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Japan for Sustainability Newsletter #179
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July 31, 2017
Copyright (c) 2017, Japan for Sustainability
Japan for Sustainability (JFS) is a non-profit communication platform to
disseminate environmental information from Japan to the world, with the
aim of helping both move onto a sustainable path.
See what's new on our web site: http://www.japanfs.org/en/
E-mail: info@japanfs.org
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In the July 2017 issue of the JFS Newsletter:
- Aiming to Build New Communities in Earthquake-Stricken Areas:
Ishinomaki Jichiren's Initiatives
- Learning from Pollution Experience, Kitakyushu Now Promotes
Sustainable Society in Asia
- Seikatsu Club: Japanese Cooperative Managed by Members' Will to
Confront Social Problems
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Aiming to Build New Communities in Earthquake-Stricken Areas:
Ishinomaki Jichiren's Initiatives
http://www.japanfs.org/en/news/archives/news_id035874.html
Six years have passed since the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11,
2011. The interest in and support to areas in Tohoku Region that were
heavily damaged by the earthquake are said to be gradually dying down.
Part of the reason is that the Kumamoto earthquakes last year also
caused great damage. Yet, despite the passage of time, the Tohoku
disaster areas have yet to recover.
Early in July, we visited Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, for a direct
view of the current situation and efforts six years after the earthquake.
Ishinomaki, with an area of 555 square kilometers, has the second
largest population in Miyagi Prefecture, next to Sendai. The Port of
Ishinomaki, one of the best fishing ports in the Orient, lends the city
an air of vigor with many sightseeing spots, and also provides it an
active role in agriculture.
On March 11, 2011, a great earthquake with a seismic intensity of over 6
on the Japanese scale of 7 hit Ishinomaki, with a subsequent tsunami,
reaching over 10 meters in height in some places. More than 3,200 deaths
were directly attributable to the earthquake and tsunami, rising to more
than 3,550 when other disaster-related deaths are included. More than
420 people are still missing. More than 20,000 houses or buildings were
completely destroyed, with more than 13,000 half-destroyed and more than
23,000 partly destroyed. Extensive areas of the city were flooded by the
tsunami. Archives have been released with many photographs documenting
the disaster to record the state of disaster and progress toward
recovery in Ishinomaki. (Follow the website link below.)
http://www.city.ishinomaki.lg.jp/cont/10151000/1501/24-31.pdf
(Japanese only)
The disaster victims initially stayed in shelters set up at elementary
and junior high schools, temples and other facilities open to the public.
After that, some, such as those who had lost their homes, moved into
temporary homes built in various parts in the city. Previously, when we
visited some of the temporary housing complexes, many were single-story
prefabricated buildings, which gave the residents many opportunities to
meet each other, and since many volunteers often visited, it seemed to
us that a sense of community had been established at many of the
temporary housing complexes.
However, now that several years have passed since the earthquake and the
number of people moving out of the temporary housing complexes is
increasing, closing and consolidation of temporary housing is underway
and post-disaster public housing, where disaster victims can live long
term, is being built across the city. Post-disaster public housing is
public rental housing for those who have lost their houses due to the
disaster and cannot rebuild their houses by themselves.
The temporary housing complexes were single-story, providing a sense of
proximity among the residents, while post-disaster housing consists
mostly of two-story, three-story or four-story reinforced-concrete
apartment complexes. Some of them are even ten-story buildings like
high-rise condominiums. Although there are assembly rooms and other
gathering places in such apartment complexes, chances to connect and
interact with other residents are lost once the iron front doors to
their apartments are closed. Furthermore, since disaster victims are
moving into post-disaster housing from different areas, they lack past
connections and shared history in the areas where they lived before the
earthquake.
In this context, we visited Ishinomaki Jichiren, a general incorporated
association (legally-registered society in Japan) that is making efforts
to build resident communities in post-disaster housing. There we
interviewed Kei Masuda, the association's chairman, and Toru Utsumi, its
secretary-general. In this issue of the JFS Newsletter, we introduce our
interview with these two people.
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Introducing the Organization
The forerunner of Ishinomaki Jichiren was the Ishinomaki Post-Disaster
Housing Residents' Association Union Promotion Organization, which was
established on December 9, 2011. At that time, Ishinomaki had 134
temporary housing complexes. Five of those had residents' associations.
Their officials gathered to establish this union organization under the
slogan of "Let's prevent kodokushi (lonely deaths)."
At first only residents participated in our meetings to discuss issues,
but the next year in February we invited staff members from the
municipal government and a local social welfare council. Now the
participants include doctors from municipal hospitals, officers from the
Community Safety Division and the Community Police Affairs Division of
the local police station and staff members of the Fire Prevention
Division of the local fire station.
The number of member households was 3,338 in 42 different housing
complexes at its peak, accounting for 54.2 percent of all residents
living in temporary housing for disaster victims in the city. Our organization
now solicits and compiles the opinions of disaster victims living in the
city and we believe that through this activity, a "win-win" relationship
is established between disaster-victim residents and the local government.
After we continued various activities for four to five years, some said
that maybe it was about time for us to wrap up our activities, thinking
our mission would be completed when the temporary housing complexes for
disaster victims were closed. On the other hand, we started to receive
many comments from people who had moved to post-disaster public housing
complexes asking for our help, saying "We were happy right after moving
into our new place, but now we feel lonely here."
Post-disaster public housing complex buildings are solid and secure,
protecting tenants' privacy. On the other hand, however, it makes it
quite hard to build a community there. Someone suggested establishing a
corporation for continuing activities, so our organization became a
general incorporated association named "Ishinomaki Jichiren" on January
19, 2016. All funding for our activities is covered by subsidies from
the prefectural and municipal governments and corporate foundations.
Activities
Executive members of each residents' association hold a monthly chapter
meeting, where they bring up various issues to discuss. Particular
problems which cannot be solved at a chapter meeting will be brought up
at an Ishinomaki Jichiren board meeting. Public meetings, to which
officers of the local police and fire stations are invited, are
organized as needed to solicit ideas for solving these problems. After
each board meeting, a quarterly newsletter is issued and posted on the
bulletin boards at post-disaster public housing complexes.
Ishinomaki Jichiren also serves as a liaison to other people. There are
about 40 cases a year where cooperation and coordination are needed for
handling interview requests or offers of support from individuals, local
governments, academic organizations, companies, etc. Many people visit
Ishinomaki to learn about disaster prevention, including local
government officials in the Tokyo metropolitan area and Shizuoka
Prefecture, where a major disaster is thought possible in the near
future, and in Kumamoto Prefecture, which is undergoing reconstruction
after a big earthquake last year. Even delegates from overseas come here
for the same purpose. Our organization also distributes food and other
relief items sent from people around the country to local residents.
Many volunteers also come to Ishinomaki. Various events are organized at
each temporary housing complex, but we are trying to create opportunities
to link people in temporary housing and post-disaster public housing
complexes. To that end, we organize Karaoke competitions, sports events,
one-day hot spring bus tours and the like and invite residents in both
kinds of housing complexes to participate.
Building a community in post-disaster public housing is quite a
challenge. In temporary housing complexes, you can make eye contact
through the windows, as housing there consists of single-story buildings.
If you feel like a walk and step outside, you will inevitably run into
someone in the complex. On the other hand, in post-disaster public
housing complexes, which are apartment buildings, you hardly see anyone
when you step out of your apartment or even when you walk up and down
the corridor. We have received comments such as, "There is this elderly
guy, who sits at his door with it open and looks out at the corridor
every day. Could you look in on people like him as well?" Therefore we
engage in various initiatives to help residents build communities.
At post-disaster public housing complexes, some residents gather in the
courtyard around 8:30 every morning to enjoy radio exercises together,
and other residents have started to organize various kinds of club
activities in the assembly halls. We just help get the ball rolling for
those club activities and ask club members to make sure that they select
one resident as a person in charge of their club. Now a wide variety of
clubs are available, from artistic postcard painting and Japanese folk
music to volunteer work, healthy mahjong lessons and so on.
Since the mahjong lessons help prevent dementia, even men who tend to
stay at home and rarely participate in other events have joined them. We
also hold a series of study sessions on dementia, because this illness
is also a challenging issue in our aging society. Based on the study
sessions, a group that offers monitoring and support for people with
dementia, called "Tsunagari (meaning "connection") Supporter Pal," was
established and conducts activities every month.
Ishinomaki Jichiren established a Tsunagari Card, on the back of which
its holder writes his/her contact information in case of an emergency.
The card is about the size of a business card when folded in half, easy
to carry. On the back, there are also sections for contact information
not only of their family members but also their neighbors, so that they
can exchange their contact information with others in the neighborhood.
In this way, we help them communicate with each other on a regular basis.
In June 2016, Ishinomaki announced a new program to promote
reconstruction and self-sustenance among the city's disaster victims. In
this project, the then-existing 132 temporary housing complexes are to
be consolidated into 22 within 12 to 18 months. We realized that we
needed to create a platform for interaction between previously settled
and new residents. To accomplish that, we started holding tea parties
every week at 10 housing complexes at a fixed time and venue. If new
residents go to one of the established venues during the designated time,
they will be able to talk with someone there. Since we obtained grants
from the prefecture, we are thinking of increasing the number of the
complexes with this kind of tea party from 10 to 17.
These activities have received high recognition, and in fiscal 2016 we
were selected by the Reconstruction Agency of Japan for their award in
the reconstruction achievement category of the "New Tohoku" project.
We have heard that Japan will continue to allocate a budget for
reconstruction for at least another four years. Even so, we are not sure
if our activities will be chosen for national grants. Nor will the
nation continue to offer grants for reconstruction forever. We must
continue our activities in a sustainable manner, but how can we get the
financial resources to support them? This is a tough issue, but we must
consider it.
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Living in a new place must be a source of anxiety to many people, and
all the more so to disaster victims, who are under severe stress and
face uncertainty in many ways. In this situation, Ishinomaki Jichiren is
playing a significant role in creating and supporting communication
platforms for these residents.
The people we met in Ishinomaki, including people working for Ishinomaki
Jichiren and those affected by the disaster, repeatedly expressed
gratitude to the volunteers and supporters. When the organization heard
the Philippines had been hit by a typhoon and sustained damage, it
called for donations and collected some 500,000 yen (US$4,505). More
recently, the organization sent donations of around 280,000 yen
(US$2,545) to areas affected by the 2016 Kumamoto Earthquakes.
Japan is an earthquake-prone country. In addition, the incidence of
disasters caused by torrential rain and so on has been increasing,
partly due to the impacts of global warming. Our visit to Ishinomaki,
made us keenly aware that anyone could become a disaster victim
tomorrow; people affected by the disaster are making persistent
voluntary efforts to develop a community under the tough conditions
caused by the disaster; and such efforts are important. Even though time
has passed, this is something we must never forget. This is the message
from Ishinomaki that we want to send to everyone around the world.
Written by Yuka Kume and Junko Edahiro
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What can we learn from their efforts? Please share your ideas and leave
comments!
http://www.japanfs.org/en/news/archives/news_id035874.html#comment
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Learning from Pollution Experience, Kitakyushu Now Promotes Sustainable
Society in Asia
Kitakyushu City is located at the northern end of the island of Kyushu
on the western side of the Japanese archipelago, and has developed into
one of Japan's leading heavy industrial areas and international trade
ports in modern times. This is after it experienced serious pollution
problems caused by industrial wastewater and air pollution in the 1960s.
The municipal government worked very hard together with businesses and
citizens to solve the problems. For its efforts to create a low-carbon
society, the city was selected in July 2008 to be an Eco-Model City and
in December 2011 to be a Future City (two environmental city programs by
the Japanese government). Based on its past experience, Kitakyushu can
now draw upon its significant resources in pollution control
technologies, 3Rs (reduce, reuse and recycle) experience, and
energy-efficiency technologies.
JFS Newsletter No. 80 (April 2009)
Efforts by Eco-Models in Japan -- Part 2
http://www.japanfs.org/en/news/archives/news_id029000.html
To help conserve the threatened global environment and create a
sustainable society by mobilizing these resources for use around the
world, Kitakyushu City opened the Asian Center for Low-Carbon Society in
June 2010. This month's JFS Newsletter features Kitakyushu's efforts to
promote a low-carbon society in Asia through environmental business
approaches.
The Kitakyushu Model
Kitakyushu City has created what it calls the "Eco-Town" initiative.
With nine research facilities and 25 recycling businesses, the program's
intent is to establish a resource-recycling society that utilizes all
waste as raw material for other industries, and ultimately aims to
reduce waste completely (zero-emissions). The city adopted the
Kitakyushu Eco-Town Implementation Plan to set the direction for basic
initiatives and start its own regional policy, integrating environmental
and industrial promotion policies. The program has four features:
(1) establishment of community programs that facilitate recycling
businesses;
(2) an integrated approach to basic research, technological development,
and commercialization;
(3) receiving waste from a wide region; and
(4) information disclosure and platforms for environmental education.
Kitakyushu City developed what it calls the "Kitakyushu Model," a
systematic approach to planning based on its know-how in urban and
environmental management, including the Eco-Town initiative. It offers
the concept of master plans for sustainable urban planning to meet the
needs of emerging economies, and promotes the "export" of ideas about
green cities (smart communities).
In December 2011, Kitakyushu and its neighboring city of Fukuoka were
designated as a "Green Asia International Strategic Comprehensive
Special Zone" under another program of the national government. These
zones offer Asian cities "packages" of environmental technology and
social systems that have been developed in Japan through collaboration
between the public and private sectors. The two cities aim to serve as a
base for expanding green innovation from Asia to the rest of the world.
The goal is to create about 5 trillion yen (about U.S.$45 billion) in
additional revenues through new market development by 2020, accounting
for about 10 percent of the national program's goal of over 50 trillion
yen (about $450 billion).
Previous JFS articles have introduced Kitakyushu's initiatives to
promote green city development in Asia.
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'Kitakyushu Model' for Green City Development Published in Three
Languages (November 20,2013)
http://www.japanfs.org/en/news/archives/news_id034461.html
The Kitakyushu Asian Center for Low Carbon Society, established and
operated by Kitakyushu City in Fukuoka Prefecture in partnership with
stakeholder organizations in the city, announced on September 3, 2013,
that it has developed the "Kitakyushu Model" for green city development
by systematically organizing development know-how based on its own
experience. This is the first methodology ever developed in Japan as a
development model for helping Asian cities reduce carbon dioxide
emissions and grow sustainably.
The Kitakyushu Model includes urban development expertise, case studies,
and a tool kit. The urban development expertise component encompasses
four environmental fields: waste management, energy management, water
management, and pollution management. The case studies showcase examples
such as Kitakyushu Eco-Town, which has a high concentration of recycling
plants, and the tool kit contains a checklist that can be useful for
master plan development. The model was published in three languages
(Japanese, English and Chinese) and is available on the Internet.
Kitakyushu sees the promotion of urban infrastructure businesses that
contribute to sustainable development in Asia as a core initiative in
its new growth strategy. As part of such efforts, the city plans to
promote the export of integrated urban environmental infrastructure
systems through its participation, from the master planning phase, in
the development of such cities as Surabaya in Indonesia (Kitakyushu's
Green Sister City) and Haiphong in Vietnam (with which Kitakyushu has
concluded an exchange agreement) using the Kitakyushu Model.
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Kitakyushu's Support for Green City Development Helps Businesses Expand
in Asia (May 23, 2014)
http://www.japanfs.org/en/news/archives/news_id034913.html
The Kitakyushu Asian Center for Low Carbon Society, established in June
2010, has actively supported the efforts of local companies to expand
their businesses overseas. In so doing, the center uses the Kitakyushu
Model that it developed by organizing its development know-how in order
to support green city development in emerging economies, particularly
those in Asia. The center also operates joint projects with businesses
while utilizing the national government's support systems and helping
businesses receive financial assistance.
According to its activity report as of the end of fiscal 2013 (March
2014), the center has worked on 50 research projects, including those in
the process of concluding a contract, to obtain a total of some 2.6
billion yen (about $25.2 million) in funds from the Japanese government,
as well as eight projects using subsidies from the city worth some 31
million yen (about $300,000). Past projects include 16 waste management
and recycling projects, 19 water management projects, seven energy
projects, five projects to tackle global warming, and three
community-building projects. They were implemented in Indonesia (18
projects), China (11), Vietnam (8) and Cambodia (9), among others.
The center has supported about 65 companies, four of which have
succeeded in launching their operations elsewhere in Asia. Kitakyushu is
focusing on the export of environmental infrastructure systems ahead of
other local governments, with the idea that taking part in the early
phase of master plan development will make it possible to propose urban
development using corporate technologies, and to develop an environment
that facilitates an expansion of business operations.
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Examples of International Environmental Cooperation and Business Projects
How is Kitakyushu City helping green city development in Asia? We
present examples in two cities.
(1) Surabaya City, Indonesia
Kitakyushu in Japan and Surabaya in Indonesia have been cooperating
since 1997 when the Environmental Cooperation Network of Asian Cities
was established. In 2002, supported by the Japan Bank for International
Cooperation, the two cities conducted a survey on waste to tackle the
challenges of waste recycling in Surabaya.
Knowing that organic materials accounted for 50 percent of Surabaya's
total waste, a J-Power group company started composting project
involving the participation of citizens. As a result of the project,
Surabaya's waste volume was reduced by 32 percent and the citizens
developed a new awareness about the environment.
Surabaya City previously sent 1,200 tons of household waste directly to
the landfill every day. To remedy the situation, Nishihara Corporation
established a recycling facility to sort waste into valuable resources,
organic waste, and other categories. The company has turned waste
recycling into viable business operations by selling valuable resources
to recycling businesses, producing compost from organic waste, and
converting some of the other materials into things like coal-alternative
fuel. The efforts have reduced the volume landfilled to just a quarter
of what it was originally.
Other companies in Kitakyushu are developing businesses involved in
electricity cogeneration and energy conservation, drinking water supply,
and environmental sanitation projects.
To further their good relations, Kitakyushu and Surabaya concluded a
green sister city agreement in 2012. Aiming for green, low carbon
society, the cities are currently working together on integrated urban
development, including establishing community programs and changing
citizens' awareness.
2) Fraser's Hill in Malaysia
Fraser's Hill is a major tourist spot in Malaysia that had a pressing
need to solve three problems: a landfill site that was close to full
capacity, the costs and impacts of transporting waste 50 kilometers to
the landfill, and the contamination of groundwater.
Kitakyushu City helped Fraser's Hill improve its waste management
capacity by providing consulting services to Perbandanan Pengurusan Sisa
Pepejal dan Pembersihan Awam (PPSPPA), in collaboration with Hibikinada
Development Co., a semi-public corporation owned partly by Kitakyushu,
the Merry Corporation, and Kitakyushu City Environmental Preservation
Association. This project was conducted as one of the Grassroots
Technical Cooperation Projects by the Japan International Cooperation
Agency (JICA).
The project in Fraser's Hill established a separate collection and
recycling system for recyclable waste, as well as a system to collect
and compost food waste from businesses. The project also investigated
the contamination at a previously-used landfill. Based on the results,
it developed environmental guidelines, and proposed a way to extend the
service life of the current landfill. These activities helped raise
environmental awareness among the local personnel.
International Environmental Cooperation and Business
In supporting the creation of green cities in Asia, Kitakyushu is trying
to gradually expand its international environmental cooperation into
business initiatives, in partnership with governments and international
organizations. To achieve win-win results, the city builds relationships,
adapts business models, and encourages commercial applications, all by
using unconventional processes which it hopes will be appreciated by
local communities and well-suited to each region.
With these conscientious efforts Kitakyushu is revitalizing its local
companies and communities through overseas business operation. Meanwhile,
Kitakyushu is helping partners in Asian countries decrease their CO2
emissions, reduce environmental pollution, and improve the quality of
life. We hope that such efforts will contribute to the creation of a
sustainable society in Kitakyushu, other Asian cities, and the rest of
the world.
Written by Yuka Kume
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Seikatsu Club: Japanese Cooperative Managed by Members' Will to Confront
Social Problems
Viewing the history of citizen-oriented businesses in Japan, we find
they have played certain significant roles in common: to raise mere
"consumers" into mature citizens of Japan and to take the lead in
confronting social problems of each era through their business
activities. Among the citizen-led businesses in Japan, the Seikatsu Club
Consumers' Cooperative Union (Seikatsu Club) is particularly noteworthy
for its efforts as a Japanese federation of consumers' cooperatives. It
is supported by about 370,000 members and operates 33 co-ops in 21 (out
of 47) prefectures. Its endeavors are highly regarded even overseas.
This month's JFS newsletter introduces the activities of the Seikatsu
Club through interviews with Mr. Shoichi Murakami, executive director of
Seikatsu Club Consumers' Co-op Tokyo, and Mr. Koichi Kato, chairperson
of the Seikatsu Club. These interviews were conducted on January 10 and
19, 2017 respectively, arranged and edited by JFS from among the
*"Interviews with 100 social entrepreneurs."
* "Interviews with 100 social entrepreneurs": a series of dialogues
through which people can study business models from experienced social
entrepreneurs. The Social Business Network (SBN) has conducted the
course once a month since June 2012.
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Where There Is a Will There Is a Seikatsu Club
The Seikatsu Club started as a voluntary association in 1965 with a
system for collective purchase of milk, being incorporated in 1968 as
Seikatsu Club Consumers' Co-operatives. At the time of its founding, its
service area was to be limited to Setagaya in Tokyo. Strong demand from
members of other community co-ops in neighboring Nerima, however,
persuaded Seikatsu Club to enlarge its territory to include Nerima, and
after that, Hoya (currently Nishitokyo), Itabashi and Machida in Tokyo,
along with Niiza in Saitama Prefecture and beyond.
At first, it did not intend to expand its service area as a policy or
strategy, but members of other co-ops demanded entry into the Seikatsu
Club, saying that they would recruit members and deliver products by
themselves if they could purchase safe, trustworthy products. In
addition, the personal connections of Seikatsu Club's founder Kunio
Iwane also helped reach broader areas. In the early days, it was
difficult for the Seikatsu Club to recruit working staff, so each member
had to support operations by organizing them voluntarily. This is why
the phrase "where there is a will there is a Seikatsu Club" is often
heard when talking about the Seikatsu Club.
The words "where there is a will" here mean not only a will, but that
members actually contributed money and worked autonomously. In and since
the late 1980s, the Seikatsu Club has expanded its business area beyond
the Kanto region. This expansion has been driven mostly by cases in
which members have moved to new areas and launched the Seikatsu Club
there.
Construction of a delivery center (which also works as a branch) in each
local area started in 1971. When planning to construct a center, the
Seikatsu Club staff started off by explaining the financial circumstances
to the members in numerical terms, telling them how much money was
needed and for what it was to be used.
The construction costs were covered mainly by members' investments and
co-op bonds. After that, the operation and management of each branch
were accomplished through members' voluntary efforts. Although other
cases of major co-op associations such as Co-op Kanagawa (currently
UCO-OP) and Co-op Kobe (Consumers Co-op KOBE) came to light and served
as references, each branch of the Seikatsu Club had to manage its own
actual operations under different conditions. "Members' autonomy" had
thus already been established at the time of its founding.
Joint Development of 'Consumer Materials' by Members and Producers
The Seikatsu Club has adopted the term "consumer materials" for
commercial products. From the start, the co-op members deeply recognized
that they themselves should create whatever goods were really needed for
living. They started to work on developing original consumer materials
of real value to consumers.
They first put this into practice with a plan to raise rice in cooperation
with JA (Japan Agricultural Cooperatives) in Yuza, Yamagata Pref., which
was implemented in 1972, followed by a plan for pork meat delivery
directly from Hirata Farm in Yamagata Pref., which started in 1974. The
staff initially objected the pork delivery plan itself because the local
delivery center had no refrigeration system. Local members, however,
worked hard to realize the plan through their strong will. They negotiated
with Hirata Farm to deliver the pork products directly from the farm in
Yamagata to Tokyo. Hirata Farm accepted their request and had the
products trucked to Tokyo with a co-op member sitting next to the driver
navigating.
Prior to embarking on service directly from the farm, Hirata Farm and
the Seikatsu Club worked together to develop what would be Japan's first
additive-free sausage. Responding to members' demands they developed a
preservative-free sausage (without sorbic acid), but the prototype
spoiled along the way. Members took the lesson seriously, kept working
with the farm, and succeeded in reducing the use of sorbic acid in
sausage to a minimum level, and finally to additive-free. This product
development was extremely difficult, but could be used as a reference
point as well as a model case of joint development of consumer materials
by producers and Seikatsu Club members. Through experiences like this,
they gradually started to realize that information disclosure is important
for both producers and members, bearing risks together as in the case of
the sausage with a short shelf life due to being additive-free.
Integrated Purchasing and Learning in "Han" (Small Groups)
Pork was being sold on the condition that all the meat from the pig was
purchased, so it was not possible to buy only favorite parts. In addition,
the purchase units used to be large -- one kilogram as a rule -- until
purchases of 700 gram units or sliced meat became available in the 1990s.
Upon arrangement among the members, orders a Han meeting the rules were
assembled and the products were distributed to each Han (group) once a
week.
A "Han" meeting was held at a member's house monthly, with co-op staff
visiting occasionally and holding study sessions. These were not only
lessons about consumer products, but also a voluntary opportunity to
teach anything else the members wanted to know or learn about.
Integration of bulk purchasing and group learning helped unite members
and establish voluntary group operation and management. On the other
hand, some people actually did not like such a commitment and withdrew
from Seikatsu Club membership.
In the 1970s, demand for development of processed food was growing.
Developing original consumer products, however, required responsibility
for purchasing. Therefore not a few members were opposed to such
simplistic ideas. Members discussed what would constitute favorable
processed food products at the Seikatsu Club and ultimately decided "to
fully utilize primary products." Thus, they went on developing new
consumer materials, and increased their product range.
In the 1980s, the Seikatsu Club launched workers' collectives and depots
which enabled members to buy food products shop-style. A workers'
collective is "workers' co-operative" owned and self-managed by its
workers with the aim of making the local community a more comfortable
place to live in. Thus the workers develop the necessary functions for
the community into businesses, discuss their business goals, how they
want to work, how much they will get paid and so on, and assume
responsibilities. There are different kinds of workers collectives, such
as those selling bread and boxed lunches, operating restaurants,
providing mutual care for children, performing daily house chores and
attending the elderly, distributing products to members, and staffing
shops at depots. Workers collectives are innovative at accommodating
needs of the people in communities at each life stage.
Possibilities for Local Autonomy as an Evolved Form of Members' Autonomy
In the 1990s, when general consumers wanted more convenience, other
co-ops tried to expand their membership by appealing to them through
easy rules for participation which would not burden them as members, and
they competed with each other that way for consumers.
Membership fluctuation is a big problem for the Seikatsu Club too, but
they could not take the chance of responding to that sort of changing
social environment. In the early 2000s, they finally shared their
concerns with their members that they would not survive without
drastically reforming rules for members' participation, consumer
materials development and the organization itself. They decided on the
following measures and stated them in their five year plan: individual
delivery to be the main mode of operating, small group units to be
excluded from the structure and decision rights to be allocated to
individual members. They had to make such drastic reforms to face the
emerging diversity among the membership, acknowledging limits to the
capacity they had built by pursuing homogeneity. Yet they never stopped
discussing the direction of the Seikatsu Club and what they should not
give up so as to distinguish themselves from other groups.
In recent years, the Seikatsu Club has taken a stab at supportive
activities for child-raising families by launching day-care facilities
and delivering consumer goods to those facilities. As a result, the
number of members in their 30s and 40s has increased, resulting in a
generational change, and some members have even had the chance to be
group leaders during childcare leave or start serving at the workers
collective. Being a time when a sharing economy and social connections
are drawing attention, the Seikatsu Club has gained a chance to show its
strength and capabilities.
In order to increase the Seikatsu Club's involvement in all living costs,
not only food-related expenses, they intend to expand their work into
residential support, particularly in Tokyo. Where the Machida Seikatsu
Club's facilities once existed, they plan to build a welfare complex
facility consisting of housing for the elderly with home-care services,
an activity room for members, an open space for families and children, a
cafe, and office rooms for NPOs and workers collective groups based and
operating in the area.
They are also renting 60 ares of land in Akiruno, western Tokyo, where
they run a Seikatsu Club farm to offer farming experience to members. It
has become a popular place among members, and the vegetables harvested
at the farm are supplied to the depot. Local residents also welcome the
farm because it makes effective use of abandoned farmland. Farming can
provide opportunities for many people to work together, so it is
regarded an important factor in promoting local autonomy even in Tokyo.
Organizational Expansion Connected to Social Measures
With expansion of their business range and structures, the Seikatsu Club
developed into a cooperative union in 1990 as a joint association of 11
cooperatives based in 11 prefectures. It now consists of 33 cooperatives
in 21 prefectures. The union is responsible for operations like development,
purchasing, management, inspection and distribution of consumer
materials, as well as system development and production of catalogues
and leaflets. In cooperation with other organizations, the Seikatsu Club
as a whole is taking part in needed movements such as bottle recycling
and opposition to genetically modified food. By concentrating the
purchasing capacity and willpower of its members nationwide, it can have
a greater impact on society, bringing improvement.
From 2015, the union adopted a policy of creating an FEC self-supply
zone, as advocated by economic analyst Katsuto Uchihashi. It is based on
the idea that securing "food, energy and care" as well as "work" in each
region is a mission to pursue. The idea came from concerns for Japan's
future security if regions fail to pursue the four necessities as an
integrated whole as the result of pursuing them separately.
Japan has had to face energy issues after the Great East Japan
Earthquake and subsequent accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear
Power Station. Even before the earthquake disaster, the Seikatsu Club in
Hokkaido had founded a movement against nuclear power plant following
the Chernobyl disaster. In 2010, the union first included the
words "non-nuclear power" in its mid-term plan. In cooperation with
several Seikatsu Clubs in metropolitan areas, it had a wind power
turbine built in Nikaho, Akita Prefecture, in 2012 and began cooperative
purchase of electricity in 2016. These movements for non-nuclear power
helped develop local connections and led to the production of new
consumer materials. Also through activities with a nationwide network
opposed to the Rokkasho Nuclear Fuel Reprocessing Facility due to
concerns over radioactive contamination, a movement they help to promote,
they built a partnership with Omoe Fisheries Cooperative with whom they
were previously acquainted as a seaweed producer. As they organize
actions to keep these movements going, they take it as a fundamental
rule that once they've formed a partnership, they will persevere
together to the end to resolve the issues.
------------
The Seikatsu Club's efforts initially dealt with the problem of purchasing
safe, secure products, but have expanded into operations promoting
pleasant community development and addressing energy issues.
JFS anticipates that the co-op members will continue promoting their
activities autonomously and voluntarily, tackling issues that may arise
in the course of their efforts.
* This article is translated from Japanese in the website of Social
Business Network: "Interviews with 100 Japanese social entrepreneurs:
Learning from the business models of veteran social entrepreneurs"
http://socialbusiness-net.com/contents/news5308(in Japanese)
----------------------------------------------
[JFS Web Site Additions of the Month]
- This month's cartoon:
By learning about the past, you will understand its
importance for the first time (2017/07/14)
http://www.japanfs.org/en/manga/manga_id035865.html
- JFS Newsletter No.178 (June 2017)
Selling Services, Not Products: 15 years of Efforts and
Achievements by Nihonkai Gas(2017/07/21)
http://www.japanfs.org/en/news/archives/news_id035860.html
Let's Enjoy Walking for the Benefits of Better Health
-- Smart Wellness Point Project(2017/06/30)
http://www.japanfs.org/en/news/archives/news_id035856.html
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