Lessons from Japan's eco-friendly economic plans

Japan is confronting globalisation, a declining population, a recessionary trend in the economy as a result of the global crisis, a redefined regional leadership role and a transformation of its economy to take on the 21st century.

The theme of this trip was the environment and the innovations needed to deal with global warming.

We met with Takehito Sato, one of Japan's top economists, who works for Morgan Stanley Japan Securities. He pointed out that recession in Japan had only just begun and would take time before recovering.

Then in the afternoon that day we were taken to observe the operation of JFE Steel Corporation, one of the world's major steel producers. Its manufacturing complex, outside Tokyo in the Keihin district of Kawasaki, is a showcase of how urban steel mills can work in harmony with the community and environment.

After that we had dinner with Professor Shujiro Urata of Waseda University, who is an expert on international economic partnerships and free-trade arrangements. Actually, he is a champion of free trade and believes that countries that liberalise their markets and open up industries will experience higher economic growth.

However, he admitted that Japan was not opening its markets enough for foreign goods and services to get in. Though Japan is now forging bilateral or regional free-trade agreements with other countries, it is not going full steam ahead with liberalisation because some sectors, particularly agriculture, still need protection for political reasons. But Japan can get away with it by promising technology transfer or further investment, which is what most countries want.

We also met senior officials of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, who are quite serious about creating a more liveable Tokyo with a significantly improved environment. They have even more or less cleaned the rivers in the city, which were once choked with industrial waste.

The air quality has also improved. Many businesses and residents have been asked to cooperate in pollution control. Tokyo Metropolitan Government has dealt with diesel vehicles in order to limit emissions. Global warming as well as making the capital greener is at the top of the agenda.

At Dowa Eco-System Co, we met Keita Sakurai, who manages the recycling unit and oversees the firm's international business investment side. At 35, Sakurai looked younger than his age, but was the ideal Japanese executive - hardworking and very capable. With more than 100 years of experience, Dowa profits from recycling refrigerators, washing machines and mobile phones. Recycling industries are important in maintaining a balance in industrialisation.

We also visited the headquarters of Mitsubishi Rayon Engineering and had a chat with the executives. This company's strength lies in water filtration and purification technologies. One pilot project is under way in Singapore, and Mitsubishi Rayon hopes to do more business in the region, which is facing water pollution from industrial production.

We then toured the Panasonic Centre, where we observed a dream home that is environmentally friendly.

The morning after that, we breakfasted with Akio Shibata, a director of Marubeni Research Institute. Shibata said the recent collapse of commodity prices would be temporary, because when the global economy picks up again, commodities will enjoy higher prices. However, the industrialisation of emerging economies is not sustainable due to global warming and the adverse environmental consequences.

Japanese companies are working with global warming and environment protection high on their agenda, and Shibata foresees investment in eco-technology as the engine of growth, though most other countries have yet to share a similar priority.

We also met Yoshimasa Hayashi, member of the House of Councillors, the National Diet of Japan, who told us about the political and economic situation in Japan and Japan/Asean cooperation. This was followed by a meeting at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, where we discussed Japan's free-trade agreements and regional economic partnerships.

We then met with Dr Takashi Shiraishi, vice-president and professor at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, to discuss Japan-Asean relations and the consequences the global financial crisis will have on East Asia. With the emergence of China, Japan will still need to forge an alliance with the US.

I spoke about the global crisis from a Thai perspective at the "Japan-Asean Relations in an Increasingly Unstable Global Environment" seminar, held at the Keizai Koho Centre.

This is a roundup of my trip to Japan, and I will be writing a series of articles on the country in the coming weeks.