It has become increasingly difficult to separate business activities from political issues. The political challenges spreading across contemporary societies have grown more complex, extending far beyond the traditional questions of corporate–government relations. They now encompass a wide range of matters — for example, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, geopolitical risks, political correctness, LGBTQ+ issues, DEI, global environmental concerns, and corporate activism. Companies are confronted with these issues and can no longer claim that business and politics are entirely separate. They are being pushed to make difficult judgments about how to respond.
Today, Corporate Political Responsibility (CPR) is being called into question, and the nature of the corporation is being re‑examined. I would like to focus in this talk specifically on business and geo‑political problems, and explore what it means to pursue Responsible Business.

About the speaker

Kanji Tanimoto is Emeritus Professor of Hitotsubashi University and former professor of Business and Society at the School of Commerce at Waseda University. He is a long-term research partner and has been a Visiting Professor at Freie Universität Berlin several times. His research interests include the relationship between business and society, corporate social responsibility, social business, and social innovation. He has published numerous books and papers in these research areas. He is the Founder and former President of an academy, the Japan Forum of Business and Society. He is an editorial member of several international journals, and has been consulting and providing advice to leading Japanese companies and government committees on business and society, social business and CSR management. He also serves on boards and committees of NGOs. His personal website can be found at https://tanimoto-office.jp.