An introduction to Genron NPO
(www.genron-npo.net)
Updated: 2005-08-22 11:07

Genron NPO is a non-profit organization dedicated to creating forums for responsible, productive debate about Japan's future—the kind of discussion that today's Japanese mass media are failing to provide. To achieve this, Genron NPO has created a new network of opinion leaders from industry, academia and government. Our members are corporate executives, journalists, government officials, economists, and scholars and researchers from many fields who are committed to engaging in serious debate.

The discussions facilitated by Genron NPO bypass pointless arguments and useless criticisms, aiming instead to generate concrete proposals addressing political and administrative issues. It pursues this goal by holding politicians accountable for envisioning and implementing policies, as well as by constructively bringing issues to the attention of voters. At the same time  Genron NPO assess and monitor how the government and political parties put policy into effect. Genron NPO promotes a sense of urgency among voters about political matters, and offer constructive prescriptions for securing a positive future for Japan. Genron NPO intends to expand its network beyond Japan, to open up serious and constructive discussions that reach the rest of Asia and the world.

The objective of Genron NPO is to be an independent and well-managed non-profit think tank that can create a new information medium based on dialogue among a network of individuals, and use this medium to discuss the issues facing Japan and generate policy solutions.

Existing media and think tank organizations are limited by structural and commercial constraints. Genron NPO believes that by rejecting these established models and creating a new medium, a discussion network of individual opinion leaders, Genron NPO can play a major role in revitalizing Japan's public discourse.

Genron NPO is the first organization in Japan to create a network bringing together individual intellectuals, thought leaders and experts. Genron NPO hopes to develop along the lines of US organizations that use this model, such as the Council on Foreign Relations.

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