The second panel on economic security in Japan featured prominent representatives from the worlds of academia and business. The keynote address was made by Urata Shujiro (chairman of Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry RIETI) who reviewed Japan’s economic security framework. His speech ended pointing out the incongruence between Tokyo’s commitment to welcoming foreign investment while also restricting investment based on national security concerns. Dr. Richard Dyck, a leading business figure heading up Japan Industrial Partners, and a prominent student of the late Ezra Vogel (Harvard). Dyck’s talk took us deep inside Japanese technological sector. He highlighted the challenge Japanese firms – which had grown into major technological suppliers to Japanese firms – now faced against Chinese firms which in contrast to Japanese firms were focused from their beginning on the global market. Melanie Brock, a businesswoman in the Australia-Japan relationship drew on her experience in Japanese boardrooms to underscore the transformation in Japanese business and ended on a note of real hope that the 30% aim to have women in leadership positions in corporate and government was swiftly met.