Breakout Session 6>> Cooperatives, a New Alternative Since 2008, the financial and economic crises in the US and Europe do not appear to cease in the near future. The 99%’s demonstration against the 1% is spreading around the world. The Great Earthquake and Fukushima nuclear accident are driving Japanese economy and society into the times of shock and stagnation. In such times of crises and disasters, cooperatives are rising as an alternative. Johnston Birchall, a world’s renowned cooperative researcher finds cooperatives as an effective alterna-tive to the ‘Capitalism in Crises’, reflecting on the case studies in Europe and the US. Akira Kurimoto, the director at JCCU, explains the achievements and expected roles of cooperatives in Japan. JCCU is a research institute for cooperatives in Japan that has gained worldly recognition. Ki-tae Kim, the president at Cooperative Institute, presents the trend, flow and tasks of Korean coopera-tives. Hyundae Kim, a former journalist at Hankyureh Media Group will moderate this session. Hyuckjin Choi, the vice president at Wonju Health and Social Care Cooperative, and Young-gyun Woo, the presi-dent at the Institute of Cooperative and Social Economy, will be on the discussion panel. Hong Il Pyo, Senior Researcher, Hankyoreh Economic Research Institute iphong1732@hani.co.kr