Japan Business Council in Europe

JBCE’s Corporate Sustainability Committee Vice-Chair, Yukako Kinoshita, represented the association as a guest speaker at the EU-Japan Open Dialogue on corporate sustainability due diligence -- EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, jointly organised by the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the Delegation of the European Union to Japan, and the EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation on 24th October 2024. Kinoshita-san stated that JBCE’s member companies have a significant stake in the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (#CSDDD) due to the extra-territoriality of its scope. She highlighted three challenges facing businesses 🔸 Lack of uniformity in the internal market 🔸 Lack of clarity, particularly regarding scope, terminology, and the interconnection between human rights and environmental due diligence 🔸 The need for good guidance quickly, as the current 2027 deadline for publishing the guidelines would give companies insufficient preparation time before the entry into force of the CSDDD. She also called for the creation of an environment enabling the enforcement of due diligence and greater collaboration between public and private stakeholders. Finally, she noted the importance of establishing a good knowledge base and the need to engage with supply chain partners and SMEs, so that they better understand the issues at stake in the Directive and exercise appropriate due diligence. JBCE remains committed to the implementation of the CSDDD and to providing industry views, including in the upcoming public consultation on the guidance, to ensure that it reflects the reality on the ground. https://lnkd.in/ehX3c4Gj

JBCE was delighted that its Secretary-General and JEITA European Representative, Shozo Maeda, moderated the EU-Japan Global Dialogue on Data Space at CEATEC 2024 in Tokyo, and that its Vice-Chair, Lars Bruckner, participated as a guest speaker. Other speakers included: 🔸 Bjoern Juretzki (Head of Unit, Data Policy and Innovation, DG CNECT, European Commission) 🔸 Hagen Heubach (Member of the Board of Catena-X Automotive Network e.V., Catena-X) 🔸 Gaku Moriya (Trade and Industry Director, Digital Economy Division, Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry) 🔸 Fujiwara Teruyoshi (Chairperson, Automotive and Battery Traceability Center Association, Inc.)   The conference was preceded by a keynote speech from Takeshi Fujii (SVP, Co-Head of Strategic Planning Unit, Global Solutions Business Group, Fujitsu Limited).   The conference proved to be thought-provoking and forward-looking, with speakers addressing: 🔸 The possibilities and challenges of data spaces 🔸 The importance of cooperation between the EU and Japan in the field of data spaces based on use cases and public good (decarbonisation, circular economy, supply chain optimisation and potential tool to achieve economic security) 🔸 The prospects for international interconnection   JBCE hopes that this conference will have enabled public and private stakeholders to gain a clearer understanding of data spaces, and that it will have the privilege of collaborating with other players in an area as important as the data space in order to have an impact on both policy and business.

✨ Thank you ✨ Japan Business Council in Europe (JBCE) had the honor to celebrate its 25th Anniversary yesterday evening alongside esteemed guest speakers and panelists, representatives from its member companies, Secretariat members as well as partners and friends. Our heartfelt gratitude to our guest speakers and panelists: ♦️Mikihito Saito, President, JBCE ♦️H.E. Kazutoshi Aikawa, Ambassador of Japan to the EU ♦️ Maria Martin-Prat, Deputy Director-General, DG TRADE, European Commission  ♦️ Thibaut Kleiner, Director, DG CNECT, European Commission ♦️ Roland Honekamp, Deputy Head of Division, EEAS ♦️ Lars Bruckner, Vice-Chair, JBCE   JBCE looks forward to writing the next 25 years of its association's history and to further enhance EU-Japan collaboration in the years to come!  

📢 Japan Business Council in Europe is looking for its new Trainee! Are you curious about public affairs, familiar with the EU's decision-making processes as well as interested in EU-Japan relations? Please reach out to Mikaela Nilsson (nilsson@jbce.org) 🏢 We are offering a paid internship (CIP) for 6 (up to 12) months in Brussels 📅 Deadline to apply: 2nd September 2024 / Start date: October 2024

📝JBCE has submitted its views on trade in e-waste and e-scrap in response to the European Commission’s proposal for a delegated regulation amending the Waste Shipment Regulation. JBCE stressed the need for an adequate transition period so as not to impede trade in non-hazardous waste. We look forward to the creation of a business environment in which e-waste and e-scrap can be transported seamlessly across borders, with due regard environmental concerns, so that businesses within and outside the EU can work together to achieve a circular economy in the EU. 📌 Read our position paper here: https://lnkd.in/eJ8cbGrT

✨ Over 600 participants, thank you! ✨   Last Friday, JBCE organised a hybrid event on CBAM with the participation of Vicente Hurtado Roa, Head of Unit at DG TAXUD, European Commission, to discuss the first and second CBAM reporting exercises and future perspectives.   📝This event offered an extremely informative moment, which allowed both on-site and online participants to learn that: 📌 The European Commission plans to allow the use of default values even after 1 January 2026 📌 The data collected during the transition period will be an essential contribution to the elaboration of default values 📌 The scope of CBAM will gradually be extended to all ETS products by 2030 📌 Third-country manufacturers should be allowed to directly submit commercial sensitive information. As such, the European Commission will work to determine the list of such information and modify the registry accordingly 📌 The European Commission seeks a pragmatic approach to strike the right balance between decarbonisation and streamlining the administrative burden. Revising the de minimis threshold would feed into this process   👏We would like to express our gratitude to Vicente Hurtado Roa for his insightful presentation, 平野泰男 (Yasuo Hirano), Chair of JBCE’s Trade Policy Committee and Hidehiko Ishii, First Secretary at the Mission of Japan to the EU, for their opening remarks, Mikaela Nilsson, Senior Policy Manager at JBCE, for acting as Master of Ceremonies, and Hibiki Kimura, Trade Policy Manager at JBCE, for organising and moderating this event. Finally, we would like to thank the participants, both JBCE and non-JBCE members, for attending and engaging in the conversation.    #CBAM #EUJapan 

Japan Business Council in Europe event: “Looking back at the first and second CBAM (Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism) reporting exercises and discussing future perspectives with DG TAXUD” 🗓 Join us on 14 June at TownHall Europe from 10:30am to 12:30pm (CEST) for a hybrid event on CBAM reporting exercises with Vicente Hurtado Roa, Head of Unit (C2 CBAM, Energy and Green Taxation) at DG TAXUD, European Commission. Participants will be given the opportunity to discuss and ask questions on: ◽ The reality of CBAM compliance, particularly for the iron & steel and machinery industries; ◽ Whether and which reporting methods will be accepted as alternatives to actual emissions measurement, such as default values; ◽ How to protect trade secrets and sensitive company information while complying with CBAM; and ◽ How to rationalise the compliance burden for SMEs (e.g. in relation to third party verification). 📌 The event will be held in English. It is open to non-JBCE members, free of charge. There will be a networking opportunity at the end of the event for on-site participants only. See the document attached for the agenda of the event. ❗ Follow this link to register for on-site or online participation (deadline 12 June 2024) ❗ https://lnkd.in/erw7rWNG

📣 Japan Business Council in Europe is hiring a local Policy Manager ! 📣 ◾ Are you interested in joining our Brussels-based secretariat to work in a stimulating and international environment? ◾ Do you have a keen interest in EU-Japan relations and an impeccable understanding of EU public affairs? ◾ Do you have a soft spot for social media communication and events management? Take a look at our job offer and do not hesitate to reach out to Mikaela Nilsson. Feel free to share with your networks! 📅 Deadline: 31st May 2024 https://lnkd.in/eHYk8hWk

📅 On 18 April, JBCE attended the event "A new era for Responsible Business Conduct: Towards implementation of the #CSDDD", co-organised by the Greens/EFA and the Responsible Business Alliance at the European Parliament. The two-hour event proved highly instructive. Speakers, representing all stakeholders, discussed their views on the outcome of the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) and the preparation for its implementation.    ✍️ We noted that: ◽ Speakers agreed that the CSDDD was a game changer, almost a paradigm shift from what was expected a few years ago when stakeholders first started to address the issue, despite many changes to the original proposal.  ◽ The focus should now be on implementation, which should be an inclusive process.  ◽ Examples of good implementation at national level and guidance from the European Commission are needed and companies should not wait for the publication of these guidelines to start making their supply chains more transparent, as they can already build on and use international guidelines. ◽ Rob Lederer, CEO of Responsible Business Alliance, acknowledged that what lies ahead for companies is a ‘daunting task’ and that they must be given time to adapt. ◽ Maria Gorsuch-Kennedy, Director and Supply Chain Sustainability lead at Cisco, advised companies to contact NGOs in the countries where their supply chains are located to better understand the situation on the ground and to join industry groups to facilitate their work. ◽ Public procurement is an important driver for change, companies and governments need to act.  ◽ It is crucial to take the time to explain to people what the CSDDD is, and to communicate effectively the expectations of both parties.     💭Rob Lederer and MEP Samira Rafaela provided some food for thought in their closing remarks as well.   💬 Rafaela stressed that it is essential to continue the dialogue and include everyone, including individuals and employees, in the process in order to ensure effective implementation of the CSDDD. She stressed that organisational behaviour must change.    🌄 Lederer pointed out that Parliament’s vote on the CSDDD on 24 April is “not the end of the journey, it’s the beginning of the journey.”    #sustainability #supplychains #duediligence #humanrights  

✨ JBCE is pleased to present its declaration ahead of the #europeanelections and the new political mandates (2024-2029) ✨   JBCE, as a representative of over 100 companies of Japanese parentage active in Europe, has been contributing to policymaking at EU level for the past 25 years. It cultivates a strong collaboration with the European Institutions to strengthen both the political and trade relationships between the #EuropeanUnion (EU) and #Japan and develop a policy framework that supports fruitful and responsible business conduct.    Reinforcing the cooperation within the framework of the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) remains one of JBCE’s main priorities and, for this purpose, it would like to emphasise that: ◾ Improving European #competitiveness in the context of the EU’s economic security agenda, should not be done at the expense of relationships with its most trusted partners. ◾ It supports the idea of Japan becoming an Associated Country to #HorizonEurope. ◾ It stands ready to contribute to the policy discussion to create rules favouring a more sustainable and resilient market with the EU and other like-minded partners. ◾ Achieving sustainable and responsible #supplychains requires a holistic and cooperative approach where all relevant stakeholders recognise their shared responsibility and work together towards the same objective. ◾ International harmonisation, especially in the #digital field, remains of paramount importance when it comes to definitions of key terminology but also standards used. 📜 Please read our declaration to find out more about concrete proposals JBCE would like to put forward. 💬 JBCE is looking forward to continue cooperating with key decision-makers to advance the EU-Japan relationship 🇪🇺🤝🇯🇵.