Today is Dec. 11th, so there remain only 20 days until the New Year comes. I became 30 years old this year. Looking back on this year, good memories exist there.
As for my private life, my honeymoon to Mumbai was one of the most exciting events this year. There existed another world. The climate was hot and humid. The city was highly air-polluted through particulate matter. Municipal waste was scattered every here and there. While I was moving to the northern part of the city by train, I found that there was a large slum town, called Dharavi, along the railway line. Above all, my first impression of Mumbai was that the city was in chaos and there were many things to improve.
On the other hand, while I was in Mumbai, I stayed at the same hotel. The hotel was located along the long seashore road called Marine Drive. The scenery was good. I could see not only the Arabian Sea, but also the skyscrapers in Mumbai from the windows of the hotel. When night fell, people gathered almost every night along the road. Many people came. They just sat, and talked to each other, seemingly relaxed themselves. My wife and I talked to some of them. They were all kind.
Mumbai is currently developing at high speed. Mumbai is a metropolitan city like Tokyo, Shanghai, and New York, but, none of the metropolitan cities in the world are equivalent to Mumbai. Although Western culture prevailed in Mumbai, there remained inherent customs. Indian women wore traditional saris. They like eating spicy curry. Religious spirit is rooted there.
In terms of my professional life, transactions with foreign countries have increased this year. When materials, people, and capitals move across a border, an environmental business market is created. Since globalization is currently expanding in all business fields, more demand for environmental consultancies will be created in the future.
Suppose that when undertaking business activities in a new country, business operators must survey the business market in the host country in advance. In the survey, an environmental regulatory framework must be also clarified. In the next step, measures for securing compliance with the regulations in the host country must be considered. Environmental consultants play a good role in supporting clients in this phase.
In addition, there are merger and acquisition activities across a border and investment activities for foreign countries. During the course of the M&A and investment, financial and environmental due diligence are conducted. No investor wants to invest in business organizations which have a fragile financial stability or violate environmental regulations. This audit-like activity is called due diligence. In the course of environmental due diligence, environmental consultants are routinely hired.
Other than the business sectors, I have been supporting domestic governmental offices to strengthen the effectiveness of their regulatory systems since I started to work as an environmental consultant. In response to orders from governmental offices, I have surveyed the current situation in Japan about air pollution, water pollution, and soil contamination by a literature search or by field investigation.
Many people have asked me why I went to Mumbai on my honeymoon. I wanted to stay there and feel how high the speed of development was there. Japan completed a high level of economic growth in the 1960s. Mumbai was currently in a such phase. The high economic growth in Japan accompanied severe environmental issues like Minamata disease or Yokkaichi asthma. A large development potential accompanying negative issues such as the current status of Mumbai seemed to be equivalent to the initial phase of the relationship of my wife and me. Thus, I wanted to share Mumbai with my wife.
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