No.93 Community Development of Regional Circulation and Symbiosis Zone

In the Fifth Basic Environmental Plan, which was decided by the Cabinet in April last year, the creation of a "Regional Circulation and Symbiosis Sphere" was proposed, taking into account international trends such as the "Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)" and the "Paris Agreement," as well as the complex issues surrounding the environment, economy, and society.
The regional circular symbiotic zone aims to realize a regional circular society by maximizing the use of local resources, forming a self-reliant and decentralized society, and building a more extensive network through mutual complementarity.
In the context of regional circular symbiosis, "circulation" refers to the continuous movement of all materials through all stages of economic and social activities such as production, distribution, consumption, and disposal, as well as through the natural world. To properly ensure this circulation, it is important to minimize and optimize the input of resources such as materials and energy, promote resource circulation, and encourage regional economic circulation while reducing the environmental burden.
Coexistence in the regional circular symbiosis zone includes coexistence between nature and humans, coexistence among people, and interaction between urban areas and rural areas such as agriculture, mountains, and fishing villages.
Based on this way of thinking, aiming for the integrated improvement of the environment, economy, and society will ultimately lead to securing low carbon, resource conservation, and biodiversity.
Here, we will introduce some of our recent initiatives.

Roundtable Discussion for Building a Regional Circulation and Symbiosis Zone Platform
A roundtable discussion was established with the mayor of Iida City, Nagano Prefecture, serving as the chairperson, and I have been participating since August of last year.
National Mayors' Association "Special Committee on Waste Management Measures"
I serve as the Chairperson and have been active primarily in waste management measures and recycling systems, achieving certain results. On the other hand, in recent years, issues such as global warming measures, SDGs, and regional circular and symbiotic societies have become challenges, and environmental problems are also becoming increasingly complex and diverse. Taking the opportunity of being re-elected as Chairperson in June of this year, I proposed to reorganize this committee into the "Special Committee on Environmental Measures" and to increase the number of participating mayors, and we are currently proceeding with the necessary procedures.
General Incorporated Association for Regional Circulation and Symbiotic Society Collaboration
This organization aims to make the most of the resources held by the community and to concretely develop initiatives towards the construction of a "decarbonized, circular, and symbiotic society" that the world is striving for. The founding general meeting was held in August of this year, and I was appointed as a director.
I have set the formation of a regional circular and symbiotic society as a promise for my third term as mayor. It is a very significant challenge, along with the promotion of the SDGs, but I will work on both moving forward.