Environmental, social and governance (ESG) investment is booming in Japan even as it is stagnates globally, with the country’s middle-of-the-road approach making it more palatable to corporations and the financial markets and making it a more sustainable proposition over the long term.
“The trend in Japan is clearly different from the global one. The pace has not slowed down,” said Yasunobu Katsuki, senior sustainability strategist at Mizuho Securities.
ESG compels investors to consider other priorities beyond profit when deploying capital. It is increasingly under attack for mixing politics and business, especially in the United States.