The second “First in Japan” which started in Fujino is the Transition movement.
The Transition movement was launched by Rob Hopkins, a British lecturer in permaculture. The launch took place in Totnes, a small town in southern England, in 2005. The movement aimed to achieve transition from a “socio-economic system that heavily relies on fossil fuel such as petroleum” to a “socio-economic system that is sustainable on the premise of symbiosis with nature.”
A crucial reason for this transition is peak oil and climate change. Faced with these two major crisis, the Transition movement emerged. It is a grassroots movement where people best utilize their local resources to make a transition in the society where they no longer need to depend on oil.
This movement has been spreading from England to Europe as well as to North and South America, Oceania and around the world. In 2009, Transition Fujino, the first Transition movement in Japan, launched and developed a number of alternative practices. For instance, they developed and operate a local currency known as “Yorozu” which aims to create a society based on mutual aid. They also developed “Fujino Denryoku” which supplies off-the-grid alternative electric power and “Moribu” which attempts to create a vital relationship between the forest and the people. The movement also provides a “Transition Fujino One Day Tour” which takes you on a tour of these activities.
transition fujino http://ttfujino.net/
