11月27日上午，在2021亚洲青年领袖论坛开幕式上，日本众议院议员、前财务大臣政务官伊佐进一（Shinichi Isa）发表视频讲话。

原文如下：

大家好！

我是日本众议院议员伊佐进一，在此为本次2021亚洲青年领袖论坛开幕献上诚挚的祝福！

今天参会的嘉宾是来自亚洲各国的领袖，包括政治界、经济界、学术界及文化界等各行各业的青年领袖。我认为，各位青年领袖可以有这样一个交流平台来讨论当前世界所面临的各种问题，真的是一个非常珍贵的机会。我谨向组织者——中国公共外交协会和所有参会人员表示衷心的感谢！

我担任国会议员也有十年了，我的毕生事业之一就是我一直推进的科技创新政策，这也是本次论坛的一个关键组成部分。我在成为国会议员之前就职于日本文部科学省，从那时起就一直在推进科技创新政策。

十年前，我在北京的日本大使馆工作，就致力于推进日中两国间的科学技术合作。我以“中国的科学技术将会如何发展”为题到第一线与中国的研究人员们会面取材，用自己的亲身体验写出了一篇论文，之后也有幸得到出版。论文的主要观点就是：中国肯定会飞速发展。当时，日本持这种观点的书还很少，所以也热销了一段时间。现如今，也仅仅只过了十年，中国的科学技术就得到了飞跃性的发展，也证实了我十年前论文观点的正确性。所以，我现在的观点是：坚定推动中国与亚洲各国展开科技领域的合作非常重要。

另一方面，关于日本的科技今后会如何发展，我认为如今状况并不乐观。很多人可能会认为，日本最近有很多人获得了诺贝尔奖，怎么还不乐观呢？但是，获得诺贝尔奖的契机源自获奖人青年时代的研究成果，也就是说，三四十年前的日本科研水平很高，所以现在才能有这么多人获奖。

在这个层面上，三十年之后的日本是否还能获奖？我认为这个答案并不乐观。现在，日本国内有一个很关键的讨论：是否要从国家层面对青年研究者再一次进行投资。在今年年末的国会讨论中也提出了是否可以将十兆日元作为基金，并将此基金投资后获得的收益不断向青年研究者投资。目前，日本国会正在不断推进这样的议题。

此外，国际交流和共同研究十分重要。我也希望今后日本有足够预算支持亚洲乃至全世界的人才共同进行研究和交流。我希望日本政府可以推行这种预算制度，来确保亚洲各国的人才交流，来关注青年研究者。这也是日本国会在讨论的议题。

最后，我的家乡大阪被选定为2025年世博会举办地。虽然现在还有很多人饱受新冠疫情之苦，各国还面临着各种各样的状况，国际间往来也受到限制，但是到2025年时，我们一定会跨越难关。我希望大家到时候会意识到，正是因为这场危机，我们才得以建立一个新的社会。希望届时亚洲各国的各位也可以来参会。我还希望可以有机会来一起探讨闪耀着生命光辉的未来社会。我谨祝愿本次亚洲青年领袖论坛一切顺利！我的演讲到此结束，感谢各位倾听。


On 27 November, Shinichi Isa, Member of the House of Representatives of Japan and Former Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Finance for Japan, delivered his remarks at the Opening Ceremony of the Asia Youth Leaders Forum 2021.

Read the speech below.

Hello everyone,

I’m Shinichi Isa, a member of Japan's House of Representatives. I'd like to give my best wishes to the Asia Youth Leaders Forum 2021. 

The young leaders from Asian countries are engaged in various fields such as politics, economy, academia, and culture. I believe this forum is a great communication platform and a valuable opportunity for the young leaders to exchange ideas on many topics. I would like to express my sincere thanks to the organizer, China Public Diplomacy Association, and all the participants.

I have served as a member of the National Diet of Japan for ten years. One of my lifelong pursuits and what I keep promoting is the policy of technological innovation. It is also an important part of this forum. In fact, before I became a member of the Diet, I served at the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan, and have been promoting the policy of technological innovation since then. Ten years ago, I worked at the Japanese Embassy in Beijing, committed to promoting technological cooperation between Japan and China. Ten years ago, I wrote a paper on how China's science and technology will develop. I went to the frontline of technological development, met Chinese researchers, and finally completed the paper based on what I saw and heard for myself. Later the paper was published. The key point of the paper was that China would definitely develop rapidly. Back then, few books in Japan held that view, so my paper was a bestseller for a while. Only ten years have passed now, and China's science and technology have developed by leaps and bounds, which proves the view I proposed ten years ago is correct. Today, I think it’s important to firmly promote technological cooperation between China and other Asian countries. 

On the other hand, regarding the future development of Japanese scientific research, I think the situation is not optimistic. Many of you may doubt my view since quite a few Japanese researchers have won the Nobel Prize in recent years. However, the prizewinners were awarded only because of the research achievements they made at younger ages. In other words, Japan’s scientific research capabilities were excellent 30 or 40 years ago, which resulted in the prize winning of quite a few Japanese researchers today. Because of that, I’m not optimistic about Japanese winning the Nobel Prize 30 years later. So, a very important debate is going on in Japan about whether to invest again in young researchers from the national level. The National Diet of Japan held discussions at the end of this year about the idea of establishing a fund of ten trillion yen and investing the profits of the fund in young researchers continuously. Such ideas are being constantly promoted at present. Besides, international exchange and joint research are very important. I also hope that Japan can have enough budget in the future to support talented people in Asia and even the world on the whole on joint research and exchange. I hope the Japanese government can implement this budget system to ensure talent exchange among Asian countries and care more about young researchers. The Diet is discussing this issue, too.

In the end, I want to remind you that my hometown Osaka has been selected to host Expo 2025. Although many people are still suffering from the COVID-19 pandemic, although every country is facing their own difficulties, and although international communication is being held back, by 2025, we'll surely overcome all these difficulties. When that time comes, I hope everyone will realize that it is because of this crisis that we are able to build a new society. I hope the young Asian leaders will come to Expo 2025. I also hope we can have another opportunity to discuss the future society that shines with the brilliance of life. I wish the Asia Youth Leaders Forum all the best! This is the end of my speech. Thank you for your time.