Chatham House Conference Report

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During these past two to three years, I have had many opportunities to be involved with Chatham House.  I recently visited in early February when I went to London.

Last October, the two-day global conference, “The Role of the Nation State in Addressing Global Challenges: Japan-UK Perspectives” was held in Tokyo in early October of last year, co-sponsored by the Nippon Foundation.

I was a speaker on the Fukushima panel and my essay has been published as part of the conference report, along with the introduction by John Swenson-Wright and essays by Adam Roberts and David Steinberg (see pp. 18-23 for my essay).  This can be accessed via the Chatham House website.

I’d be glad if you could take a look at the report when you have a moment.

Meeting at Sendai with Young Entrepreneurs Active in Tohoku Reconstruction Efforts

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On the afternoon of March 14th, I headed to Sendai. I gave the closing presentation in the event, “The Role of Entrepreneurs in Disaster Recovery.” This was the public forum for the International Disaster Prevention Conference, hosted by Sendai City.

The keynote speech was by Professor Michi Fukushima of Tohoku University, followed by excellent presentations by five young people filled with entrepreneurial spirit (1).

These young people who chose to work in northeastern Japan after the Great East Japan Earthquake have diverse backgrounds, including those who lost their families during the earthquake, those who found their homes gone and were in shock, and those who left their jobs in other parts of Japan or abroad to go to destroyed towns and some return to their hometowns to become involved in reconstruction efforts.

This includes Mr. Masatsura Takahashi of Iwakitakahashi, Mr. Mitsuhiro Sato of Shimatsuji-kojiten, Ms. Ruriko Mitarai of Kesennuma Knitting, Ms. Megumi Hikichi of Walatis, Mr. Hiroki Iwasa of General Reconstruction Association (GRA) and others.

They are all truly incredible, amazing young individuals. They all have made use of the unique tradition, culture, and environment as well gotten people involved in the creation of a new social value (this is my definition of innovation), overcoming obstacles with their hopes and devotion. People who supported this process started to appear and join, forming a new organization and creating a raison d’être that they had in common.

It is the third time this year that I’ve had the pleasure of meeting with Ms. Mitarai, who has a global perspective and is able to widen the framework of the work that she is doing.

Finally, I gave my talk, focusing on projects which are helping to foster young people who are active in such reconstruction efforts in the Tohoku area. I spoke about the activities by IMPACT Japan, Qatar and the Intilaq project, “Tohoku Innovators Hub.”

I had a wonderful time sharing such experiences with impressive young people.

I also got to see five MBA students from the Dartmouth College Tuck School of Business who I had just met two days ago.

The Japanese-American Delegation’s visit to Japan and Students of the Dartmouth Tuck School

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On March 12th, I attended a lunch organized by the Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership on “Japanese American Leaders and Japan-US Relations.” The organizer was Irene Hirano Inouye, the wife of the late Senator Daniel Inouye. This time, as the main event held in Hiroshima was on the topic of “Ageing Society and Dementia” (in Japanese), I was able to meet with Professor Morimoto among others and had a very productive and pleasant time.

I spoke on the topics of the National Diet of Japan Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission (NAIIC) (1), and my recent activities as a council member of the G8 World Dementia Council (1), established by the initiative of the UK government.

It was a beautiful day at the Meiji Kinenkan and I enjoyed meeting with many incredible people. I will update you when the details of the rest of the “Japanese American leaders” visit are uploaded on the Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership website.

In the afternoon, I led a seminar at GRIPS with students from the Tuck Business School at Dartmouth College. The title of my talk was my usual “Uncertain Times.” I started my talk by speaking about Kanichi Asakawa. He is an important historical figure as he is the first Japanese graduate of Dartmouth College and the first Japanese professor at Yale University (as well as the first Japanese professor at any university abroad in a developed country at the time). I wrote about him in my Chairman’s message at the start of the NAIIC report. I also mentioned that Jim Kim, the current President of the World Bank, was selected for the post when he was serving as the President of Dartmouth College.

The professor who led the students told me that it had been an excellent two hours and asked if I would visit Dartmouth, to which I answered, of course.

It was a truly enjoyable day.

Visits to the UK in October and November – 2

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more photos→ (1)(2

After returning from London, I gave a speech at the international conference for the Red Cross in Fukushima, met with Peter Piot, and participated in many lectures. It was November before I knew it.

I participated in the World Dementia Council’s Legacy Event Japan for the entire program on both November 5th and 6th. On the 7th, the OECD-HGPI held an event that focused on the activities of private sector companies and NGOs.

I have written in my previous entry up to this point.

On November 10th, I flew to London again. This time it was for a board meeting for the GHIT fund. It was held at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, of which Peter Piot is the President. It is a prestigious university with a long tradition. Dr Piot is from Belgium, this reflects the strength of the UK, where people in the top positions are recruited regardless of nationality.

Similarly, Mark Carney, the Governor of the Bank of England is Canadian. This has received much attention around the world and is likely to increase global trust in the institution.

On the evening of my arrival, we had dinner at Bocca Di Lupo. The Vice President of the Royal Society, and a friend of mine, Anthony Cheetman also attended the dinner.

The next day, after finishing the board meeting, I attended a public event by GHIT Fund hosted by the Embassy of Japan as well as a reception at the Embassy in the afternoon.

I gave the closing remarks. It required much thought, as it had to convey to the audience and hosts the main message of the event as well as the remarks of the panelists and speakers. I decided to focus on two past winners of the Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize, the only award given by the Japanese government: Brian Greenwood (1), the keynote speaker of the event and first person to receive the award, and Peter Piot, who was the chairperson of the panel at the event and the second person to receive the award. Both of their partners also made an appearance afterwards and I was happy to see Mrs. Greenwood again after six years.

After this evening event at the Embassy, GHIT board members were invited to dinner at the Ambassador’s residence. I am grateful to Ambassador and Mrs Hayashi as well as the people of the Embassy for the entire evening events

The Poppy Installation at the Tower of London was on at the time and it was a shame that I was unable to go see it.

Visits to the UK in October and November – 1

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Over these past two months, I have had the opportunity to be involved with the UK on several occasions.

At the beginning of October, I served as a panelist at a conference held by Chatham House and the Japan Foundation.

Chatham House is a world-renowned British think tank. I have visited and worked with them many times.

Last year, Chatham House launched a five-year seminar series in cooperation with the Japan Foundation. This year was the second conference, entitled, “The Role of the Nation State in Addressing Global Challenges: Japan-UK Perspectives.” I was invited to be a speaker on the “Fukushima” panel held on the second day. The panel chair was Sir David Warren, who was the British Ambassador to Japan at the time of the 3.11 earthquake and tsunami in 2011. I was also asked to write an essay for the conference and will introduce it here on my blog when it has been published.

In mid-October, I was in London, my last trip there having been in April. It was for the third meeting of the World Dementia Council (WDC) . Similar to the first meeting, it was held in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. I briefly touched upon documents provided by the Japanese government in preparation for the WDC Legacy Event Japan, which will be held in Japan in November. However, since I am not the representative of Japan, I focused on participating in the discussion as an independent board member.

Also in London, I had the chance to meet up with a few young people, whom I have worked with in the past.

After returning to Japan, I met with the Senior Partner of BLP, Mr Paisner, who has participated in the IBA Tokyo twice. He was well received at the GRIPS Forum, with a turnout of around 200 students and faculty members.

Before I knew it, it was the end of October and I welcomed Professor Peter Piot, the Director of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (this is only comprised of a graduate school) to give a lecture at the GHIT.

Thirty-eight years ago, he discovered Ebola in the Congo and was awarded the Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize (it is the only award given by the Japanese government and I am the Chairperson of the prize committee). It was very busy, with over seventy organizations at the press conference, countless questions asked on Ebola and many other lectures to give.

In my spare time, I had the opportunity to meet with people from British companies in London and in Tokyo.

The International Red Cross Meeting on Nuclear and Radiological Emergency Preparedness

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スライド1

On October 27th, the Third Reference Group Meeting on Nuclear and Radiological Emergency Preparedness (Japanese) was held in Fukushima City.

It was the third meeting in this series but the first to be held in Japan. I was invited to give the keynote speech.

The main points of my speech were to explain the purpose and process of the National Diet of Japan Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission (NAIIC), within the context of the rapidly changing world. I also showed the video of the Simplest Explanation of NAIIC and introduced ‘SafeCast’, a new system for documenting and sharing radiation readings, which is suitable for the global era. Lastly, I touched upon the significance of the role of the Red Cross, a brand name organization with an international network that is independent from governments and politics.

After my speech, a group of seven high school students gave a presentation on their activities, which they started after watching the Simplest Explanation of NAIIC video and thinking about what they could do as individuals. They gave an amazing presentation in English, despite the fact that none of them had lived abroad for a long period of time. They must have put in tremendous efforts and preparation into the presentation. I felt that the whole audience was very moved by their presentation.

After the conference, I expressed my wishes to the Red Cross to develop greater cross-border networks with such youth through the activities of the International Red Cross.

My ‘Epilogue’ of Mr Uda’s Book ‘Obligation to Dissent: Why Organization Fails’ – 8

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I share with you the last section of my ‘Epilogue’ of the new book ‘Obligation to Dissent: Why Organizations Fails’ by Mr. Sakon Uda, who served Project Manager of NAIIC.

Epilogue, ‘Obligation to Dissent’: What We Citizens Should Do Now
Kiyoshi Kurokawa, Chair of the National Diet of Japan Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission (NAIIC)

8. Final Message

After the Great East Japan Earthquake and Fukushima nuclear power plant accident, many young people have taken the initiative to start more socially engaging work and projects, in particular through NPOs. They have chosen to actively participate in social work even after leaving university, without being tied down to the traditional employment structure. Overcoming many obstacles, they continue their work, driven by their strong motivation to make society a better place.

Some of the young members of NAIIC have also become involved in such activities. Tsuyoshi Shiina decided to build on his experience in NAIIC and ran in the general election, successfully becoming a member of the National Diet and is working hard despite facing many challenges. Yurina Aikawa is a young journalist who was only in her second year at the major national newspaper, the Yomiuri Shimbun, when left in order to join NAIIC. After the NAIIC report was submitted, she went on to further investigations into the situation of the disaster victims and published her findings in a book entitled, The Vulnerable Evacuees [Hinan-jyakusha, in Japanese] (Toyo Keizai Inc).

In order to make the enormous amount of research produced in the NAIIC report easier to understand to the public, some university students came together to establish “The Simplest Explanation of NAIIC” project. The project produced short animation videos of each chapter of the report, each approximately three minutes long. The videos are also available in English and the group is currently working to communicate the findings of the report to the global audience. The work of these young people has been organized and supported by Satoshi Ishibashi, who was the right arm of the Chief Administrator of NAIIC, Sakon Uda. Recently, there has also been interest among high school students in the project, who felt there was something they too could do by getting involved.

It is very encouraging to see the young generation, upon whose shoulders the future of Japan rests, taking such initiative in starting such activities. I hope that you will join me in supporting these young people and their impressive work.

References:
1. http://naiic.net/en/

→ My ‘Epilogue’ of Mr Uda’s Book ‘Obligation to Dissent: Why Organization Fails’ – 1
→ My ‘Epilogue’ of Mr Uda’s Book ‘Obligation to Dissent: Why Organization Fails’ – 2
→ My ‘Epilogue’ of Mr Uda’s Book ‘Obligation to Dissent: Why Organization Fails’ – 3
→ My ‘Epilogue’ of Mr Uda’s Book ‘Obligation to Dissent: Why Organization Fails’ – 4
→ My ‘Epilogue’ of Mr Uda’s Book ‘Obligation to Dissent: Why Organization Fails’ – 5
→ My ‘Epilogue’ of Mr Uda’s Book ‘Obligation to Dissent: Why Organization Fails’ – 6 (1)
→ My ‘Epilogue’ of Mr Uda’s Book ‘Obligation to Dissent: Why Organization Fails’ – 6 (2)
→ My ‘Epilogue’ of Mr Uda’s Book ‘Obligation to Dissent: Why Organization Fails’ – 7
→ My ‘Epilogue’ of Mr Uda’s Book ‘Obligation to Dissent: Why Organization Fails’ – 8

My ‘Epilogue’ of Mr Uda’s Book ‘Obligation to Dissent: Why Organization Fails’ – 7

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I share with you the 7th section of my ‘Epilogue’ of the new book ‘Obligation to Dissent: Why Organizations Fails’ by Mr. Sakon Uda, who served Project Manager of NAIIC.

Epilogue, ‘Obligation to Dissent’: What We Citizens Should Do Now
Kiyoshi Kurokawa, Chair of the National Diet of Japan Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission (NAIIC)

7. Voting in elections is the right of each and every citizen

Regardless of one’s organizational membership or affiliation, one thing that each and every citizen must do is vote in elections. To vote is the right of every individual in a democracy and public administrative agencies conduct research on voter turnout (1). Consequently, if voter turnout is low, politicians will have little interest in the public and the government will not take voters seriously. Much of the public has little interest in electing members of both the national and regional parliaments, which constitute the branch of government that represents citizens. One issue that arises when voter turnout is low is that interest groups and lobbyists will have relatively more influence and the candidates they support are more likely to be elected. For this reason, ordinary citizens’ voices are less likely to be heard. Many people state that none of the candidates standing for election are representative of what they want. However, we must bear in mind that it takes time to make a democratic system work and that the democratic process only begins with citizens voting in elections. A working democratic system is not something that is given to a people but must be built by their own hands. It may be an overstatement but people who do not use their right to vote do not have a say in how society should work. Currently, low voter turnout among young people is a particularly pressing issue. The Japanese democratic system will function only if the younger generation participates in elections. It will take time but it is crucial to making the system work. The future of the younger generations is especially at stake. Through this process, we can expect candidates who are satisfactory to younger generations to gradually come about.

References:
1. http://www.soumu.go.jp/senkyo/senkyo_s/news/sonota/nendaibetu/index.html(Data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, in Japanese)

→ My ‘Epilogue’ of Mr Uda’s Book ‘Obligation to Dissent: Why Organization Fails’ – 1
→ My ‘Epilogue’ of Mr Uda’s Book ‘Obligation to Dissent: Why Organization Fails’ – 2
→ My ‘Epilogue’ of Mr Uda’s Book ‘Obligation to Dissent: Why Organization Fails’ – 3
→ My ‘Epilogue’ of Mr Uda’s Book ‘Obligation to Dissent: Why Organization Fails’ – 4
→ My ‘Epilogue’ of Mr Uda’s Book ‘Obligation to Dissent: Why Organization Fails’ – 5
→ My ‘Epilogue’ of Mr Uda’s Book ‘Obligation to Dissent: Why Organization Fails’ – 6 (1)
→ My ‘Epilogue’ of Mr Uda’s Book ‘Obligation to Dissent: Why Organization Fails’ – 6 (2)
→ My ‘Epilogue’ of Mr Uda’s Book ‘Obligation to Dissent: Why Organization Fails’ – 7
→ My ‘Epilogue’ of Mr Uda’s Book ‘Obligation to Dissent: Why Organization Fails’ – 8