As executive director of an umbrella alliance of civic groups trying to fight poverty in developing countries, Masaki Inaba is actively engaged in policy recommendations and a public awareness campaign, with the goal of a poverty-free world.
A Kyoto native, Inaba, 44, leads the 70-member alliance Ugoku/Ugokasu, the Japanese version of Global Call to Action Against Poverty, set up in March 2009 to help achieve the U.N.'s Millennium Development Goals, including halving poverty by 2015.
"Japanese lack interest in (the goals) even in this crucial time ticking down to the 2015 achievement deadline," said Inaba, who penned and issued a booklet about the eight MDGs late last year in collaboration with other members.