On the morning of November 21, 2025, the Institute for China Neighboring Economies (ICNE) specially invited Associate Professor Chen Shuning from Hiroshima University, Japan, to deliver an academic report titled Environmental Governance and Wealth Accounting – Japanese Experience and Green Development Assessment Framework. The report was conducted in the form of an online meeting, with Associate Professor Qin Bingtao (Director of ICNE and Head of the Master of International Business (MIB) Program), several ICNE researchers, and MIB postgraduate students in attendance. The meeting was hosted by Lin Gan, a researcher at ICNE.
In the report, based on the inclusive wealth framework, Chen Shuning explained why natural capital, human capital, and produced capital need to be integrated into a unified assessment system to understand environmental governance and green development. She also shared experiences in environmental governance and wealth accounting, with a particular focus on Japan’s practices. She introduced Japan’s concept of regional symbiosis circles, emphasized the importance of natural capital and wealth assessment, and provided a detailed analysis with examples of Japanese regional cases. Additionally, she discussed how to evaluate natural capital and human capital through the inclusive wealth framework, as well as the roles and limitations of this framework in regional development. Finally, combining China’s current dual carbon goals and green development issues, she put forward insights for promoting China’s dual carbon initiatives and green development.
During the interactive session, Qin Bingtao and Chen Shuning discussed the health evaluation system and capital accounting, further analyzing the multifaceted impacts of environmental issues on the economy. Lin Gan engaged in a discussion with Chen Shuning regarding the research data sources, data processing methods, and variable definitions in the report, helping teachers and students gain a deeper understanding of the research cases.
In his summary, Qin Bingtao stated that this report not only systematically organized Japan’s experiences in environmental governance and wealth accounting but also put forward targeted suggestions combined with the reality of China’s green development. It provides a reference for ICNE future research work and offers case studies and practical teaching references for the MIB program. He added that in the future, ICNE could collaborate with the Shanghai Energy Efficiency Center to promote the integration of Japan’s assessment experience with industrial practices in the Yangtze River Delta, cultivate interdisciplinary low-carbon talents, and provide professional support for the realization of China’s dual carbon goals and the green high-quality development of the Yangtze River Delta.
Relevant Introduction
Chen Shuning is an Associate Professor at the International Development and Cooperation (IDEC) / Smart Social Implementation Science Institute (SmaSo) of Hiroshima University. Her research focuses on sustainable development economics and resource and environmental economics. She has long been engaged in research on inclusive wealth index (IWI) accounting, human capital measurement, social life cycle assessment (S-LCA), and environmental governance in global value chains. She has participated in projects such as the United Nations’ Inclusive Wealth Report and pays close attention to integrating environmental and social impacts into welfare and policy assessment frameworks.
