Japan investment firm bets on environment and long-term harmony with society

Last time we had fun with some unusual Japanese inventions, today let’s talk about something more serious.

The more we see what’s happening in the world and the worse the global economic and social situation becomes, the more we’re convinced that our praised capitalistic system without morals and ethics–which only makes the rich even richer and pushes the poor into an even bigger hole–is but detrimental for human society.

It’s quite possible that just like we think today about the brutal Medieval feudal system from 500 years ago which seemed to those poor peasants like a normal way of life, that’s how 500 years from now they will think about our cruel capitalistic system which seems just normal to us but has in the 20th century help us cause more damage to nature and ourselves than in all human history combined.

But things are changing. Increasingly more newly established companies around the globe are becoming aware of the urgency of changing the direction and it all seems like future textbooks for economics will teach differently than they do today. Since we’re a blog about Japan, let’s focus on one of those companies which I came across in an article for Reuters.

Kamakura Investment Management was established in November 2008 and is headquartered in ancient Kamakura, a popular seaside tourist destination about 50 km from Tokyo. According to the owners, unlike short-term profit oriented companies, their investment strategy works on a principle that offers “long-term harmony with the society”. They plan on investing into about 100 small and medium-sized domestic companies that focus on the environment.

Yasuyuki Kamata, the company president in the interview for Reuters says that they don’t want to think about investments that will conclude in our generation but instead they focus on the next generation.

The firm’s high-tech equipped dealing room with tatami floor overlooks a traditional Japanese garden.

Kamata continues by saying that investors will feel good if they know that money goes to companies that provide good contributions to the society.

Time will tell if they are on the right path. One thing is certain; we are entering an era of some radical economic and social changes where it won’t be easy to crawl out of the abyss into which we fell with our own greed.

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5B71GY20091208

The famous Amida Buddha Daibutsu statue attracts visitors in Kamakura, Japan, 2008.