Japan Water Forum has been holding the JWF Communication Lounge that provides meetup opportunities for JWF members and partner organizations, inviting special guests from Japan and abroad.

The first JWF Communication Lounge in 2019 (“Lounge 2019”) welcomed Hon. YB. Dr. Xavier Jayakumar, Minister of Water, Land and Natural Resources Malaysia, as a keynote lecturer as well as the delegation from Malaysia on the occasion of their visiting water-related facilities in Japan to study Japan’s integrated groundwater management, water supply and sewerage system, etc. The Lounge 2019 took place on Tuesday, 25 June 2019 supported by the Embassy of Malaysia in Japan.

The Honourable Minister shared the water challenges of Malaysia in his keynote lecture that although the country is blessed with abundant water resources, it is facing various water issues including river pollution due to rapid increase of population, accelerated urbanization and industrialization along with modernization of Malaysia. Then he stressed the efforts having been made by the ministry to achieve Malaysia’s National Water Vision.

The following presentations were made by Japanese private companies: Dr. Saeki and Ms. Ito from Daiki Axis Co., Ltd. and Mr. Mizuno from Yachiyo Engineering Co., Ltd., who appealed to the Malaysian delegation including Honourable Minister about possible contribution they can make for further development of the country.

Specifically, their presentations are as follows:
Dr. Saeki and Ms. Ito (Daiki Axis), while sharing the brief history of sewage treatment in Japan, explained Daiki Axis’ Johkasou system they manufacture and sell in Asia that is based on its technologies and know-hows amassed in Japan and the company’s efforts in expanding use of Johkasou in Malaysia (PDF)

Mr. Mizuno introduced Yachiyo Engineering’s businesses relating to groundwater management having done in Malaysia and shared cases of groundwater analysis utilizing the three-dimensional grid model as well as a prospected project currently under discussion between the Penang State Government and Kawasaki City (PDF)

During the Q&A session, replying to questions such as the future use of groundwater in Malaysia, Hon. YB. Dr. Xavier suavely explained the proportion of usage in Malaysia between groundwater and surface water in the future.

Japan Water Forum will continue to provide this kind of opportunities to our member and partner organizations, and in the same time will prepare for successful opening of the 4^th Asia-Pacific Water Summit to be held in October 2020 under the overarching theme of “Water for Sustainable Development –Best Practices and Connecting to the Next Generation”.

<Outline of the Lounge 2019>

Date and Time	Tuesday, 25 June 2019 from 11:00 am to 12:30 pm
Venue	B Hall, 10th floor of Nippon Press Center Bldg. (Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo)
Organizer	Japan Water Forum
Supported by	Embassy of Malaysia in Japan
Participants	38 (Malaysian delegation, MLIT officials, water-related companies, academics, etc.)
Program	[Opening remarks  Dr. Kotaro Takemura, Secretary General of Japan Water Forum [Keynote lecture]  Hon. YB. Dr. Xavier Jayakumar, Minister of Water, Land and Natural Resources   Malaysia “Sustainable Water Resources Management in Malaysia” [Information sharing from Japan]  – Dr. Kazuo Saeki, Ms. Misaki Ito (Daiki Axis Co., Ltd.)   “ Johkasou contributes to improvement and preservation of the waterenvironment” – Mr. Naoto Mizuno (Yachiyo Engineering Co., Ltd.) “Challenge for Groundwater Management in Malaysia” [Q&A and opinion exchange]