The 21st Century Public Policy Institute (21PPI) is a think tank established by Keidanren in 1997. As it enters its 10th year this month, a revamp is in progress to beef up its activities.
Over the past decade, the institute has worked on a wide range of topics ranging from structural reforms of the Japanese economy to international relations. When it was founded, the bad-loan woes of the banking sector and Japan's options for averting a financial crisis were the main topics of discussion. In recent years, it has organized symposiums and other events to promote the privatization of the state-run postal services.
Effective April 1, Kenji Miyahara, chairman of Sumitomo Corp. and a Keidanren vice chairman, became the new president of 21PPI. Under his leadership, the institute plans to build a new research system that will allow it to work with researchers from both Japanese and foreign universities as well as think tanks.