＜prologue＞
I started a blog called “The Baby Boomer Generation’s Miscellaneous Blog”（Dankai-sedai no garakutatyou:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳） in July 2018, about a year before I fully retired. More than six years have passed since then, and the number of articles has increased considerably.
So, in order to make them accessible to people who don’t understand Japanese, I decided to translate my past articles into English and publish them.
It may sound a bit exaggerated, but I would like to make this my life’s work.
It should be noted that haiku and waka （Japanese short fixed form poems） are quite difficult to translate into English, so some parts are written in Japanese.
If you are interested in haiku or waka and would like to know more, please read introductory or specialized books on haiku or waka written in English.
I also write many articles about the Japanese language. I would be happy if these inspire more people to want to learn Japanese.
my blog’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳 | 団塊世代が雑学や面白い話を発信しています
my X’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多帳（@historia49) on X
Recently, we have been hearing the term “SDGs” (Sustainable Development Goals) a lot, and we often see members of parliament and others wearing badges with the SDGs logo.
So, today I’d like to introduce the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in an easy-to-understand way.
1. What are the SDGs?
The SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) are the United Nations’ international goals for sustainable development, consisting of 17 “Global Goals” and 169 “Targets” (achievement criteria).
Note that “SDGs” is usually pronounced “S-D-G-S,” not “S-D-G-S.”
These are specific action guidelines for 2030 outlined in the outcome document entitled “Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in September 2015. They are a successor to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which aimed to be achieved by 2015.
2. What are the 17 “Global Goals”?
(1) No Poverty
End poverty in all its forms everywhere
(2) Zero Hunger
End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture
(3) Good Health and Well-Being
Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
(4) Quality Education
Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
(5) Gender Equality
Achieve gender equality (socially and culturally defined differences between men and women) and ensure equality for all women and men. Empower girls
(6) Clean water and sanitation
Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
(7) Affordable and clean energy
Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
(8) Decent work and economic growth
Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
(9) Build industry, innovation and infrastructure
Build resilient infrastructure Promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster technological innovation.
(10) Reduce inequalities within and among countries.
Reduce disparities within and among countries.
(11) Build sustainable cities and communities.
Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable.
(12) Ensure responsible consumption and production.
Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.
(13) Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.
(14) Protect and sustainably manage the life below water.
Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas, and marine resources for sustainable development.
(15) Life on Land
Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, halt and reverse land degradation, and halt biodiversity loss.
(16) Peace and Justice
Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all, and build effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions at all levels.
(17) Partnerships for the Goals
Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development.
3. Problems and Issues with the SDGs
The 17 “Global Goals” of the SDGs may seem ideal and flawless at first glance, but they also have their own problems and challenges.
As I’ve written in previous articles about “global warming countermeasures,” “plastic waste issues,” “removing PET bottles from vending machines,” and “charging for plastic bags,” I can’t help but feel that Japan’s efforts are futile and pointless.
(1) Problems
① Will the leaders of the countries that are creating these issues truly abide by these goals and work hard to achieve them?
② Which country will take the lead in promoting improvements, and who will bear the economic and financial burden?
③ It is hard to imagine that leaders of communist, authoritarian, or hegemonic nations would abandon their military-first stance.
④ The proposal relies too much on abstract, humanitarian idealism and lacks concrete goals that address reality.
⑤ The proposal is too general and overly ambitious, making it unlikely to be realized.
⑥ There is a risk that it will end up imposing a wasteful and excessive economic burden on Japan and Western countries.
⑦ Major companies are using it to promote the idea that their business activities are in line with the SDGs.
(2) Issues
I don’t want the Japanese government to engage in wasteful economic cooperation that amounts to “throwing money down the drain.” I don’t want to see a repeat of the mistakes of past aid to developing countries, where corruption was rampant and dictators and their wives ended up lining their pockets.
I hope they will promote the “national interest” through commercial investments.
By the way, Keidanren’s 2019 business policy was “Society 5.0 for SDGs.” I look forward to seeing positive initiatives from the business community.
<Added May 24, 2021>
4. Promotional Strategies for Independent Administrative Agencies Using the “SDGs”
As an aside, even non-private companies like the GPIF (Government Pension Investment Fund) advocate for the SDGs. However, this is essentially an organization for (Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare) bureaucrats to retire to.
Regarding pension management, I remember vividly how, in the past, they built a large number of boxes and incurred huge losses, but no one mentions that anymore.
However, the GPIF manages pensions, which should be risk-averse, in stocks. It is the world’s largest fund (managed assets) with approximately 160 trillion yen, and fund managers are paid a fixed management fee (30 to 40 billion yen) even if they incur losses (or make profits) on stock trading.
It is no exaggeration to say that this is using the SDGs to glorify investment funds.
Rather than using this, I believe it’s more prudent to purchase “inflation-indexed bonds,” developed by Yoichi Takahashi, who resigned from his position as “Special Advisor to the Cabinet Office” after coming under fire for a Twitter post on May 24, 2021. These bonds are redeemed at maturity at a rate that scales with inflation. While you can’t expect capital gains from stocks, you won’t incur losses from stock price declines. There are no management fees.
In the long run, stock prices are also linked to inflation, making them the same as “inflation-indexed bonds.”
While the original product design included a risk of principal loss, “inflation-indexed bonds” issued since fiscal 2013 have a principal guarantee (floor) that guarantees redemption at face value if the indexation coefficient falls below 1 at redemption. Therefore, even if the price level at redemption falls below the price level at issuance, they will still be redeemed at face value. Interest payments are made twice a year, and the amount of interest is calculated by multiplying the notional principal amount at the time of each payment by the nominal interest rate. The nominal interest rate is fixed at the time of issuance and remains the same for all interest payments.
I find it puzzling why members of parliament and the public do not oppose the current pension management by the GPIF, which only benefits retired bureaucrats and fund managers from private financial institutions.