Personality Isao Inomata
Personality Isao Inomata bM: Dear Inomata-san, when were you born? II: I was born in a little town 150 km north from Tokyo, Japan, in November 1944. bM: Where do you live today and how long have you lived there? II: I have lived in Tokyo since 1991. bM: What is your educational background? II: I received a master’s degree in Industrial Chemistry from Tokyo University. Japan in 1969 bM: What is your professional function today? II: I have been the Adviser of Japan Bioplastics since 2006. bM: How did you ‘come to’ bioplastics? II: I started the business development work of PLA film and sheet in Mitsubishi Plastics Ltd, in 1999, and did a variety of PLA product development projects. From that time I was also involved in the activities of JBPA. In 2006 I joined the Japan Bioplastics Association as an adviser and since then I have been working in Bioplastics. bM: What do you consider more important: ‘biobased’ or ‘biodegradable’? II: Both are important, but especially in Japan ‘biobased’ is more important to create the industrial infrastructure of the business which is the most important issue for us at present. The big concern of the market regarding the renewable aspect and the low carbon footprint to prevent climate change will contribute much. bM: What has been your biggest achievement (in terms of bioplastics) so far? II: I am the main founder of the product certification system for biobased plastics products in Japan, known as the ‘BiomassPla Certification System’ established in 2006 by JBPA, and since then I have managed and improved the system to apply to many product categories which contribute to the market development of the bioplastics and their awareness by consumers. bM: What are your biggest challenges for the future? II: The short term challenge is how to create economy of scale for bioplastics. I want to make a major effort to establish the most suitable system for that with the support from not only government but industry. bM: What is your family status? II: I am happily married to my wife Yuko and have two daughters and one son. Our two daughters are living just near my house and with our three grandchildren they frequently come to see us, which is delightful for my wife and me. I also have a little dog called Harry. bM: What is your favorite movie? II: I constantly go to see movies with my wife, who decides what we shall watch. A recent favorite movie was ‘Letters to Juliet’ with Amanda Seyfield and Vanessa Redgrave. bM: What is your favorite book? II: Recently I have been reading light detective novels about the Edo Era. My favorite novelist is Yasuhide Saeki. bM: What is your favorite (or your next) vacation location? II: My favorite location is Europe because of my 5 years stay in Germany with my family. My next vacation, I hope, is to visit Santiago de Compostela. bM: What do you eat for breakfast on a Sunday? II: Usually traditional Japanese style, rice, fish, miso soup and seaweed, afterwards I take fresh juice and coffee. bM: What is your ‘slogan’? II: Never give up and look forward. bM: Thank you very much. 42 bioplastics MAGAZINE [04/11] Vol. 6
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