The present crisis is surrounded by a high degree of uncertainty. We cannot eliminate the uncertainty, but we can fathom possible scenarios. Therefore, NIRA (Nippon Institute for Research Advancement) and DIJ (German Institute for Japanese Studies) decided to jointly hold a policy discussion on COVID-19 with experts from several major regions across the world.

The international conference was held online on April 23 and was attended by experts from China, the US, Germany, Sweden and the EU, as well as participants from Japan. The main purpose of our web-meeting was not to recount the publicly available information we already shared, but to exchange opinions about the economic impacts of the pandemic and the various national countermeasures based on the participants’ assessments.

At the conference, various issues were discussed: the need for international coordination and cooperation; the economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis and national economic countermeasures; the impact of the crisis on global energy markets; social and regional disparities; and the role of scientific expertise.

The present pandemic presents a challenge to humankind. To cope with its global dimensions and implications requires intense and continuous international dialogue, not only for coordination and cooperation, but also for mutual understanding and learning.