Haruhiko Kuroda: Toward inclusive and sustainable development

Remarks by Mr Haruhiko Kuroda, Governor of the Bank of Japan, at the B20 Tokyo Summit, hosted by Nippon Keidanren (Japan Business Federation), Tokyo, 15 March 2019.

The views expressed in this speech are those of the speaker and not the view of the BIS.

It is a great honor for me to have the opportunity to give a speech at the B20 Tokyo Summit today. This year, with Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Aso, I co-chair the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meetings. We are discussing a wide range of issues at the G20, including those related to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). To tackle global challenges such as the SDGs, it is essential for the private and public sectors to cooperate with each other. Therefore, I find it very meaningful for business leaders from the G20 member countries to meet together and have discussions, in parallel with the G20 processes.

This year the B20, under the theme of "Realizing Society 5.0 for SDGs," has been discussing innovations in various areas, changes in the business environment, and how to tackle global challenges. Society 5.0 has been proposed by the Japanese government. It is defined as a human-centered society that balances economic advancement with the resolution of social problems by a system that highly integrates cyberspace and physical space. In such a society, the current problems in various areas will be expected to be resolved by cooperation between the private and public sectors through new technologies and innovations.