SEATS STILL AVAILABLE: Can Natto Clean Dirty Water? Can a Small Osaka Co. Save Thousands of Lives?
See live demo by Kanetoshi Oda, founder of PolyGlu, at Ropp. Hills Club. "Once the children have put clean water in their mouths, they never touch dirty water again." As featured in Nikkei Business and TV show Gaia no Yoake. Co-sponsor HBS Club of Jpn
Kanetoshi Oda was born in Kumamoto Prefecture in 1941, studied engineering at Osaka University and Caltech and had a successful career as an engineer designing various mechanical products.
As a resident of Kobe who experienced water shortages after the great earthquake there in 1995, he realized directly how dependent humans are on water. In 2002 he founded Nippon Poly-Glu in with the mission of applying technology to assure low-cost availability of clean drinking water for all people, even in the world’s poorest and most war-ravaged countries, where the water available is often barely fit for human consumption and causes many health problems. He hopes to show that a small humble Osaka company, using technology derived from natto, a humble Japanese food, can have global impact, creating jobs not just in Japan but in developing countries which so far include Bangladesh, Mexico and Somalia.
But most of all, Oda wants to change life for children in many countries. He says, “when children of the world who only know dirty water see clear water for the first time, they says it’s strange or weird that it has no smell or taste. But once they have put clean water in their mouths a few times, they never touch dirty water again.” Mr. Oda serves as an advisor to non-profit environmental organizations in several countries. He is a considered a hero in many small villages throughout the world, where he always drinks the first glass of clean water produced by his company’s system.
Place: Roppongi Hills Club, Roppongi Hills Mori Tower 51F
Map: http://www.roppongihillsclub.com/visitor/dfw/en/common/pdf/map.pdf
Time: Tuesday October 29, 2013 18:45pm -21:00pm (Doors open at 18:30pm.) The speaker will give a presentation for about one hour, followed by a Q&A session. Dinner will start at around 20:00 pm.
Admission: 5,000 yen admission fee is payable at the door by cash only and includes standing buffet dinner and cash bar.
Registration: Please register by October 28 using the form on the right side of this web page. Please note that cancellations after Oct 28 and no-shows will be invoiced after the event. Your understanding of this policy is appreciated.
For cancellations or problems registering for this event please e-mail kaycarl@gmail.com