Since oil was discovered in Uganda in 2006, East Africa has been an arena for a race in the exploration for hydro-carbons. Yet the oil reserves in Uganda, the more recent and modest ones in Kenya and the few pockets of gas in Ethiopia are on a completely different scale from the enormous gas resources discovered since 2010 in the off-shore waters of Mozambique and Tanzania.

The Green Growth Policy in South Korea has symbolized a paradigm shift to cope with climate change, fossil fuel depletion, and global economic recession. The emerging paradigm stands to create new engines for economic growth through green technology and clean energy. The government recently unveiled the Roadmap of Green Energy Strategy 2011 (2011-2030) that aims to position Korea as a world leader in the green energy industry.

Productivity is increasingly important in the Japanese economy as an aging and shrinking population is expected to constrain labor input. Thus, the creation of innovation is critical for realizing economic growth and maintaining Japan's international competitiveness. Specifically, emerging countries such as China and South Korea are quickly catching up on Japan's level of technological prowess in electronics and other high-tech industries. For that reason, continual investment in R&D and provision of products and services that are competitive in the global market are crucial for Japan's international competitiveness.

Ifri and the Canon Institute for Global Studies are launching a series of policy papers presenting the analyses of senior Japanese researchers on how the triple disasters that hit the archipelago last March have impacted Japan's economic, environmental and energy policies as well as country's crisis management system.

This first paper deals with a number of the economic challenges that have arisen following the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis, and considers the direction that future economic policies in Japan should take.