The KAITEKI Institute is addressing urgent global issues.

Population has grown dramatically over the past 100 years, with an almost four-fold increase in the number of human inhabitants of the earth. Current projections suggest that the current world population of approximately 6.7 billion will increase to 9 billion by 2050. Such "progress" by mankind has unfortunately been accompanied by the emergence of global issues related to shortages of energy, food, water, and space. Serious inequities have also arisen in the human condition between rich and poor nations, and mounting evidence shows that this unchecked population growth and industrialization is damaging to both our environment and health. The structure of society, of industry, and our way of life are at a major turning point. Japanese companies, along with others among industrialized nations, must be an important part of the solution. A worldview of "monogatari (storytelling)" based on the wisdom of sustainable "monozukuri (manufacturing)" and resource utilization is now required. I expect that the KAITEKI Institute will play a leading role in this endeavor.

Kiyoshi Kurokawa
Professor
National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies
Tokyo, Japan
April 2009