An event which I might call the special program of this year’s GEW was held at GRIPS on 20th.
It took place at the timing of 3 weeks before the ‘COP15’ on Ｃlimate Ｃhange in Copenhagen, new administration of Japan having announced its epoch making target of ‘cutting 25% of CO2 emission by 2020’, and 1 week after President Obama’s visit to Japan. The focus is perfectly clear if you just take a look at the program.
At first, Denmark Ambassador Mellbin to Japan opened the session with his remarkably wonderful speech ‘From Kyoto to Copenhagen ? the smart way!’ His speech manifested expectation to Japan and strong message.
After the panel hosted by Professor Seiichiro Yonekura on; ‘How to reduce CO2 emission 25%’, Dr. Gunter Pauli delivered, as always, another wonderful speech on totally new and nice industries return to the nature ecosystem, that is beyond our imagination with explanation of the theory and presentation of examples.
At lunchtime, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton delivered a message in video. Following this was a dialogue on ‘Entrepreneurship’ between the new US Ambassador to Japan, John V. Roos and Ms. Aiko Doden of NHK. After this, Deputy Prim Minister Naoto Kan talked to the audience through video.
Part of the content is reported in ‘The Japan Times’as well as on the website of US embassy in Japan at the‘news archives’ of Nov. 24.
Among the 3 sessions in the afternoonI thought that ‘The Foreign Entrepreneurs' Perspective on Japan’ was especially interesting because the audience was exposed to a variety of completely fresh and different views. As ‘The Japan Times’ reports in its article, the views of foreigners who know Japan very well but think differently must have been a sensation to many of the Japanese who participated. I have to say that most Japanese lack ability to perceive this kind of difference (Ref.1) when Japan viewed from outside, instinctively. But on the other hand this ability is the basics for the ‘diversity’ and ‘heterogeneity’ which is so highly important for innovation in this global age. Since I saw former Ozeki ‘Konishiki’ of Ozumo https://kiyoshikurokawa.com/en/wp-content/uploads/typepad/200738.pdf(in Japanese) in the audience, I made some comments in this context about my opinion ‘the Ozumo-nization of Universities (Ref.1) (in Japanese) ' (Ref. 2).
The closing speech was given by Norway Ambassador Walther to Japan by the title ‘A Rhapsody in Green’ which was again very attractive. However, to my regret, I had to leave the venue in the midst of his speech to head for Haneda to take a flight to Dubai.
By the way, a part of the programs of 16th and 20th which I have introduced to you in my columns ‘GEW-1’ and ‘GEW-2’ is scheduled to be reported on Nikkei so I will link to them then. Please look forward to it