Since 2012, RELEASE; has been working as a non-profit organization to create an economy welcomed by the future. Inspired by the biodiversity of our blue planet, they seek to connect cultural diversity*1 to the future by discovering, embodying, and widely sharing businesses, ideas, and methodologies that create a “beautiful economic landscape.”

In September 2020, RELEASE; called for the idea of “Community Based Economy” together with over 100 volunteers both in Japan and abroad*2. This movement was influenced by the Declaration of Community-based Companies in Kyoto, which begins with the statement: “A company must have a philosophy”*3. In response to this declaration, which asserts that companies should prioritize people, nature, and local communities, root themselves in their regions, and sustain and develop together, Kyoto City enacted the Ordinance for the Sustainable Development of Community-based Companies in April 2019*4. This ordinance has helped promote regional economic development and supported business management that values diverse forms of capital, including nature and culture.

RELEASE; was deeply involved in the entire process that led to the emergence of this declaration and ordinance, exploring why Kyoto could be a city where such initiatives were proposed by a consensus of private enterprises and unanimously passed by the city council. Kyoto’s unique business culture places high value on steadfast philosophies such as “Priority to Justice over Profit” (Sen-gi Kōri) and “Per- petual Change within Immovability” (Fueki Ryūkō), along with trust-based relationships, originality, and the health of the value chain. Many companies engaged in long-term management practices grounded in these principles have not only sustained Kyoto’s economy but also supported citizens’ lives and the preservation of culture. Such community-based management practices suggest an economic activity that prioritizes what is essential to the community over short-term profits or business scale, embodying the values and diversity befitting the blue planet—a truly “beautiful economic landscape.”

In March 2021, the Community Based Companies Forum, launched from Kyoto, began spreading throughout Japan to places like Kagoshima, Nagano, Sapporo, and Okinawa as a platform for accumulating practical knowledge on business that fulfills community aspirations. Additionally, RELEASE; launched the Community Based Economy Journal, a business documentary magazine that highlights economic activities aimed at increasing local natural and cultural capital without depleting it. The journal continues to spark dialogue about the kinds of businesses now needed across different regions.

In 2024, they also set up in InterConnected Arts®/Japan, an initiative to discover the knowledge and beauty embedded in traditional craftsmanship across Japan, rooted in the symbiosis of nature and people*5. By curating journeys that revolve around the act of “making”—the central verb of economic activity—and sharing these experiences with business leaders around the world, the project aims to form cross-border communities that expand the “Community Based Economy” movement and foster the exchange of knowledge and values globally.

A project for discovering and sharing knowledge and beauty, uncovering the act of creation and foregrounding it as a journey

The Chinese character for “life” (生) is said to depict the image of grass sprouting from the soil, combining the elements for “sprout” (屮) and “soil” (土). Without soil, there can be no life. Together with organizations like RELEASE;, the Inochi Forum will work to expand an economic sphere that preserves the “soil” of diverse cultures across regions, ensuring that Inochi can continue to live vibrantly into the future.

[Notes]

*1 UNESCO, Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity
https://www.unesco.org/en/legal-affairs/unesco-universal-declaration-cultural-diversity

*2 Community Based Economy:
https://community-based.org/statement/

*3 Declaration of Community-based Companies in Kyoto:
https://www.city.kyoto.lg.jp/sankan/page/0000241891.html

*4 Kyoto City Ordinance on the Promotion of Sustainable Development of Community-based Companies: https://www.city.kyoto.lg.jp/sankan/page/0000249106.html

*5 in InterConnected Arts®/Japan

https://journey.release.world/en/in-interconnected-arts-japan

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Economy, Employment and Poverty

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