JFS Newsletter No.115 (April 2012)

The Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011, caused catastrophic damage in northeastern Japan, particularly in the three prefectures of Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima. One year later, rehabilitation and reconstruction work continues in the affected areas.

While measures to alleviate the hardships faced by affected people are needed now, rehabilitation and reconstruction work must also continue in the affected areas for some time, and it is now clear that true recovery will take much longer than originally anticipated. JFS believes that during the recovery process, for years to come, it will be important for children to continue having hopes and dreams, for youth to acquire and utilize leadership skills for the reconstruction, and for people to share what they learn with the world while improving the recovery processes in the Tohoku region.

Japan for Sustainability (Chief Executive Junko Edahiro), a non-profit organization created in 2002 to disseminate information on developments and activities originating in Japan that lead toward sustainability, will launch three disaster aid projects with funds raised by Nipponkoa Insurance Co. (President/CEO Masaya Futamiya) through the "Eco-Net Agreement" and "On-Line Policy Confirmation" -- two ways customers can choose to "give back" to society when they renew their insurance policies online.

The JFS newsletter, issued monthly, summarizes the latest environmental trends and topics in Japan.

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Back issues of JFS newsletter articles are categorized as follows:

- New Ideas for the Earth
- Climate Change Measures in Japan
- Energy Issues in Japan
- 3Rs Trends in Japan
- Local Efforts toward Sustainability
- Initiatives by Japanese Industries
- Various Actors / Various Efforts
- Trends / Movements toward Sustainability in Japan
- Movements in Asia

- Series: Philosophers/Leaders
- Series: Environmental Education
- Series: Zero Emissions
- Series: Initiatives and Achievements of Local Governments in Japan
- Series: Unique NGOs in Japan
- Series: Corporations at Work
- JFS activities

Back Issue List

JFS Newsletter No.114(March 2012)
"Towards a Sustainable Japan -- Corporations at Work" (No. 100)
http://www.nikon.com/

Copyright Nikon Corporation

Meeting Needs, Exceeding Expectations

Recent circumstances surrounding Japan's manufacturing industries have become increasingly severe due to the prolonged appreciation of the yen, damage to Japanese companies' factories and suppliers from flooding in Thailand and the rise of competitors in neighboring South Korea. In the camera sector, however, Japanese manufacturers still hold a 75 percent market share. The top three slots are all held by Japanese companies, showing Japan's continuing strength in this area.

JFS Newsletter No.114(March 2012)
"JFS's 'Get Inspired by Nature' Project" (No. 6)

Image by Andrea Kirkby. Some Rights Reserved.

Introduction

Since August 2011, we have been releasing a series of articles titled "JFS's 'Get Inspired by Nature' Project," which includes an interview with an expert, an episode related to the development of technologies inspired by nature, and many interesting cases of technologies by category. (English cases lists are coming soon.)
http://www.japanfs.org/en/pages/031298.html

In this issue of the JFS newsletter, we feature an interview with Kyoji Okamoto, president of Bremen Consulting Co., who specializes in corporate social responsibility (CSR) and biodiversity, from the viewpoint that we human beings might be able to learn things from nature not only regarding technologies for manufacturing but also about social systems.

JFS Newsletter No.114(March 2012)

Image by Artyominc. Some Rights Reserved.

In anticipation of the Rio+20 Summit coming up in June this year, Ryoichi Yamamoto --- a professor emeritus at the University of Tokyo, also a director of Japan for Sustainability --- and others tendered a proposal to establish an "Intergovernmental Ethics Panel for Ecological Civilization" (IEPEC). Since I believe this is a noteworthy event based on a very important idea, I would like to introduce an outline of the proposal, using information provided by Professor Yamamoto.

JFS Newsletter No.114 (February 2012)
"JFS's 'Get Inspired by Nature' Project" (No. 5)

With a view to reducing environmental impacts in manufacturing, research and development activities focusing on manufacturing approaches inspired by nature - so-called "biomimetics" - have been expanding rapidly since 2000. The number of biomimetics-related papers published in 2009 was about six times the number published in 2000.

Following its "Biomimicry" Project in 2005, JFS started the "Get Inspired by Nature" project last year. As part of this project, we have released a series of articles about related topics, including an interview with a Japanese expert and a report of a visit to a university laboratory by kids reporters. We also are preparing a list of related research and cases of commercialization inside and outside Japan, which will be available to the public on our website.
http://www.japanfs.org/en/pages/031298.html

JFS Newsletter No.114 (February 2012)

Copyright Japan for Sustainability

The Japanese government launched a review of its energy policies after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, which was caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011. I am engaged in the review process representing JFS and the Institute for Studies in Happiness, Economy and Society. In this article, I would like to provide some background on the current situation and the future outlook of the review.

JFS Newsletter No.114 (February 2012)
"Initiatives and Achievements of Local Governments in Japan" (No. 37)

Photo courtesy of Tokyo Trucking Association

The March 2011 issue of the Japan for Sustainability Newsletter carried an article about the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's (TMG's) diesel emissions regulations. In this month's article, we will introduce some of its new measures for reducing CO2 emissions from automobiles.

Tokyo Metropolitan Government's Efforts to Control Diesel Vehicle Emissions
http://www.japanfs.org/en/mailmagazine/newsletter/pages/030817.html