Report (Blue Stage) “JICA Clean City Initiative (JCCI) International Seminar 2025”

The seminar was held simultaneously in the Blue Stage and the Green Stage.

*The presentation materials (PDF) and videos are available from the links in each section of the program below.

- Ms. Katsura Miyazaki, Executive Senior Vice President, JICA
- Mr. Kentaro Doi, Director-General, Global Environment Bureau, Ministry of Environment, Japan

Mr. Kazunao Shibata, Deputy Director General, Global Environment Department, JICA

Three years have passed since the launch of JCCI. Mr. Shibata will introduce the current status of the achievement of goals and results, major projects and notable achievements, as well as future issues and directions.

In this session, we introduced and discussed measures to promote the implementation of countermeasures against climate change in cities, including the planning and promotion of master plans, the pursuit of synergies and co-benefits with the environmental management sector, collaboration between cities and local governments, and approaches to mobilizing corporate participation and funding.

- Mr. Yoshinori Suga, Director for Sustainable Infrastructure, Office of Director for International Cooperation for Transition to Decarbonization and Sustainable Infrastructure, Global environment Bureau, Ministry of Environment

The Ministry of Environment is strengthening mutually beneficial cooperation with partner countries, particularly those in the Global South, to help solve the global environmental crisis. Cooperation among cities is particularly important, as each region in Japan has a wide range of experience and technology in decarbonization and pollution control. This presentation described such city-to-city cooperation projects, etc. that promote cooperation between Japanese cities and overseas cities, as well as with local private sector businesses and international organizations.

- Professor Taichi Tebakari, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Chuo University

Bangkok, the largest megacity in Southeast Asia, as an example, I introduced various climate change risks and propose adaptation measures in the water sector.
Located in a low-lying coastal plain, Bangkok has a high concentration of population and assets, and welcomes a large number of tourists, making it vulnerable to flooding, including sea level rise and urban flooding. This presentation showed how these climate change risks affected the region not only directly, but also indirectly. In addition, I proposed practical tangible and intangible measures that could be implemented.

- Ms. Sermsook Noppun, Director, Air Quality and Noise Management Division, Department of Environment, Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA)
- Mr. Makoto Kato, Member, Board of Directors, Overseas Environmental Cooperation Center (OECC)

”Initiatives of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration” (Sermsook Noppun)
The Bangkok Master Plan on Climate Change has been a central pillar for climate action by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) and other stakeholders. Under the initiative of the Governor and building upon experiences with JICA’s capacity strengthening cooperation, Bangkok has accelerated its efforts and continues to increase tangible deliverables in mitigation and adaptation to climate change.

”Mobilizing public-private partnership (PPP) finance and investment to scale up efforts under the Bangkok Master Plan on Climate Change” (Makoto Kato)
Through the phased technical cooperation supported by JICA, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) developed and has implemented the Bangkok Master Plan on Climate Change. Collaborative development partners, such as the City of Yokohama through the City-to-City Collaboration supported by the Ministry of the Environment, Japan, and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) with the Advanced Practices for Environmental Excellence (APEX), added efforts to engage the private sector in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing resilience of Bangkok. Building upon the partnership and series of efforts, JICA recently conducted the “Survey on Public-Private Partnership Project Development from Upstream Policies”, such as climate change master plan. The presentation shows key messages and lessons learned from the survey, such as ways to address needs and gaps in maximizing potentials that are offered by PPP finance and investment and to create an enabling environment for local governments in developing countries.

-Mr. Yasuaki Nakamura, Director for Development Cooperation, Global Networks Division, International Affairs Bureau,
City of Yokohama

The City of Yokohama is working to support solutions to urban issues in overseas cities through international technical cooperation (Y-PORT Project) in collaboration with the public and private sectors. In this session, we introduced the decarbonization measures in Yokohama City, international cooperation using such practical examples, inter-city networking through international conferences such as the Asia Smart City Conference hosted by the City, and JICA's Training Program “Capacity Development of Local Governments for Sustainable and Carbon-Neutral Urban Development” in collaboration with Yokohama Urban Solution Alliance, which was launched in Yokohama in this year.

-【Moderator】Mr. Kawanishi Masato, Senior Advisor, JICA

The session invited experts from government agencies, private companies, local governments, and academic institutions from Japan and partner countries to share their initiatives toward realizing a circular economy. Discussions focused on the policy challenges necessary to promote a circular economy, initiatives by private companies and citizens, and the required technologies (e.g., digital transformation). The session also addressed the challenges of fostering collaboration among stakeholders.

-Mr. Ko Matsuura, Assistant Director, Office for Promotion of Sound Material-Cycle Society, Environmental Regeneration and Material Cycles Bureau, Ministry of the Environment, Japan

- Mr. Michikazu Kojima, Chief Senior Researcher, Institute of Developing Economies Japan External Trade Organization (IDE-JETRO)/Senior Research Fellow on Environmental Issues,Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia

In Asia, efforts toward a circular economy began in South Korea and Japan around 1995. India enacted the E-Waste (Management and Handling) Rules in 2011, which introduced EPR. Around 2020, Southeast Asian countries (Indonesia, Singapore, the Philippines, and Vietnam) also began to work on the circular economy. In addition, the ASEAN Economic Community made the "Framework for Circular Economy Framework" for the ASEAN Economic Community in 2021. This presentation discusses efforts toward a circular economy and the challenges in developing asian countries.

- Dr. Sujitra Vassanadumrongdee, Senior Researcher, Sustainable Environment Research Institute, Chulalongkorn University（SERI)

- Dr. Lai Van Manh, Director of Department of Economics of Natural resources and Environment, Institute of Strategy and Policy on Natural Resources and Environment (ISPONRE)

-Mr. Crispian Lao, Founding President, Philippine Alliance for Recycling and Materials Sustainability (PARMS) Inc.

-Mr. Kazutaka Kitazume, Executive Officer, Head of Overseas Business Planning Department, ENVIPRO HOLDINGS, Inc.

【Moderator】Mr. Ichiro Adachi, Senior Expert for Environmental Management, Environmental Management and Climate Change Group, Global Environment Department, JICA

In this session, we introduced the cooperation of JICA, the Japanese government, and international organizations, focusing on waste management in preparation for TICAD 9. We also took a closer look at efforts to improve waste management in fragile states, focusing on Sudan and South Sudan, which were ranked second and third, respectively, in the 2024 edition of the Fragile States Index (https://fragilestatesindex.org/global-data/ ), an annual ranking of fragile states published by the Fund for Peace (US-based NGO).

【Moderator】Ms. Izumi Tsuchihata, Senior Deputy Director, Environmental Management and Climate Change, Global Environment Department, JICA

-Mr. Naoki Mine, Senior Deputy Director,Planning and TICAD Process Division, Africa Department, JICA

More than 30 years have passed since the first Tokyo International Conference on African Development in 1993.
In this session Mr. Mine looked back on the achievements and challenges of JICA's cooperation in Africa especially in the 3 pillars of (1) Economy, (2) Society, and (3) Peace, and introduce the issues to be discussed at TICAD 9 this year (2025).

-Ms. Shiho Jinno, Associate Programme Management Officer, United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat)

The African Clean Cities Platform (ACCP) plays a pivotal role in addressing the challenges and opportunities of waste management across Africa. By identifying policy, operational, and financial gaps, ACCP fosters knowledge co-creation and capacity-building among key waste management stakeholders, driving continuous improvements toward a sustainable municipal solid waste management system. Insights from monitoring SDG Indicator 11.6.1 underscore the critical need to enhance collection coverage, upgrade waste management facilities, and address other pressing challenges, highlighting the urgency of targeted interventions and strategic action.
The ACCP has started with 24 African countries in 2017 and had grown to a network of 192 member cities from 47 countries as of today.

-Ms. Joyce Klu, Circular Economy & Waste Sector Expert, European Investment Bank (EIB)

At the EIB, financing is readily available for waste projects but finding readily available projects that are bankable in Africa is the challenge. A case study of EIB’s Clean Oceans Projects Identification and Preparation (COPIP) Programme which has enabled us to prepare bankable circular economy and Waste projects in 6 sub-Saharan Africa countries will be presented.

【Moderator】Ms. Yumi Kimura, Senior Director, Team 2, Environmental Management and Climate Change, Global Environment Department, JICA

-Mr. Masahiro Saito, Project Manager,
Material Cycles and Waste Management, International Division, Yachiyo Engineering CO., ltd.

JICA has been supporting the waste management sector both in South Sudan and Sudan since South Sudan became an independent state in 2011.
In the beginning of 2020, JICA started solid waste management projects in both countries applying a program approach that combines grant aid projects and technical cooperation projects. However, the political and economic instability of South Sudan as well as the armed conflict occurred in Sudan in 2023 has considerably affected the project activities. In such a situation, two countries are working together to improve waste management, and these efforts will be reported in this seminar.

-Mr. Lopia Lubang David, Deputy Director of Public Health Department, Juba City Council Munuki Block, South Sudan

-Mr. Gosai Hamdalla, Director of waste management Department, Higher Council for Environment and Natural Resources, Sudan

-Mr. Eiji Iwasaki, Senior Advisor to Director General of Global Environment Department, JICA

- Mr. KAWAMURA KENICHI, Senior Vice President, JICA