At the GRIPS Forum held on 19th January, 2009, three panelists, Dr. Kazuhito Ikeo, Mr. Hajime Kitano, and Mr. Hirofumi Gomi, discussed the issue of global financial crisis and the ways nations should handle it.

Ms. Hiroko Ota, professor of GRIPS, served as the moderator and raised two issues; the solutions to the financial crisis, and the prospects for the global economy and finance.

Dr. Ikeo, a professor of Economics at Keio University, analyzed the financial crisis from the perspective of macroeconomics and underscored the significance of sustainable policies instead of temporary measures. Mr. Kitano, Managing Director & Chief Strategist of JP Morgan Securities Japan Co., Ltd., presented some concrete policies that the Japanese government should adopt, based on the analysis of the U.S. policies in the past. Mr. Gomi, former Commissioner of Financial Service Agency and currently an Adviser at Nishimura & Asahi, suggested a more disclosure of market information in order to find a way out of the present financial crisis and to prevent similar situations that might arise in the future.