GX Seminar (Held on December 23, 2025)
On December 23, 2025, a GX Seminar entitled “Nature-Positive GX and Forest Innovation: Global Disclosure Trends and Perspectives Connecting ‘Negative-to-Positive Transitions’” was held at the Yayoi Auditorium, Faculty of Agriculture, the University of Tokyo, in a hybrid format combining on-site and online participation. The seminar attracted 75 participants from a wide range of field in academia, government, and industry, providing an opportunity to deepen understanding of recent GX trends in corporate management and international discussions on forests and natural capital.
In the keynote lecture, Professor Chika Saka (School of Business Administration, Kwansei Gakuin University) delivered a presentation on “International Trends in Nature-related Financial Disclosure.” She provided an overview of emerging global frameworks such as the TNFD, recent developments in the EU, and implications for corporate strategy and valuation, drawing on her research using accounting big data. The lecture was followed by an active question-and-answer session with participants.
Subsequently, Mr. Goro Tomoyasu (Urban Development Strategy Office, Takenaka Corporation) presented a case study on initiatives in the Kiso area, which has been selected for the Ministry of the Environment’s TNFD Disclosure Pilot Project. His presentation introduced the concept of a “forest grand cycle” based on long-term forest management and illustrated how corporate activities can be aligned with regional collaboration and sustainable forest use.
Through interdisciplinary and practice-oriented discussions on GX and forest-based natural capital, the seminar provided a meaningful platform for advancing future research, policy development, and industry–academia collaboration.
The seminar opened with welcoming remarks by Mr. Koichi Osawa, Deputy Director, Biodiversity Mainstreaming Office, Ministry of the Environment, who highlighted the growing importance of linking GX initiatives with biodiversity policy. This was followed by an introductory presentation by Professor Ryo Kohsaka (Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, the University of Tokyo), who outlined the purpose of the seminar and emphasized the significance of nature-positive GX, forest innovation, and global disclosure trends in facilitating transitions from negative to positive environmental impacts.
This seminar was supported by the Environment Research and Technology Development Fund (1MF-2403) and was also organized as part of the “Forest GX Project” under the agreement between the University of Tokyo and the SMBC Group.
【Date & Time】Tuesday, December 23, 2025, 17:00〜18:30
【Venue】Conference Room, Yayoi Auditorium, The University of Tokyo
【Program】
Opening Remarks: Mr. Koichi OSAWA (Biodiversity Mainstreaming Office, Ministry of the Environment, Government of Japan)
Purpose of the Seminar:“Nature-Positive GX and Forest Innovation: Global Disclosure Trends and Perspectives Connecting ‘Negative-to-Positive Transitions’”
Professor Ryo KOHSAKA (Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo)
Lecture: “International Trends in Nature-related Financial Disclosures”
Professor Chika SAKA (School of Business Administration, Kansei Gakuin University)
Case Study:“Forest Grand Cycle in the Kiso Area” Mr. Goro TOMOYASU (Urban Development Strategy Office, Takenaka Corporation)
Closing Remarks: Professor Tsutomu HIURA (Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo Unit Leader, Forest GX Project)
【Organizer】Laboratory of Forest Landscape Planning and Design, Department of Forest Science, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo
【Participation】Free of charge / Pre-registration required /
Hybrid format (on-site & online)
Opening remarks by Mr. Koichi Osawa from Ministry of the Environment
Lecture given by Prof. Chika Saka from Kwansei Gakuin University
Active Q & A session
Many questions raised from participants
Purpose of the Seminar by Prof. Ryo Kohsaka
Case study by Mr. Goro Tomoyasu from Takenaka Corporation
Closing remarks by Prof. Tsutomu Hiura
Contact
Laboratory of Forest Landscape Planning and Design, Department of Forest Science,
Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo
Professor Ryo Kohsaka
E-mail: kohsaka.lab<at>gmail.com (Please replace "<at>" with "@")