Background

After the Kyoto Conference on climate change in 1997, activities to address global environmental problems gained momentum in Japan and expanded across many sectors. Today one can see many initiatives by the central and local governments, industry, research institutes, universities, non-governmental organizations and individual citizens. We feel that every country has something positive to contribute, and that people in other parts of the world may find useful ideas from Japan, in some of its advanced technologies, systems and partnerships, approaches to information disclosure, and other developments.

There may also be lessons from the past before the modern day Japan had a tradition of sustainability. The Edo Period, lasting about 300 years, from the early 17th to late 19th century, appears from today's perspective to have been one model of a sustainable society. During that period Japan was self-sufficient in food and energy, had low population growth and recycled almost all materials. One may find clues for a new type of sustainability in the wisdom, craftsmanship and lifestyles of the past.

Only limited information on Japan's new developments, technologies or even traditional approaches actually arrives overseas. Only a small portion of information on the environment and sustainability gets translated from Japanese into English and even then its distribution overseas is often limited to a small audience.

This context sets the scene for the creation of Japan for Sustainability, a non-profit platform for environmental communication. By sharing the latest developments and visions from Japan to the world in English, we aim to accelerate the movement toward sustainable society in developed and developing countries.