The themes of the happiness, economy and society are being explored not only by such initiatives as Bhutan's GNH indicator and the GAH indicator of Tokyo's Arakawa Ward, but are now the general concern of people today. In that context, the creation of this Institute is very timely and meaningful.

I also believe that we need to realize societal models like the steady-state society and steady-state economics. One might first get the impression that these are uninteresting or restrictive, but human history has examples of periods when material production expanded quantitatively, followed by the formation and maturation of periods of cultural development and internal enrichment. One could say that today we are entering such a period.

At the same time, it is important that public policies in various fields encourage these kinds of ideals and thinking, and important to envision new societal systems, so I have great expectations for this Institute.