Day 1
October 23rd, 2020
Symposium Report
Panel 1
A Reorientation of Values: From a Civilization of Things to a Civilization of Life
Tokutaro Nakai
Vice Minister of the Ministry of the Environment
Born in 1962. Graduate of the University of Tokyo. Joined the Toyama Prefectural government following service as chief inspector of the budget bureau of the Ministry of Finance. Has engaged in the establishment and popularization of Japan Sea studies. Following service as planning officer and chief budget officer in the Finance Bureau of the Ministry of Finance, he joined the Ministry of the Environment in 2011 following the Great East Japan Earthquake. Before assuming his current role in 2020, he served as section chief of general affairs for the Bureau of General Environmental Policy, section chief of accounting in the secretariat of the Minister, section chief in the secretarial section of the Minister, Assistant Vice-Minister to the Minister of the Environment, department chief for policy on waste and recycling, and supervisor for general environmental policy.
Kazuto Ataka
Professor of Environment and Information Studies at Keio University.Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) of Yahoo! Japan Corporation.
Director of the Association of Data Scientists. He has been with Yahoo Japan since 2008 and previously worked at McKinsey & Company, where was a core member of the marketing research group in the Asia Pacific region. He was involved in a wide range of product and business development and brand regeneration. He has been CSO at Yahoo Japan since 2012, and has also been head of the data and research and development departments.
Asuka Tsuzuki
Vice President of the Tsuzuki Educational Institution Group.
Born in Fukuoka Prefecture. Chairwoman of the Tsuzuki Ikuei Educational Institute. Founded the incubator Hatchery in 2000. President of the Japan University of Economics since 2007. In 2016, became Principal of Linden Hall Junior and Senior High School. President of the Tsuzuki International Scholarship Foundation. Trustee of the Japanese Civilization Institute. Member of Asia 21 Young Leaders.
Yusuke Mori
Professor of Osaka University.
Graduated from Osaka University and completed a degree at the Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University. After serving as assistant, lecturer, and assistant professor at Osaka University, he became a full professor in 2007. Founded Sosho in 2005 and Sosho Choko in 2016 in pursuit of the commercialization of the results of his research in crystals. Since 2013, Sosho Oshin has advocated for the stimulation of creativity via a psychological approach using counseling in unusual ventures originating at universities.
Yoichiro Hamasaki
Vice President of Fusic.
Through he speat his childhood in Osaka,hamasaki has lived in Fukuoka since his university days, has lived in Fukuoka. When he first came to Fukuoka, he didn’t know what the local slang term “chikappa” meant (“full of strength”), but certainly got a real experience of what it means to be a “town of Asuras”!
While in grad school, he cofounded an IT company with current president Mr. Noutomi, whom he met while studying at Kyushu University.
Has expanded the business around technologies including cloud computing and deep learning.
Panel 2
Contributing to Society: Fusing Ecology With the Economy
Tokutaro Nakai
Vice Minister of the Ministry of the Environment
Born in 1962. Graduate of the University of Tokyo. Joined the Toyama Prefectural government following service as chief inspector of the budget bureau of the Ministry of Finance. Has engaged in the establishment and popularization of Japan Sea studies. Following service as planning officer and chief budget officer in the Finance Bureau of the Ministry of Finance, he joined the Ministry of the Environment in 2011 following the Great East Japan Earthquake. Before assuming his current role in 2020, he served as section chief of general affairs for the Bureau of General Environmental Policy, section chief of accounting in the secretariat of the Minister, section chief in the secretarial section of the Minister, Assistant Vice-Minister to the Minister of the Environment, department chief for policy on waste and recycling, and supervisor for general environmental policy.
Yusuke Saraya
President of Saraya Co., Ltd.
Born in 1951. Graduated from Osaka University School of Engineering in 1974. Completed his master’s degree in sanitary engineering at University of California, Berkeley, in 1975. Joined Saraya Co., Ltd., in 1976. After serving as company director and factory manager, he became president of the company in 1998 and continues to serve in this role. Since 1989, he has served consecutively as head of Junior Chamber International Japan and chairman of the Global Citizen Foundation.
Masaki Takao
President of Nippon Kankyo Sekkei Co.
Born in 1980, he graduated from the Tokyo Institute of Technology in 2000 and studied technology management at the University of Tokyo. He is responsible for the development of technology for the textile recycling industry, including the development of technology for saccharification and recycling of cotton into bio-ethanol. In 2014, he started the development of technology for polyester recycling, and in 2015, constructed the Kitakyushu Hibikinada plant, which introduced polyester technology. He also led the acquisition of Pet Refine Technology, and has been a part-time lecturer at Waseda University since 2013.
Kazunari Taguchi
President and CEO of Borderless Japan.
Born in 1980 in Fukuoka Prefecture. During his second year of university, seeing videos of children suffering from malnutrition in developing countries made him determined to devote his life to the issue. After joining Misumi Co., Ltd., he left at the age of 25 to found Borderless Japan, an independent company engaged solely in social business. As of April 2020, the company has developed 37 projects to resolve social issues in 13 countries. Kazunari Taguchi was selected for inclusion among the “50 Japanese Who Move the World” by Nikkei Business in 2019, and among Forbes JAPAN’s “Japan’s Impact Entrepreneurs 35.”
Yoichiro Hamasaki
Vice President of Fusic.
Through he speat his childhood in Osaka,hamasaki has lived in Fukuoka since his university days, has lived in Fukuoka. When he first came to Fukuoka, he didn’t know what the local slang term “chikappa” meant (“full of strength”), but certainly got a real experience of what it means to be a “town of Asuras”!
While in grad school, he cofounded an IT company with current president Mr. Noutomi, whom he met while studying at Kyushu University.
Has expanded the business around technologies including cloud computing and deep learning.
Environmental Images
A Closer Look at the Plastic Waste Problem in Fukuoka's Ocean
Satoshi Matsui
Director of RKB Production Bureau
Two years ago, Matsui decided to become an environmental eco-director. The stimulus for this came from his work on “Kou Shibasaki’s Sustainable Journey to Finland, the Land of Forests and Lakes”. Kyushu TV Channel’s Sekkaiichi no Kyushu ga Hajimaru! (lit. The World’s Best Kyushu Begins!) covers Borderless Japan, the country’s top social business company, and its efforts to address the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of ending poverty.
Discussions 5
Bringing the SDGs Environment to Our Own Actions.
Rotary International District 2700 Service Projects
Keynote Speech Reiko Kuroda
1) Nepal Waste Treatment Facility Construction Support Project
Yoshinobu Fukasawa
General Manager, Overseas Development Office, West Japan Railway Company; Member, Rotary Club of Southeast Fukuoka, Chair of GG Committee for Nepal Project
2) The History of Yanagawa: The Relationship Between Water, People, and the City
Tamio Tachibana
President, Tachibana Noen, Officer, Yanagawa Rotary Club member
3) SDGs and Rotary activities
Daisuke Yamaguchi
Manager, Kurume Branch, Mizuho Bank; Member, Kurume North Rotary Club