Welcome to a new year of Seek-Sustainable-Japan - here are some dreams and thoughts as we start the year as best we can- hope it's a good one for all of us!

Feel free to drop comments or questions to me somewhere & I will give you a shoutout in the next episode!

LINKS: #seeksustainablejapan on YouTube #inboundambassador on IG & FB #jjwalsh on BlueSky

Our top picks of Sustainable Japan for 2025 - enjoy!

Did we miss your faves? Please let us know and we will give you a shoutout in the next episode!

LINKS: #seeksustainablejapan on YouTube #inboundambassador on IG & FB #jjwalsh on BlueSky

This month sustainability focused, Japan based consultants, educators and entrepreneurs Tove Kinooka and JJWalsh discuss Sustainable Japan Day event and awards featured by the Japan Times  ⁨@thejapantimes⁩  - One Young World - Sustainability in the Himalaya mountains with Carole Fuchs - Tech for Impact event in Tokyo October - Global Perspectives workshops and INTRApreneurship training programs - Digital Collage September event ICHIGO BLOOM - Responsible Finance and Investing with Morisawa Michiyo - Wooden Barrels Craft Award Yamaroku Shoyu Shodoshima - Made-in-Japan apparel - Sustainable Forestry in Wakayama - Zero-Carbon baseball stadium HANSHIN Tigers - GLIN impact capital investments in startups with social and environmental impact - Outrage & Optimism podcast  ⁨@OutrageandOptimism⁩  - HGPI Health and Environment intersection - Yamaroku Soy Sauce - Yamagata rural revival ..

LINKS

- Sustainable Japan day event 2025 on September 18 https://sustainable.japantimes.com/sjd-2025

- UNICHARM circularity in diaper business for babies and elderly - recycled pulp & recycle used https://www.unicharm.co.jp/en/csr-eco/education.html

- One Young World https://www.oneyoungworld.com/  ⁨@OneYoungWorld⁩ 

- Global Perspectives workshops & Intra-preneurship training https://www.globalperspectives.biz/intrapreneurship

- Tech 4 Impact Summit https://tech4impactsummit.com/

- Digital Collage event in Sept 2025 Ichigo Bloom Tokyo https://ichigobloom.jp/digital-collage-explore-the-hidden-footprint-of-our-digital-lives-tokyo-21-september-2025/

- Morisawa Michiyo feature about Responsible Investing https://sustainable.japantimes.com/unraveling/25

- Yamaroku Shoyu SHODOSHIMA island https://yama-roku.net/en

- Factelier made-in-japan clothing apparel https://factelier.com/aboutus/

- WAKAYAMA sustainable forestry https://nakagawa-forestry.com/about

- Hanshin Tigers Zero Carbon Baseball Stadium https://zerocarbon-bp.hanshin.co.jp/park/map.html

- GLIN social and environmental impact funding, startups and investing https://glinimpact.com/en/insight/insight-investment20231017

- Japan Health and Environmental policy intersection advising and diplomacy https://hgpi.org/en/

- Netchu Rural Revitalization in Yamagata - reusing abandoned schools to...

UK actor and playwright Michael Mears joins Seek Sustainable Japan to

share insights about his latest play called THE MISTAKE - a two person

performance telling stories connected to the nuclear bombings of

Hiroshima 80 years ago.

https://michaelmears.org/

Arcola theatre about THE MISTAKE: A powerful reflection on the decisions

that changed the course of history and the human cost that followed.

In the 80th anniversary year of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings,

this is urgent, unforgettable theatre.

https://www.arcolatheatre.com/whats-on/themistake2025/

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6_szLiCp5s

An important play about nuclear weapons and the nuclear bombing of

Hiroshima.

play description:

"Shigeko Nomura is a young woman living in war-time Hiroshima.

Leo Szilard is a Hungarian scientist and ‘father of the atomic bomb’.

Paul Tibbets is the American pilot chosen to fly the plane that drops

the bomb.

At 8.15am on a Monday morning in August, their lives become fatally and

forever entangled."

https://michaelmears.org/the-mistake-a-new-play-about-the-day-the-world-changed-forever/

Michel Mears will be performing a bilingual version of THE MISTAKE in

Tokyo, Hiroshima and Tottori in September this year.

Contribute to their crowdfunding campaign.

https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/taking-my-play-the-mistake-to-japan-in-september

• Welcome
• Vegan-Friendly London
• Vegan LUNA Burger
• Hiroshima Nagasaki 80th
• Noto Recovery Trip BCCJ
• Wajima Lacquerware Recovery
• Alex Kerr talks Wajima in Hidden Japan book
• Benton Homestead Rural Entrepreneurs
• Write Public Response about Manager Visa Changes
• GTN Working with Foreign Residents as positive opportunity not risk
• Circular System Tokyo includes Worm Composting
• Fukuoka Clean Energy & Drinking Water Project
• Michael Mears actor playwright THE MISTAKE

LINKS

Talking with Michael Mears about THE MISTAKE play on Hiroshima Nuclear Weapons

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4d2jaraQyuY

LUNA Vegan Burger in HASE Kamakura area outside Tokyo #veganfood #japan https://maps.app.goo.gl/BM8ZRHaTN57oy1R78

No More Hiroshima Nagasaki 80th Commemorations  @medium  #peace #travel

https://medium.com/@jjwalsh/no-more-hiroshima-nagasaki-80th-8d4c808638b7

Staying in NOTO after the quake talking with Bernd & Mitsue

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVIFqBe-0f4

Alex Kerr book Hidden Japan mentions Noto peninsula and Wajima

https://www.youtube.com/live/plqAlGpCCvU?si=UWw12L1xdpuKLKmx

Benton Homestead  @bentonhomestead 

https://bentonhomesteadjapan.myshopify.com/

Please write in about the sudden changes to the Business Manager Visa

system- we don't want to lose businesses doing good like Benton

Homestead:

https://public-comment.e-gov.go.jp/pcm/detail?CLASSNAME=PCMMSTDETAIL&Mode=0&id=315000115

 @theGuardian 

Fukuoka OSMOTIC Clean Energy and Drinking Water Project featured by

the Guardian

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/aug/25/japan-osmotic-power-plant-fukuoka?fbclid=IwY2xjawMaiu5leHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETEwYWVwQjBzTk1KbFBrcnVrAR4NOapoCche5jHIsRTLksPSU699Acv72IxtqSpuTL0HCncHqOUM-Yvq19ooYA_aem_yaIjHbOaqJ0jl34TyKdZDA

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Sustainably focused consultants JJWalsh & Tove Kinooka monthly

30-min Short Takes Chat about sustainable strategy, news, events and

innovation in Japan and beyond.

#sustainablejapan #seeksustainablejapan #shorttakes #japan #sustainability

Grateful this year to have had the rare opportunity to attend both the Hiroshima 80th and Nagasaki 80th commemoration events this year - may these two cities be the last places on earth to experience such horror, suffering and devastation from a nuclear weapon attack.

Read post on MEDIUM

#nonukes #hiroshima #nagasaki #japan #hiroshima80 #nagasaki80 #nomorehiroshima #nomorenagasaki #nomorehibakusha #nomorewar

August 6, 2025 is the 80th anniversary of the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima city. The first part is a pre-recorded walk-thru of the most meaningful monuments that I introduce on guided tours and the 2nd part is clips from the August 6th livestreaming video from around the A-bomb dome on August 6th.

#peacenow #nonukes #hiroshima80 #peace #hiroshimajapan #hiroshima #japan

Watch the video of this podcast on the SEEK SUSTAINABLE JAPAN podcast playlist:

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcyYXjRuE20E18H3DZrT5FnAfxDiLFs32&si=poKQJQd1db7uSZZh

July Short-Takes 30 minutes of sustainable japan & beyond highlights with two sustainability focused women entrepreneurs based in Japan, JJWalsh and Tove Kinooka

Sustainable travel definitely includes plantbased dining, but independent vegan travelers struggle with Japan travel as there are fewer options and sometimes hard work to research and explain what you need. World Vegan Travel does the research and tour plan for vegan travelers around the world and has great insights on Japan travel.

Brighde Reed is co-founder of World Vegan Travel Company and a plantbased expert for Japan and other parts of Asia and the world where they run their tours focused on supporting vegan travelers who want meaningful, fun, engaging and on track with their plantbased eating lifestyle values.

#worldvegantravel

LINKS

World Vegan Travel Website https://worldvegantravel.com/

World Vegan Travel Upcoming 2026 Japan Tour https://worldvegantravel.com/joyful-japan-2026-1/

NYT Gift Article about Vegan Travel Booming: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/21/travel/vegan-travel.html?unlocked_article_code=1.X08.m6Y7.N8dgzBURo9d4&smid=url-share

Japan ANIMO Animal Sanctuary  @animosanctuary  https://www.animosanctuary.org/

Hiroshima New Stylish Vegan Eatery https://jogesayu-hiroshima.com/en/

Vegan Food at Osaka World Expo 2025 https://www.itravelforveganfood.com/articles/vegan-food-osaka-world-expo-2025

PETA featured World Vegan Travel for plantbased sustainable travel safari tours https://www.peta.org/features/vegan-african-safaris/.  @peta 

Vegan Influencer Colleen Patrick Goudreau: https://colleenpatrickgoudreau.com/

After cataract surgery, can my eyes be reused? / Reading glasses LIONS club donation ‪@lionsclubs‬ / New Japan BioPlastic Tech discovery that dissolves in seawater ‪@Reuters‬ / Fujisawa Beach Clean event with SEGO / Popular keep-cool tech waste ‪@theGuardian‬ / Tokyo pride parade & LGBTQ+ issues in Japan / MrBeast viral generosity success on YouTube ‪@BeastPhilanthropy‬ / Daikin Air-Conditioner Sales Boom sticks to carbon-neutral targets ‪@thejapantimes‬ / Osaka Expo REUSABLE structure BLUE DOME ‪@TheEconomist‬

LINKS

• BioPlastic Japan Scientific Discovery https://www.reuters.com/sustainabilit... ‪@Reuters‬
• SEGO BeachCleanUp featured on Go Connect: https://goconnect.jp/2025/06/04/sego-... ‪@goconnectjp‬
• MrBeast Philanthropy - Go Viral & Make Money while doing Good for People & Planet ‪@BeastPhilanthropy‬ https://www.beastphilanthropy.org

- ‪@medium‬ Beast Games and Mr.Beast inspiration for content creators doing good  

With more than 406 million subscribers, Jimmy Donaldson- better known as Mr.Beast- has become the most successful YouTuber by doing outrageous acts of generosity. 

The fact that Mr.Beast’s strategy of using video revenue, sponsorship and collaboration to fund lifechanging projects around the world is an inspiration to any of us trying to go above and beyond the status quo to do-good for others and the environment.

Spending a month off work was a perfect excuse to binge Mr.Beast’s unscripted reality gameshow called BEAST GAMES for Amazon Prime. I was in good company as one of 50 Million viewers in its first month. 

Read the entire post on MEDIUM here' https://medium.com/@jjwalsh/how-youtuber-mr-beasts-kindness-collaboration-keeps-going-viral-cfbb106696e8

BGM is from Michelle Huang who is a DJ and a talented music-maker as well- check out her DJ Sparkill original tunes on @SoundCloud  

 / myvanillatictac  

This month Joy and Tove talk about forests, conservation, solar projects and thinking of YES AND instead of stopping projects, Biodiversity and Cycling Events for good causes. Write your comments and questions below if watching replays.

LINKS

Conservation and Solar Farms

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/environment/2025/05/26/wildlife/kushiro-wetlands-solar-eagle/

SOLAR farms can protect habitat

https://environmentamerica.org/center/articles/solar-farms-can-protect-habitats-and-biodiversity/

SOLAR over parking AEON mall Sumitomo

https://www.sumitomocorp.com/en/jp/news/release/2024/group/17340

KIWL Charity Ride: https://www.kiwl.net/events/500km-cycle-ride

Yokohama Connect Event

https://venturecafe-yokohamaconnect.org/event/yokohama-connect-14/

Tourism boom - need to manage crowds

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/05/21/japan/society/foreign-visitors-april/

Hiroshima museum should use these large A-bombed warehouses for large

group tours https://dive-hiroshima.com/en/explore/3526/

Japan's trees and forests loss and culture

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/environment/2025/05/26/earth-science/trees-environment-japan-sacred/

30-min Short-Takes on Sustainable Japan events, products, services, trends, news, strategies & people to inspire us all.

Tove Kinooka is the Director & Co-founder of Enteleco

& Global Perspectives

JJWalsh is the Founder of Inbound Ambassador & Seek Sustainable Japan | Co-Founder of GetHiroshima

Tove LINKS

LINKEDIN  

 / tove-kinooka-35a39323  

https://www.entelecoconsulting.com/

https://www.globalperspectives.biz/

JJ LINKS

LINKEDIN  

Wonderful discussion here with educator, author, architect & artist Azby Brown where he shares his deep insights into the beauty and meaningful design of traditional buildings and art where you can see the I WAS HERE mark of the human who crafted it. There is a warning here from Azby Brown about our fast shift to destroy these handcrafted things of value (like MINKA) in the rush to embrace technology and AI - this will not make us happy and will DESKILL and UNSKILL us.

LINKS

Azby Brown https://azbybrown.com/about/

Joy and Tove share their insights on sustainable Japan issues, news, updates for April 2025

Interviews with entrepreneurs Ally Hongo of Japan Travel Awards & Shiitake Creative, Elly Hirano a sustainably focused freelance entrepreneur & Robin Lewis of Social Innovation Japan & MyMizu

Robin Lewis is the inspiring co-founder of the LESS PLASTIC, MORE FUN startup in Japan called MyMizu. In this talk, Robin reflects on the 5-year Journey to taking the innovative idea of creating a refill network across Japan (and beyond). What's ahead for the venture, and also offers insights and advice for leaders and entrepreneurs of the future.

Robin Lewis is also a social entrepreneur, speaker and educator who works as the Representative Director of Social Innovation Japan - one of NIKKEI’s ‘100 Companies Building the Future’.

Robin Lewis is also the co-founder of MyMizu, an award-winning community-building app listing clean water refill areas across Japan and beyond to improve health, reduce plastic waste and connect with more ethical businesses.

It is exciting to talk with Robin on Earth Day this year to talk about the MyMizu 5 year report insights and catch up on his other projects and hear about his hopes and vision of the future for sustainable innovation in Japan.

LINKS

https://robin-lewis.com/

https://www.mymizu.co

https://www.socialinnovationjapan.com/

Elly Hirano is a freelance sustainability consultant in Japan with a

variety of project insights and a great philosophy about a better way

forward in business that balances the needs of people and planet with

profits.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ellyhirano/

Andrea Carlson is on the board of the Japan Minka Preservation Society

and will join to share some of her passion for preserving old houses and

rural traditions and culture in Japan.

Andrea will also be introducing some exciting events and meet-ups,

talks, experiences and more coming for the group for the enthusiastic

Minka-loving community.

https://www.minkasociety.com/

30-min Short-Takes on Sustainable Japan events, products, services, trends, news, strategies & people to inspire us all.

Tove Kinooka is the Director & Co-founder of Enteleco

& Global Perspectives

JJWalsh is the Founder of Inbound Ambassador & Seek Sustainable Japan | Co-Founder of GetHiroshima

Tove LINKS

LINKEDIN https://www.linkedin.com/in/tove-kinooka-35a39323/

https://www.entelecoconsulting.com/

https://www.globalperspectives.biz/

JJ LINKS

LINKEDIN https://www.linkedin.com/in/jjwalsh-inbound-ambassador/

https://inboundambassador.com/

https://gethiroshima.com/

https://seeksustainablejapan.com/

An innovative approach to Japan's AKIYA vacant house problem and dwindling rural communities through a DAO approach to ownership and investment in exciting projects to revive areas with great potential.

In this talk, Tamaki Nishimura and Monika Sadkiewicz of PanetDAO share their passion to working with amazing rural communities to preserve important cultural properties and places of rich heritage by opening up property investment in Japan. Open opportunities to both international and Japanese investors who want to be a part of building something positive, yet lack the knowhow to do it solo.

https://planetdao.world/about/

Ally Hongo is the cofounder of Shiitake Creative KK which has produced the Japan Travel Awards since 2021. The awards are focused on better Japan travel for the inbound market which are also sustainable, accessible, and inclusive for LGBTQ & families - so these places, people and destinations are welcoming to all people who love to travel.

Originally from Bulgaria, Ally has had a long and interesting career in Japan as a student, academic, reporter, writer, editor and content creator. Now Ally as Director of the Japan Travel Awards, has a powerful and positive influence on the future of inbound tourism in Japan and the development of more sustainable tourism and travel in rural areas.

https://www.allyhongo.com/

https://shiitakecreative.jp/en/

https://japantravelawards.com/

Lauren Schraf & Marcus Consolini join us to talk about the Minka Preservation Society- the motto is: "They build it, we preserve it".

What is it and what are the elements of their inclusive work to support and preserve Japanese building traditions, artisans, tradespeople, and rural communities in Japan.

It is a very wide tent and they have some exciting events and activities coming up held across Japan. See more information on their social media pages and website below.

LINKS

https://www.instagram.com/minkapreservationsociety/

website: https://www.minkasociety.com/

Lauren Schraf is a tourism expert - find her work and contact on Nippon Discovery: https://www.instagram.com/nippondiscovery/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauren-scharf-05410712/

Marcus Consolini is a sake brewery CEO of Daimon Brewery in Osaka https://daimonbrewery.jp/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcus-consolini-a04847/

TAGS

#minka #japan #traditionaljapanese #houses #renovation #minkapreservation #minkapreservationsociety #ruralliving #ruraljapan #communitybuilding

Michelle Huang is a creative-technologist and Akiya Collective founder passionate about "renovating abandoned houses in japan and converting them into habitat installations."

How can we revive rural Japan? Michelle and her group are onto something new and important - by making good use of Akiya vacant homes in creative ways that reuse the value already there and build on the strengths of a positive community.

Exciting to learn more about what events, workshops, shared experiences and fun they are planning for their KOMONO 2025 Spring Event.

#akiya #japan #nagano #komoro #komorospring #komoronagano #akiyacollective #michellehuang #interview #seeksustainablejapan #ruraljapan #ruralrevival

LINKS

https://michellekhuang.com/

Akiya Collective

https://www.akiyacollective.org/

BGM is from Michelle Huang who is a DJ and a talented music-maker as well- check out her DJ Sparkill original tunes on  @SoundCloud  https://soundcloud.com/myvanillatictac

Wonderful interview Michelle Huang did with Joi Ito about the Akiya DAO

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=houer6d_YaU

What are the latest sustainable japan topics on our radar for November?

Monthly chat about sustainability trends, innovation, events and issues for Japan & beyond with JJWalsh & Tove Kinooka / Topics & Updates - November 2025

LINKS

• The Conduit - Climate and Conflict https://www.theconduit.com/programme/...
• The Burning Question: Climate & Conflict   
•  • The Burning Question: Climate and Conflict  
• Talk with traditional-Japanese design expert author-architecht Azby Brown about how Humans connect to human-made things   
•  • Hand Crafted Design Appeal of Traditional ...  
• Blacksmith in Fukuyama:  
•  / akitakazuyoshi  
• Deep Travel Experience with Alex Kerr in Kagawa via ONESTORY  
•  / onestorytraveller  
• LinkedIn Univ Exeter COP30 Summary

First chat of 2025 for this monthly sub-series of the Seek Sustainable Japan talkshow with Tove Kinooka and JJWalsh. A 30-min chat about sustainable Japan topics that focus on a better balance between the needs of people and planet with profits.

30-min Short-Takes on Sustainable Japan events, products, services, trends, news, strategies & people to inspire us all.

Tove Kinooka is the Director & Co-founder of Enteleco

& Global Perspectives

JJWalsh is the Founder of Inbound Ambassador & Seek Sustainable Japan | Co-Founder of GetHiroshima

Tove LINKS

LINKEDIN https://www.linkedin.com/in/tove-kinooka-35a39323/

https://www.entelecoconsulting.com/

https://www.globalperspectives.biz/

JJ LINKS

LINKEDIN https://www.linkedin.com/in/jjwalsh-inbound-ambassador/

https://inboundambassador.com/

https://gethiroshima.com/

https://seeksustainablejapan.com/

I hope you are surviving your first month of 2025 with a sense of hope and enthusiasm for what we can do this year.

Of course, there is a lot of depressing news these days. The fires in LA and being bombarded by unethical governance in the US is hard to take. But there is still some hope for this year in terms of sustainable strategy, innovation and creative passionate folks doing good work.

This podcast features the audio from a Jan 27th 2025 talk I gave to an enthusiastic group of amazing local women in Hiroshima Japan. I loved meeting them all and seeing their smiles and nodding heads as I talked about the things I love about Hiroshima, stories we need to tell of women in Japan's history, and some of the most impactful and inspiring stories of sustainable tourism at work in our area of Japan.

Talking about sustainable tourism strategy, branding and inspiring examples of success from Alex Kerr & his traditional MINKA to guest house projects, to Onomichi, to Setoda, to Kamikatsu, to Mukaishima, Teshima, Omishima, and AiAii on Awaiji island.

I hope you also find some new and inspiring ideas here that give you hope for a brighter future in travel and how we want to do business and live our lives.

An interesting and inspiring first talk of 2025 here with the amazing Alex Kerr who has spent his entire life focused on a better Japan through his book writing, consulting, business projects. Also, in recent years has also added a love of design, traditions and life in Thailand to his life focus.

In this episode, Alex takes us through the design and process of making his thatch home in Chang Mai Thailand. Then we discuss some of his insights and ideas for better rural development tourism strategies in Japan based on Museums, Food, and Old House Reuse.

http://alex-kerr.com/

It’s January 2025 which is a perfect time for me to share some goals for this year of the snake as well as highlight positive insights from Japan to give you a more proactive slither start to the year than a defensive coil.

Read the post on MEDIUM

LINKS:

• Zero-Waste Town of Kamikatsu Japan Playlist
• San Francisco Recyling Center Visit - RECOLOGY
• Dani & Evan - the Upcycle, Vintage Reuse & Disposal Experts
• Benton Homestead Unboxing Video in an Abandoned Japan House
• Vermicular Cast Iron Cookware series JAPAN
• Vermicular USA
• Mamacation Review of Best and Worst non-toxic options
• Hardwood Lumber - How to avoid plastics in the kitchen
• Miyajima Island Woodworking Shop
• Bee Eco wax wraps
• What is WAKA poetry?
• Sustainable Japan Reizei Family Waka Poetry Legacy
• Crowdfunding campaign to support the Reizei Family projects

Originally from Melbourne Australia, Rowie Geraerts has found a home and supportive community in the town of Nozawa Onsen in Nagano, Japan.

Rowie describes her career in Japan as an entrepreneur as a stopover before settling down which became a place to start planting roots. In Australia she says she always felt she was an easy-going water-baby, but has found more focus to run businesses among mountain people in the village of Nozawa Onsen where she has set up a yoga studio, runs wellness retreats and started a vegan cafe called SHIZEN.

At the end of our Seek-Sustainable-Japan talk in December, bonus clips from my in-person chat with her at her beautiful FUNKY COTTAGE - introduced by village Minka (traditional home) ambassador Ed Stratham:

https://seek-sustainable-japan.captivate.fm/episode/fixing-up-a-250-year-old-house-in-japan-snow-country-house-tour-talk-with-ed-stratham

BGM thanks to Casey Bean of The Beanpod podcast - support his original singing-songwriting on BandCamp: https://caseybean.bandcamp.com/

Tove & JJ wrap up their favorite sustainable short-takes of the year and give suggestions for great organizations to support, great blogs to read and shopping mindfulness as we enter the holiday season. Enjoy!

• TELL mental-emotional support
• Best of Sustainable Japan events
• Fabric Regenerative Biz event
• BCCJ Gender Equity event
• Hiroko Yoda Blog
• Import Concepts Localization
• Sustainable PRIDE value
• Useful Gift Japan tradition
• Consider Gift End of Life
• Recycled Wool Japan
• Sustainable Shop Tours
• Japan Denim
• Japanese Indigo
• HAKKO Fermented Goods
• Venture Cafe Yokohama
• Powerful Questions event
• End-of-Year Mindfulness

LINKS

TELL mental-emotional support helpful https://telljp.com/counseling/

Japan Travel Awards 2024: https://japantravelawards.com/jta-2024-en

Sustainable Japan Times 2024 Awards: https://sustainable.japantimes.com/sjaward-company2024

Fabric Regenerative Business Report: https://fbrc.co/en/home

Hiroko Yoda - Japan Happiness Blog: https://blog.hirokoyoda.com/

BCCJ (British Chamber of Commerce Japan) https://bccjapan.com/

Art of Powerful Connections event: https://www.dccj.org/events/workshop-the-art-of-powerful-questions

-----------

Tove & Joy are both focused on sustainable issues in work across Japan doing consulting, training, educating, advising & developing sustainable strategy for business, events, organizations and tourism.

Tove Kinooka is cofounder of Global Perspectives & Enteleco Consulting: https://www.entelecoconsulting.com/

JJWalsh is founder of Inbound Ambassador & cofounder of GetHiroshima: https://seeksustainablejapan.com/about/

Lead composer-producer artist Facundo Arena joins the Seek Sustainable Japan talkshow-podcast to share insights about their Japan-inspired ambient musical journey as creators of THE KYOTO CONNECTION.

After years of admiration of Japan, especially Japanese music and culture, the trio are finally on their way to Japan in April 6th to May 18th 2025.

Join us as we talk about the 25 years they have been making Kyoto & Japan inspired music and their plans for visiting Japan on their tour.

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thekyotoconnection

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekyotoconnection/

Website: https://www.thekyotoconnection.com/

BandCamp: https://kyotoconnection.bandcamp.com/music

Dr.Donna Weeks joins us again on the Seek Sustainable Japan talkshow to give us her insights on some of the key issues since the latest 2024 Japan election which created a government party, leadership and power dynamics reshuffle.

Dr.Weeks has been following Ishiba's career over her political science career of 30+ years and has lots of great historical examples to draw on.

We focus on the key issues PM Ishiba outlined in his policy speech this week: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2024/11/29/japan/politics/ishiba-policy-speech/

BIO:

Dr.Donna Weeks was a Political Science Professor at Musashino University’ Faculty of Law in Tokyo from 2016 to 2024. She taught Japanese politics, political philosophy and security and her research focused on peace issues and Japanese elections.

Psephologist Dr. Donna Weeks has spent the last 40 years engaged with Japan's politics and peace issues. Now based back home in Brisbane, Australia, but still with an eye on Japanese politics Dr.Weeks can walk us through some of the key issues happening in Japan's government since the election.

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

on BlueSky, Instagram & threads: @psephyspix

Tove & Joy are both focused on sustainable issues in work across Japan doing consulting, training, educating, advising & developing sustainable strategy for business, events, organizations and tourism.

Tove Kinooka is cofounder of Global Perspectives & Enteleco Consulting: https://www.entelecoconsulting.com/

JJWalsh is founder of Inbound Ambassador & cofounder of GetHiroshima: https://seeksustainablejapan.com/about/

LINKS

* Dr.Donna Weeks talks about Japan's new government and PM Ishiba: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvIO2IhjayM

* Tove Kinooka Featured (YEA) by the Japan Times Sustainable Mag: https://sustainable.japantimes.com/lr/115  @thejapantimes 

* BCCJ Women at Work in Japan Focus: Unlocking Japan's Potential with Gender Focused Investment https://bccjapan.com/events/unlocking-japans-potential-with-gender-focused-investment/

* Climate FRESK: https://climatefresk.org/world/

* Ichigo Bloom Climate Fresk: https://ichigobloom.jp/bloom/climatefresk/

* REI - Refugees Empowerment International: https://rei-npo.org/en/

* Mikan Bags: https://www.mikanbags.com/shop

* BikuDesigns: https://www.bikudesigns.com/

* Organic farmers I am grateful for: https://medium.com/@jjwalsh/grateful-for-educator-community-building-farmers-in-japan-db0a188e688e

Music thanks to talented original songwriter-singer in Ishikawa, Casey Bean: caseybean.bandcamp.com

I had a great opportunity to talk with kids in 5th grade this month about sustainability and sdg's to simplify the key concepts- it was a great reminder that simplification is the standard I use use for all talks - especially for the sustainable tourism and travel talk I am giving to a general audience at the beginning of next year.

Let's keep issues clear and simple so that the possibilities for positive change can stand out more clearly.

Read the story here on MEDIUM: https://medium.com/@jjwalsh/talking-sustainable-solutions-with-kids-a-reminder-to-keep-it-simple-606e24b2ec7c?sk=8609316f42ada8cade10fe31e5a5d271

Kominka Japan has set the date for the annual Hanase Village Minka celebration in Rural Kyoto for the weekend of April 24,25,26 2026 - save the date!

Tickets are now on sale and you can get a discount if you buy before the end of 2025

https://kominkajapan.online/events/

LINKS:

My talk with Paul & Kim Fredale about their stunning home and garden renovation: https://youtube.com/live/yjVcsFL09sU

Buy your MINKA SUMMIT 2026 tickets, dinner tickets, lunch tickets.. on Peatix:

https://minka-summit-2026.peatix.com/

Some Highlights of the event to be announced in the show:

· Speaker Presentations

· Minka and Machiya Tours!

· Hands-On Workshop Demonstrations!

· Minka Mall!

· Friday Night Meet-and-Greet

· Saturday Night Dinner & Keynote Speech

About Stuart Galbraith from KominkaJapan website

Stuart Galbraith IV is a film historian who has lived in his 1810 minka in the mountains north of Kyoto since 2016 with his wife, Yukiyo, and daughter, Sadie. He is the author of seven books, including The Emperor and the Wolf – The Lives and Films of Akira Kurosawa and Toshiro Mifune and Japanese Cinema and a co-writer of Academy Award-winner Steven Okazaki’s documentary Mifune – The Last Samurai (2015). A former archivist for Warner Bros. and MGM, Galbraith writes reviews for the website The Digital Bits and frequently does audio commentaries and produces short documentaries for DVD, Blu-ray, and 4K releases, including such films as Kurosawa’s Rashomon, Sanjuro, and Dersu Uzala, Kinji Fukasaku’s Battles without Honor and Humanity, Martin Scorsese’s Silence, and Joshua Logan’s Sayonara. His most recent credit is an audio commentary for the Powell & Pressburger classic A Matter of Life and Death. He also wrote and produced the documentary short, The Minka of Gaijin Alley (2019).

So grateful for the beautiful colors of autumn this time of year and family and friend gatherings over amazing foods- a time to show KANSHA gratitude for Japan's amazing farmers- especially those who are also regenerating the land, educating those eager to learn, reusing old AKIYA houses and rebuilding dying rural communities!

• Read the MEDIUM article here connected to this episode
• All the talks & farm visits on Seek Sustainable Japan - Organic Farmer Playlist

BGM thanks always to the talented Casey Bean - support Casey's original music on BandCamp

Introducing Hiroshima's sacred island of Miyajima latest sustainable product, Miyajima Salt as written about on GetHiroshima.com

• GetHiroshima article about Miyajima Salt
• 3-min SHORTS version on YouTube
• Sign your name of support for the campaign to reduce Hiroshima ocean plastic pollution

#miyajima #craft #salt #hiroshima #entrepreneur #japan #sustainablebusiness #sustainabletourism #trades #suportlocal #buylocal

BGM thanks to the talents of Casey Bean - original singer-songwriter based in Ishikawa Japan - find all of his tunes on BandCamp

Our monthly short-takes episode for November 2024 with sustainability focused consultants Tove & Joy

00:00 Welcome

00:30 No Snow Mt.Fuji

02:00 Climate Change Gov

03:00 Fabric KK B Corp

06:25 WE EXIST docu-series

08:40 Gender-Focused Investing

11:00 Allies for Diversity

13:20 BentonHomestead on CNBC

14:40 CapGemini IT event

16:00 Tomoko Koyama Meterologist

17:41 Yuko Nakahata SustainaSeed

19:24 Same-Sex Marriage Legal

20:00 Sustainable Miyajima Tour Project

21:55 Wild Deer & Tourism

23:09 Musubi-Kiln Sustainable Biz

24:15 Good English Copy Value

24:45 Vegan Osaka

25:50 Toothpaste Packaging

28:28 Organic Fertilizer Experiment

30:00 Enjoy Autumn colors, fruit, veggies

== Upcoming Events & Talk Links ==

= Nov 9 to 30 REI Refugee Empowerment International Walkathon Event: https://rei-npo.org/en/event/stride-of-hope-walking-challenge/

= Dec 5 BCCJ Event on Gender Focused Investments: https://bccjapan.com/events/unlocking-japans-potential-with-gender-focused-investment/

= CapGemini IT company event: https://www.capgemini.com/about-us/

= Sustainaseed: https://en.sustainaseed.net/

= Musubi Kiln: https://musubikiln.com/

= Benton Homestead get a mention on CNBC  @bentonhomestead   @CNBC  https://bentonhomestead.com/press

Watch the CNBC episode here: https://youtu.be/1F637H2yUlo?si=xvKT48MHI2DNZdtU

= Order your vegan cheeses and meat alternatives at VEGAN OSAKA

https://www.veganosaka.com/en/collections/vegan-cheeses

• Watch the video version of this talk here on YouTube

Felicity Tillack is a filmmaker based in Kyoto Japan now working on a documentary series about inclusion and diversity of the LGBTQ+ community in Japan. Tiffany Rossdale produces and stars in this documentary-series titled WE EXIST a focus on LGBTQ+ lifestyles and issues in Japan.

Please Support the film "We Exist" via kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/wexistjapan/we-exist-japan-episode-2-lgbtq-documentary?ref=project_link

Watch the live talk with Felicity and Tiffany on YouTube

Support Casey Bean original singer-songwriter who provides the BGM for this podcast - find all of Casey Bean's wonderful tunes on BandCamp

Wonderful news that the Hiroshima and Nagasaki A-bomb Survivor HIBAKUSHA group called NIHON HIDANKYO won the Nobel Peace Prize this year, but is a future without nuclear weapons a possibility?

Talking about stories from guiding in Hiroshima in combination with this news of the award and current stance of the Japanese PM Ishida about the reality of nuclear weapons and bans.

BGM thanks to Casey Bean - support his music on BandCamp

Tove Kinooka and JJWalsh are both sustainability focused consultants, educators, advisors and advocates for sustainable business and strategies in Japan. Tove is based in the Tokyo area around the capital and Joy is based in Hiroshima city.

Join us for the next live talk on Oct 28th at 8:30 Japan time: https://www.youtube.com/live/Fg2f4paE9f4?si=BoVYcQHsbqTrhhUl

Sept 2024 topics: Tove's One Young World Conference in Montreal & Montreal's Amazing Fruit & Vegetable Markets | Joy's talk with Dr. Donna Weeks & Japan's Top-3 for the Prime Minister Job- how Sustainable are their policies? | Joy's talk with Emi Kaiwa about sustainable tourism development | Tove's work on resilience at the workplace at the Conrad hotel Tokyo | Joy's work at the Ogasawara islands nature reserve article on Dolphin identification

00:00 Welcome to September Short-Takes

00:28 One Young World 2024

06:47 Japan's Top-3 for PM

07:40 Shijiro Koizumi

10:05 Carbon Tax

12:00 Shigeru Ishiba

13:40 Sanae Takaichi

16:19 Montreal Marche Market

19:58 Ogasawara island article

22:09 Building Resilience at Conrad hotel

27:00 After-hour freedoms from work

29:00 Emi Kaiwa of GSTC

Tove & Joy are both focused on sustainable issues in our work across Japan doing consulting, training, advising & development for business, organizations and tourism.

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

Joy Jarman-Walsh (jjwalsh): Inbound Ambassador: https://linktr.ee/jjwalsh

== BGM thanks to the talented Casey Bean - support his music on BandCamp ==

Global Sustainable Tourism Council manager Emi Kaiwa talks about her work in Africa with eco-tourism and strategies for how to train guides and managers in Japan to raise awareness of the value for travel that is in better balance with the needs of people, planet and profits.

#sustainabletourism #sustainabletravel #gstc #interview #tourism #travel #sustainable #sustainability #podcast #emikaiwa #DMO #destinationmanagement #certification #training

BGM thanks to The Beanpod artist Casey Bean- support his music on BandCamp

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 ==

Inspiring talk from Azby Brown at MinkaCon2025 about how the beauty of hand-crafted things in traditional houses is what we as human beings respond to and NEED to have connection to in our homes and lives.

Azby Brown is a respected MINKA MASTER, educator, author, researcher, advocate and advisor based in Japan for many years.

https://azbybrown.com/about/

Watch the video here to see the images he shows and talks about on Seek Sustainable Japan YouTube https://youtu.be/02XeH-FnOZg?si=Vb6UMOoHUkm6YwQZ

Monthly 30-min news and topics catch up

CEO Toru Muramatsu talks of the great work of Chiiori Alliance and is an inspiring designer and manager who has done great work alongside Alex Kerr to develop beautiful, high-value stays for both international and Japanese guests by renovating old traditional Japanese homes into guest houses.

Chiiori Alliance

https://www.chiiori-alliance.jp/

Kyle Holzhueter is a master plasterer in Japan and founder of Kamimomi Permaculture center in Okayama joins Seek Sustainable Japan once again to talk about their upcoming Living Earth Lab - a 7 day workshop experience in natural living and sustainable life skills- with Phil Cashman of Awa Farm and other Tokyo area permaculture projects.

Kyle Holzhueter & Phil Cashman are both long-time Japan based permaculture masters who are running a workshop in Okayama focused on Sustainable Living called LIVING EARTH LAB.

Phil is passionate about urban farming - growing your own food even in small spaces, compost toilets and founded Awa Permaculture Farm in Chiba.

Phil's Awa Permaculture farm community page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064494287906

Kyle: https://pamimomi.com/

Kyle Holzhueter on the Seek Sustainable Japan talkshow-podcast:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bh9VhKmd2_U

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2cJPZa1bc8

More about Phil: https://therongolianstar.com/2013/06/29/for-permaculture-in-japan-visit-permaculture-awa-farm-dojo/

Lauren and Andrea are Minka Preservation Society founders and talk here about what we can look forward to at the MINKA CON event coming up in November 2025

https://www.minkasociety.com/