Member of the House of Councillors, Yumi Yoshikawa

I want to create a sustainable society where everyone can live happily.

■ Profile

Born in Kuwana City, Mie Prefecture
Kuwana Municipal Fukaya Elementary School, Kuwana Municipal Seitoku Junior High School, Private Maryknoll Girls' Academy High School
March 1997: Graduated from Tokyo University of Agriculture, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of International Agricultural Development
March 2000: Graduated from Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Graduate School of Agriculture, Master's Program
Currently enrolled in the Doctoral Program in Regional Innovation Studies at Mie University
TÜV Rheinland Japan Ltd., Japan Audit and Certification Organization for Environmental Certification (JACO)
2007 Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation
2013: First elected as a member of the House of Councillors in the Mie Prefecture electoral district  
2019: Elected to the House of Councillors for the second term in the Mie Prefecture electoral district
October 2019, Chairman of the House of Councillors' Committee on Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
October 2020 Liberal Democratic Party Women’s Director-General

Politician Yoshikawa Yumi has been interested in the environmental issues facing Japan since she was in high school, and has had a firm resolve to "protect the Earth!" With this strong determination, she has studied hard since her university days, and even after becoming a politician, she continues to work enthusiastically on social issues and sustainability, including the environment, energy, and agriculture. We spoke to Yoshikawa about the various experiences she had before becoming a politician, the path she took to become a politician, and her future prospects.

■ "I want to solve environmental problems" led me to the Faculty of Agriculture

Around the 80s, desertification and acid rain were becoming global problems, and in Japan, environmental issues were still often thought of as pollution problems. As a high school student at the time, I felt a strong sense of "we must protect the Earth" in response to growing global awareness of global environmental issues, so I searched for a university where I could work on environmental issues. However, the internet was not yet widespread at the time, and I remember it being extremely difficult to find information without consulting university magazines or writing inquiries to universities and research labs. That's when I came across Tokyo University of Agriculture. At the time, there were no universities in Japan that specialized in environmental studies, such as the Faculty of Environmental Studies, but I learned that Tokyo University of Agriculture had a research lab working on environmental issues such as desert greening, so I decided to attend.

■The "Royal Project" raised my own awareness of the problem

Although I enjoyed student life, participating in orchestras with other intercollegiate clubs, my interest in the environment and sustainability remained unchanged. Following the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, interest in environmental issues was gradually increasing worldwide.
During long vacations, such as summer and spring breaks, I traveled to Thailand and abroad to farm, including to hill tribe villages, such as the Karen people in the mountainous regions of Thailand, as well as Taiwan, Nagano, and Ishigaki Island. Among these various activities, one that I particularly focused on was the "Royal Project." At the time, hill tribes in Thailand and elsewhere practiced slash-and-burn agriculture to make a living. While slash-and-burn agriculture is inherently a sustainable farming method, the spread of capitalism into hill tribe villages led to burning down mountains for farming beyond the time and scope required to protect the ecosystem, resulting in significant environmental damage. Furthermore, opium addiction, caused by poppy cultivation to generate income, became a major social problem. The Royal Project was initiated by the King of Thailand to take advantage of the country's geographical location in the northern mountainous region and help hill tribes make a living by cultivating temperate crops such as peaches, persimmons, and chrysanthemums, which sell for a high price in Thailand.
I also chose this as the topic of my graduation thesis at university, and the Royal Project gave me the opportunity to think deeply about what a monetary economy and capitalist economy are, and what true happiness means for humanity. I believe that this experience has a significant impact on my current work as a politician.

■ Going to national politics to ensure that "our tax money is used appropriately and reflects the voices of the people"

With the same aspirations, I continued on to Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology's Master's program. After graduating, I worked for an auditing organization, consulting and assessing international standards such as ISO 14001 environmental management systems, organic and other environmentally friendly agriculture, CO2 emission reduction projects, and verifying corporate CSR and other sustainability initiatives. I also worked in the financial industry. Financial institutions approached me, saying, "Today, companies cannot survive without environmental initiatives. We are looking for someone who can understand and support these companies." This led me to take on a new field: achieving sustainability through finance. Despite the current situation in which companies cannot do business without environmental initiatives, the environment remains an "external diseconomy," a tool used to turn negatives into zero, and it is difficult to turn it into a positive and increase corporate value. To support companies struggling to address environmental issues, I developed financial products and services that support sustainability-conscious companies, including those focused on the environment, CSR, and risk management. However, despite supporting a considerable number of companies, I felt limited by the fact that private companies, no matter how large, cannot allocate national budgets or create laws. During that time, I also served on committees for government ministries, including the Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. While government officials play an important role in creating various systems and mechanisms within the budget, they don't work on the ground, meaning they don't truly experience and understand the reality. While I was involved in the creation of various systems within government ministries and agencies, I felt a deep sense of discomfort. Furthermore, I felt a deep sense of crisis about the lack of national understanding of "ESG investment," a concept that promotes sustainability not just through volunteer work or CSR but also through the economic benefits it offers to companies. Japan needed to expand this concept as quickly as possible, but the country itself was lagging far behind the rest of the world. This led me to believe that "people who truly understand the reality need to create laws and allocate the national budget. To achieve this, I needed to become a member of the Diet!" Through various connections, I launched my life as a female Diet member under the slogan "Environment and Growth," embodying the idea that companies committed to sustainability, including the environment, would increase their corporate value and achieve economic growth.

Last November, Prime Minister Suga delivered a policy speech in the Diet, announcing his intention to focus on realizing a green society, emphasizing a "virtuous cycle between the economy and the environment" as a pillar of his growth strategy. In this speech, he stated his goal of "reducing greenhouse gas emissions to zero overall" by 2050 as a measure against global warming, and declared his aim to realize a decarbonized society. He expressed the view that proactively taking measures against global warming will bring about changes in industrial structure and economic society, leading to significant growth, and that a shift in thinking is necessary. This is exactly the "environment and growth" slogan I advocated for during my first election campaign. I've been thinking about this for nearly 30 years, working from various perspectives since I was 18, and I'm now involved in politics. I was delighted to see that something I've been working on and considering from various perspectives for nearly 11 years has finally become national policy! While it's still a long way off, I intend to work diligently to achieve it.

■ Bringing the world of sustainability to Japan

I am currently enrolled in a doctoral program at Mie University, where I am researching regional revitalization and sustainability. We are now entering an era in which many companies are placing importance on sustainability, including the environment, regional revitalization, disaster prevention and other risk management, and employee work styles. For example, the temporary staffing agency Pasona has relocated its headquarters to Awaji Island, which is another major change for companies. I believe that going forward, we will need to consider how to utilize the characteristics of regional areas, rather than concentrating everything in Tokyo, and come up with a system for sustainable development throughout Japan. I believe this trend will be further accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
I currently serve as Director of the Women's Bureau of the Liberal Democratic Party, and a major challenge for me is to steadily turn Japan's and local economies around while at the same time implementing policies that support the socially vulnerable. Currently, many women are losing part-time and casual jobs due to business closures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving many in financial difficulty. Furthermore, ongoing discussions on child abuse, teacher sexual assault, and insurance coverage for infertility treatment are calling for change. The COVID-19 pandemic has left society as a whole feeling anxious about the future, and our existing social systems are undergoing transformation. I believe it is our role as politicians to dispel even a little of this anxiety and demonstrate new social models and possibilities that will give people hope for the future.

■ Look forward, speak up, and work towards realizing your dreams

My message to all university students is to never give up and always look forward. Another thing to remember is to not be pessimistic about life. Pessimistic people miss out on many opportunities. No matter what the situation, if you stay positive and keep a long-term perspective, you'll definitely achieve something. Some of you may have thought I've come from a privileged background after hearing my story so far, but I don't have any Diet members in my family, and my father's business went out of business when I was a university student due to the collapse of the bubble economy. I attended graduate school on a scholarship while working part-time, and since entering the workforce, I've lived a life of poverty, sending money home. But have dreams. Approach things with a positive attitude. By not giving up, I've met many people and am now making my dreams come true. The world isn't a bad place after all.
Also, don't throw away your own potential. We often hear people say, "Nothing will change even if you speak up," but in politics too, if young people don't speak up themselves, their opinions won't be heard. Speak up, but keep your mind relaxed and don't worry too much, and do your best to make your dreams come true.

Interview with Student Newspaper Online on March 8, 2021 by Toyo Gakuen University freshman, Suzuka Tazawa