November 10, 2009

Kansai Economic Federation

For nearly thirty years since 1980, Kansai Economic Federation (Kankeiren)　has sponsored the "Kankeiren ASEAN Management Seminar", which provides management-level trainees from enterprises in ASEAN countries with the opportunity to learn about Japanese-style management. Building on these past achievements in human resources development, Kankeiren will launch a new project "Environmental Human Resources Development in Asia- A Program for HRD and Exchange", which aims to develop specialists in the environmental and energy conservation areas in cooperation with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Pacific Resource Exchange Center (PREX) and other organizations.

The question of how we should go about resolving climate change and other environmental and energy issues poses one of the most serious challenges facing our planet in the 21st century. This problem has begun surfacing in Asia, which now serves as the "growth center" of the world.

The Kansai region has conquered its severe environmental and energy issues, encountered from the 1960s to the 1980s, thus establishing it as Japan's leading "environmentally advanced region." It was a rich accumulation of advanced technology and successful development of engineers capable of putting such technology to practical application that made it all possible.

Kankeiren is determined to support the rapidly growing Asian region as a whole in its attempt to achieve status as the most "environmentally advanced region" in the 21st century world. The Kansai region hopes to evolve from an "environmentally advanced region" to an "environmentally contributing region", and to play this role proactively.
To this end, Kankeiren will work together with the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA), with whom we have just entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU), to study a roadmap toward the realization of an "environmentally advanced Asian region."

In more concrete terms, Kankeiren will work to disseminate superior environmental and energy-saving technologies throughout Asia. To achieve this, we would like to begin by having frequent dialogues with ASEAN countries so as to design and implement projects which meet the specific demands of each country. One of our initiatives in this regard is an advanced, experimental program to develop specialists in such areas as "Water," "Solar," and "Energy." We will also provide opportunities for closer exchanges of opinions by, for example, organizing a "Human Resources Development Forum on the Environment and Energy in Asia" (provisional title).

Leading Kansai region as an "environmentally contributing region", Kankeiren hopes to assist ASEAN countries in achieving further prosperity and growth by offering such programs to develop human resources in the areas of environmental and energy conservation. Working together with people in ASEAN countries, we would like to expand the areas where quality human environments with "blue skies and clear water" and vigorous business activities as well as advanced urban functions exist together in harmony throughout Asia and the entire globe.