From the front line of change, moving further forward together.

The peacetime logic of low-cost, efficient procurement transforms directly into vulnerability in times of crisis. The Strait of Hormuz crisis has laid this fact bare, and its essence lies in a structural reality: constraints on fuel itself cause "price" and "supply" to falter simultaneously. For companies, energy is no longer a mere cost item but a strategic foundation that defines business continuity and competitiveness. This article dissects the structure through which energy risks arise and considers the shift in corporate decision-making now required.

This article examines the ideal vision of mobility as part of a three-part series exploring the future of the mobility industry. Though we appear to drive mobility, we are in fact driven by it.Our values and the very form of our cities take shape in accordance with the specifications of the mobility systems offered to us — and not a few of the resulting arrangements are, at root, deeply skewed. By examining the major modes of mobility — automobiles, railways, aviation, and maritime transport — across sectors, this paper surfaces the distortions embedded in today's systems and articulates the configuration that mobility's future genuinely demands.

This article focuses on the automobile sector as part of a three-part series exploring the future of the mobility industry. The automotive industry, which has long been built on the assumption of private car vehicle ownership, is now confronting a major turning point. With population decline and the spread of autonomous driving, the once-absolute value placed on private vehicle ownership is beginning to erode, and automotive OEMs are being forced to adopt business structures that differ from those of the past. Building on a forecast of future private vehicle sales volumes for Japanese OEMs, this article explores the potential emergence of new business models in an era of declining private vehicle ownership.

This article focuses on the railway sector as part of a three-part series examining the future of the mobility industry. Japanese railway operators, which have long borne the burden of maintaining and renewing infrastructure, are now being forced to transform their traditional business structures due to declining revenues caused by population decline. Looking ahead to a future of accelerating depopulation, this article explores the business models that railway operators should aim to adopt.