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[ [link removed] ]Climate Campaigner Spotlight: Eri Watanabe

Hi John -

Sometimes, little things can spark change – inside us and in the world.
That happened to me some time ago. I was born and raised in Japan, where I
also live nowadays. When I was a university student, I had the opportunity
to travel to some countries in South East Asia. It was one of my first
experiences out of my country, and I fell in love with nature and the
people living there. But this is not a story about tourism. This is a
story about activism.

One day after I was back home while attending a lecture in my Uni, I got
to know about mega projects funded by the Japanese government and
corporations which cause harm to the people and nature in Indonesia. The
people and the places I loved so dearly were being threatened by something
I could have influence over. That was my spark. I immediately knew that I
wanted to dedicate my life to be the bridge between the people on the
ground and the Japanese stakeholders, and to create positive change
wherever I can. And that's what I do everyday.

This last year was full of wins for us at 350 Japan. We've put a lot of
energy into trying to stop the money and support of Japanese banks and
companies for fossil fuels projects around the world. And we are seeing
quite a lot of progress!

[ [link removed] ]Standing action in front of annual shareholders meeting of SMBC Group.
© Taishi Takahashi / 350.org Japan

Standing action in front of annual shareholders meeting of SMBC Group. ©
Taishi Takahashi / 350.org Japan

We led a coalition working with shareholder activism – which means,
advocating from the inside of the financial institutions to try to direct
where the investments will go. For example, the SMBC Group is among the
top 20 leading global fossil fuel investors in the banking sector. We put
in a proposal during the shareholders' meeting season demanding the SMBC
Group to strengthen its climate change measures and won 27% of the votes!
And we will keep up pressure on Japanese financial institutions in the
year ahead.

[ [link removed] ]Creative visuals for the action in front of annual shareholders meeting
of SMBC Group. © Taishi Takahashi / 350.org Japan

Creative visuals for the action in front of annual shareholders meeting of
SMBC Group. © Taishi Takahashi / 350.org Japan

One of our plans for increasing our public pressure is to skill up
activists all around the country. We want to help activists to gain skills
and network, connect with the voices of those in impacted communities, and
explore different pathways to take action. In 2023, we want to spark
change!

Thank you again for taking a moment to read my story and all of the
stories our team has highlighted over these past few weeks.

In solidarity,

Eri Watanabe
350 Japan Finance Campaigner

Do you have two more minutes? [ [link removed] ]Please send Eri a quick note of
solidarity and thanks. We'll be sending every message directly to her and
her family ahead of the holidays.

[ [link removed] ]Send a note »




 




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