Cannabis has a long history in Japanese culture as a sacred medicine and important crop. Fast forward to 2021, things look a little different. What is the current regulatory framework in Japan? How does the future look for this potentially exciting market? Which are the next big industry opportunities?
Hosted by Prohibition Partners and Always Pure Organics, this webinar features experts on the market in Japan, to take a wide angle lens and explore the opportunity around cannabis, hemp and CBD in the region.
Speakers:
Naoko Miki – Programme Director, Green Zone Japan
Naoko divides her time between Japan, where cannabis is strictly prohibited, and Washington State, where the recreational use of cannabis was first legalized in the US in 2012. Witnessing the ever-widening gap between her two homes in the perception of cannabis, she became a medical cannabis advocate in Japan, and in 2017, founded Green Zone Japan with a Japanese MD, to bring science-based, up-to-date information to the Japanese audience. Naoko is also the director of Project CBD Japan, a Japanese-language mirror site of the California-based non-profit ProjectCBD.org and translates all their articles into Japanese. She is a book translator by trade and has translated 4 cannabis related books to date: “Marijuana is Safer: So Why Are We Driving People to Drink?,” “Healing with CBD: How Cannabidiol Can Transform Your Health without the High,” “Cannabis for the Treatment of Cancer: The Anticancer Activity of Phytocannabinoids and Endocannabinoids” and “The Essential Guide to CBD: Everything You Need to Know About What It Helps, Where to Buy, and How to Take It.”
Chikako Yoshida – Regional Director of Asia, Always Pure Organics
Chikako specialised in counter-terrorism including drug control for 20 years, working for various agencies including the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and Ministry of Foreign Affairs Japan.
Upon learning about the power of cannabis and seeing the high potential growth of APO, she decided to change her career from preventing illicit drugs to promoting cannabis to help people in need. After experiencing a sense of helplessness at the tragic loss of her youngest brother to leukaemia 25 years ago, she feels that by joining APO, she can help fulfil her life’s mission to support children and their families who fight against illness and sickness by providing them with cannabis products.
Jay Rosenthal (moderator) – Managing Director, Business of Cannabis
Jay has a 20-year career at the intersection of media, business, policy and politics. Jay comes to Business of Cannabis from a career spanning Washington, D.C., Silicon Valley and Canada. With a background in government, he launched several successful consultancies and start-ups before launching Business of Cannabis. He has extensive experience in moving projects from ideas to launch bridging industries as varied as publishing and health tech.
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