TIME TO ACT FORUM 2025: Strategically Tackling Climate Change

Governor Koike attended an international forum on the climate crisis hosted by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government on October 7 at the Hyatt Regency Tokyo hotel. The meeting was themed: “TIME TO ACT FORUM 2025: Strategically Tackling Climate Change — Connecting Mitigation and Adaptation Actions from Cities to the World.”

In her opening remarks, she noted: “It has been an incredibly hot year, hasn’t it? In Japan, not only women but men too have started using parasols to beat the heat, and so a trend of ‘higasa-danshi,’ (or) ‘men with sun umbrellas,’ has really caught on.” 

“At home and abroad, temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius have been recorded one after another. And natural disasters caused by climate change, such as frequent floods and wildfires, are clearly taking on a different character than before. There is no time to lose in taking action,” the governor warned.

“Promoting decarbonization and urban resilience to protect people’s lives and livelihoods from tangible threats is our responsibility,” she went on. “What should we do to protect people’s lives and livelihoods from tangible threats? It is essential that cities share their knowledge and initiatives with each other, and turn those exchanges into concrete actions.”

“Today’s forum is being held as a Town Hall COP, a platform that brings the voices of cities to the COP. The results of today’s forum will be officially delivered to COP30 next month,” Governor Koike explained. “Let me conclude my opening remarks with the hope that the discussion will be successful and productive for everyone.”

At a panel discussion later, she said: “I am convinced that effective city-led actions in collaboration with the national governments and a wide range of partners are driving global progress to address the climate crisis.”
“It is particularly meaningful that we have been able to hold this forum at a time when interest in climate change is increasing worldwide,” the governor added. “TIME TO ACT—Let us combine our efforts to take on the crises in front of us.”