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Dr. Kenro Taura, organizer of the NPO/NGO known as Kiko Network, gave a presentation at the 2019 Japan English Model United Nations (JEMUN) at Kindai University. After the presentation, he was asked what he thinks the difference between his organization and other NPO/NGOs are:
“While other organizations are based overseas and have a branch in Japan, Kiko Network is mainly active in Japan. Many organizations, including my own, are working from global to local level, but Kiko Network rather focuses on the situations at national and local levels in Japan by making partnerships with Japanese companies and citizens”, he said. “The special characteristic that we [the Kiko Network] have is that we originate in Japan”.
He also told the significance of Kiko Network, as an organization with connections to both domestic and international societies.
“Generally speaking, many Japanese NGOs are weak and less influential to international communities. So, Kiko Network can serve the role of creating connections between Japanese society and the global civil society.”
In addition, he talked about the economic loss from climate change. In his presentation, he mentioned that new jobs will be created from the development of renewable energy, such as repairing and maintaining equipment, while some jobs will be eliminated or substituted. “It is true that some jobs will be eliminated, but as the development of the renewable energy goes, I expect it will provide new employments to people.”
He said changes in jobs are historically natural as societies change and it is not a special effect from climate change, so he is not so concerned about it.
Trying to decrease the amount of CO2 emissions means decreasing the consumption of fossil fuels. However, fossil fuels involve many political issues, for example decline in the use means a large economic loss to the Middle East. So, these countries may be less passionate about solutions for climate change or they could encourage other countries to consume more fossil fuels.
Dr. Taura showed a keen understanding in this issue, and in the particular case of the Middle East countries and reduced consumption of fossil fuels he stated, “The Middle East countries are also aware of the current situation, and for their maximum benefit, they have already begun research into the renewable energy. So, they have started preparing to adopt the new society with new energy.”
However, he showed his concern with the current situation in Japan, where only a limited number of people are engaged in this social issue, leading to the weakness of the Japanese NGOs. In order to solve this issue, the professor suggests that education is the most effective solution, saying, “I have visited many elementary schools in Japan, and I strongly feel that the education system has changed a lot but the classes are still ‘one-way’.”
When commenting about the 'one-way' education system, in which teachers are the main actor in classes and there is little engagement of students, he said, “Students should interact more with teachers or with each other to shape their originality in ideas and perspectives.”
Finally, he pointed out the importance of English education for Japanese people to interact with other people from overseas and to help overcome these global issues.