Sustainable Development Solutions Network Japan

Newsletter

Vol.425 January 2017

A New Yearȣs Message
from SDSN Japan
The international community has begun
implementing activities for achieving theSustainable Development Goals （SDGs）,
since the beginning of last year. In light of
this, SDSN Japan developed a set of policy
recommendations for mainstreaming theSDGs, and delivered them to a wide rangeof stakeholders in addition to government
agencies （http://sdsnjapan.org/policyrecommendations_for_
mainstreaming_sdgs/）.
In order to further disseminate these policy recommendations
to international and domestic audiences, SDSN Japan
organized a public symposium last April, which highlighted
the innovative changes in economic and social systems
needed to achieve the SDGs.
Last May the Government of Japan established the SDGs
Promotion Headquarters, which is chaired by the Prime
Minister and comprises all of the Cabinet members. The
headquarters formulated the “SDGs Implementation Guiding
Principles” last December, reflecting a wide range of contributions from a roundtable consultation process engaging citizen’sgroups, enterprises, academia and consumers, as well as
public comments. These developments will be reported to theHigh-Level Political Forum（HLPF）on Sustainable Developmentin New York this July. I am confident that these principles will

Kazuhiko Takeuchi

Vice Chair, SDSN Japan
Professor, The University of Tokyo
make an important contribution towards achieving the SDGs,
with feedback from the Forum and the international community.
Mainstreaming the SDGs in any activity requires securing
partnerships with active participation from a wide range ofstakeholders. Recognizing this, SDSN Japan has organized aseries of SDG Dialogue events, in close collaboration with theUnited Nations University, since last year. We have discussed avariety of issues including the role of higher education, lowcarbon technologies, biodiversity, urban water environments,
and the role of regional institutions. We wish to continue these
dialogues to further explore effective approaches and models
for implementation, and to disseminate the outcomes of these
discussions and our activities to stakeholders in Japan as wellas to the international community. In addition, SDSN Japan
has been fully involved in planning an international conference focused on promoting multi-stakeholder cooperation
through trans-disciplinary research for achieving the SDGs,
which is to be organized by the Science Council of Japan（SCJ）in late January.
SDSN Japan would like to further develop our activities inclose collaboration with a wide range of stakeholders, including local governments, citizen’s groups, private sector organizations and academia. I would like to take this opportunity toseek your kind support and cooperation for our ongoing
efforts towards achieving our common goals, the SDGs.

SDG Dialogue event explores ties between science & policymaking
On 13 October 2016, SDSN Japan and United Nations University Institute for the Advanced
Study of Sustainability jointly organized a SDG Dialogue event on “Regional Institutions & theSDGs: Science, Policy & Capacity Building”. Katinka Weinberger, Chief of the Environment andDevelopment Policy Section of the UNESCAP delivered a keynote speech. Interactive discussion
with the audience took place in the subsequent panel discussion, focusing on the importance ofregionally specific solutions, and the role for scientists to play in shaping policies to tackle key challenges of the SDGs.

SDGs Implementation Guiding Principles adopted
The second SDGs Promotion Headquarters meeting held on 22 December 2016 officially adopted a “SDGs Implementation
Guiding Principles”. The Principles represent Japan’s national strategy to address the major challenges for the implementationof the 2030 Agenda, including Japan’s vision and eight priority areas.
In response to the adoption, SDSN Japan co-organized a joint press conference with SDGs Civil Society Network and otherstakeholders. At the conference, Prof. Kanie Norichika, SDSN Japan Programme Director, expressed his view on the principles
and emphasized an importance of multi-stakeholder actions beyond government agencies toward achieving the SDGs.

Our new website is now live!
The website of the SDSN Japan has been renewed with more contents covered. The latest information such as upcoming
events will be updated. Please visit: http://sdsnjapan.org/SDSN Japan Secretariat

25 January 2017
info@sdsnjapan.org / http://sdsnjapan.org