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developed and developing countries can collaboratively lead mankind toward urban
mining. Because this is transition period, there are huge advantages of starting from
scratch.
The second advantage is that much infrastructure and products that must be
imported are now reasonably priced. Renewable energy has already become the
cheapest source of energy, insofar as we make the appropriate choices for a given
locality. Energy-efficient home electronics are also no longer uncommon, which
was not so just 5 years ago. Today’s pace of change is advantageous for developing
countries.
The third advantage is the huge capital that is flowing throughout the world just
seeking causes to invest in. Many of the goods a developing country must import
rely on initial investments. Systems such as energy-economizing heat pumps,
renewable energy such as wind power and solar cells, and health assistive systems
that make use of an assistive robot mostly require an initial capital investment, and
only require a recovery of funds later. This seems disadvantageous for developing
countries with little accumulated capital. In fact, short-term capital does not favor
such fields. However, there is massive capital in the world seeking low-risk stable
returns such as pension funds. If we can direct such capital toward appropriate
investments, the difficulty for developing countries to acquire funding would ease
significantly.
The fourth point to note is pollution issues, as exemplified by China’s unsustainable levels of PM 2.5. This is an example that a developing country should absolutely avoid, especially because it was completely predictable, with mankind
knowing the cause and solution all along. Chinese academics were aware of this too.
If they had dropped their rate of economic growth to 9% and allocated 1% to investing in the environment when their rate of economic growth was 10%, this situation
would have been avoidable. We should let this be a lesson for us. What we need is a
way to incorporate knowledge into policy.
Summarizing the above four points, developing countries should not blindly follow the path of developed countries. If they do, they will repeat the mistakes of
developed countries, and suffer pollution and lifestyle-related diseases. They should
directly focus on the Platinum Society. Developing countries have advantages that
developed countries do not have, and those advantages are complementary.
Developing countries will realize the best things, which are then spread to the world
including to the developed countries. Developing countries and developed countries
must think of one another as partners in inching the world closer to realizing a
Platinum Society.
Mankind has declared through the SDGs that “no one will be left behind,” and
have achieved consensus on the Paris Agreement. Now, all we need to do is act. It is
understandable that developing countries want to chart their own paths independently. Developed countries should collaborate among themselves for a platinum
society together. Developing countries should respond by developing and streamlining social conventions, social systems, and securing law and order, so that they can
collaborate with developed countries.
Preface: From “Vision 2050” to “New Vision 2050”
developed and developing countries can collaboratively lead mankind toward urban
mining. Because this is transition period, there are huge advantages of starting from
scratch.
The second advantage is that much infrastructure and products that must be
imported are now reasonably priced. Renewable energy has already become the
cheapest source of energy, insofar as we make the appropriate choices for a given
locality. Energy-efficient home electronics are also no longer uncommon, which
was not so just 5 years ago. Today’s pace of change is advantageous for developing
countries.
The third advantage is the huge capital that is flowing throughout the world just
seeking causes to invest in. Many of the goods a developing country must import
rely on initial investments. Systems such as energy-economizing heat pumps,
renewable energy such as wind power and solar cells, and health assistive systems
that make use of an assistive robot mostly require an initial capital investment, and
only require a recovery of funds later. This seems disadvantageous for developing
countries with little accumulated capital. In fact, short-term capital does not favor
such fields. However, there is massive capital in the world seeking low-risk stable
returns such as pension funds. If we can direct such capital toward appropriate
investments, the difficulty for developing countries to acquire funding would ease
significantly.
The fourth point to note is pollution issues, as exemplified by China’s unsustainable levels of PM 2.5. This is an example that a developing country should absolutely avoid, especially because it was completely predictable, with mankind
knowing the cause and solution all along. Chinese academics were aware of this too.
If they had dropped their rate of economic growth to 9% and allocated 1% to investing in the environment when their rate of economic growth was 10%, this situation
would have been avoidable. We should let this be a lesson for us. What we need is a
way to incorporate knowledge into policy.
Summarizing the above four points, developing countries should not blindly follow the path of developed countries. If they do, they will repeat the mistakes of
developed countries, and suffer pollution and lifestyle-related diseases. They should
directly focus on the Platinum Society. Developing countries have advantages that
developed countries do not have, and those advantages are complementary.
Developing countries will realize the best things, which are then spread to the world
including to the developed countries. Developing countries and developed countries
must think of one another as partners in inching the world closer to realizing a
Platinum Society.
Mankind has declared through the SDGs that “no one will be left behind,” and
have achieved consensus on the Paris Agreement. Now, all we need to do is act. It is
understandable that developing countries want to chart their own paths independently. Developed countries should collaborate among themselves for a platinum
society together. Developing countries should respond by developing and streamlining social conventions, social systems, and securing law and order, so that they can
collaborate with developed countries.
Preface: From “Vision 2050” to “New Vision 2050”