Project 2045

Abstract

One of the most important known unknowns in the path to 2045 is that the world, including our two countries, Indonesia and Japan, will undergo dramatic economic, social, political, and cultural transformations. In the 1980s, few of us could have imagined the world in which we now live, where smartphones and the Internet, artificial intelligence, the Internet of things, drones, and advances in biology and medical science have changed our lives fundamentally; where Indonesia is being led by a former mayor and governor turned president elected directly in a full-fledged democracy; and where Japan is no longer an economic superpower or even the largest economy in Asia. We can assume something equally unimaginable awaits us in 2045. And although we do not know what the world will look like by then, we know it will be radically different from the one we now know and that we should prepare for it in every way we can. Technological advances will present us with major changes in the areas of business, employment, government, education, health, defence, and security. The challenges will be enormous. We therefore need to train people to meet all the challenges that will confront us, so that we can reap the benefits of technological transformation to make the world, as well as our two countries, a better place. Our countries have had their share of ups and downs in our histories. But they achieved, or are in the process of achieving, a life of plenty, freedom, and safety for our peoples thanks to the efforts, wisdom, courage, and commitments of our predecessors. Thus, we should be optimistic about our ability to meet the challenges we will face in the coming years. The most important questions we should ask are what kind of countries we want to build, what positions we want to occupy in the Indo-Pacific region and the world, and what we can do together to achieve our objectives.