Japan Climate Initiative (JCI) organized its annual event “Japan Climate Action Summit (JCAS)” online on Friday, October 14, 2022.
The Sixth Assessment Report of Working Group III of the IPCC, published in April this year, warned that global temperature rise would reach 3.2℃ under current policies. In order to limit the temperature rise to 1.5°C, it is essential that greenhouse gas emissions peak by 2025 at the latest and decrease by 43% by 2030 (compared to 2019). As the climate crisis worsens, even in the midst of the energy crisis, all actors must work together to accelerate climate actions.
This year’s JCAS, which was in its fifth year, was held in a hybrid way both online and in-person for the first time.
Yuriko Koike, Governor of Tokyo and Hiroshi Komori, Member of International Sustainability Standards Board made congulaturatory remarks, and then Sakana-kun made a keynote speech, in which he talked about the impact of climate change on marine life.
In addition, various speakers from JCI member organizations took the stage at three panel sessions on the themes of information disclosure, decarbonization of buildings and transportation, and a top leader session where the tops of member companies and a local government gathered to show the front line of efforts by Japanese non-state actors to realize a world that limits the temperature rise to 1.5°C.
Date: 2:00 PM- 6:00 PM JST, Friday, 14 October, 2022
Options to participate: onsite at the venue or online through a Zoom webinar.
Participation Fee: Free
Place: Toranomon Hills Forum Hall B
Address: Toranomon Hills Mori Tower 4th Floor, 1-23-3 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-6305
Interpretation: Japanese-English simultaneous interpretation
Organized by Japan Climate Initiative (JCI)
Program
MC: Yuri Okubo, Senior Researcher, Renewable Energy Institute
Congratulatory Remarks Hiroshi Komori, Member of International Sustainability Standards Board
Special speech “How Climate Change affects Marine Life” Sakana-kun, Visiting Professor of Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology /Goodwill ambassador and adviser of WWF Japan PDF
Video: Opening – Special peech
Panel Discussion “Frontier of Climate Action 2022″ (alphabetical order)
– Session 1: Information Disclosure Hiroshi Fujikawa, Executive Officer General Manager CSV Strategy Dept., Kirin Holdings Company, Limited PDF
Sayoko Matsumoto, Director of “DO YOU KYOTO?” Project Promotion, Global Environment Policy Office, Environment Policy Bureau, Kyoto City Government PDF Yoichi Mori, The Japanese Institute of Certified Public Accountants (JICPA)
Technical Director PDF
Ryoko Shimokawa, Group CSuO, Senior Vice President and Executive Officer, Sompo Holdings, Inc. PDF
Moderator: Mayumi Kudo Senior Manager, CDP Worldwide-Japan
– Session 2: Decarbonization of Buildings Toshiya Chikada, Executive Officer, Chief Manager of Environment Improving Department / Global Warming Prevention Promotion Office, Sekisui House, Ltd. PDF Yuuko Iizuka, Executive Officer, General Manager of Sustainability Department, Sumitomo Forestry Co., Ltd.
Hiroaki Takai, Principal Engineer, Design Department Head Office, Takenaka Corporation PDF
Takeshi Uratani, President, Hulic Property Solution Co., Ltd. PDF
Moderator: Yuko Nishida, Senior Manager, Climate Change, Renewable Energy Institute
– Session 3: Decarbonization of Transport Takanori Fujisawa, Director General, Environmental Department, Odawara City Government PDF Masahiro Takahashi, Executive Officer, Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha PDF Toshiaki Yamanari, General Manager, Corporate Planning Headquarters, Sustainable Corporate Strategy Group, Tokyu Corporation PDF
Noriko Yamane, General Manager, CSR Promotion, CSR Promotion Department, Sagawa Express Co.,Ltd PDF
Moderator: Ken Tanaka, Climate & Energy Group Officer (Non-state actor engagement), WWF Japan
Video: Panel discussions 1-3
Top Leaders Session (alphabetical order)
Norihiko Fukuda, Mayor of Kawasaki City
Michiko Gouzu, CEO, PACIFIC POWER CO., LTD. Takayuki Morita, President and CEO (Representative Director), NEC Corporation Koichi Tsuchida, President and CEO, Daiwa House Asset Management Co., Ltd.
Moderator: Yukari Takamura, Professor, Institute for Future Initiatives, the University of Tokyo
Yuri Okubo, Senior Researcher, Renewable Energy Institute
Yuri Okubo joined the Institute in 2015 as Climate Change Policy Advisor to develop and implement the Institute’s strategy to promote renewable energy from the climate change policy perspectives.
She started her career working for a NGO (CASA) in Japan and became a research assistant at the Department of Political Science of the University of Zurich where she was engaged in research projects on climate and sustainable development which were funded by the European Parliament, the German Federal Environment Agency and UK organizations. She joined the Foundation myclimate to set up its Japanese affiliation and support the global network. She obtained a master’s degree in International Relations at Kobe City University of Foreign Studies.
At Renewable Energy Institute, she specializes on climate change policies and her research focuses on global and domestic coal power business policies and trends. She also takes the lead for joint studies with international organizations.
Michiyo Morisawa, Director, CDP Worldwide-Japan
Michiyo Morisawa is Japan Director of CDP, guiding the initiative since CDP’s global expansion in 2006.
Also, since Principle for Responsible Investment, PRI established the Japan network in 2010, she has expanded its ESG investment as Japan Head of Signatory Relation at PRI.
She has been a member of several committees under the Ministry of Environment and Ministry of Economy Trade and Industry. She has experience in international business development of financial services that worked to alleviate the risk of settlement in Citibank and others.
She holds a PhD in Environment from Tokyo University.
Yuriko Koike, Governor of Tokyo
Yuriko Koike was born in Hyogo Prefecture in 1952. She graduated from BA in Sociology, Cairo University (October 1976). She has been the Governor of Tokyo since July 2016. In July 2020, she was re-elected to her second term of office. Prior to being elected to the post, she was active in national politics. She was a member of the House of Councilors and the House of Representatives for a total of 24 years from 1992, during which she has held major posts including Minister of the Environment, Minister of State for Okinawa and Northern Territories Affairs, Special Advisor to the Prime Minister for National Security Affairs, Minister of Defense, and Director of the Committee on Budget of the House of Representatives. As the first woman to serve as the Minister of Defense and the Governor of Tokyo, she is paving the way for women to be more active in society.
Hiroshi Komori, Member of International Sustainability Standards Board
Hiroshi Komori was appointed as a member of the International Sustainability
Standards Board (ISSB) in August 2022, effective 1 September 2022.
Before joining the ISSB, Mr Komori served as Senior Director and Head of the
Stewardship of the ESG Division at the Government Pension Investment Fund
(GPIF) in Japan from 2015 to 2022, where he established the Division and
developed GPIF’s investor engagement and participation in international
sustainability initiatives.
Prior to his work at GPIF, he worked for Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, where he
created an investor relations consulting service for Japanese companies and
Saitama Bank (now Resona Bank).
Mr Komori holds a Master’s of International Relations from the International
University of Japan.
Sakana-kun, Visiting Professor of Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology /Goodwill ambassador and adviser of WWF Japan
Sakana-kun is celebrity ichthyologist known for a talk backed by a wealth of fish knowledge and experience. In March 2015, he received an honorary doctorate from Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology.
He gives lectures all over the country to provide information and correct knowledge about fish, how to eat delicious fish, environmental problems, and opportunities to think about tomorrow’s fishing industry together with fishermen. In the summer of 2022, the movie “Sakana no Ko” based on his autobiography was released.
He was appointed as “Goodwill Ambassador for Sustainable Oceans and Fish” by Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2021, “PR Ambassador for Sustainability” by Ministry of the Environment in 2021, “PR Ambassador to The Japan National Commission for UNESCO” by Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in 2012, “Osakana (Fish) Ambassador” by Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in 2011. In 2012, he was awarded the Prime Minister’s Commendations for Contributors to Promote the country as a “Maritime Nation” in recognition of his achievements in promoting and enlightenment activities related to the ocean.
Hiroshi Fujikawa, Executive Officer General Manager CSV Strategy Dept., Kirin Holdings Company, Limited
He has been working for Kirin since 1987. After getting MBA degree at Cornell, he was involved in multiple M&A projects in Kirin and worked as one of top management in invested companies in Australia, Singapore, and Myanmar. In 2017, he took a position as the GM of HR department, then spent 3 years in Japan Football Association from 2019 and took the current position in 2022 as the GM of CSV Strategy Department to make Kirin Group recognized as one of top leading CSV companies in the global market.
Yoichi Mori, The Japanese Institute of Certified Public Accountants (JICPA) Technical Director
Yoichi Mori leads integrated reporting and assurance for non-financial information projects, as well as accounting and organizational governance of not-for-profit organization projects in JICPA. He has worked with multiple stakeholders in the corporate reporting field, including businesses, investors and regulators through research projects, framework development and policy development for almost a decade. He was a member of the IIRC Technical Taskforce and contributed development of the International Integrated Reporting Framework.
He currently supports several Japanese companies, including a financial group and a manufacturing company, on integrated reporting and strategy development as an independent consultant.
Before joining JICPA, he worked on financial audit, valuation, corporate governance and sustainability management in KPMG Azsa. Yoichi is a certified public accountant of Japan and majored Economics in Hitotsubashi University.
Mayumi Kudo Senior Manager, CDP Worldwide-Japan
Mayumi Kudo joined CDP Worldwide-Japan as a Senior Manager in October 2022. Before joining CDP, she served as ESG Group Leader to develop engagement with asset owners promoting ESG investment at Schroders. Also, she served as investment professional including Quantitative Researcher, Quantitative Portfolio Manager at domestic and global asset management companies.
She is CFA Charterholder and CMA from The Securities Analysts Association of Japan.
Yuuko Iizuka, Executive Officer, General Manager of Sustainability Department, Sumitomo Forestry Co., Ltd.
Yuuko Iizuka was appointed executive officer on March 29th, 2022, after having been the head of the Sustainability Department since April 2015. She has extensive experience in sustainability, government relations, IR and PR at Sony Corporation and two other global conglomerates before joining Sumitomo Forestry in February 2012. Her current responsibilities include strategic planning and management of climate-related issues within the midterm sustainability targets, ESG disclosure, ISO14001, supply chain management and other sustainability-related issues. Yuuko also oversees the Company’s philanthropic programs and enjoys organizing and participating in the reforestation volunteering program of the 90-hectare national forest at the foot of Mt. Fuji. In her private time, she serves on the advisory committee of Kesennuma High School, a government-designated “super global high school” in Miyagi Prefecture, which was hit hard by a tsunami during the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011.
Toshiya Chikada, Executive Officer of Sekisui House, Ltd.
Toshiya Chikada is a Ph.D. in building environmental engineering, He joined Sekisui House in 1992, he conducted thermal environment studies at Comprehensive Housing R&D Institute, and while in Institute for Building Environment and Energy Conservation, he involved starting up systems of evaluating the Environmentally Symbiotic Housing. His study has awarded as PLEA Best Paper Award in 2000, in reduction of the CO2 emission in residences. Since 2006, he has been in charge of Global Warming Prevention Promotion Office. In 2008, Sekisui House Group introduced Vision 2050, which outlines a variety of effective initiatives to achieve carbon neutral throughout housing life cycle. In align with this vision, his division developed the “Green First Zero” model in 2013. Today 92% of its newly built detached houses are this Net-Zero-Energy house model, for a cumulative total of 69,000 units were built (as of March 31,2022).
Takanori Fujisawa, Director General, Environmental Department, Odawara City Government
Takanori Fujisawa joined Odawara City Government in 1986. Since then he has served as Director of the Public Relations Division and Director of the Finance Division. From 2019, as Deputy Director of the Environment Department, he has been consistently involved in promoting and overseeing public-private partnership projects to realize a decarbonized society, such as an energy management project using electric vehicles and a regional micro-grid project, etc. He assumed his current position in 2021. He continues to oversee Odawara City’s decarbonization policy, working to create a virtuous cycle between the environment, energy, and the economy.
Masahiro Takahashi, Executive Officer, Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha March 1987, Graduated from Waseda University majored in School of Political Science and Economics
April 1987, Joined Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha
April 2017, General Manager of Environment Group and Technical HQ Management Group
April 2022, Executive Office
Toshiaki Yamanari joined Tokyu Corporation in 1991. After working in the Legal Department, Real Estate Leasing Department, and Hospital Medical Affairs and Administration Department, etc., he moved to consolidated subsidiaries and had been responsible for the Business Department, including store operations, and the Corporate Planning Department. He served as General Manager of Sustainability Promotion Group of Corporate Affairs Headquarters from April 2018, and then he has been in his current position since October 2021.
Ken Tanaka, Non-state actor engagement, Climate & Energy Group Officer, WWF Japan
Ken Tanaka works for WWF Japan and serves as the secretariat of the Japan Climate Initiative (JCI) that is co-organized with CDP Japan and Renewable Energy Institute. Before joining WWF-Japan, he worked the Fukuoka Prefectural Government and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry in environmental conservation, especially in waste management and recycling including the work supporting the Japanese companies to develop overseas recycling businesses. After that, he worked as a science communicator at the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation, and he was actively involved in a diverse of projects cooperating with overseas museums, businesses, research institutions etc. He holds a Master of Science in chemistry from Kyushu University.
Takayuki Morita, President and CEO (Representative Director), NEC Corporation
Takayuki Morita became President and Chief Executive Officer (Representative Director) of NEC Corporation, a leader in the integration of IT and network technologies that deliver benefits to businesses and people around the world, on April 1, 2021.
Previously, he was Chief Financial Officer, where he managed the financial strategy and operations of NEC’s 100,000 employees and total revenue of $25 billion. He was also responsible for Corporate Business Development functions, including the oversight of M&A and other investments that have reinforced NEC’s solutions for society, such as major advancements in the digital finance, digital government and drug development fields.
Having joined NEC in 1983, Morita’s experience in the global ICT industry now spans nearly four decades, six years of which he spent working in the U.S. market.
In the past twenty years, he has played a central role in the development of partnerships and alliances with corporations across the globe – having completed more than forty deals of corporate mergers & acquisitions and investments. Among his most notable accomplishments in this regard have been the spin-offs of the semiconductor, flat panel and passive component businesses; the creation of joint ventures in the wireless, enterprise communications and PCs businesses; as well as numerous acquisitions in the consulting, ICT and managed services domains.
He holds a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) from the University of Tokyo.
Koichi Tsuchida, President and CEO, Daiwa House Asset Management Co., Ltd.
Koichi Tsuchida is President and CEO of Daiwa House Asset Management Co., Ltd. which manages approximately 1 trillion yen of real estate of Daiwa House REIT Investment Corporation, a publicly listed J-REIT, and private funds. Since appointed to the current position in 2014, he has promoted ESG investment through advanced initiatives on climate change action. Prior to this role, he joined Daiwa House Industry Co., Ltd. in 1983 where he served as General Manager of Finance Department and IR Department in the Management Administration Headquarters since 2008.
Yukari Takamura Professor, Institute for Future Initiatives, the University of Tokyo
After receiving Master of Laws (Public International Law) from Hitotsubashi University, Tokyo, she was appointed Associate Professor at Shizuoka University. Before joining the University of Tokyo in 2018, she worked as Professor at Ryukoku University, Kyoto, and Professor at Nagoya University, Japan. She also studied at Graduate School of University of Paris II (Panthéon-Assas), France and was Visiting Researcher at University of London, U.K.
She is member of the Editorial Board of Journal Sustainability Science and of the Editorial Advisory Board of Journal Climate Policy. She is member of Board of Directors of the Japanese Society for Environmental Economics and Policy Studies as well as member of the Board of Executive Directors of the Japanese Society for Environmental Law and Policy Studies.
She serves as member of governmental advisory bodies, among others, Central Environmental Council as President, and Procurement Price Calculation Committee for Feed-in Tariff Scheme for Renewable Energy as Chair. She is also member of the Advisory Group on Climate Change and Sustainable Development of the Asian Development Bank (ADB). She is member of Science Council of Japan and serves as Vice President since October 2020, and received Environmental Conservation Merit’s Minister of the Environment Award in 2018.
Takejiro Sueyoshi, Representative, Japan Climate Initiative
After graduating from University of Tokyo, Takejiro Sueyoshi joined the Mitsubishi Bank (MUFG Bank, Ltd.) in 1967 and worked for the bank until 1998. During his years with Nikko Asset Management as Deputy President, he was appointed as a member of the UNEP FI Steering Committee. In addition to the involvement in the UNEP FI activities in the Asia Pacific Region, he is giving many educational speeches about environmental problems and CSR/SRI in various government councils, seminars, universities and TV programs. Former member of the Council for Japan’s Prime Minister on Climate Change Policy and a Trustee member of Carbon Disclosure Project. Currently Vice-Chair of Executive Board of Renewable Energy Institute and Chairperson of WWF Japan.
His publications include “Ondanka Kogi (A lecture on Global Warming)” (Toyo Keizai), “Yugai Rensa (Chain of Harmfulness)” (Gentousha), “Green New Deal” (Editor,Kankyou Shinbun), “Saishin CSR Jijyo( The Newest Book on CSR)”(Hokuseido)