In Asia, the ability of goods, capital, technology, and talent to move across borders has increased dramatically. Over the past half-century, supply chains have become localized, and investment has become globalized.
Many of the challenges facing this region, such as aging populations, urbanization, climate change, widening inequality, and digital transformation (DX), transcend national borders. While they may appear different in each country, these are rarely isolated issues, nor can they be solved by a single country alone.
Air pollution is not something that requires a passport check when traveling from China to South Korea, and the ocean doesn’t care whether you’re in Japanese or Indonesian waters.
Despite the clear interconnectedness of these challenges and opportunities, responses are often fragmented and inward-looking. The methods of generating, sharing, and refining new knowledge through mutual learning are not keeping pace with real-world situations.
These challenges are particularly pronounced in Japan and South Korea. Both countries have a strong tendency to remain within familiar frameworks. Researchers publish papers only in their own language, and companies benchmark against domestic competitors. Foundations and other organizations build networks solely within their own countries, and policymakers primarily refer to domestic examples. Even when they occasionally look abroad, it is often within a Western framework.
Even among our Asian peers, systematic learning is surprisingly limited. Regional and international discussions are influenced by the convenience of English and the power of large markets like China and India, often unintentionally underestimating the voices of other regions. This is particularly evident in the field of social impact in which we are involved.
Even in many conferences aiming to cover all of Asia, participation from Japan and South Korea remains limited.
Beyond inward-looking responses: Mutual learning within Asia is needed now.
Furthermore, regional studies and grant programs are not fully utilizing the expertise, capital, and life experience that these countries can offer. Language barriers, subtle cultural nuances, and the additional time and expense involved are rarely seen as obstacles but rather as investments.
However, the responsibility doesn’t lie with just one entity. In Japan and South Korea, there’s a tendency to assume that solutions will emerge from some large, familiar ecosystem. As a result, innovation from Southeast Asia, South Asia, and other regions tends to be overlooked.
However, the most creative responses to Asia’s complex problems are emerging in the most resource-constrained places. Scarcity can sometimes be a catalyst for ingenuity rather than a constraint.
Asia is not suffering from a lack of innovation. From Pakistan to Japan, from Mongolia to Indonesia, communities, charities, social enterprises, private companies, investors, and governments are trying new approaches every day.
The question here is the power of dissemination. Many promising ideas remain limited to improving the situation in one region or a specific beneficiary group. They rarely reach others in similar situations, hindered by language, geography, organizational, and disciplinary barriers.
Given the increasing uncertainty surrounding Western philanthropy and international development aid, Asian countries should play a more important role. This belief is also the driving force behind the two organizations to which the co-authors belong.
Since its establishment in 1974, the Toyota Foundation has been actively engaged in cross-border grant activities, particularly within the Asian region. For over 50 years, it has supported exchanges that transcend national, regional, and sectoral boundaries in order to better understand each other’s “neighbors.” At its core is the belief that mutual learning and understanding foster long-term social resilience.
Founded in Hong Kong in 2013, the Centre for Asian Philanthropy and Society (CAPS) has leveraged the region’s experience and aspirations to promote Asia-led, independent research and leadership.
Furthermore, through programs like “Impact Network,” we aim to translate knowledge into practice and are building a community of leaders from Asian companies engaged in social contributions such as sustainability, ESG, and CSR. The most valuable insights are not something that can be gleaned by one person sitting at a desk.
Through these initiatives, I have repeatedly witnessed instances where open dialogue between people with vision and leadership, tackling similar challenges in different situations, has emerged.
Expanding New Horizons Through Japan-Korea Cooperation: Moving Beyond Simply Copying Success Stories to Sharing Questions
So, what kind of mutual learning is needed?
Here, let’s consider the opposite: what is “not” mutual learning.
This isn’t about simply copying so-called “best practices” or “success stories.” Social challenges are shaped by history, institutions, culture, and, above all, the people they affect. Even within a single country, an approach that works in one city may fail in another. The difficulty is clearly even greater when we cross national borders.
In other words, it’s not about unconditionally importing solutions. Cross-border learning is about broadening our understanding of problems and expanding the communities of stakeholders that shape them. It’s about asking questions, questioning assumptions, and providing opportunities to adapt ideas to local needs. Sometimes, the real achievement isn’t a quick answer, but the pioneering question itself.
In that sense, Japan-South Korea cooperation is a natural starting point. As Asian OECD members, both countries face overlapping challenges, yet each possesses different strengths.
Both countries have democratic, market-based institutions and are technologically advanced. Their historical ties are deep, leaving lasting influences on their culture, language, and institutions. Today, they face rapid aging and population decline, and are pursuing more inclusive and sustainable socioeconomic models.
On the other hand, both countries have cultivated different capabilities. For example, Japan has accumulated decades of experience in community-based approaches to aging populations, regional revitalization, and disaster resilience. South Korea is known for its rapid digital transformation, entrepreneurship, and new public-private partnerships. Neither country has a clear blueprint for the future, but they have undoubtedly accumulated knowledge that can expand each other’s possibilities.
This approach has potential applicability across Asia. Singapore’s public sector innovation, India’s last-mile delivery solutions, the vitality of civil society in the Philippines, and China’s advancements in digital platforms for social contribution all offer valuable lessons.
Asia’s next wave of prosperity depends not only on new technologies, investments, or policies, but also on whether it has the capacity to learn from one another with intention.
Asia has built infrastructure that allows goods to move across borders. Future attempts at major collaboration will likely be less about traditional free trade agreements (FTAs) and more about fostering a freer flow of ideas, experience, and practical knowledge.
Perhaps the next breakthrough won’t come from discovering something entirely new, but rather from getting a great idea to a wider audience.
This article was first published in GLOBE+ by The Asahi Shimbun Company and was co-authored by Hideo Tone, Chief Program Officer at the Toyota Foundation.