8 | The Japan Times | Monday, July 11, 2022

sustainable japan

ESG promotional content
produced by The Japan Times Cube

J. Front Retailing seeks both social and economic value
respectively. They have survived a number of testing events just over these several decades, including the collapse of theTOMOKO KAICHI
bubble economy, the 2011 earthquake
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
and tsunami disaster and the COVID-19pandemic. Tatsuya Yoshimoto, president
J. Front Retailing Co., aiming to recoverand representative executive officer of thefrom the COVID-19 pandemic, launchedcompany, said he has confidence in thea medium-term plan in fiscal 2021. It kept
company because it “has consistently maina defensive mode in the plan’s first year,
tained a customer-first policy [as stated inthrough this February, prioritizing restricted
the corporate credo] and worked to contribinvestment and operational reforms.
ute to local communities while always being
For this year, the company has pledged
aware of the cutting edge of the current era.”
to go on the offensive. Applying “sustainA track record of reliability and relationships
ability management,” which seeks to resolveof trust built over many years with consumsocial issues while also achieving corporate
ers and business partners are the unwavergrowth, the company is working on “creating strengths of the group.
ing shared value” (CSV) initiatives, aiming toIn 2018, J. Front Retailing set up a division
realize a mentally and physically rich “wellfor the promotion of environmental, social
being life” for all stakeholders.
and corporate governance (ESG) issues. OneJ. Front Retailing was born in 2007 toof its aims is to enhance disclosure on theintegrate the management of Daimaru
ESG activities the company has undertaken
and Matsuzakaya Holdings Co., two leadsince its foundation, even before the terming department store operators in Japan.
“ESG” became common and the U.N. set its
The company now operates a total of 15
17 sustainable development goals. The deciDaimaru and Matsuzakaya department
sion to set up the division came in response
stores plus 18 stores of Parco Co., which itto the emerging trend for overseas investors,
made a wholly owned subsidiary in 2020. It
especially those in Europe, to seek to invest
also has nonretail operations, including genin companies that actively engage in ESG
eral trading, design and construction work,activities.
real estate development, and finance andIn the area of the environment, J. Front
payment.
Retailing has stepped up efforts for decarThe histories of Daimaru and Matsubonization. By 2030, it aims to reduce direct
zakaya go back three and four centuries,
Scope 1 emissionsof carbon dioxidefrom the company, plus indirect
Scope 2 emissions
from productionof the energy it
has purchased, by
60% from the fiscal 2017 level, andalso reduce indirect
Scope 3 emissions
in its supply chain
Yoshimoto was appointed as president of Daimaru Matsuzakaya Departby 40%. In terms
ment Stores Co. in 2013 before taking up his current position in 2020.
of Scopes 1 and 2,
HIROMICHI MATONOESG Talk

Tatsuya Yoshimoto, director, president and representative executive officer of J. Front Retailing Co.
HIROMICHI MATONO

the company is working to switch energy
sources to renewables and use LED lighting
at its stores. In addition, J. Front Retailing
was early among Japan’s retailers in makingcompany vehicles electric.
As regards Scope 3, J. Front Retailingorganized a meeting of representatives
from about 250 business partners in April. It
briefed them on the group’s policy on emissions reduction, reported on current efforts
and asked them to estimate and reduce
their emissions. J. Front Retailing had judgedthat cooperation from its partners would benecessary for it to achieve its reduction targets — Scope 3 emissions represent 95% of
the carbon dioxide emissions from Daimaru
Matsuzakaya Department Stores.
The participants expressed concerns
mainly about the expected costs of estimating and reducing carbon emissions.
Yoshimoto emphasized the importance of
coordinating efforts with business partners,saying, “We plan to share the know-how
and information [the group has] accumu-

lated and work out ideas together.” Such an
initiative to create a framework involving
business partners is not commonly seen in
any industry in Japan, but Yoshimoto said it
is essential for promoting effective efforts.
“It’s very important as a way to encourage
the business partners to shift their awareness,” he added.
J. Front Retailing also has initiatives tohelp make the economy circular. Under
the belief that “fashion is not disposable,” itlaunched AnotherADdress, a subscriptionstyle fashion rental service, in March 2021.
The service allows subscribers to rent three
items of clothing per month, selecting fromamong 100-odd brands, for a monthly fee of¥11,880 ($87). Featuring high-quality brands
typical of department stores, the service
commands strong popularity.
Investment in human resources isanother area Yoshimoto places priority on.
AnotherADdress, an unusual service for a
department store operator in that it rents
products rather than selling them, grew outof a proposal by a young employee. “Weinvest in efforts to give opportunities foryoung people to test their potential,” Yoshimoto said. “We’ll also help experienced
workers acquire new skills amid a shift inwork styles” caused by business conversion
and digitalization.
Yoshimoto also regards as important missions the efforts to promote diversity andinclusion and create a work environment
in which employees can feel secure evenwhen their lives change due to childbirthand child care. The company supports thecareer formation of women, who represent over half of all employees, and aims toincrease the percentage of female managers to 50% by 2030, reduce employee resignations due to child care or nursing care forfamily members to zero and increase theacquisition rate of child care leave to 100%,
regardless of sex. The group is working todiversify its operations and increase midcareer hires, plus outside hiring to acquire
expertise it does not possess.

The Parco and Daimaru stores in Shinsaibashi
use 100% renewable energy.
J. FRONT RETAILING

The group revenue dropped ¥370 billion in the first year of the pandemic. Thisgave Yoshimoto the opportunity to ask
fundamental questions about the reason for the group’s existence and what itmeans to be needed in society. He said hethought about the “importance of bonding” with customers, employees, business
partners and society, and realized afreshthe importance of sustainability management. Although customer visits to thegroup’s stores have been rebounding, consumer values and behavior have changed.
Yet Yoshimoto strongly believes the group
can take advantage of the relationship oftrust with consumers and the sales knowhow it has established through its physical stores to diversify sales channels andimprove customer experience using digitaltechnology.
Sustainability management does notwork if it lacks either social value or economic value. The era of living with the newcoronavirus has arrived, and J. Front Retailing’s endeavors
for new reforms
have just begun.
The ESG Talk series are interviews with business leaders
who are active proponents of
ESG investing and practicesin Japan.

Looking for a few good women, Villa Aida
Pushing boundaries with cuisine rooted in place
now more than everESG/SDGs
MAIKO MURAOKACONTRIBUTING WRITER

The Champion of Change Japan Awardwas established in 2017 by Atsuko TokoFish, a Japanese philanthropist living inBoston, to recognize women leaders inJapan who engage in activities that addresspressing social needs.
“There are so many women in Japan
with a noble aim to bring about direct positive impact to society, but many remain
unrecognized. I want to empower themby putting them on the center stage,” Fishsaid in a recent interview with The JapanTimes.
After working for many years as a U.S.Japan cross-cultural consultant committed
to building better and stronger relationships between the two countries, she wasasked by one of her friends, who was running a Boston-based nonprofit dedicatedto promoting public health in developing
countries, to help with the work.
She was both shocked and impressed
when a former pediatric cardiac surgeon
at a Boston hospital said that the reason
why he chose to work in Africa for theorganization was because he could save ahundred lives a day, while he might only
save a dozen in Boston. “What I learned
there was the attitude of doing the maximum I could do to make changes. And at
the same time, I learned the importanceof supporting others to be self-sustaining
by putting ourselves in their shoes rather
than simply offering a helping hand,” Fishsaid.
In 2000, she had a chance to visit Japan
with the president of the organization,

Fish talked about the importance of recognizing women bringing positive impacts tosociety MEGUMI MATSUDA

who had been invited to give a speech
about the health and independence of
Asian women. Among the hundreds ofparticipants, one Japanese woman raised
her hand in a Q&A session and said: “Japanis peaceful, rich, and clean. The level ofeducation is high. But the status of womenremains low. Why is that?” That was when
Fish realized something must be wrong.
“I had not lived in Japan for about two
decades, but Japanese society did not seemto have changed much. I thought thatsomething must be done,” she said.
After she returned to Boston, shelaunched the Japanese Women’s Leadership Initiative (JWLI) to provide leadershiptraining to women in Japan to help themmake positive changes in society. About
10 years after the JWLI was established,
the Champion of Change Japan Awardwas founded to recognize and empower
women leaders in Japan.
This year’s CCJA will be the sixth since
its launch, and Fish said social needs are
growing in many aspects. “People used to
say that Japanese society is made up of themiddle class. But now it seems that many
have dropped out of the middle class, andthe income disparity is widening,” she said.
She also said society is not recognizing andappreciating the women who are helping
others, even though that is what is mostneeded now. This is a setback for society as
a whole in an era when diversity is viewed
as one of the most important factors forgrowth.
Fish said the key to changing this situation is to recover the ability to learn. “During the postwar period, Japanese people
were keen to learn from outside. But once
they were happy about the outcome,they lost the power to learn,” she said. “It isbecause they know they will feel inferior
when they are exposed to differences. But
only in differences can we find something
new that may change society. That is why
diversity is so important. The idea of how
to include women in a circle of men is far
too outdated. Diversity is about acceptingand learning from differences and developing together with various people.”
Among the CCJA winners are many
women leaders who are committed tomaking society richer and more comfortable for everyone by promoting diversity.
Kumiko Fujiwara, the winner of the grandAddress
Villa Aida
71-5 Kawajiri, Iwadeshi, Wakayama
http://villa-aida.jp/english.html

Atsuko Toko Fish established The Champion ofChange Japan Award in 2017 MEGUMI MATSUDA

prize in 2019, is the president of the DPI
Women’s Network Japan, which addresses
multiple forms of discrimination.
She herself is a victim of such discrimination, as a woman who is visually
impaired, and Fish praised her courageand power to take action to not let anyone suffer from what she has experienced.
Similarly Yukako Makino, the grand prize
winner in 2021, runs a company called
Defsapo, which provides counseling forparents of children with hearing impairments and seminars for schools and companies to enhance understanding andpromote diversity.
Through this year’s CCJA, Fish is looking
forward to getting to know more women
who are contributing to society. “We areeager to encourage and support regional
leaders who can act for the benefit of society in this challenging period when we are
faced with various
kinds of crises,” shesaid. The CCJA iscalling for nominations for this year’sawards until July 31.
For more information on this year’s nominations and to register, please visit
https://jwliccja.org/
The Sustainable Japan section highlightsissues related to the environment and a sustainable society. For more information
please visit https://sustainable.japantimes.com.

TAEKO TERAOSUSTAINABLE JAPAN MAGAZINE WRITER

Located in Wakayama Prefecture, Villa
Aida isn’t surrounded by great scenic
beauty or near any famous sites. Instead,
it is tucked among clothing shops and restaurants on the main drag of a residential
neighborhood. Since there are no luxury
hotels nearby, most diners finish theirmeal and head straight back to the airport or train station. But if they arrive anhour or so early, they can tour the gardens
where chef and owner Kanji Kobayashi
lovingly grows vegetables for the restaurant. The greenhouse is crowded with colorful edible flowers and herbs like thymeand rosemary. Here is where the meal
begins.
Filled with anticipation, guests step
inside the restaurant, a house decorated in
the style of an Italian villa. In a setting thatis neither rural nor urban, the restaurant isa world apart.
There is only one table, for six. On chef
Kobayashi’s ideal day, a pair of diners fromthe city will join a pair from the local area
and a pair of farmers or artisans aroundthe table, engaging in a conversation thatleaves all of them inspired by the timethey leave.
In the early years of his restaurant,
Kobayashi used ingredients imported

PAGE: 8from Italy and served dishes patterned
after the cuisine at the starred restaurants
in Italy where he had trained, but soon
realized he couldn’t keep going that way
and started to grow his own produce anduse products from Wakayama. After turning his attention to local ingredients, herealized that vegetables and herbs havedifferent aromas and flavors at every stage
and incorporated this into his dishes. Now
the only option for either lunch or dinner
is a set omakase menu that includes eightor nine plates, two desserts and a sweet
served with tea. While Kobayashi’s process is simple, the rich flavors of his cuisine
can truly be called nature’s bounty.

YOSHINOBU NISAKAGOVERNOR OF WAKAYAMA PREFECTURE

MASAYUKI NAKASHIBA
MAYOR OF IWADE

We are delighted that Villa
Aida in Wakayama Prefecture was chosen as the Destination Restaurant of the Year2022 by the internationallyrenowned Japan Times.
Villa Aida is a restaurant that serves
wonderful dishes with a focus on vegetables grown in their own garden. Similarly,
there are other wonderful restaurants inthe prefecture that use ingredients fromthe abundant nature of Wakayama in theircuisine.
We hope that this award will be anamazing opportunity for people fromJapan and overseas to discover and visit
Wakayama.

We would like to sincerely
congratulate Villa Aida andchef Kobayashi for receiving the grand prize.
Making the best of thenatural features of the cityof Iwade, Villa Aida’s cuisine offers an original combination of fresh vegetables grownon their own farm and local ingredients, acombination that can only be experienced
there and that enriches both mind andbody.
In the future, we hope that chef Kobayashi’s view of cooking will spread not only inJapan but throughout the whole world, andhope for his continued success in revitalizing the Wakayama region.