Future · Co-Creation

THE ASSOCIATION'S TRIP TO JAPAN

The Osaka World Expo, with "Designing Future Society for Our Lives" as its narrative core, gathered the wisdom of 158 countries and regions, presenting a global feast that transcends technology and art. The China Pavilion, with its three chapters of "Unity of Heaven and Man," "Lucid Waters and Lush Mountains," and "Endless Life," demonstrated the synergistic drive of technological breakthroughs and cultural inheritance in the rise of a major power.

The Japan Pavilion, "Between Lives," with its cross-laminated timber ring structure, interpreted the philosophical core of resource circulation.

From the cultural confidence of the China Pavilion to the technological innovation of the Japan Pavilion, the World Expo offers this revelation: the construction of a future society requires finding a path of symbiosis in the integration of traditional foundations and modern technology.

The delegation, following the timeline from the Edo period to the Heisei era, decoded the core genes of Japanese entrepreneurial spirit: the courage to change, the wisdom of foresight, and the adherence to long-termism.

The barber chairs, home appliance prototypes, and other artifacts displayed in the museum confirm the essential attribute that "entrepreneurs are pioneers who drive social progress through new products and services," deepening the understanding of the profound logic that "entrepreneur ≠ founder." 

Through the eight chapters of "Birth — Entrepreneurship — Knowing One's Destiny — Adversity — Soaring — Breaking Through — Statecraft," the practical context of management thoughts such as the "Tap Water Philosophy" and "Glass-Style Management" is examined. Most striking is Matsushita's resilient adherence during economic crises of "no layoffs, no price cuts, no retreat" — this provides an important mirror for Chinese enterprises in responding to global economic fluctuations: true competitiveness stems from the balance between strategic resolve that transcends cycles and humanistic care.

N-EXPO 2025, the Japan Environmental Exhibition, with "waste resource utilization" as its main thread, demonstrated the technological depth of Japan's circular economy:

Solid Waste Regeneration Technology: Recycled aggregates from construction waste, metal recovery from discarded photovoltaic panels, high-density reshaping of foam plastics, and conversion of oyster shells into biodegradable films, achieving a disruptive transformation between "waste" and "material";

Carbon Management Frontiers: Enterprise-level carbon accounting systems that precisely quantify emission reductions, and workshop cooling solutions that directly address industrial pain points;

Equipment Innovation: Iteration of technological equipment such as crushing and sorting, membrane treatment, etc., supporting the industrialization of resource circulation.

The technological revolution of "limited resources, infinite circulation" is reshaping the value coordinate system of the global environmental protection industry — from "end-of-pipe treatment" to "source circulation" is the inevitable path of industrial upgrading.

Professor Guan Yiwei of Waseda University, with the topic "Japan's 30 Years of Lost Experience and Asset Allocation Opportunities," deconstructed the triple revelations of economic cycles:

• Economic Cycle Risks: The dual lessons of asset bubbles and deflation traps highlight the art of balancing the real economy and financial security;

• Social Governance Logic: The construction of a social security system based on "real gold and silver for stability" injects social resilience into an era of low growth;

• New Growth Paradigm: Fields such as the silver economy, green economy, high-end manufacturing, and digital services are breeding structural opportunities that transcend cycles.

The cognitive elevation from "industry operator" to "observer of the times": entrepreneurs need to discern trends from an interdisciplinary perspective and capture certainty amid changes.

During the three-hour closed-door exchange, 14 chairmen and senior executives, with a global vision and industrial insight, distilled the core revelations of the Japan trip, demonstrating the pattern and responsibility of Chinese environmental protection entrepreneurs:

President Jiang Jiezhong (Association President): Deepen the core of 5S management and build differentiated competitiveness through "lean production + value symbiosis."

General Manager Pan Hailong (Taiyuan Environmental Protection): The "high quality" of Japanese enterprises stems from the construction of a learning organization involving all employees. Unwavering, continuous cultivation is the cornerstone of long-term corporate development.

Chairman Ling Yuecheng (Yiyang Environmental Protection): Deeply influenced by the spirit of Konosuke Matsushita, he practices a system of care and protection for employees. At the same time, the strong cohesion and enterprising spirit of Japanese corporate teams, as well as their precise grasp of industry trends, are worthy of in-depth study and reference.

Chairman Zhou An (Plis Environmental Protection): Benchmarking against the Japanese craftsman's focus of "doing only one thing in a lifetime," he seeks to achieve a qualitative leap from following to running abreast through the resolve of "sharpening a sword for ten years."

Chairman Jiang Weiqun (Lanbisheng): After the 2017 Japan study tour, his company implemented the Xuchang semi-underground sewage treatment plant project. Together with the gains from this environmental exhibition, this confirms the practical value of the innovation path of "turning processes into equipment."

Chairman Zhang Jianwei (Jiangsu Xinyu Tiancheng): Guided by Matsushita's philosophy of "foresight," the company achieved technological breakthroughs through "customized process packages." Its pretreatment technology for demineralized water projects is proof of "turning foresight into competitiveness."

Chairman Ding Yemin (Xingchen Environmental Protection): On his first visit to Japan, he was struck by two things — entrepreneurs' boldness in innovation and the ultimate refinement of detail management. He plans to send a core team to Japan to study lean management at production sites.

Chairman Zhang Juping (Tonghuan Environmental Protection): The resonance of 14 enterprises demonstrates the "power of unity" of Yixing's environmental protection sector. In a stock market, entrepreneurs must break boundaries and empower one another — the key to building an industrial community.

Chairman Tang Shunliang (Jianghua Environmental Protection): The inheritance lessons of Japanese century-old enterprises show that entrepreneurs must simultaneously advance "second-generation cultivation" and "crisis awareness," achieving intergenerational inheritance and ecological symbiosis.

General Manager He Wei (Kaiquan Pump Industry): The growth strategies of Japanese companies in mature markets reveal that SMEs need not seek size and completeness; by focusing on a single market and cultivating it deeply, they can also carve out space for global survival.

Chairman Jiang Zihou (Bino Environmental Protection): From studying and starting a business in Japan to reflecting on The Way, he found that Konosuke Matsushita's worldview of "business as spiritual practice" guides entrepreneurs to find the path of development through the trials of interwoven failure and success.

Chairman Zhu Renjun (Xinlin Environmental Protection): Japanese products are finely crafted and deeply researched, and their environmental protection direction focuses on solid waste resource utilization and carbon reduction. At the same time, he emphasized that due to differences in national conditions, environments, and perspectives, enterprise development paths must be adapted to local conditions.

Chairman Li Zhanzhong (XinhuiLin Environmental Protection): The "extreme cleanliness" of Japanese streets, mirrored in products, means "details determine success or failure." Environmental protection enterprises need to integrate "intensive cultivation" into the entire chain of R&D, production, and service.

Chairman Tang Shuijiang (Xinqi Environmental Protection): Using the "tree" as a metaphor for survival philosophy, he revealed the essence of corporate longevity: root downward (solidify core technology and cash flow management), grow upward (embrace change and withstand tests), and wait for opportunities of the times by "staying in the game."