- Lecturer: Kusago Takayoshi (Professor, Kansai University)
- Date: Monday, June 18, 2012, 12:15-1:30 pm
- Venue: Kabayama-Matsumoto Room, International House of Japan
- Language: Japanese (without English interpretation)
- Admission: 1,000 yen (Students: 500 yen, IHJ members: Free)
- Reservation required (Lunch is NOT included.)
After the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011 and the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident that followed, many people have begun to review their own values and lifestyle. Against this backdrop, a Himalayan kingdom, Bhutan, which has been sounding the alarm about societies pursuing only economic growth and efficiency, and which has developed a national plan to value GNH (Gross National Happiness) instead of GDP (Gross Domestic Product), is increasingly drawing attention. In this program, we will invite Professor Kusago to talk about the principles of GNH, how it is seen around the world, and how a GNH society can be implemented in Japan.
Kusago Takayoshi
Born in 1962. Dr. Kusago obtained an M.A. in development economics from Stanford University and later a Ph.D. in development studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. During 2001-2003, he addressed factors contributing to the exacerbation of rural poverty through his work as Senior Poverty Advisor of the Bureau for Development Policy at UNDP Bangkok. After serving as Associate Professor of Osaka University, he assumed his current position in 2009. His publications include “A Sustainable Well-being Initiative: Social Divisions and the Recovery Process in Minamata, Japan” in Community Quality-of-Life Indicators, Best Cases V (Springer, 2011) and GNH (kokumin sou koufuku) -minna de tsukuru shiawase shakai e (Gross National Happiness: A Happy Society Created by All) Kusago Takayoshi, Edahiro Junko, Hirayama Shuichi (Kaizosha, 2011). Asia Leadership Fellow Program 2004 Fellow.