Seek Sustainable Japan

On September 27th 2024 - the ruling LDP party will choose their next president from a group of seven candidates, but there are 3 top contenders are in the spotlight: Kishida, Ishiba and Takaichi.

Sustainability is the underlying theme of all the big issues for the next Japan Prime Minister: energy, tax & social issues - it's worth having a look at how the top-3 contenders differ on these key issues. The pushback in Japan rural areas for Mega-Solar farms, alternative strategies, and upcoming rooftop solar initiatives in Tokyo are also discussed here.

 @medium  article here:

https://medium.com/@jjwalsh/japan-top-3-for-pm-on-energy-future-df53d3947414

Background Music thanks to Casey Bean of The BeanPod podcast- support his original music on BandCamp: https://caseybean.bandcamp.com/

James Hollow and his team at Fabric have set up 10 great strategies in their workplace to give them first-hand insights that inform their consulting work & passion to live a more sustainable life.

== See all the short videos of James Hollow introducing these strategies here ==

So much of what James is putting in place at his office can be an inspiration for others struggling to see how they can reduce waste or encourage a circular mindset among staff.

I hope sharing these ideas will spark new ideas for you- please add your comments below.

Thanks for Casey Bean of The Beanpod podcast for the original music background - support Casey's music on BandCamp: https://caseybean.bandcamp.com/

#sustainable #business #strategy #japan #fabric #jameshollow #sustainablebusiness #businessstrategy #sustainability #podcast

Dr.Donna Weeks - longtime friend of Seek-Sustainable-Japan - gives insights on the top-7 candidates in Japan's LDP presidential election this month (who will be the country's prime minister) based on her 40 years of research and engagement with Japanese politics as a psephologist.

TOPICS covered in this talk:

• Politics & Sustainability?
• How did your political interest start?
• Prime Minister Kishida (67)
• Taro Kono (61)
• Shinjiro Koizumi (43)
• Takayuki Kobayashi (50)
• USA Education of candidates
• Japan gov relation to Harris vs Trump
• Yoko Kamikawa (70)
• Signaling with profile hobbies
• Tokyo Governor's Race
• Shinji Ishimaru surprise popularity
• The Social Contract
• Compulsory voting & engagement
• Article 9 Japan constitution
• Inspired by Seek Sustainable Japan
• Sanae Takaichi (63)
• Used to be easier to choose PM
• Toshimitsu Motegi (68)
• Shizo Abe's Legacy
• Shigeru Ishiba (67)
• Dr.Donna Weeks' choice
• PM must be popular
• Is Japan Silver Democracy?
• Koizumi's Circular Economy
• Transparency in Politics

Psephologist Dr. Donna Weeks has spent the last 40 years engaged with Japan's politics and peace issues and spent most of her career teaching and researching Japanese politics and peace studies at the Department of Political Science at Musashino University, Tokyo.

Now based back home in Brisbane, Australia, but still with an eye on Japanese politics Dr.Weeks can walk us through some of the candidates to look out for in this upcoming prime minister race in Tokyo, the recent Tokyo governor's race and most importantly what kind of politics we should be seeking.

Dr.Donna Weeks blog: https://psephyspix.blogspot.com/

on Instagram & threads: @psephyspix

BGM thanks to Casey Bean of The BeanPod Podcast - support Casey on BandCamp

== Get in touch with JJWalsh @jjwalsh @inboundambassador https://linktr.ee/jjwalsh ==

Great to catch up after the summer break with fellow sustainability-focused consultant Tove Kinooka on our monthly series Sustainable Japan short-takes. It was a lively discussion of connections across topics that help us find better ways to balance the needs of people and planet with profits.

Read about this podcast on MEDIUM | See the video of this podcast on YouTube

BGM thanks to Casey Bean- support his musical journey on BandCamp

Follow up interview with the inspiring carpenter-educator-writer Douglas Brooks about more of his projects in Japan and around the world to preserve and celebrate the traditional wooden boats of Japan.

Watch the interview here on YouTube to add visuals to the images we are talking about.

As always, big thanks to Casey Bean for the opening and closing music - find his original tunes on BandCamp and listen to his podcast on your fave player The BEANPOD

In early spring 2024, Tom Miyagawa Coulton and I traveled on a 24h ferry from Tokyo to some of Japan's most remote and not well known tropical nature reserves called the Bonin or Ogasawara islands. YouTube video of this talk here

Tom is a talented photographer and is always a great collaborator on writing and consulting projects like this around Japan. Video here made by All About Japan of the trip focused on composting toilet sustainability in tourism initiatives.

BGM by talented singer songwriter Casey Bean - support his music on BandCamp

Amazing last segment of the Fabulous 500th episode of the Seek Sustainable Japan talkshow podcast as we talk with four amazing guests about traditional Japanese houses preservation, renovation and design. Guests: Azby Brown, Alex Kerr, Brett Rassmussen and Jon Stollenmeyer

Pearl Harbor and Hiroshima Peace Memorial park are difficult places to visit, but also important destinations to maintain and allow people to consider wartime choices and their consequences. This year, I had the chance to visit Pearl Harbor on Hiroshima day August 6th and attend a peace light-up event at Pearl Harbor again on August 7th to commemorate the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August of 1945.

This is an adaptation of a MEDIUM article I wrote here.

Celebrating the 500th episode of the Seek Sustainable Japan talkshow and podcast with so many fabulous guests who have previously been on the show to help me talk about some of the most popular and important topics in the series: Business, Farming, Art & Artisans, Minka and traditional house renovation, preservation and design.

Part 1 == Sustainable Business ==

Ruth Jarman, James Hollow & Tove Kinooka

Part 2 == Sustainable Japan Farming ==

Chuck Kayser, Heather Fukase, Nao Fukuoka, Thomas Kloepfer

Part 3 == Crafts & Creative Kyoto ==

Robert Yellin, Emily Kaneko Reynolds, Felicity Tillack

Part 4 == Sustainable Buildings & Traditional Designs ==

Alex Kerr, Azby Brown, Brett Rassmussen, Jon Stollenmeyer

LINKS for the fabulous guests on this special 500th show

Tove Kinooka: https://www.entelecoconsulting.com/

James Hollow: https://fbrc.co/

Ruth Jarman: https://www.jarman-international.com/

Heather Fukase: https://naganonaturally.com/

Thomas Kloepfer: https://www.pitchforkfarms.jp/

Chuck Kayser: https://www.midorifarmkyoto.com/

Nao Fukuoka: https://iniabi.square.site/

Felicity Tillack: https://www.wherenextjapan.com/about/

Robert Yellin: https://linktr.ee/ryygkyoto

Emily Kaneko Reynolds: https://www.amazon.co.jp/-/en/Emily-Kaneko-Reynolds/dp/B0CZL1BB7G

Alex Kerr: http://alex-kerr.com/

Azby Brown: https://azbybrown.com/

Jon Stollenmeyer: https://somakosha.com/en/home

Brett Rassmussen: https://www.okibi.jp/

Watch all of the Seek Sustainable Japan talkshow-podcast here on YouTube:

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcyYXjRuE20GsvS0rEOgSiQVAyKbEFSRP&si=I6k2sGOW1KIOY1Sn

Audio podcast version of the Seek Sustainable Japan talkshow can be found on your favorite player or here: https://seek-sustainable-japan.captivate.fm/

Kyoto is a famous and important hub for Japanese art, culture and traditions- here we talk with 3 Kyoto based creatives who share their latest projects and insights: Robert Yellin is a living legend on anything connected to Japanese pottery and ceramics- he runs a curated pottery and ceramic art gallery along the famous philosopher's path. Felicity Tillack is a talented filmmaker and storyteller who shares her latest work on inclusivity for the LGBTQ+ people in Japan. Emily Kaneko Reynolds is a natural plastering experts and artisan who is based in rural Kyoto.