Large-scale complex systems have been in the news in 2010, both domestically and abroad. Korea beat Japan in a competition for a nuclear power plant order from UAE at the beginning of this year. Since then events that can be considered to be globally significant include the government's indecisiveness over joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Free Trade Agreement, the Russian president's visit to Kunashiri island, the collision between a Japanese naval vessel and a Chinese trawler in the East China Sea, shell fire in the Korean peninsula, and WikiLeaks' publication of US government cables. Domestically, youth unemployment and an overall decline in social vitality are growing. The November 20 issue of Economist magazine contains a prediction that Japan will be overtaken by emerging countries by 2050. Such predictions only strengthen SDM's conviction that our basic approach, which is to design and manage systems from a global perspective over their entire life cycles, is essential to Japan's future. SDM will continue to focus on fostering future leaders that can think and act globally through enhanced collaboration with leading international universities. I appreciate your continuous support.
Yoshiaki Ohkami
Director, SDM Research Institute
Dean, Graduate School of System Design and Management