Tokyo / Hong Kong / Singapore / Zurich, 3 February 2021 – Today, Julius Baer publishes the 2021 edition of its Japan Report, elaborating on the ‘new normal’ that results from the Covid-19 pandemic.

The ‘new normal’ will be a combination of the ‘new’ comprehensive use of digital technologies with  ‘normal’ existing megatrends - ageing populations, increasing urbanisation and the need for environmental protection.

Jimmy Lee, Head Asia Pacific and Member of the Executive Board, commented: “This Japan Report provides an analytic overview of innovative trends in the Japanese market. Since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, the acceleration of digitalisation has created new opportunities for services and new business models in Japan, with a shift from traditional sources of wealth creation to long-term technology trends. We hope our findings will provide invaluable insights as well as an outlook for 2021 and beyond.”

The pandemic was unprecedented and affected many major economies. Although resilience is one of the greatest strengths of the Japanese society, its recovery will depend on the nation’s flexibility in adjusting to the ‘new normal’. With a focus on using new technologies and digitalisation, corporations can potentially become big winners in this ‘new normal’.

The growing importance of smart healthcare services, digitalisation, media production, virtual retail showrooms, artificial intelligence (AI) enhanced operations and digital trading across Asia are some key examples of growth opportunities for Japan. This is because the country has already been advancing in AI technologies, robotics and digitalisation in some of its industries prior to the pandemic. Hence, with positive response and reinforcement, Japan will be in an excellent position to further benefit from emerging technology trends.

The Japan Report 2021 is available in both English and Japanese on www.juliusbaer.com