Bilans d’évènement
Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike shares her vision of 2020 and beyond with the members of European Chambers in Japan
On November 22, 2017, the French Chamber organized a luncheon with Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike at The New Otani hotel in Tokyo. As many as 300 guests gathered to listen to the first woman to be elected Governor of Tokyo, including H.E. Mr. Jean-François Paroz, Ambassador of Switzerland to Japan, H.E. Mr. Giorgio Starace, Ambassador of Italy to Japan, and H.E. Mr. Loukas Karatsolis, Ambassador of Greece to Japan.
After an opening speech by Philippe Avril, Board Member of the French Chamber, the Tokyo governor went up on stage. Yuriko Koike spoke on some of the initiatives the Tokyo Metropolitan Government is engaged in to develop Tokyo into a more sustainable city, the objective being to create a “New Tokyo” that is three cities in one:
- “A safe city where people feel more secure”, by removing the utility poles to strengthen it disaster preparedness.
- “A diverse city where everyone can actively participate in society”, first by helping the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and its assembly become positive models for Japanese society (40% of their employees are women and 20% of those in management positions are female, exceeding the level of other organizations in Japan), and through initiatives such as the Acceleration Program in Tokyo for Women or “APT Women”, which seeks to support and enhance the skills of female entrepreneurs.
- “A smart city that is open to the world, a leader in the fields of the environment, international finance, and business”, by partnering with the City of London, establishing “Access to Tokyo” offices in Paris, London and San Francisco, improving living conditions in Tokyo for the employees of foreign companies and their families, and issuing 20 billion yen in Tokyo Green Bonds whose capital raised will be used for smart energy urban development and other environmental projects.
In her conclusion, Yuriko Koike stated she planned to use the upcoming 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games as “an opportunity to show the world a model sustainable society”. To this end, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government is cooperating with the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee to collect used and outdated cell phones and small electronics to harvest components that will be turned into the medals presented to Olympians and Paralympians (as of now, 70,000 devices have been donated at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building alone). In addition to this, they plan to make Tokyo CO2-emission free for four days during the opening and closing days of the Tokyo 2020, an initiative called “Tokyo Zero Carbon 4 Days in 2020”. Her speech was then followed by a 25 minutes-long Q&A session.
The French Chamber of Commerce would like to thank all the Chambers involved in this joint effort and Baron Philippe de Rothschild Orient for providing the Mouton Cadet wine.
The event was co-hosted by The European Business Council (EBC) and 14 European Chambers of Commerce: The Austrian Business Council (ABC), the Belgium-Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce in Japan (BLCCJ), the British Chamber of Commerce in Japan (BCCJ), the Danish Chamber of Commerce in Japan (DCCJ), the Finnish Chamber of Commerce in Japan (FCCJ), the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Japan (DIHKJ), the Greek Chamber of Commerce in Japan (GrCCJ), the Icelandic Chamber of Commerce in Japan (ISCCJ), the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Japan (ICCJ), the Netherlands Chamber of Commerce in Japan (NCCJ), the Norwegian Chamber of Commerce in Japan (NCCJ), the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Japan (SpCCJ), the Swedish Chamber of Commerce in Japan (SCCJ) and the Swiss Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Japan (SCCIJ).
