今年，日本因?yàn)閮杉虑槲巳澜绲年P(guān)注。一是今年5月的日本皇太子德仁繼位，日本進(jìn)入“令和”時(shí)代，意為“美麗和諧”。二是今年6月首次在日本舉行的G20峰會(huì)。

這兩個(gè)代表性事件提升了日本的國際社會(huì)影響力，而且引發(fā)關(guān)注的時(shí)間也再合適不過。在地緣政治存在不確定性以及全球經(jīng)濟(jì)秩序面臨越來越大的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)之際，日本經(jīng)濟(jì)及其與美國的特殊關(guān)系在歷史上已有先例，而且對(duì)其他尋求經(jīng)濟(jì)發(fā)展的國家來說很有幫助。

從20世紀(jì)90年代初開始，日本經(jīng)濟(jì)陷入長期衰退。首先經(jīng)歷了長時(shí)間的壞賬和通縮，隨后又遇到了一系列結(jié)構(gòu)性問題，包括生產(chǎn)率低下、出生率低以及人口老齡化。所有這些帶來了人口結(jié)構(gòu)方面的挑戰(zhàn)，比如勞動(dòng)力短缺和對(duì)未來失去信心。但在過去幾年，日本實(shí)現(xiàn)了二戰(zhàn)以后持續(xù)時(shí)間最長的經(jīng)濟(jì)增長。

日本是怎樣應(yīng)對(duì)這些挑戰(zhàn)并保持韌性的呢？答案是它將解決社會(huì)問題的內(nèi)向型措施和鼓勵(lì)經(jīng)濟(jì)關(guān)系，尤其是和美國經(jīng)濟(jì)關(guān)系的外向型措施結(jié)合了起來。

先說說內(nèi)向型措施。需要應(yīng)付老齡化問題的不只是日本。人口老齡化是一個(gè)影響當(dāng)今就業(yè)人群結(jié)構(gòu)的全球現(xiàn)象。日本在通過科技應(yīng)對(duì)老齡化方面一直走在前列，這些科技包括數(shù)字化等，其目的是提高勞動(dòng)生產(chǎn)率，促進(jìn)效率并最終實(shí)現(xiàn)經(jīng)濟(jì)持續(xù)發(fā)展。

同時(shí)，日本政府和行業(yè)龍頭一直在努力通過多種渠道建立和其他國家相連的橋梁，包括制定政策、提出倡議以及積極參加各種國際性論壇。其目的在于幫助構(gòu)建開放和自由創(chuàng)業(yè)的國際環(huán)境，從而促進(jìn)全球經(jīng)濟(jì)增長，并最終惠及日本及其國際合作伙伴。日本和美國的合作一直是其中的關(guān)鍵，而兩國合作的基礎(chǔ)是在民主、人權(quán)、自由貿(mào)易和互信方面的共同價(jià)值觀。

日美關(guān)系是世界上互惠程度最高的雙邊關(guān)系之一。它不只限于貿(mào)易。實(shí)際上，日美關(guān)系覆蓋了范圍非常廣的雙邊投資。

今天，日本公司在美國市場(chǎng)的業(yè)務(wù)規(guī)模相當(dāng)大，投資也很多。美國是日本2018年對(duì)外直接投資最大目的國。而2017年，日本排在英國之后，是美國外商直接投資第二大來源國，當(dāng)年日本在美國的累計(jì)投資總額為4690億美元，其中90億美元來自于摩根士丹利和我擔(dān)任總裁的三菱日聯(lián)金融集團(tuán)的戰(zhàn)略合作。

日本公司已經(jīng)成為美國經(jīng)濟(jì)格局中不可或缺的一部分。它們直接為86.06萬美國人提供了理想工作，平均年薪達(dá)到8.9萬美元。與之類似，許多美國公司也將日本視為北美以外的最重要市場(chǎng)，而且美國不光是日本的外商直接投資最大來源國，其投資規(guī)模也遠(yuǎn)超其他國家。

正在進(jìn)行的日美貿(mào)易談判應(yīng)該鞏固兩國關(guān)系并推動(dòng)兩國經(jīng)濟(jì)出現(xiàn)更強(qiáng)勁的增長。除了日本汽車行業(yè)牽頭增加對(duì)美國制造業(yè)的投資，三菱日聯(lián)還預(yù)見到兩國合作對(duì)其他行業(yè)的有利影響。

舉例來說，頁巖氣革命對(duì)美國能源行業(yè)來說代表著增強(qiáng)液化天然氣生產(chǎn)和運(yùn)輸能力的機(jī)會(huì)。這吸引了三菱日聯(lián)等已經(jīng)大舉投資于多個(gè)液化天然氣項(xiàng)目的日本公司。

旨在實(shí)現(xiàn)交運(yùn)系統(tǒng)現(xiàn)代化并讓城市進(jìn)化為“智慧城市”，從而高效管理資產(chǎn)和資源的社會(huì)基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施項(xiàng)目是兩國合作的另一領(lǐng)域。比如說，日本和美國公司正在令人興奮的“新移動(dòng)性”領(lǐng)域進(jìn)行金融、技術(shù)以及其他類型的合作。無論是通過發(fā)展無人駕駛汽車和飛行出租車，推出拼車服務(wù)，還是通過把氫氣作為低碳交運(yùn)燃料來源，目的都是進(jìn)行我們所知的交運(yùn)革命。

對(duì)印太及以外地區(qū)其他尋求經(jīng)濟(jì)發(fā)展和繁榮的國家來說，日本和美國的密切關(guān)系仍然是一個(gè)典范。（財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

平野信行（Nobuyuki Hirano）是三菱日聯(lián)金融集團(tuán)總裁、日美經(jīng)濟(jì)協(xié)議會(huì)會(huì)長以及日本經(jīng)濟(jì)團(tuán)體聯(lián)合會(huì)副會(huì)長。

譯者：Charlie

審校：夏林

The world has recently seen two reasons to fix its attention on Japan. In May, Emperor Akihito’s elder son, Naruhito, ascended the throne, marking a new era in Japan known as “reiwa”—Japanese for “beautiful harmony.” And June’s G20 Summit was the first to be hosted in Japan.

These two emblematic events have raised Japan’s profile in the international community—and such attention could not have come at a more appropriate time. Amid geopolitical uncertainty and rising risks to the global economic order, Japan’s economy and its special relationship with the U.S. offer historical parallels and useful lessons for other nations seeking economic advancement.

Starting in the early 1990s, Japan was in an extended economic slump. It first endured a prolonged period of bad debt and deflation. Then it began to face a range of serious structural problems including poor productivity, low birth rates, and an aging population—all of which led to demographic challenges such as labor shortages and a loss of confidence in the future. Over the past several years, however, Japan has embarked on its longest period of sustained economic expansion in the post-World War II era.

How did Japan confront these challenges and remain resilient? The answer is that it combined inward-facing measures to tackle societal problems with outward-facing measures to encourage economic relationships—especially with the U.S.

Let’s start with the inward. Japan isn’t alone in coping with a growing number of elderly citizens. Population aging is a worldwide phenomenon affecting the composition of today’s workforce, and Japan has been at the forefront of efforts to address it through technology—such as digitalization—to raise labor productivity, promote efficiency, and eventually bring about sustainable economic development.

Meanwhile, Japan’s government and industry leaders have been hard at work to build bridges to other nations in various ways, including through policy-making, advocacy, and active participation in various international forums. Their aim is to help cultivate a global environment of openness and free enterprise that fosters worldwide economic growth and ultimately rewards both Japan and its international partners. The lynchpin of this effort has been Japan’s partnership with the U.S., which is based on shared values of democracy, human rights, free trade, and mutual trust.

The relationship between these two nations is among the most mutually beneficial in the world. But it is not limited to trade. Actually, it spans a vast range of mutual investment.

Japanese companies today command a sizable presence and embody a heavy investment in the U.S. market. The U.S. was Japan’s top destination for foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2018. In the prior year, Japan was America’s second-largest source of FDI after the U.K., and its cumulative investment in the U.S. totaled $469 billion—$9 billion of which was represented by the strategic alliance between Morgan Stanley and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), where I serve as chairman.

Japanese companies have become an integral part of the American economic landscape. They directly employ 860,600 Americans in quality jobs that pay an average annual salary of $89,000. Similarly, many U.S. companies view Japan as one of their most important markets outside North America, and the U.S. is Japan’s largest source of FDI by far.

The ongoing Japan-U.S. trade negotiations should strengthen relations and spur even greater economic development in both countries. Apart from the additional investment in U.S. manufacturing led by Japan’s automobile industry, we at MUFG foresee other industrial benefits from cooperation between the two nations.

For example, the shale-gas revolution presents opportunities for the U.S. energy sector to enhance its capability to produce and transport liquefied natural gas (LNG). This is attracting Japanese companies, such as MUFG, that have invested heavily in several LNG projects.

Social infrastructure projects—designed to modernize transportation systems and develop urban areas into “smart cities” that can efficiently manage assets and resources—are another area of cooperation between the two countries. For instance, Japanese and U.S. companies are forging financial, technological, and other types of alliances in the exciting field of “new mobility” with the aim of revolutionizing transportation as we know it—whether through the development of autonomous vehicles and flying taxis; the introduction of ride-sharing services; or the use of hydrogen as a low-carbon source of transport fuel.

Japan’s close relationship with the U.S. remains a model for other nations seeking economic development and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region—and beyond.

Nobuyuki Hirano is the chairman of MUFG and of the Japan-U.S. Business Council, as well as vice chairman of the Japan Business Federation.