The decline of local industries, the outflow of population to urban areas due to the deterioration of the quality and quantity of local employment, and resistance to change within the structure of vested interests have resulted in the continued concentration of population in Tokyo and other large cities, and the ground sinking of non-urban areas has not been halted.
With the growing recognition of the importance of regional development and the increasing number of younger generations taking up challenges in rural areas, we would like to explore approaches to structural issues that go beyond individual support.

Team Leader　Nanako KUDO

After graduating from university, I worked for a major Japanese general trading company and obtained a master’s degree in international development from a graduate school in the United States. While in graduate school, I participated in an internship at the Pakistan office of an impact investment fund. After returning to Japan in 2011, I joined The Nippon Foundation, where I worked on various projects including the Japan Venture Philanthropy Fund, Social Impact Bond Project, and GSG Impact JAPAN. In April 2017, I established the Foundation as a spin-out from the Nippon Foundation and became its Executive Director, leading the planning and promotion of impact investing in general.