The Mitsui & Co. Environment Fund
Introduction to Grant Projects
Coalition for Legislation to Support Citizens' Organizations
Business focused on strengthening environmental NPO advocacy
Activity grant
- Project Description
Although the importance of environmental advocacy NPO activity is increasing, it is limited to policy recommendations and the holding of events. There is a need to develop advocacy methods that can enhance the capability to make and realize policy recommendations that will stimulate consensus formation among environmental NPO stakeholders. Capabilities can be enhanced by utilizing the knowhow of participatory advocacy activities that these groups have accummulated, clarifying issues encountered in realizing the policies of environmental NPOs through questionnaires and providing hands-on, participatory advocacy programs. Specifically, this will involve research and interviews to grasp the issues, the development of pilot texts and introductory seminars, holding of research meetings and introductory seminars utilizing the develpoed texts by practitioners and academic experts, and the holding of research meetings for leaders of these initiatives.
- Grant year
- FY2008 Activity Grants
- Grant term
- 3 years
April 2009 - March 2012
- Grant amount
- 19,080,000 yen
- Activity region
- Nationwide with a focus on Tokyo

Overview of the Organization

- Representative
- Yasuyoshi Hayashi, Representative Director
- Establishment
- 1994
- Establishment purpose
- We aim to realize a caring society in which people help each other, where the will of individuals and their ways of life are respected, where its is easy for citizens to participate in public policy decisions, and in which, transcending borders, citizens can cooperate. In order to realize such a fully-fledged civic society we believe that it is important to improve the social environment including legal and taxation systems and to foster the development and growth of citizen's groups, and we have established groups to create systems that can support the activities of Seeds and citizen's groups.
- Main areas of activity
- Nationwide with a focus on Tokyo
- Staff
- 7 full-time members, 2 part-time members, 62 full members
- Annual operating budget
- 26.16 million yen in 2006
- WEB site
- http://www.npoweb.jp/
- Main activities
-
- (1) Strengthening of advocacy capabilities of environmental NPOs: Research the advocacy activities of environmental NPOs, and provide participatory advocacy activity programs
- (2) Activities related to revision of the Law to Promote Specified Nonprofit Activities ("NPO Law"): Revision of the NPO corporation system 10 years since it came into operation
- (3) Activities to revise and promote the NPO tax support system (Authorised NPO system): Promotion and revision of the exemption of donations and other tax benefits received by Authorised NPOs
- (4) Formulation of accounting standards for the Law to Promote Specified Nonprofit Activities ("NPO Law"): With citizen particpation formulate accounting standards to enhance trust of NPO corporations
- (5) Business to nurture leaders of fund raising for NPOs
- (6) NPO support foundations and study groups: Hold foundation and study group meetings for those that enthusiastically support NPOs
- (7) Information provision and communication for NPOs: Provide the latest informnation to NPO related parties and citizens via NPOWEB and mail magazines, etc.
- (8) To promote and develop activities by NPOs and citizens hold lectures, create and publish written materials and provide consulting