I'm reading a book named _Chip War: The Fight for the World's Most Critical Technology_.

When I reading below paragraph：

> Akio Morita : Cofounder of Sony; coauthor of _The Japan That Can Say No_ ; represented Japanese business on the world **stage** during the 1970s and 1980s.

I can't understand meaning of 'stage', so I found the meaning of 'stage' at <a href="https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english-chinese-simplified/stage">Cambridge Dictionary</a>. 

I feel it seems OK that interpret 'stage' as 'a particular area of public life' or  'to arrange and perform a play or show'.

My question: should 'stage' be used as a verb or a noun? What is meaning of 'stage' at here？ What should 'stage' be translated as?