The foundation of this team’s formation and activities lies in my “encounters with people” and the “insights” I gained from them.
Looking back, the words of my mentor—“Cherish your insights”—have stayed with me ever since. By keeping this in mind, I’ve met many people and gained countless insights.
It was the word “MOTTAINAI” that gave me the sense that the scattered dots of these insights had finally connected to form a line.

As Wangari Maathai—the Kenyan woman who became the first recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in the field of the environment—has said, “Let’s transform the Japanese concept of ‘mottainai’ into the global keyword ‘MOTTAINAI,’” this is a wonderful word that can only be expressed in Japanese.

As mentioned in the background section, in modern society, the cycle of mass production and mass consumption is placing a burden on the environment and diluting cultural values. We at Re:Born Japan hope to increase the number of people who recognize “MOTTAINAI” in their daily lives, listen to those insights, create new value, and build a society where each individual’s unique identity is respected and everyone can live comfortably.