Our country, Japan, with its beautiful nature and changing seasons, has experienced the wrath of natural disasters while maintaining its culture and tradition and transmitting life from generation to generation. In the ancient Kojiki and Nihon Shoki chronicles, there are accounts of people being frightened by natural disasters. Similarly, in Murasaki Shikibu's Tale of Genji, we can find a description of the main character, Hikaru Genji, being frightened by storms and rain.

Including the Noto Peninsula Earthquake that struck on New Year's Day, 31 earthquakes of seismic intensity five or greater have occurred in the past five years. The Nankai Trough Earthquake, expected to cause significant damage to major industrial areas, is predicted to occur within the next 30 years with a 70-80% probability. Furthermore, damage caused by torrential rain and typhoons is also on the rise due to the effects of climate change, and the population living in areas that are expected to be flooded due to the ongoing development of low-lying regions is increasing.

The dual approach of mitigation and adaptation is essential to addressing climate change. Mitigation involves efforts to reduce carbon emissions, while adaptation encompasses a range of measures, including strengthening the resilience of the country's infrastructure, disaster prevention and reduction, and business continuity planning. Given that Japan is a nation that relies on foreign trade and investment for a significant portion of its resources, including energy and food, the resilience of the national economy is of paramount importance in ensuring the survival of the country and protecting the lives and livelihoods of its citizens.

The business community plays a pivotal role in addressing a multitude of challenges. From diversifying energy sources to strengthening supply chains, developing infrastructure and urban planning, utilizing natural capital through watershed management, providing healthcare for disaster victims, leveraging cross-sectoral digital technologies, and collaborating with other countries, its contribution is paramount.

As the host of the United Nations World Conference on Risk Reduction, Japan has established international disaster management guidelines, including the Hyogo Framework for Action and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. The significance of these guidelines is recognized by numerous countries, including those in the Global South. It is imperative that we not only implement them ourselves but also collaborate with one another, exchanging our experiences of natural disasters and our insights on disaster prevention.

The challenge is to construct a society with high resilience and pass it on to future generations, drawing upon the accumulated experience and wisdom of previous generations and the new technologies and knowledge developed in the present era. The domains in which corporate collaboration is required to achieve a sustainable society are expanding.