June 6, 2018

 

Japan for Sustainability Says "Thank You!" for 16 Years of Support

Since our launch in 2002, Japan for Sustainability (JFS) has provided the world with information from Japan to add momentum to efforts to create a truly happy and sustainable future. Now, after much consideration, the management team and secretariat of JFS have decided it is time to end our active operations. As a result, we will stop writing, delivering and posting new articles at the end of July 2018.

We do plan to keep most of our online content available for at least the next three years on the JFS website.

It has been 16 years since JFS was launched in August 2002. For practitioners and readers who shared a common interest in sustainability, to date we have released around 4,500 articles, as well as more than 500 in-depth stories and reports via our monthly electronic newsletter.

Looking back at these 16 years, we have witnessed dramatic changes and progress relating to the global environment and society, such as the adoption of the Paris Agreement on climate change and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Though many challenges remain, it appears that the global community is steering in the direction of creating a more sustainable future together.

When we started JFS, there was no major communication platform distributing information from Japan to the world with a focus on sustainability initiatives. Since then, many people have told us that it was through JFS that they first heard about sustainability initiatives in Japan, and we are happy to have served as a valuable source of information on sustainability efforts here.

However, over the course of these 16 years, more Japanese companies, industries, and entities have dedicated resources to provide information in English on topics such as corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities, partly due (we hope) to our efforts, and particularly, in response to the recent trend toward environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing. We have also seen big advances in the efforts of Japanese government ministries and other authorities to publish information for the global audience.

One of our initial aspirations was to see actors in Japan more actively spread information about their own sustainability efforts, so we are pleased to have witnessed an increase in the amount of information flowing out today from a wide range of actors.

Observing all of this, we believe that much of our original mission has been accomplished. Thus, having reviewed the situation over the past few years, the management team and secretariat of JFS made the decision to conclude our active operations, although we do hope that the content we have compiled on the JFS website will continue to be of use for the next few years.

Thank you for your interest and support! We sincerely hope that Japan and the world will continue on the path toward a sustainable future, and we wish you success in your own efforts.

JFS's partner organization, the Institute for Studies in Happiness, Economy and Society (ISHES) led by myself, Junko Edahiro, will soon start releasing sustainability information from Japan similar to what JFS has been doing, albeit more modest in volume and frequency. More information is coming soon!

June 2018

Junko Edahiro
Chief Executive, Japan for Sustainability
Hiroyuki Tada
Co-founder, Japan for Sustainability

 

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