The Government of Japan, with the Ministry of Finance and the Cabinet Office at its core, will host the 8th World Forum on Well-being in Tokyo in the autumn of 2028, in cooperation with the OECD.
The OECD World Forum on Well-being is an international conference that brings together representatives from governments, businesses and academia to discuss policies and practices that incorporate well-being, defined as people’s living standards and quality of life, including happiness that cannot be fully captured by conventional economic indicators. Since its inception in 2004, the Forum has been held every few years, and 2028 will mark the first time it is held in Japan.
In recent years, there has been growing interest worldwide in better measuring and understanding well-being beyond traditional indicators such as GDP, and in incorporating these insights into policymaking.
In this context, during Japan’s G7 Presidency in 2023, the Ministry of Finance identified “economic policy that incorporates diverse values” one of the priorities under the Finance Track, recognizing the limitations of GDP, including its difficulty in fully reflecting the benefits of free digital services, inequality, and costs borne by future generations.
The Ministry requested the OECD to prepare a report entitled 「Economic Policy Making to Pursue Economic Welfare」, which outlines various approaches to improving the measurement of multidimensional well-being.
Based on discussions among G7 members and experts, a shared understanding was reached that policymakers should comprehensively grasp well-being through multidimensional indicators and reflect these indicators in policymaking, as summarized in the Chair’s Note.
In addition, the Ministry of Finance has supported related initiatives through financial contributions to the OECD’s Knowledge Exchange Platform, which promotes knowledge-sharing across countries and organizes various workshops on well-being.
（Reference）G7 : Ministry of Finance
Economic Policy Making to Pursue Economic Welfare : OECD
Hosting the 8th OECD World Forum on Well-being will provide an opportunity to advance international discussions on well-being by incorporating perspectives from Japan and across Asia. Japan will play a leading role in shaping global dialogue on well-being.
Further information is available at:
（OECD）OECD World Forums on Well-being : OECD
（Cabinet Office）The 8th World Forum on Well-being in Tokyo in the autumn of 2028 : Cabinet Office