Contact Us
Investor Relations
Japanese
Contact Us
  1. Top
  2. About Us
  3. Features of the MRI Group
  4. Capacity to Develop Concepts, Raise Issues and Offer Solutions

Capacity to Develop Concepts, Raise Issues and Offer Solutions

Research and Development

We continually fortify our capacity for conceptualizing and making pertinent recommendations through our endeavors in independent research & development activities such as envisioning the future society and analysis of social, economic, and technological trends. Going forward, we will further enhance our investigative and business development functions in order to strengthen the A: Research & Recommendations aspect of our Value Creation Process.
  • Investigative Function: Research of public policy & the economy; research of societal issues; comprehensive analysis & assessment of the societal impact of technology; envisioning the desirable future world and recommendations toward its realization
  • Business Development Function: Research & development, conceptualization, and recommendations focused on primary fields of Value Creation Process in order to support creation of new business, societal implementation, and partner co-creation
We also create intellectual capital based on knowledge and know-how acquired in the course of providing services to diverse customers (some 1,500 projects per year).

Research and Development Promotion System - Research and Development Promotion Committee and Research Fellows

In our Research & Development structure, the Research & Development Unit and Policy & Economic Research Unit are mainly responsible for the Investigative Function and the business units for the Business Development Function. The Research and Development Committee oversees and directs research & development across the organization (including the work of the Research & Development Unit) to maximize the value created by the MRI Group. Hiroshi Komiyama (the 28th president of the University of Tokyo) and Research Fellows with extensive knowledge and experience as well as broad networks in industry, government, and academia drive the effort to raise the standard, sophistication, and specialization of research by the Company as a whole.

Future Design and Recommendation Research

We develop visions for the future from global perspectives by gaining birds eye views of long-term social trends (innovative technologies, industrial trends, changes in consumer attitudes, and the like), starting with our evelopment of solutions for societal issues. To implement these visions, we develop solutions and societal implementation measures by integrating our diverse knowledge and using an approach that focuses on shared and root issues.
We also utilize our research results and issue proposals and share information in a variety of settings and media.
In 2020, MRI will celebrate its 50th anniversary. We are taking this opportunity to begin developing solutions for global societal issues and concrete social implementation measures, looking forward to the latter half of the 21st century.

Business Design Research

In developing the MRI Group's medium- and long-term business targets and strategies, we formulate our visions for individual fields, focusing on the key fields involved in government-industry co-creation, and draw paths to achieving those visions. We target a wide range of business concepts, from developing new research and consulting services to collaborating with other companies and launching new businesses ourselves.
In the September 2018 period, we began work in the next-generation infrastructure, energy, healthcare and wellness, and food and agriculture fields.
In the future, we will concentrate on business creation and social implementation in these fields, as well as expand our efforts to include new key fields we are led to by our vision development and recommendation research activities.
We place great importance on co-creation, not only within the MRI Group, but with outside stakeholders and ecosystems as well, in order to accelerate and expand business creation and social implementation.

Policy Recommendations

Mitsubishi Research Institute images the desirable world in 2050 as an “affluent and sustainable” world. To achieve this world, it is imperative to reach multilateral consensus among countries that share common interests. These common interests include fundamental values, such as respect for basic human rights, the rule of law, respect for privacy, and the importance of sustainability, as well as morals and social norms based on these values. They must be recognized not just by leading nations like the United States and China but also by emerging countries.

On the other hand, if we look at the global economy through 2050, we expect further polarization. In addition to the United States and China, economies such as India will emerge that will intensify conflicts over hegemony. If an affluent and sustainable world is not realized, polarization will intensify and a free and open international economic system based on international rules will no longer be sustainable. This will make it difficult to form the multilateral consensus necessary to resolve global societal issues, such as climate change.

How must we go about addressing the global trends of importance in pursuing an affluent and sustainable world? Digital technology is expected to bring various changes to international relations, the public sector, the business sector, and individuals. Six major trends that will affect the world through 2050 are identified as follows:

Six Major Trends toward 2050

  1. The Emergence of the Digital and Platform Economy
  2. International Order without Hegemony
  3. A Circular Society with Less Carbon Emissions
  4. Changing Role of Government
  5. Society Containing Diverse Communities
  6. Changing Life through New Technologies