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On the 12th of February 2015, the Japan Joint Committee of Co-operatives (JJC) held a seminar in Tokyo in coordination with the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA), co-organized with the Japanese Society for Co-operative Studies and collaborated with the Japan Cooperative General Research Institute, the Norinchukin Research Institute Co., Ltd., the JA Kyosai Research Institute, the Consumer Co-operative Institute of Japan, and the Japan Institute of Co-operative Research. The JJC is comprised of the 15 ICA member organizations in Japan.

The seminar, which was titled, “The Roles of Co-operatives and the Influence of the Regulatory Reform in Japan”, started with the opening remarks of Mr. Akira Banzai, Chairman of the JJC. Then a speech was made by Dame Pauline Green, President of the ICA, who spoke under the title of “The Roles of Co-operatives and the Future Direction of the Co-operative Movement.” Mr. Jean-Louis Bancel, Board Member of the ICA, made his speech on “The Report of the ICA Contact and Study Group and the Roles of Japanese Co-operatives,” followed by the speech of Prof. Toshikatsu Yanagisawa, President of the Japanese Society for Co-operative Studies, which was titled, “The idea of the Society on the regulatory reform.”

The speakers emphasized:
- the fact that co-operatives are highly evaluated and expected in the international community,
- the important roles that have been played by Japanese co-operatives throughout the modern history,
- concern about the agricultural co-operative reform by the Japanese government, which might infringe the Co-operative Principles.

After the speeches, the speakers answered to the questions made by the audience, which was fruitful.

The profiles of the 3 speakers:Click here

The transcript of the speech by Dame Pauline Green:Click here

The resume of the speech by Jean-Louis Bancel:Click here

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