We Are Tomodachi Spring / Summer 2018

14/38

14The town of Karuizawa is located on a plateau surrounded by a beautiful natural environment, just over an hour from Tokyo by Shinkansen bullet train. It welcomes some 8.5 million visitors annually as one of Japan’s preeminent resort areas. In 1886, Canadian missionary Alexander Croft Shaw praised the town as “a hospital without a roof,” and since then it has developed into a place to find respite from the heat and an international setting for health and recreation. Under the slogan “Karuizawa Smart Community,” there are ongoing efforts to reduce environmental impact by equipping public facilities with renewable energy systems, and providing subsidies for the installation of residential solar power generation systems and the purchase of electric vehicles. Karuizawa Mayor Susumu Fujimaki explains, “Through these measures we hope to promote energy conservation and local production for local consumption in the area of energy. Our goal is a community grounded in coexistence with nature.” The mayor adds, “We’re hoping that future generations will be told of this meeting as a big turning point regarding the world’s environmental issues, and we want to create the best possible environment for a productive discussion, while telling our visitors about our town’s efforts.”A Community in Harmony with Nature, Striving for Energy Self Sufficiency Ministerial Meeting on Energy Transitions and Global Environment for Sustainable Growth (Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture)Susumu Fujimaki, Mayor of KaruizawaBorn in Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture in 1951. Served as a member of Karuizawa’s town assembly from 1995 to 2007. Became mayor in February 2011.To preserve its uniquely beautiful nature, Karuizawa adopts policies such as subsidies for the purchase of electric vehicles.Niigata Prefecture and its city of Niigata have highly productive agriculture and fishing industries. Niigata produces more rice than any other prefecture and is home to the premium “Koshihikari” brand of rice. Niigata Mayor Akira Shinoda explains, “Even our most fertile farming regions used to be marshes with a lot of flooding, and our ancestors struggled with the water and soil to create our farmlands. In order to hand down these rich production fields to the next generation, we have a long history in Niigata of engaging in environmentally friendly, sustainable agriculture, while also working to increase profitability.”Niigata also works hard to realize state-of-the-art agriculture with its use of large-scale plant factories and incorporation of information and communication technology. “I want our visitors at the Agriculture Ministers’ Meeting to see our forward-looking agriculture, as well as our efforts to create a new food culture, for example through helping launch restaurants operated by farming families. I also hope that they will enjoy our distinctive Japanese cuisine, sake, and geisha culture.” The city of Niigata is easily accessible from Tokyo in as little as 100 minutes by the Shinkansen bullet train. When Japan ended its isolation from other countries in the Meiji period, Niigata Port was one of the five ports designated to be open to international trade. “Hosting the G20 in 2019 will coincide with the 150th anniversary of opening our port. I would like us to think of this as a ‘second opening of the port’ and use the chance to promote our status as an international hub city.”Pioneering Next-Generation Agriculture and Food CultureAgriculture Ministers’ Meeting (Niigata, Niigata Prefecture)Niigata implements various progressive measures to boost its agricultural productivity, such as the use of driverless tractors. KUBOTA CorporationAkira Shinoda, Mayor of NiigataBorn in the city of Niigata in 1948. Worked for a newspaper company. Elected as Mayor of Niigata in 2002.Feature: G20 Japan 2019