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2019-11-14
GA Circular;
The development of packaging policies stems from intersecting challenges being faced by economies across the world. On one hand, growth in population has led to an increase in consumption and consequently an increase in the amount of per capita waste generation. Household waste generated contains increasing amounts of packaging waste and, more specifically, plastic packaging waste. On the other hand, existing municipal waste management infrastructure is struggling to keep up with basic collection of waste and is far from equipped handle plastic packaging waste by means that would result in recovery of material by recycling. Most of the plastic packaging waste ends up in the landfill or worse still, leaks into the environment. To confront the growing crisis of plastics leaking into the environment (particularly the marine environment), packaging policies are required to address the intersecting challenges of increasing packaging waste (plastics packaging waste in particular) and the limitations of existing municipal waste management infrastructures. Plastic packaging discussed in this report is defined as plastic materials used to cover and package consumer products. Plastic packaging generally refers to primary, secondary, and in some instances tertiary packaging materials. Whilst there is a lack of definition and standards with respect to plastic packaging waste in ASEAN, this report defines plastic packaging waste as plastic packaging materials which are either disposed of in the landfill or leaked into the environment..Post-consumer packaging collected by the formal and informal sector for recycling is also covered within this report.
2011-06-01
Pew Global Attitudes Project;
Presents survey findings from the Pew Global Attitudes Project about how the Japanese view the government and international response to the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, including U.S. aid; the impact on the economy and nation; and nuclear safety concerns.
2012-03-27
Open Society Institute;
Examines trends in Japan's media consumption, including the impact of digital media on public broadcasters, user-generated content and activism, and diversification, as well as digital technology, business, and regulations. Makes policy recommendations.
2000-12-30
International Longevity Center-USA;
In this paper, Dr. Ibe addresses some of the problems confronting Japan today, among them pensions, long-term care, housing policies and the legal system. Of surprise to a reader from the West who may assume that Asia is still under the influence of Confucian rules of filial duty is Dr. Ibe's contention that "there is almost no continuity of values between the old and young." He is particularly concerned about the decline in births, and what he regards as the loss of "self confidence" on the part of Japanese men.
2013-01-01
Environmental Defense Fund;
The Japanese Common Fishing Rights System is a comprehensive catch share program that manages the nearshore fisheries along Japan's vast coastline by allocating secure areas, or Territorial Use Rights for Fishing (TURFs), to harvesting Cooperatives. The system has evolved over time and is a model for managing mobile nearshore species through a network of scaled Cooperatives. The program depends upon a coordinated system of co-management, including nested layers of governance from the federal level down to the regional level. The program design has promoted innovative approaches -- especially by fishermen -- including coordination within and across TURFs (and Cooperatives), and pooling of harvesting arrangements to improve economic efficiency and resource sustainability.
2006-01-01
Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI);
Recently, many business enterprises have begun to promote environmentally-conscious corporate management programs, featuring recycling or "development and diffusion of environmentally friendly products." In addition, a new approach which reduces impacts on the environment but comes from a very different standpoint, has also been attracting a great deal of attention.As a precursor to the establishment of a sustainable society, The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) is currently conducting research and developing a support system for what has been termed "green servicizing model businesses." These environment-friendly service provision-type businesses are being promoted in order to develop leadership roles where the creation of new competitive business models aiming to further reduce environmental impacts is concerned.METI continues to analyze social trends, in order to make positive and appropriate efforts for responding to them.∗Green Servicizing = Green Service Provision
2015-12-09
Electronic Journal of Contemporary Japanese Studies;
Although the development of civil society organisations in Japan occurred relatively late compared to Western and some developing countries, a growing number of scholarly works have documented modern Japan's rapid growth of citizen activism and social action. However, discourse on civil society in Japan has emphasised a pattern of numerous small local groups with limited budgets and staff, and few large professionalized organisations. Nonetheless, Japan has witnessed a recent surge in civil society activism, where the number of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) working on international development and foreign aid issues is on the rise. As NGOs are a key source of citizens' power, the expansion of such organisations in Japan has important implications for the shifting relationship between civil society and the state.This paper explores the development of Japan's civil society by focusing on patterns of citizen volunteerism and the role of NGOs in the country's natural disaster relief and restoration efforts. By comparing the post-disaster landscape for citizen volunteering, advocacy, and NGO performance in response to the 1995 Kobe and 2011 Tohoku earthquakes, this paper aims to trace how civil society leadership in Japan has evolved. In particular, this paper examines how the disaster management infrastructure established after Kobe influenced NGO performance in volunteer training and coordination, liaison with officials, and relief efforts for Tohoku's disaster areas. A better understanding of citizen involvement with NGOs will provide an important indicator for the future trajectory of civil society and disaster resilience in Japan in an international context.
2016-01-26
Centre for Asian Philanthropy and Society (CAPS);
Established by a prominent public prosecutor, Sawayaka Well-being Foundation has fostered the development of more than 2,000 community volunteer organizations to support Japan's elderly to lead independent lives.The Sawayaka Well-being Foundation (SWF) is a national association of more than 2,000 groups across Japan that share a vision for promoting community-based volunteerism. SWF was founded in 1991 by Tsutomu Hotta who abruptly left a high-profile role as Deputy Vice Minister at the Ministry of Justice to bridge the shortfall in the state's capacity to provide care services to senior citizens and address the growing disconnect between individuals and their communities.
2013-03-04
InterNews;
This report, set against the backdrop of a highly developed communications infrastructure, highlights the specific role that communications played in both survival and recovery in the hours, days, weeks and months after the Great East Japan Earthquake occurred. It does not focus on the handling of information related to the Fukushima nuclear disaster by the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) and the Japanese Government, as this issue – however important – has already received great attention.Connecting the Last Mile explores, rather, how communities in the most devastated areas of the prefectures of Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima got their information. It identifies which communications channels were used before, during and after the earthquake and tsunami, and it attempts to answer a central question: what are the lessons learned about communications with disaster-affected populations from the megadisaster, not only for Japan but for the international community of humanitarian responders?
2019-04-01
Asian Venture Philanthropy Network (AVPN);
Around the globe, a wave of financial innovation that seeks to create social and environmental benefits while producing attractive returns is shaping the field of sustainable finance.From investments in publicly listed corporations based on environmental, social, and governance factors, to bonds issued to fund climate and environmental improvements; from micro-credit to small retailers through innovative credit assessments, to parametric insurance products improving the disaster resilience of countries, the world of sustainable finance is growing and becoming increasingly diverse.In this report, we take a closer look at these innovations and more, highlighting how they are working to mobilize private-sector capital at scale to address social and environmental challenges. We also explore recent developments and potential opportunities in Asia's four largest economies: China, India, Japan, and Indonesia.
2012-01-01
World Economic Forum;
The World Economic Forum's Global Risks 2012 report is based on a survey of 469 experts from industry, government, academia and civil society that examines 50 global risks across five categories. The report emphasizes the singular effect of a particular constellation of global risks rather than focusing on a single existential risk. Three distinct constellations of risks that present a very serious threat to our future prosperity and security emerged from a review of this year's set of risks. Includes a special review of the important lessons learned from the 2011 earthquake, tsunami and the subsequent nuclear crisis at Fukushima, Japan. It focuses on therole of leadership, challenges to effective communication in this information age and resilient business models in response to crises of unforeseen magnitude.
2007-01-01
Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES);
This three-year project's main objective was: "How can business/industry realise a sustainable society?" The two goals for achieving the main objective were: (1) to identify promising business models for realising a sustainable society and develop relevant methods to quantify their potential while proposing measures to promote such businesses, and (2) to clarify the conditions of business/industry activities and a direction of local development that are suitable for sustainable local society. "Research on Environmentally-Sound Business Models (BM Research)" and the "Research on Environmentally-Sound Local Industry System (LIS Research)" were implemented with these two goals in mind. They were reinforced with associated research to accomplish the goals based on the results of a progress review that was made on completion of the first half of the Third Phase.
