Year of Change
Year of change
Welcome to 2012! We wish all our readers the greatest happiness and success in this year of recovery, change and progress.
In particular, best of luck to Duco Delgorge, who has taken on the EBC chairmanship at a key juncture in the development of relations between Japan and the EU. As he explains it, that relationship is overdue for a major leap toward its true potential. There is still a great deal of work to be done to make that happen.
Another man setting ambitious goals is House of Representatives member Taro Kono of the opposition Liberal Democratic Party. Kono is emphatic in his support for a free trade agreement between Japan and the EU. He is probably better known as a harsh critic of Japan’s use of nuclear power, and we can expect his message to be a powerful one. This unusually direct politician wants the nation to be rid of its nuclear reactors and free of fossil-fuel dependence by 2050.
Which brings us to our sustainable development focus article. Leading businesses are increasingly creative in the development of products, materials, systems and business models that are friendly to the environment. We expect to revisit this huge topic regularly.
Much of the sustainability issue is a matter of productivity. Aimee Weinstein’s take on gender equality points out that corporate Japan cannot work at peak productivity as long as it neglects the potential of under-employed females. The story also makes a compelling case for men to adopt a physically and socially healthier work culture.
So, we already have three major topics – Japan-EU relations, sustainable development and gender equality – about which to be optimistic in the coming year. There are plenty more to come.