Message from the President

Akihiko Tanaka

The world in the 21st century witnesses both bright opportunities to human society as well as uncertainty and risk which may cause catastrophic crisis. It is a blessing that many of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), including the reduction of extreme poverty, have been achieved. But it will not be as easy to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which was agreed internationally in 2015. In addition, some countries have experienced drastic political changes, and one cannot rule out the possibility that world politics is radically destabilized. There are a whole host of difficult policy issues, such as geopolitical conflicts, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, the increase in terrorism, the difficulty of escaping vulnerability, the middle income trap, and the challenges involved in realizing democratic governance based on the rule of law.