The Forum held on June 7
  Maeda delivering a speech
  Hongo discussing as a panelist

On June 7, 2010, The Nikkei Environment Symposium on “Collaboration between Japan and the Rest of the World in Environmental Technology” was held at Nikkei Hall.  This is the Second Global Eco-Business Forum held in Tokyo, which is part of a series of Global Eco-Business Forums held in different countries.  The Symposium was organized by Nikkei Inc. and supported by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the Japan Center for Economic Research and JBIC, with the special sponsors including ELIIY Power CO., Ltd., Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd., Japanese Business Alliance for Smart Energy Worldwide, Tokyo Electric Power Company, Toshiba Corporation, the Japan Research Institute Ltd., Heat Pump & Thermal Storage Technology Center of Japan, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, and Mitsubishi Corporation.The participants from JBIC are: Tadashi Maeda, Head of the Corporate Planning Department, who delivered a keynote speech and served as a coordinator in two panel discussions, and Takashi Hongo, Head of the Environment Financing Engineering Department, who participated in one panel discussion as a panelist.  JBIC also participated in the exhibition held in booths set up at the same site. The hall was filled with 600 attendants.

In the first half of the Symposium, JBIC's Mr. Maeda made a keynote speech titled: “Global Strategy Implemented by All-Japan Efforts and Environmental Technologies in the World.” First, he referred to the point made in the New Growth Strategy released by the Japanese government that “it is important to enable Japanese industries to leverage their strengths in environment and energy technologies.” However, given limitations to individual companies' traditional export of its single proprietary product and their pursuit for factor technology, he stressed the need to export “systems” with all-Japan team efforts so that Japanese industries can propose a packaged technology and take the lead in project formulation. He also touched on an agenda facing Japan for successful exports of systems by providing examples of high-speed railways and the nuclear power generation sector for which worldwide demand has been increasing.

Mr. Maeda acted as a coordinator in the panel discussion 1: “Global Strategy Implemented by All-Japan Team Efforts and Environmental Technologies in the World” held in the second half of the event. One panelist contended that it was essential for Japanese companies trying to export their advanced environmental technologies to fully take into account the client countries' conditions and carefully communicate the significance and impact of adopting Japanese technologies. Other panelists also pointed out that the Japanese government should first relax domestic regulations in water supply, sewage treatment and other sectors where private firms do not have adequate knowhow, as this would lead to capacity enhancement for the private business operation and management.

Mr. Maeda also served as a coordinator in the panel discussion 3: “Japan's Nuclear Generation Technology that Contributes to the Global Community.” At the outset of the discussion, one panelist talked about possible causes of Japanese firms' recent failure to win the international bidding for a nuclear power generation plant in the United Arab Emirates. This was followed by an argument pointing out that: (1) it is essential for a new company, to be established jointly by the public and private sectors, to take the lead among Japanese industries and make a proposal in the form of a package that is adequately attuned to the client country's needs; and (2) increasing the operating rate of nuclear power plants in Japan is also an important issue since bidders are judged by their domestic performance as well.

In the meantime, Mr. Hongo participated as a panelist in the panel discussion 4: “Japan Leads the Transition to a Low-Carbon Economy in Asia: What Is the Truly Desired Partnership Today?” He reminded the audience that disseminating technology that is actually utilized in Japan today, not the leading edge technology, could generate as much as around 1.5 billion tons of CO2 emissions reduction across the world, and therefore it is vital to adopt “commercially viable BAT (best available technology).”He then described loans and equity investments made by JBIC in FY2009 under the Leading Investment to Future Environment (LIFE) Initiative, as well as JBIC's efforts to increase low-carbon investment going forward in its new GREEN operations  and a policy dialogue with the Indonesian government with aim of improving the country's investment climate. Finally he stressed that if Japanese technologies are to be disseminated in the world, it is essential to quantify the effect of GHG emission reductions achieved by adopting such technologies.

JBIC will continue to provide comprehensive support for the wide use of Japanese firms' technologies to realize a low-carbon economy and promote their environment and energy business.