Background/Career and Activities outside JACSES：
Born in Tokyo in the year 1950. Graduated from the Biology Section of Department of Science, Osaka University. Completed an Agricultural Research Course (Agriculture and Forestry Economics) in Graduate School of Kyoto University, and received my Doctorate in Agricultural Science. Currently working as a Professor in the Department of Economics (Faculty of Socio-economic Networking), Kokugakuin University. Executive board members of Japan NGO Center for International Cooperation (JANIC), and of the Policy Research Institute for the Civil Sector (PRICS).

Conducting a research regarding sustainable development and socioeconomic changes related to the problems of global environment and also the problems due to the changing lifestyles. Specifically researching the following: the environmental capacity (the environmental resource use capacity: eco-space); the sustainable production consumption pattern; the world’s agricultural food problem and globalization; organic farming for environmental preservation; the ecological movement; the cooperative society movement, the NGO - NPO theory etc.

My Message /Thoughts：
I believe not in overworking or straining oneself, but advancing ahead by taking one step back and then moving two steps forward.

Link to related web site:
　Furusawa Zeminar Site 　http://kuin.jp/fur/kaleidoss.htm

Background/Career and Activities outside JACSES：
As a university student, I worked on NGO activities such as ODA reform, advocacy and publication to strengthen the environmental measures for companies. After working for the Toray Corporation in their Sales Department and Personnel Department, joined JACSES in 1995. Currently, I am also a lecturer at the Yokohama National University (Sustainable Development Workshop), a member of the Japan Quality Assurance Organization (JQA) CDM Advisory Committee, Coordinator of the Carbon Tax Study Group, a member of the Kiko Network steering committee.

My Message /Thoughts：
Green Tax Reform needs to be pushed forward, for example, to introduce green tax and eliminate environmentally harmful subsidies. There are lots of other issues that have hardly been touched and urgently need to be reformed in order to realize our dream of a fair and sustainable society. It’s still a long road ahead and we just need to tackle all these issues one by one without giving up at any point of time.

Activities at JACSES：

Negative environmental and social impacts have been arising from development activities funded by finance institutions, while Japanese contributions to international financial institutions have made Japan the second-largest vote shareholder in the World Bank, and the largest in the Asian Development Bank (ADB), moreover Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is now the largest bilateral development agency in the World.

My works are 1) to reform policies and guidelines to ensure that social and environmental factors are fully taken into account in the decision making of finance institutions, and protect the rights and choices of people most affected by development projects, 2) to avoid/minimize socially and environmentally negative impacts caused by huge development projects, and facilitate incorporation of the interests of people affected by development projects into institutional practices, 3) to strengthen the role of civil society in the reform of finance institutions through policy dialogues with key decision-makers, and 4) to enhance the capabilities and collective leverage of local groups and NGOs to monitor development activities.

Background/Career and Activities outside JACSES：

I joined JACSES in February 2003, and became a Program Coordinator of Sustainable Development and Aid Program in February 2005. I have been a member of the International Committee of the NGO Forum on ADB since 2004. In the past, I worked for A SEED JAPAN as Director of its Corporate Accountability Program (2001-2002). I have also worked in the Climate Change Program in WWF-Japan (2001-2002).