A SEED JAPAN (Action for Solidarity, Equality, Environment and Development) is an international environmental NGO of young people in Japan, founded in 1991. It began as the Japanese contact point for an international campaign to bring young people's voices to the 1992 Earth Summit in Brazil, and then continued as a membership-based organization.
It focuses on environmental problems that cross borders and the social injustice behind them, and believes that patterns of mass production, mass consumption and mass disposal, as well as gaps between North and South, between regions and between generations, need to be reconsidered. It values four positions: that of young people, that of an NPO, that of a builder of partnerships among government, business and NPOs, and that of a collaborator with young people around the world.
Its current activities center on the "ESG Watch Project," which works toward fair investment from the financial side, and the "Plastic Review Lab," which invites people to rethink plastic in daily life. Besides policy proposals to companies and government and awareness-raising in Japan, it holds events, runs online petitions, dispatches speakers, and accepts volunteers and interns.
Key points
- A youth-led NGO founded in 1991, born from a campaign to bring young voices to the Earth Summit
- Looks at environmental problems through the lens of economic and social structures
- Engages citizens through both finance and ESG and an everyday topic like plastic
Why this organization's work stands out
A distinctive feature is that it treats environmental problems not as isolated events but as connected to economic and social systems, and turns that view into proposals and outreach. Its work shining a light on the flow of money, a topic rarely thought about, is also a useful reference.
Entry points for young people are well prepared, including a newsletter, events, orientation sessions, volunteering and internships, and membership or supporter registration. Annual reports and financial statements are also published.
Editor's comment
It is reassuring to see a group that has kept speaking up as "young people, the future generation." It may also be a good place to meet others who want to think about the environment and social justice together.
Information on orientation sessions and events is available on the official website. If you are interested, please take a look.