Divided politics, the growth of populism, foreign influence on political elections, and the spread of disinformation, have all placed a spotlight on democracy in recent years. On January 25, five days after the inauguration of President Joseph Biden in the United States and approximately one year after the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, research team members from JCIE’s project on Expanding Support for Democratic Governance met to reflect on these issues. The following report is a record of their discussion on shifts in modern democracy, how it is potentially threatened by COVID-19, and what these changes might mean for Japan’s role in democracy worldwide. The original Japanese record of the discussions can be found on the Democracy for the Future Website.

Click here for a report on the first trialogue in this series, which took place in November 2020.