Growing awareness of corporate social responsibility was praised as favorable progress for Japan at a symposium in Tokyo earlier this week.

The meeting, hosted by the Japanese branch of the Switzerland-based Caux Round Table, was held to discuss the significance of CSR in modern business management.

Stephen B. Young, global executive director of CRT, described the change in Japanese business practice as a very positive shift, a sign that firms are beginning to focus not merely on profits, but on how they should work and behave.