API Geoeconomic Briefing is a series provided by the Asia Pacific Initiative, an independent think tank based in Tokyo. The series will look into geopolitical and economic trends in the post-COVID-19 world, with a particular focus on four areas: technology and innovation; global supply chains; international rule-making and climate change.
After the Great East Japan Earthquake hit the Tohoku region on March 11, 2011, I worked at the Defense Ministry’s Joint Staff Office responsible for unit operations, serving as a liaison between Japan and the United States for Operation Tomodachi, a relief effort undertaken by the U.S. military.
I intuitively felt that the day's disasters, including the Fukushima nuclear power plant meltdown, were collectively the worst crisis since World War II.