## (2) Toward realizing a new economic society that creates a virtuous circle for the environment and economy

As the latest global economic crisis encouraged countries around the world to introduce “green new deal policy,” environmental measures, including environment-related investment, are now considered as the driving force for economic growth. In other words, expenditure for environmental measures is considered to lead to the creation of new demand for environmental improvements and energy-saving technologies and services. If the new market for such technologies and services is created ahead of other countries and Japan’s environmental technologies are nurtured on that market, Japan should be able to establish comparative advantage on the environmental market where demand is expected to markedly increase globally, and Japan’s environmental industry should grow into a strong export industry in the Japanese economy in the future.

These moves are spreading globally. The OECD Ministerial Council in June 2009 adopted the “Declaration on Green Growth.” The declaration encouraged OECD to develop a Green Growth Strategy

## Conclusion

In Chapter 5, we addressed the need to develop the environmental industry as the driving force of the economic society. While Japan has the excellent technological strength at the highest global standards, including registered patents in the environmental field, this has not necessarily led to the full penetration of the global market or development of new products. As many other countries support their environmental industries with full force, Japan also needs to extensively support green innovation from the standpoint of national interests, including research and development, human resources development, matching between the needs and in order to achieve economic recovery and environmentally and socially sustainable economic growth. An interim report is scheduled to be submitted to the OECD Ministerial Council in 2010. Further, the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in November 2009 agreed to develop a comprehensive and medium- and long-term growth strategy, including "sustainable growth" compatible with the environment, including climate change and energy. The growth strategy's specific contents are set to be discussed at their meeting to be held in Japan in 2010.

As discussed in Chapter 2 and Chapter 3, it is required to make lifestyles, infrastructure development and the industrial structure low-carbon in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050. Though the Japanese economy still remains in a difficult situation, it is deemed necessary for Japan to strive to create the environmental industry through innovation by actively investing in research and development at an early stage instead of putting environmental measures on the back-burner, and build a low-carbon society, thereby strengthening the Japanese economy's constitution and contributing to the global environment and sustainable growth of the world.

technological seeds, and development of social systems. Japan is most rapidly moving toward the aging society with falling birthrate. But there is no country with experiences Japan can learn from, and rather other countries watching what Japan will do. Given these circumstances, preliminary calculations of various indicators designed to comprehensively assess the development of the environment, society and economy suggest that these indicators reflect the set of values and outcomes of efforts of respective countries that have developed them.