OSAKA, Japan--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr 16, 2025--
The inaugural meeting of the Asian Productivity Organization’s (APO’s) annual Green Productivity Advisory (GPA) Council was successfully convened from 14 to 15 April 2025 in Osaka, Japan.
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The GPA Council, chaired by Professor Emeritus of the University of Tokyo Ryoichi Yamamoto, comprises members from Fiji, Japan, Indonesia, Singapore, and Thailand and advises APO Secretary-General Dr. Indra Pradana Singawinata on the development of a solution-based, action-oriented, Asia-centric GP 2.0 Ecosystem.
Secretary-General Dr. Indra reported the progress made by the Secretariat in conceptualizing the GP 2.0 Ecosystem, as well as three of its seven elements: the GP rating system; GP guidebooks; and GP mapping. In addition, prototypes of the GP rating system and GP mapping were unveiled and demonstrated to the GPA Council for the first review. Council members and their representatives provided insightful feedback and suggested adjustments to improve the overall design of the GP 2.0 Ecosystem and its elements.
The significance of the GPA Council’s efforts to incorporate the principles of GP, as defined by Professor Yamamoto in 1994, into the GP 2.0 Ecosystem was underscored at the Special Presentation Session held at the Blue Ocean Dome (BOD), EXPO 2025 Osaka, on the evening of 14 April, where council members highlighted past and present national efforts in implementing sustainability initiatives in the spirit of GP in Fiji, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, and Thailand, while looking toward the GP 2.0 Ecosystem. The session included welcome remarks from President of ZERI Japan Yusuke Saraya, host of the BOD session; opening remarks by GPA Council Chair Professor Yamamoto; a video message delivered by H.E. Agni Deo Singh, Minister for Employment, Productivity and Workplace Relations of Fiji; and live presentations by council members and their representatives.
In his address, Guest of Honor Vice Minister of National Development Planning of Indonesia (BAPPENAS) Febrian A. Ruddyard emphasized the importance of green transformation and GP to achieve sustainable growth without exacerbating the immense pressure that the environment was already experiencing after decades of industrialization. The Special Presentation Session concluded with closing remarks by APO Secretary-General Dr. Indra, followed by a video highlighting the remarkable achievements of Biofarma, a pharmaceutical manufacturer from Indonesia, as a current example of GP in action demonstrating how the application of proven GP techniques had led not only to enhanced productivity but also to saving lives.
As the GPA Council reconvened on the morning of 15 April, presentations were given by two guest lecturers, which helped broaden the deliberations on the strategic direction of GP 2.0. A final set of recommendations on the development of the GP 2.0 Ecosystem was agreed upon that will guide the APO Secretariat’s efforts in the coming year. These recommendations will also be reported at the 67th Session of the APO Governing Body to be held in Jakarta in May 2025.
About the APO
The Asian Productivity Organization (APO) is a regional intergovernmental organization dedicated to improving productivity in the Asia-Pacific region through mutual cooperation. It is nonpolitical, nonprofit, and nondiscriminatory. Established in 1961 with eight founding members, the APO currently comprises 21 member economies: Bangladesh; Cambodia; the Republic of China; Fiji; Hong Kong; India; Indonesia; Islamic Republic of Iran; Japan; the Republic of Korea; Lao PDR; Malaysia; Mongolia; Nepal; Pakistan; the Philippines; Singapore; Sri Lanka; Thailand; Turkiye; and Vietnam.
The APO is shaping the future of the region by fostering the socioeconomic development of its members through national policy advisory services, acting as a think tank, institutional capacity-building initiatives, and knowledge sharing to increase productivity.
APO Secretary-General Dr. Indra delivering the closing remarks at the GPA Council Annual Meeting Special Presentation Session at the Blue Ocean Dome, EXPO 2025 Osaka.
Senate Republicans narrowly voted down a Democratic resolution that would have blocked global tariffs announced by President Donald Trump earlier this month, giving the president a modest win as lawmakers in both parties have remained skeptical of his trade agenda.
And after months of tense negotiations, the U.S. and Ukraine signed a deal that's expected to give Washington access to the country’s critical minerals and other natural resources, an agreement Kyiv hopes will secure long-term support for its defense against Russia.
Here's the latest:
A top White House official is defending Trump’s acknowledgement that steep tariffs on China might lead to fewer goods on the shelves at higher prices.
Trump said children maybe “will have two dolls instead of 30 dolls. And maybe the two dolls will cost a couple bucks more than they would normally.”
Deputy White House chief of staff Stephen Miller insisted Thursday that the president was “making the point that I think almost every American consumer agrees with.”
In a briefing with reporters, Miller said dolls made in the U.S. had higher quality standards than ones from China that he said could contain lead paint.
“Yes, you’d probably be willing to pay more for a better-made American product,” Miller said.
China’s state broadcaster has claimed in a social media post that the Trump administration has been seeking contact with Beijing through multiple channels to start negotiations over tariffs.
In a climbdown, the post by China Central Television says there’s no need for China to talk with the U.S. before the U.S. takes any substantive act but also said “there is no harm” for contact.
“China needs to observe or even force out the true intent on the U.S. side to stay proactive in the talks,” reads the post.
Sun Yun, director of the China program at the Stimson Center, said she also understands “it’s getting close” for talks between the two sides but such talks will be at the working level, not yet between President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
There’s trouble as House Republicans race to build Trump’s big bill of tax breaks and spending cuts, especially over its trillions in costs and potential Medicaid changes.
Johnson, Majority Leader Steve Scalise, tax writing committee chairman Rep. Jason Smith and the chairman handling health programs, Brett Guthrie, are meeting with Trump.
Trump’s administration released a lengthy review of transgender health care Thursday that advocates for a greater reliance on behavioral therapy rather than broad gender-affirming medical care for youths with gender dysmorphia.
The Health and Human Services report questions standards for the treatment of transgender youth issued by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health and is likely to be used to bolster the government’s abrupt shift in how to care for a subset of the population that has become a political lightning rod.
This new “best practices” report is in response to an executive order Trump issued days into his second term that says the federal government must not support gender transitions for anyone under age 19.
“Our duty is to protect our nation’s children — not expose them to unproven and irreversible medical interventions,” National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya said in a statement. “We must follow the gold standard of science, not activist agendas.”
▶ Read more about the Trump administration’s stance on transgender health care
After months of tense negotiations, the U.S. and Ukraine signed a deal that’s expected to give Washington access to the country’s critical minerals and other natural resources, an agreement Kyiv hopes will secure long-term support for its defense against Russia.
According to Ukrainian officials, the version of the deal signed Wednesday is far more beneficial to Ukraine than previous versions, which they said reduced Kyiv to a junior partner and gave Washington unprecedented rights to the country’s resources.
The deal covers minerals, including rare earth elements, but also other valuable resources, including oil and natural gas, according to the text released by Ukraine’s government.
It doesn’t include resources that are already a source of revenue for the Ukrainian state. In other words, any profits under the deal are dependent on the success of new investments. Ukrainian officials have also noted that it doesn’t refer to any debt obligations for Kyiv, meaning profits from the fund will likely not go toward the paying the U.S. back for its previous support.
▶ Read more about the U.S.-Ukraine minerals deal
To understand the Justice Department’s struggles in representing President Trump’s positions in court, look no further than a succession of losses last week that dealt a setback to the administration’s agenda.
In orders spanning different courthouses, judges blocked a White House plan to add a proof-of-citizenship requirement to the federal voter registration form, ruled the Republican administration violated a settlement agreement by deporting a man to El Salvador and halted directives that threatened to cut federal funding for public schools with diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
That’s on top of arguments in which two judges expressed misgivings to a Justice Department lawyer about the legality of Trump executive orders targeting major law firms and a department lawyer’s accidental filing of an internal memo in court questioning the Trump administration’s legal strategy to kill Manhattan’s congestion toll — a blunder the Transportation Department called “legal malpractice.”
▶ Read more about the Justice Department’s courtroom losses
Consumers can expect higher prices and delivery delays when the Trump administration ends a duty-free exemption on low-value imports from China Friday.
The expiration of the so-called de minimis rule that has allowed as many as 4 million low-value parcels to come into the U.S. every day — mostly from China — is also forcing businesses that have built their models on sourcing production in China to rethink their practices in order to keep their costs down.
But some might actually benefit from the termination of the duty exemption. For instance, companies that make their goods in the U.S. may feel relief from the competition of cheap Chinese imports, and likely experience a brighter sales outlook.
The move, which applies to goods originating from mainland China and Hong Kong, comes on top of President Donald Trump’s new tariffs totaling 145% on China. Beijing has retaliated with tariffs of 125% on the U.S., fueling a trade war between the world’s two largest economies. Sellers are already seeing cautious consumers.
▶ Read more about the end to the de minimis rule
Former Vice President Kamala Harris used a high-profile speech to sharply criticize Trump amid speculation about whether she will mount another presidential campaign or opt to run for California governor.
In her most extensive public remarks since leaving office in January following her defeat to Trump, Harris said Wednesday she’s inspired by Americans fighting Trump’s agenda despite threats to their freedom or livelihood.
Before Wednesday, Harris had barely mentioned Trump by name since she conceded defeat to him in November.
In a 15-minute speech, she spoke to the anxiety and confusion that have gripped many of her supporters since Trump took office but discouraged despair.
Trump went after Harris in a campaign-style rally Tuesday marking his 100th day in office. He sarcastically called her a “great border czar” and a “great candidate,” and repeated some of the applause lines he routinely delivered during the campaign.
▶ Read more about Harris’ remarks
Senate Republicans narrowly voted down a Democratic resolution Wednesday that would have blocked global tariffs announced by Trump earlier this month, giving the president a modest win as lawmakers in both parties have remained skeptical of his trade agenda.
The 49-49 vote came weeks after the Senate approved a resolution that would have thwarted Trump’s ability to impose tariffs on Canada. That measure passed 51-48 with the votes of four Republicans — Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul of Kentucky. But McConnell — who has been sharply critical of the tariffs but had not said how he would vote — and Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse were absent Wednesday, denying Democrats the votes for passage.
▶ Read more about the vote and resolution
President Donald Trump speaks about investing in America in the Cross Hall of the White House, Wednesday, April 30, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President Donald Trump waves after speaking about investing in America in the Cross Hall of the White House, Wednesday, April 30, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President Donald Trump speaks during an event about investing in America in the Cross Hall of the White House, Wednesday, April 30, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
