New Zealand Olympic Gala (1)

  Famous sports players, politicians are invited to join the New Zealand Olympic Gala 2019 on Oct 31. The event, held at the Hilton Tokyo, showcased New Zealand's ambitions for next year's 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
  The black-tie event was held in partnership with the International Sports Promotion Society chaired by Dr.Haruhisa Handa. Knows as ISPS Handa, it supports various sports events worldwide, including golf for the blind and disabled.
  John Key, Tony Abbott and Enda Kenny, a trio of political luminaries in New Zealand, Australia and Ireland, were in attendance. All of them are patrons of ISPS Handa.
  Athletic celebrities form New Zealand included 2000 Sydney Olympics rowing gold medalist Rob Waddell, who serves as New Zealand's chef de mission for Tokyo 2020, and 2016 Rio de Janeiro silver slalom medalist Luuka Jones.
  Besides, Zara Tindall, the granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II, came with a dash of royalty. She is equestrian silver medalist for Britain at the 2012 London Olympics. 
  Dr.Handa expressed his idea on the transformative power of sports and explained his connections with New Zealand. He said he wanted to help after the 2011 Christchurch earthquake and ISPS Handa sponsored the New Zealand Women's Open golf tournament to offer support through sports. ISPS Handa has also donated funds to New Zealand's Olympic and Paralympic teams. He said, "For us, the Olympic and  Paralympics are equally important."
  Mike Stanley,president of the New Zealand Olympic Committee (NZOC) expressed sympathy to Japan over deadly Typhoon Hagibis and other recent weather disasters. He said, "We are nations that are joined by the Pacific Ring of Fire and we understand natural disasters and their impact on our communities." He understands how New Zealand and Japan are prone to earthquakes.
  Stanley and others in attendance expressed gratitude to Dr.Handa for his overall charitable efforts and backing for New Zealand.
  Grant Robertson, New Zealand's spots and finance minister, said, "Your contribution to sport to education and to humanity is incredible and in New Zealand we are extremely grateful for the contribution that you have made to our country."

A Shamisen performance during the New Zealand Olympic Gala 2019
at the Hilton Tokyo in Shinjuku Ward on Oct.31.



ISPS

(source: THE JAPAN TIMES, Nov.12,2019）


  
  
  
  

Global Opinion Leaders Summit 2019 (2)

  Harper claimed that amid such global upheaval, "middle power countries such as Canada, Japan, which he said have "avoided much of the upheaval that we see in the rest of the Western World should work together  and with others to "sustain a rules-based world order.

  He supported Japanese Prime Minister Abe's policy of promoting the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) even after Trump withdrew America from the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, of which Canada is also a member. 

  He also expressed unequivocal support for the Group of Seven Advanced Nations, which he said remain important due to common interests and values despite the rise in influence of the Group of 20 after the financial crisis. But he called for bolstering the G7 by increasing its Asia-Pacific  weighing with the addition of Australia and South Korea. 

  Then, during the panel discussion, Rui Matsumura, a ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) member in the Diet's Upper House,agreed with Harper that democracies will win out, but pressed him on whether China, with its strong government, has an advantage in long-term planning.

  Admitting that China has accomplished great things and is almost certainly destined to become the world's largest economy, he cautioned against giving too much credit to China's central planning and its role. To him China's biggest contribution was that it freed the entrepreneurial spirit of many of its people, and he hoped it should continue down that road. He said, "If China is actually going to continue to move forward and be a dominant country then China should be going further in that direction."  

  Dr.Handa also cast doubt on China's centralized control. He said, "I don't think it's necessarily good to make a long-term plan as you can see from the collapse of the Soviet Union. 

From left, Go Ito, director of research at the foreign policy think tank Japan Forum on International Relations;
Lower House member Minoru Kiuchi;
WSD Chairman Dr.Haruhisa Handa;
former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper;
Lower House member YoshinoriSuematsu;
and Upper House member Rui Matsukawa
at this year's Global Opinion Leaders Summit.



WSD

(source: THE JAPAN TIMES, Oct.29,2019）

  

Global Opinion Leaders Summit 2019 (1)

 The fifth Global Opinion Leaders Summit was held in Tokyo, Oct.17. The Diet House members and the Former Canadian PM, Stephen Harper were invited to join the summit. Harper addressed the keynote speech, and all members discussed on geopolitical and economic issues.
 The summit was sponsored by Worldwide Support for Development, founded by Dr.Haruhsa Handa. He served as the chairman and moderator of the summit. 
 Harper was a Canada's prime minister from 2006 until 2015. He is now chairman and CEO of Calgary-based Harper & Associates Consulting. He published "Right Here, Right Now; Politics and Leadership in the Age of Disruption." in 2018. 
 In his speech, Harper described a world beset by huge changes made by the revolution in technology and globalization of the economy.
 He said, "Disruption is everywhere today, and the scope, the scale and the speed of disruption are all unprecedented," "Global politics and international relations have not been spared", citing growing inequality, the divide between elites and populists and China's rise. He suggested we should accept as a fact that  the latter has brought forth a country determined to exert global leadership on its own political and economic terms.
 Combined with the emergence of U.S.President Donald Trump and his abandonment of a longstanding bipartisan U.S. policy of engaging China with one that sees it as an unfair competitor, this have led to their ongoing trade war. 
  Harper said, despite strains that changes in the global order have brought to many democratic countries, he still sees the Western model as ultimately prevailing and that China's shift to a more authoritarian governance under President Xi Jinping will prove to be a mistake. 
 He added that the democratic capitalist model, though imperfect, is a system that is resilient and adaptable, and the current strife in some ways underscores the strength of the model. 

 

Worldwide Support for Development Chairman Dr.Haruhisa Handa
delivers a speech during the fifth Global Opinion Leaders Summit
in Tokyo on Oct.17.


WSD

(source: THE JAPAN TIMES, Oct.29,2019）

The G20 Interfaith Forum Japan 2019 (11) Breakdown of Policy Proposals

The G20 Interfaith Forum Japan 2019 finally made proposals as follows:



＊Commit to working for peace in collaboration with faith actors, with a new framing of religious roles in conflict and polarization.

＊Focus sharply and explicitly on the needs of children and commit resources vital to address those needs.

＊Put resources behind promises to protect the planet, focusing in particular on rainforests in partnership with religious, ingenuous and local actors.

＊Bolster action to strengthen rule of law and protection of human rights, with particular emphasis on freedom of religion or belief and action to fight against corruption.

＊Initiate and commit to global and national measures to combat trafficking and modern slavery as part of long-term G20 priority. 

Speakers and other special guests

WSD

(source: THE JAPAN TIMES, July9, 2019）

The G20 Interfaith Forum Japan 2019 (10) Dr.Handa’s Concluding Remarks, “Hopes of sharing Shintoism as a basis for religious coexistence”

Finally, Dr.Handa, Chairman of Worldwide Support for Development (WSD), made concluding remarks for G20 Interfaith Forum Japan 2019.

  He said, “It is significant that G20 Interfaith Forum Japan 2019 was held in Japan because the Japanese have the qualifications to become world religious leaders…Japanese should be religious leaders in the world because we are very generous and willing to accept what is good.”



  It was the sixth G20 Interfaith Forum, which offers an annual platform where a network of religiously linked institutions and initiatives engage on global agendas. Since 2014, the forum has been held annually in the country where G20 summits have taken place.



  He hoped the forum in Japan will be an opportunity for the world to learn the uniqueness of Shitoism, the basis of the Japanese trait that allows multiple religions to coexist in Harmony. He said, “Japan divides the sacred and the secular and makes them coexist.”



  He also said that World Faiths development Dialogue Executive Director Katherine Marshall had asked him to co-organize the Japan forum “two or three times, and that he thought he would have to “do it for Japan”. 

Worldwide Support for Development

Chairman Dr.Haruhisa Handa

WSD

(source: THE JAPAN TIMES, July9, 2019）

The G20 Interfaith Forum Japan 2019 (9) Second day’s final session, “Closing Plenary”.

The second day’s final session, “Closing Plenary” began with a panel discussion between Katsuei Hirasawa, former state minister of the Cabinet Office; Muaammar; Osama Al Azhari of the Inter-Parliamentary Union; and Jan Figel, special envoy for the Promotion of Freedom of Religion or Belief Outside the European Union, European Commission.  

  Hirasawa, a former National Police agency official, argued against the notion that an increase in foreigners leads to an increase in crime. He also said the purpose of the recent revision of the immigration control laws is to properly manage foreign residents to protect their rights. 


(source: THE JAPAN TIMES, July9, 2019）

The G20 Interfaith Forum Japan 2019 (8) Second day’s second session, “Towards 2020”.

The next session’s theme was “Towards 2020”. IT began with a speech by former Ireland Prime Minister Enda Kenny.

  Kenny said, “Over the last two days, we’ve had so many discussions, (and shared) experiences and (much) wisdom…Do we care? Yes we do,” referring to various harsh realities, such as refugees and poverty.

  He then focused on Ireland as a small, immigrant country. He said, “We have five or six different nationalities in classrooms” at school, adding that immigrants are the source of Ireland’s prosperity. He also mentioned that churches and the state work well together in Ireland. However, acknowledging that political leaders have been helping solve global problems, he admitted that the problems are not easy to completely solve. He said, “We should not be afraid. I hope we can go from strength to strength.”



  The following panel discussion was joined by Juan Navarro Floria, professor of law, Pontificia Universidad Catolica; KAICIID Deputy Secretary General Alvaro Albacete; the Maharashtra Academy of Engineering Education and Research, Maharashtra Institute of Technology and World Peace University Executive President Rahul Karad; and Kim Tran, a core member of Fridays for Future Japan. They also discussed lots of global issues and measures to improve different situations. 

Former Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny

WSD

(source: THE JAPAN TIMES, July9, 2019）