Masaru Ishikawa, General Assembly Chairman

The new coronavirus is changing lifestyles and values around the world, and I think it is possible to say that this is not just a coincidence but an inevitable event for humanity.

The reason for this is that we know from history that at the time of a major shift in civilization, there is a shift in values that involves the entire world. It is believed that we are now at the birth point of an Eastern civilization that will require East Asian countries to play an active role instead of a Western civilization centered on the West. In this sense, Japan is at the birth point of an Eastern civilization that requires the activities of East Asian countries. In this respect, I believe that it is inevitable that our country, Japan, should send out SDGs initiatives to the world.

I also believe that Japan's existence as the world's longest-standing country will be the key to organically utilizing the history and cultural traditions of countries around the world for the future. Along with this background, the role of the World Environment Summit in SDGs Virtual City, which was born out of the Corona disaster, can be said to include elements of Japan's mission.
 

I would like to continue to promote activities that unite politics and economics, setting the Osaka-Kansai Expo in 2025 as a turning point, while praying that more aspirations will be gathered, and that a great ambition will be born as a team, and that this will become a movement that can be called our natural destiny.

Shoji Kawashima, Special Advisor

In recent years, there has been a great deal of activity in the form of policies and corporate activities with an awareness of the goals of the SDGs. The fact that such voluntary actions are now being taken in various aspects of society is a great step forward. However, it is also difficult to confirm whether the participation in the SDGs and the declaration of commitment to the SDGs are truly effective. Companies are developing a variety of businesses with substantial environmental CSR initiatives, but are these initiatives consistent with achieving the 17 goals? Are they working toward the goals? In some cases, the SDGs are displayed without any clarity.

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On the other hand, if we look at local governments, we can see that they are running ahead with declarations such as SDG promotion cities, zero-carbon cities, and climate emergencies without showing concrete measures. Since Japan is surrounded by the sea and has a rich green climate, there are many things that have been done without knowing about the SDGs, such as protecting the natural environment, passing on history and culture, and locally producing and consuming agricultural products.　　

I sincerely hope that the public and private sectors will work together to examine the issue and come up with a realistic declaration so that the wisdom of our predecessors will not be left behind.
 

What does "responsible behavior" mean? This is the question that the SDGs are asking each and every one of us. From now on, the shortcut to achieving the SDGs will be to align our proposals and processes toward the targets. The World Environment Summit is a wonderful place to listen to lectures by leading researchers and business establishments on these advanced cases, and the Student Summit is also a great opportunity to receive messages from around the world. I hope that this conference will continue to serve as a compass for the SDGs with the environment as the keyword.