Nishimura & Asahi and FRONTEO hold “Economic Security Initiative

(From left) Suguru Ono, Of Counsel, Nishimura & Asahi; Akira Amari, Member of the House of Representatives, Liberal Democratic Party; Masahiro Morimoto, President and CEO, FRONTEO; Mari Yamamoto, Director, AI Solution Business and General Manager, President Office, FRONTEO

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This lecture is intended for directors and executive officers of Japanese companies with global operations, as well as executives in the legal, compliance, procurement, materials, and purchasing departments who are involved in economic security. In addition to presenting the risk measures that Japanese companies need to understand regarding economic security in the context of laws and regulations in the U.S. and China, it also aims to explain and raise strategic initiatives to position corporate economic security measures as an opportunity for new growth strategies.

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In response to the intensifying global situation in recent years, including the struggle for technological supremacy between the U.S. and China, various companies and ministries have launched departments with the words "economic security" in their names, and there is a growing movement to achieve "security" through "economy.

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Reflecting this situation, immediately after the announcement of the lecture, we received numerous inquiries from corporate officials in various fields, and about 800 people registered to attend. Of these, about half were listed companies with annual sales of 100 billion yen, and about 90% were related to legal and trade management departments related to corporate security issues.

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In a questionnaire survey conducted after the event, 84% of the respondents answered that they were "aware that economic security is an issue that needs to be addressed now "*1, confirming the growing interest in this issue among corporate officials.

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On the other hand, more than half of the respondents*2 were undecided about the timing of their efforts to address economic security, indicating that many companies are concerned about this issue but have yet to take concrete steps to address it.

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*1 Total of "This is an issue that needs to be addressed now and we are considering countermeasures" (25.26%), "This is an issue that needs to be addressed now, but we are still gathering information" (38.95%), and "We are already aware of the issue and are taking measures" (20.00%)
*2 Regarding economic security initiatives, 51.58% are undecided, 17.89% will start within 3 months, 3.16% within 6 months, and 3.16% a year or more in the future.

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In his opening speech, Mr. Suguru Ono, Of Counsel at Nishimura & Asahi, pointed out that economic security can also be a positive opportunity to reform existing corporate governance, review global value chains, and restructure business and supply chains. He also stressed the need for a proactive shift in management by taking a strategic view of the situation in each country and the company's own situation, rather than thinking of problems as mere regulations or risks.

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Following this, Akira Amari, a member of the House of Representatives of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan, who was invited as a special guest, gave a keynote speech, saying that the fate of a country depends on the establishment of economic security. If we look at it the other way around, if we are well equipped with this, it will be a deterrent that protects our companies and protects our country," he said, stressing the importance of the political and business communities working together on this issue.