Zoom
Please register for the webinar in advance from the link below. After registering, you will receive a automated confirmation email with meeting access details (please check your spam folder if you don't receive any emails).
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Join us for the latest in our regular quarterly webinar on business and current affairs, Japan Macro Salon with Jesper and Bill. In these our Honorary Vice Chair Bill Emmott teams up with Jesper Koll, longtime Tokyo resident and one of the most keenly watched economists and investment strategists in that town, to discuss what's new in the Japanese economy, business, financial markets and more.
Each quarter, Jesper and Bill open with a conversation about the latest trends that have caught their attention, and then welcome a special guest to focus on a topic of the moment. All the while, they will be interacting with questions from the audience. These webinars are run in association with Asia Society Japan.
For the second Macro Salon of 2025, Jesper and Bill will be joined by Taro Kono, former Minister for Digital Transformation and current member of the House of Representatives. They will explore the impact of US tariffs, the latest advancements and challenges in the tech sector, and the evolving landscape of foreign direct investment (FDI).
Taro Kono is a 10th-term Member of the House of Representatives. Among positions he has held in the past are Foreign Affairs Minister; Defense Minister; Digital Minister; Minister for Cybersecurity; Minister in charge of COVID-19 Vaccine Roll-out; Minister for Administrative Affairs; Chairman of the National Public Safety Commission, or Minister in charge of the National Police Organization; Minister for Civil Service Reform; Minister for Disaster Management; Minister for Consumer Affairs and Food Safety; and Chairman of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives. He is a graduate of the School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University. He was Chairman of the Japan Race Horse Association and Chairman of the Shonan Bellmare Football Club, the 1995 Asia Champion Soccer Club. He is married to Kaori and has a son, Ippei.
Jesper Koll has been researching and investing in Japan since becoming a resident in 1986. Over the past two decades, Jesper has been consistently recognized as one of the top Japan strategists/economists, having worked as Chief Strategist and Head of Research for U.S. investment banks J.P. Morgan and Merrill Lynch. He currently serves as Expert Director for the Monex Group and the Japan Catalyst Fund (Japan’s 1st retail investor based corporate engagement/activist fund). His analysis and insights have earned him a position on several Japanese government and corporate advisory committees, including Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike’s Advisory Board. Jesper serves as Board Director of OIST, the Okinawa Institute for Science and Technology and is a Founder and Board Director of the Asia Society Japan and heads their Policy Committee. He is one of the few non-Japanese members of the Keizai Doyukai, the Japan Association of Corporate Executives; and serves on the board of several Japan-based start-ups. He has written three books in Japanese and, in 2021, created the acclaimed video/pod-cast series Japan - Capitalism that works. Jesper is an economist, angel-investor, patron; and yes, a Japan Optimist.
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Explore our series of webinars with leading experts in politics, economy and media. More details on upcoming events and past webinar videos HERE.