JFTC Japan Foreign Trade Council, Inc.

OPPORTUNITY OFFERED: Essay Contest
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: JFTC is sponsoring JFTC Essay Competition 2015 to encourage students, young researchers and business people to express their opinions on matters of national and international importance.
WHO IS ELIGIBLE? Anyone can apply for the Essay Competition, regardless of nationality or age.
RULES AND REGULATIONS: 
Essay topic:

“Promoting Globalization within Japan:
An action plan to attract overseas investment, human resources, and other resources”

After a long period of economic slump in Japan, some encouraging signs of sustainable development finally are appearing, and some analysts are reassessing the value of the Japanese economy. However, behind the façade of a promising prospect lies the problem of the dwindling population, which has been pointed out as one of the critical issues that Japan must tackle in the medium- to long-term. Japan’s population peaked in 2008 and has been on a declining trend since. There is a strong and deep concern that the decline in the labor force population and the contraction of various domestic industry markets will advance further in the future.
Under these circumstances, it is essential to attract overseas investment, human resources, and other resources, all of which will be in short supply domestically, in order to maintain and develop vitality in Japan. However, Japan pales significantly in comparison to other countries in terms of the ratio of inward foreign direct investment to the gross domestic product (GDP), hovering at the lowest level in the world. In addition, accepting human resources from other countries is still extremely limited at present, due to the differences with Western nations in its unique historical and cultural background. It may be necessary for Japan to employ a different approach or develop a new social/economic environment.
Developing a social/economic environment to the extent that can be comparable with major industrial nations is called the “promotion of globalization within Japan,” as such, what kinds of initiatives will be required in order for Japan to attract investment, human resources, and others from foreign countries? In addition to the efforts that have been made so far by the government sector, in what way can the private sector—corporations, trading companies, educational institutions, and non-profit organizations (NPOs)—contribute? Furthermore, what kind of action plans will be necessary in order to enhance the attractiveness of Japan?
Focusing on the state of Japan in the medium- to long-term, i.e., 20-30 years, please send us your constructive and creative ideas for the “promotion of globalization within Japan” which are not confined merely to the “deregulation theory.”
English (4,000words) or Japanese (10,000characters). Each essay MUST BE accompanied by an essay summary of no more than 400words in English/ 800 Japanese characters.

REWARD OFFERED:

One Grand Prize of ¥1,000,000
Three Prizes for Excellence of ¥200,000 each

The award winners from abroad will be provided with a round trip air ticket to Tokyo, Japan to attend the award ceremony to be held on January 6, 2016.
HOW TO APPLY:
Essays must be submitted in the specified format sheet . Unless both essay title and summary are presented, such application shall be deemed incomplete and will NOT be evaluated. Also, all submissions must be original and should be submitted with complete fill out of an entry form.
DEADLINE: September 11, 2015 at 24:00 (JST)