| Dear Friends of the EBC,
On 24 April, the OECD Centre for Responsible Business, Directorate for Financial and Enterprise Affairs, visited the EBC thanks to Stéfan Le Dû, Chair of our Sustainability Committee. Froukje Boele, Head of Public Policy, and Kate Wilson, Project Manager – Asia, gave an overview of what the OECD is doing in the area of responsible business, with a particular focus on its five members in the region: Japan, Korea, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand.
The OECD has issued several guidelines for responsible business conduct, covering areas such as human rights, labour, the environment, etc., and an increasing number of its members are implementing either legislation or voluntary guidelines. Risk-based due diligence is and will become even more important in the future. The OECD supports this with a series of sector-specific guides and tools for practitioners. |
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Prior to Golden Week, the EBC had the pleasure of attending 3 embassy receptions, which are often opportunities to meet companies from these countries and hear about their successes, but also the problems they face in the Japanese market.
On 24 April, the EBC attended a reception at the French Embassy on the occasion of the visit to Japan of Franck Riester, Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade, Economic Attractiveness, the Francophonie and French Nationals Abroad, with Jacques Maire, who is responsible for the organisation of France’s participation in Expo 2025 Osaka.
On 25 April, we attended the King’s Day Reception at the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Japan. Expo Osaka 2025 will coincide with the 425th anniversary of relations between the Netherlands and Japan. The theme of the Dutch pavilion is “Common Ground: creating a new dawn together”. |
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| On 25 April, the EBC was invited to the Delegation of the European Union to Japan to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the EU’s fifth enlargement. On 1st May 2004, Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia joined the European Union, taking the number of member states from 15 to 25. The ambassadors of these 10 countries were on hand with their teams to interact with the guests, an excellent opportunity to gain a better understanding of each of these economies and their relationship with Japan. |
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| Finally, I encourage you to read the report presented to the heads of state and government meeting in Brussels on 18 April, Much More Than a Market – Speed, Security, Solidarity- Empowering the Single Market to deliver a sustainable future and prosperity for all EU Citizen by Enrico Letta, former Italian Prime Minister, on the future of the single market. Before the summer, another report by former European Central Bank president Mario Draghi will focus on EU competitiveness.
The EBC team is looking forward to hearing from you soon!
Valerie Moschetti
EBC Chief Operating Officer |
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- During his visit to France, Prime Minister Kishida, as chair at the OECD Ministerial Council, declared his commitment to removing employment barriers facing women and the elderly. Prime Minister Kishida stated, “Along with reversing the declining birthrate trend, we will eliminate employment barriers for women and the elderly to achieve sustainable growth.” (News on Japan)
- The Japanese government has revised a Justice Ministry ordinance to tighten rules for granting student residence status. This comes after it came to light in 2019 that a university in Tokyo had lost contact with more than 1,600 of its foreign students. Under the new rules revised in April, educational institutions must have adequate enrolment management in place to accept international students. The required measures include properly keeping track of the students’ attendance and part-time job records. (News on Japan)
- Japan and the European Union on Tuesday confirmed they will deepen cooperation in the field of regulation of digital giants’ online services. In a ministerial meeting in Brussels, the two sides also agreed on a target of sharing related information regularly. Japan and the EU held a meeting on their cooperation in the digital area for the second time. The previous meeting took place in Tokyo last year. (The Japan News)
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Upcoming EBC Committee Meetings |
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| Date |
Committee |
Time / Location |
| May 8 (Wed) |
Energy |
Hybrid
1330~ |
| May 10 (Fri) |
Railways |
Hybrid
1600~ |
| May 14 (Tue) |
Sustainability & Social Responsibility |
Hybrid
0900~ |
| May 23 (Thu) |
Human Resources |
Hybrid
0930~ |
| May 23 (Thu) |
Medical Equipment & Diagnostics |
Off-site
1430~ |
| June 5 (Wed) |
Liquor |
Hybrid
0830~ |
| June 10 (Mon) |
Materials |
Hybrid
1730~ |
| June 20 (Thu) |
Insurance |
Hybrid
0730~ |
| June 20 (Thu) |
Human Resources |
Hybrid
0930~ |
| June 20 (Thu) |
Telecommunications Equipment |
Hybrid
1400~ |
| June 21 (Fri) |
Medical Equipment & Diagnostics |
Off-site
1430~ |
| June 21 (Fri) |
Railways |
Hybrid
1600~ |
If you are interested in joining a committee meeting, please contact the EBC to confirm the time and meeting place. |
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