This report provides a comprehensive stocktake of the lessons the Indo-Pacific region should draw from COVID-19 at precisely the time there is a risk of forgetting the pandemic’s significance, not just for health, but also for the resilience of societies, economies, and international rules-based trade...

This report summarises how global climate policy has developed and to describe the core features that should underpin climate policy going forward. Several case studies are provided to illustrate effective climate finance policy in Australia, the European Union, Japan and the United States.

The race to regulate artificial intelligence (AI) is a key aspect of strategic competition, as major world powers seek to export value systems through the technical standards they promote. This report considers the main regulatory frameworks worldwide, with examples from the United States, the European...

The Australian Women’s Working Futures (AWWF) Project is a two-wave survey designed to understand the attitudes of young women and men aged 40 and under about their working futures.

Digital trade is growing rapidly, and regulators are trying to keep up. This paper looks at how five leading digital economies are using regional trade agreements to address regulatory concerns at the same time as enhancing trade.

Drawing on insights from Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan and Kyrgyzstan, this report connects the global decline of democracies to digital disruption and calls for strengthened regulatory frameworks along with its enforcement to prevent monied interests and hidden actors from influencing the outcome of democratic elections.

Regardless of the outcome of the mid-term elections in the United States, the new Congress ultimately will both enable and constrain the policy-making necessary to execute lofty US and allied goals as the era of strategic competition continues unabated. The authors of this survey report...

This report demonstrates the extraordinary proactivity of Japan towards issues of regional order-building, security and defence policy, and military capability development, and teases out the implications for Australia as a closely aligned partner.

At present, the digitalisation level of small and medium-sized cities (SMCs) varies greatly in different regions of the world and at different economic levels. This report examines the challenges of digital transformation in SMCs from four viewpoints - society, economy, governance and environment.

This briefing note explores the current practice of international humanitarian organisations in seeking to influence states on their policy and practice regarding the protection of civilians in armed conflict. It considers what factors are inhibiting and enabling these organisations’ influence on states, and sets out...

This report suggests a new way for Australia to think about Japan, and what is needed to build the institutional support and infrastructure that is necessary for a deepening relationship.

In the lead up to the next Leaders’ Summit, this paper argues that the Quad should refine its efforts to better signal intentions, build credibility and deliver regional public goods.

This paper argues that the new role for renewable energy systems will demand a rapid transformation in the global battery industry. Battery demand is expected to increase dramatically in coming years, as a greater share of renewables in the energy mix requires significant build-out of...

With collaboration between Japanese and Australian communities, progress is possible to reduce the damage caused by coal mining in Australia and coal consumption in Japan. The aim of this report is to support this collaboration.

This report examines the Australia-US-Japan infrastructure partnership, identifies the remaining barriers to public-private infrastructure partnerships, and recommends solutions for government.

Japan allocates more resources on research and development and files more patent applications than the U.S. and Germany. However, the quality of Japanese innovation severely lags compared to these two nations. This working paper digs deeper into this finding to identify possible policy actions that...

This paper provides a data set for public use of roughly 6,000 individuals in six countries relating to beliefs about the pandemic, behaviour change, work and living situations, income, and exposure to the virus, socio-demographic characteristics and pre-pandemic health characteristics.

This report explores ways for New Zealand and Japan to enhance their economic and cultural relationship.

Market-based car parking policy is one of key fulcrums of transformational change towards sustainable and ethical urban futures. This paper examines parking policy approaches in Japanese cities that might broaden the possibilities of parking approaches and the urban relations they (re)produce.

Hydrogen power has been heralded as a game changer in the global transition to low-carbon energy. This paper identifies serious concerns with hydrogen demand projections, regularly cited by state and federal governments, energy experts and industry figures, which overstate potential export demand.

This special report examines Japan’s role in the evolving Indo-Pacific regional order. This report brings together a diverse mix of authors, with a variety of perspectives, to offer analysis of the opportunities and challenges facing Japan’s economic, security, and diplomatic role in the Indo-Pacific.

The Chinese party-state certainly has a well-earned reputation for coercing states economically when they aren’t aligned with it on issues that it deems at any given time to be of particular importance.

The report is part of the McKinsey Global Institute’s research program on the future of work, and it focuses on how the growing adoption and diffusion of automation and artificial intelligence technologies is likely to affect women in the workforce.

This report considers the approaches taken by development partners when transitioning and exiting from bilateral aid programs. It features case studies of Australia, Denmark, the European Union, France, Germany, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States.

This report outlines how Japan’s concept of “quality infrastructure” comprises economic efficiency, inclusiveness, safety and resilience, sustainability, convenience and amenities. It argues that the enhanced prosperity of the Indo-Pacific is best served by cooperative efforts of countries throughout the region and a shift in rhetoric...