Kobe University

Global-Link Forum in Taipei-Event Report-

報告書

2015

December 3-4
in Taipei

巻頭言／ Preface

巻頭言
神戸大学グローバルリンク・フォーラムは、国際的な知的情報リソースである海外同窓会ネットワーク及び海外協定機関との積極的な連携を通し、本学の教育研究活動を促進し、神戸大学ブランドを世界に発信することを目的としています。2011 年に、第 1 回をタイ・バンコクで開催したのを皮切りに、第 2 回は韓国・ソウル、第 3 回は中国・北京、
第 4 回はベトナム・ホーチミン及びハノイ、第 5 回はマレーシア・クアラルンプールで開催し、今回で６回目を迎えました。
今回のフォーラムでは、国立台湾大学及び台湾神戸大学同窓会との共催、台北医学大学及び公益財団法人交流協会台北事務所のご後援をいただき、実現に至りました。そして、中華民国教育部、公益財団法人交流協会台北事務所、台湾神戸大学同窓会からご祝辞を賜り、御礼申し上げます。
また、国立台湾大学の Ching-Ray Chang 副学長の基調講演、さらには、国立台湾大学、台北医学大学、台湾経済研究院、中原大学から第一線で活躍しておられる著名な先生方にご講演を賜り、重ねて御礼申し上げます。
現在、本学で学ぶ留学生は 1,100 人を超え、そのうち台湾からの留学生は 26 人を数えます。
本学は台湾との研究交流も活発に行なっており、昨年度は 89 名の研究者を台湾に派遣し、台湾からは 14 名の研究者を受入れました。
近年のアジア経済の著しい発展に伴い、日本と台湾の間での協力関係がより一層重要度を増す中、今回のフォーラムにおいては、「日台関係の再認識－科学技術イノベーションにおける協力－」をテーマに、1 日目は人文・人間科学系と社会科学系、2 日
目は生命・医学系と自然科学系のフォーラムを開催し、日台両国の専門家がそれぞれの立場から現状と課題を報告し、議論を行います。
神戸大学は、教育研究両面において、今後さらに、台湾の教育研究機関との連携を強化し、共に卓越した研究成果を創出していくとともに、本フォーラムにもご参加いただいた本学の卒業生のように世界で活躍する指導的人材を共に養成して参りたいと存じますので、今後もご協力のほどよろしくお願い申し上げます。
神戸大学長 武田廣PrefaceThis Forum aims to promote our education and research activities and the Kobe University Brand overseas byforming stronger links with overseas academic associations and the International Alumni Association Network,
which provides an invaluable repository of knowledge for the University. We held the first Kobe University GlobalLink Forum in Bangkok, Thailand in 2011. After the successful launch of KUGL, Kobe University held the second
forum in Seoul, South Korea, the third forum in Beijing, China, the fourth forum in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi,
Vietnam, and the fifth in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. This is now the sixth KUGL forum.
This Forum could not be held without the cooperation of our co-hosts, National Taiwan University and the Kobe
University Alumni Association in Taiwan, and the support of Taipei Medical University and the Taipei Office, Japan
Interchange Association. I would like to express my appreciation for the congratulatory messages from the Taiwan
Ministry of Education, the Taipei Office, Japan Interchange Association, and the Kobe University Alumni Associationin Taiwan. I would also like to express my gratitude to the Executive Vice President of National Taiwan University
Ching-Ray Chang for his keynote speech, and to the other eminent professors who are speaking at this Forum from1

巻頭言／ Preface
National Taiwan University, Taipei Medical University, Taiwan Institute of Economic Research, and Chung Yuan
University. Our speakers are celebrated professors who stand at the top of their fields, and it is an honor to havethem with us.
Currently over 1,100 international students are studying at Kobe University, including 26 students from Taiwan.
Our University is also actively engaged in collaborative research with Taiwan: last year 89 researchers travelled to
Taiwan, and 14 researchers from Taiwan visited Kobe University.
With the recent rapid economic development in Asia, deepening cooperative relations between Taiwan and Japanis more important than ever. This year’s Forum theme is “Re-realizing the Relationship with Taiwan and Japan:
Cooperation in Science, Technology and Innovation.” Experts from Japan and Taiwan will present their insights oncontemporary issues, focusing on humanities and social sciences on the first day, and medicine and natural scienceson the second day.
Kobe University will continue to strengthen its education and research alliances with Taiwanese institutions,working together to yield excellent research results and foster human resources who can take on international
leadership roles, just like the talented alumni gathered at this forum. I look forward to your continued enthusiastic
support in these international partnerships.
TAKEDA Hiroshi, President of Kobe University2

Programme

Programme
Programme

December 3-4 2015
Kobe Global-Link Forum in Taipei【Opening Session】
Opening Remarks

Noriyuki Inoue

Executive Vice President in Charge of International Exchange
and Internal Control Kobe University ·················································· 5

Congratulatory Address Guan-chau Huang

Deputy Education Counsellor, Department of Internationaland Cross-strait Education, Ministry of Education ··································· 6

Keynote Speech

Takashi hamada

Secretary-General, Taipei Office, Japan Interchange Association ··················· 7David Chang

President, Kobe University Alumni Association in Taiwan ·························· 8

Hiroshi Takeda

President, Kobe University································································ 9

Ching-Ray Chang

Executive Vice President for Administrative Affairs,
National Taiwan University ······························································ 10【New Orientations in the Humanities and Social Sciences in East Asia】
・Humanities
Lecture 1

Yasushi Ogata

Historical Conciousness and the "Chinese Model" ································· 11

Lecture 2

Chun-chieh Huang

Why Speak of “East Asian Confucianisms” ? ········································ 15

Lecture 1

Hiroyuki Ozaki

Innovation Made by Technology Entrepreneurs in Japan ·························· 20

Lecture 2

Chien-Fu Jeff Lin

Taiwan and Japan's industrial and economic outlooks and their prospect ······ 24

Lecture 3

Shinya Horie

Sustainable Strategies for Recovery from Natural Disasters ······················ 29

Lecture 4

Julie C. L. Sun

Taiwan Agricultural Technology Foresight 2025 ···································· 33

・Social Sciences【Advanced Research of Emerging and Reemerging Diseases in Asia】
Lecture 1

Hak Hotta

International Collaborative Research on Infectious Diseases- J-GRID (MEXT), SATREPS (JST/JICA), A*STAR (Singapore), JSPS program - ·· 37

Lecture 2

Masanori Kameoka

Characterization of Southeast Asian type of HIV ···································· 41

Lecture 3

Toshiro Shirakawa

Development of the novel oral vaccine platform utilizing bifidobacteria ········ 45

Lecture 4

Shin-Han Tsai

Telemedicine and Emergency Air Medical Services ································· 49

Lecture 5

Pei-Jer Chen

Optimized Immunotherapy to Cure Chronic HBV Infection
by Using a Convenient Immuno-competent Mouse Model························ 53【Advanced Membrane Technology Contributions to Resolving Energy and Environmental Issues】
Lecture 1

Hideto Matsuyama

Development of Water Treatment Membrane for the Resolution of World
Water Shortage ············································································ 57

Lecture 2

Da-Ming Wang

Morphology Control of Polymeric Membranes- Roles of Polymer Chain Entanglement ·············································· 613

Programme

Lecture 3

Eiji Kamio

Tough Ion Gel Membranes Containing Amino Acid Ionic Liquid
as a CO2 Carrier··········································································· 65

Lecture 4

Kuo-Lun Tung

Development of Novel Aerogel Membranes to Resolve the Carbon Abundance
and water Scarcity Issues ······························································· 69

Lecture 5

Kueir-Rarn Lee

Polymeric membrane microstructure characterization
by positron annihilation spectroscopy ················································ 73

Closing Remarks
Hiroshi Takeda

President, Kobe University ····························································· ●【Kobe University Alumni Networking in Taipei】
・Yeachi Chen·························································································································· 78

・Jeng Ju Chuan·························································································································· 79

・Ren-Jye Liu·························································································································· 80

4Opening Remarks

Opening Remarks
Good afternoon Your Excellency, Mr. Guan-chau Huang,
Deputy Educational Counsellor, Ministry of Education,
Taiwan, Mr. Takashi Hamada, Secretary-General, Taipei
Office of Japan Interchange Association, Prof. Ching-Ray
Chang, Executive Vice President of National Taiwan
University, Mr. David Chang, President of Kobe University
Alumni Association, Taiwan, distinguished Guests and ladies
and gentlemen, At first, I must say very thanks for NTU’s
cooperation to hold this Symposium, and welcome you all to
the Kobe University Global Link Forum 2015 in Taipei.
My name is Noriyuki INOUE, I’m Executive Vice
President in charge of international affairs of Kobe University.
It is great honor and pleasure for me to speak an opening
remarks at today’s Symposium as a representative of Kobe
University.

Professor Dr. Noriyuki Inoue

Executive Vice President, Kobe University

Kobe University is the one of the globalized universities inJapan. Concerning the programs with which Kobe University is now engaging in order to enhanceand deepen the globalization of researches and educations. Kobe University has a long history andproud tradition as an education and research institution established in the cosmopolitan city of Kobe.
Ever since it was opened to the world, Kobe City has been daily witness to a cross-border exchangeof people, goods, and capitals. Many foreigners also have lived in Kobe since Japan’s modern
period began nearly 150 years ago. Kobe has since become a very comfortable place for foreigners
to live and also to pursue their education. These city’s traditions and an awareness of the type ofglobally minded individuals required in the 21st century make us able to foster a network. Taking
advantage of our location in this cosmopolitan and open-minded city, Kobe University, with its
foundation based on an integration of theory and practice, has been striving to achieve global
excellence as a core base for education and research and to become an interdisciplinary researchintensive university. And moreover, it is very important thing, Kobe University’s campus isrecognized as one of the most beautiful in Japan.
Regarding student and researcher exchange, Kobe University will not only promote the mutual
exchange, but also connect students and researchers in European and Asian/ASEAN countries at
Kobe University as a core and connecting base for those exchanges. The University also aims toplay a role as an interface between overseas institutions and corporations as well as publicorganizations based in Kobe with Kobe University serving as a hub-campus to realize suchconnections.
As I mentioned, our global programs are developing toward the two core regions, the countries inthe European Union and East-Asia/ASEAN. Concerning the relationship between Asian Countries,
Kobe University establishes now The Centre for Asian Researches and Studies with the aim ofenhancing and expanding pre-existing student / researcher exchange. This KUGL is one of the mostimportant events of that Centre. We are now holding KUGL once every year in order to strengthen
our network with the Alumni Association and the collaborated research institutions in Asian
countries. I hope that today’s Forum can make the relationship between Japan and Taiwan morestrong and deep.
Finally, thank you very much again to National Taiwan University for the excellent arrangement
and preparation for this Symposium.

5Congratulatory Address

Congratulatory Address
Deputy Education Counsellor Guan-chau Huang started byexpressing his pleasure to be granted this opportunity to give a
congratulatory address to the Kobe University Global Link Forumon behalf of the Ministry of Education. He stated that the forum
would be a meaningful contribution to the bilateral development ofeducation and the promotion of mutual friendship.
He went on to discuss the academic connections between Taiwan
and Japan. According to statistics, the total number of Taiwanese
students studying in Japan reached 6,200 in 2014, an increase of
2,000 students over the past ten years. Similarly, the number ofJapanese students studying in Taiwan has risen from 2,200 ten
years ago to 5,600 in 2014. Joint agreements signed between
universities in Taiwan and Japan for student exchange or joint
research total 1,200. Deputy Education Counsellor Guan-chau
Huang emphasized that these developments illustrate the close
bonds between Taiwan and Japan.

Guan-chau Huang

Deputy Education Counsellor,
Department of International andCross-strait Education,
Ministry of Education

The Deputy Education Counsellor then touched upon the globalization of higher education and theresulting competitive relationship between universities. In order to advance the quality of education andresearch, each university must endeavor to recruit excellent teachers and students from around the world.
However, he went on to stress that mutual cooperation is more important than this competition. He quoted
the words of Zeng Zi, “Gentlemen make friends through learning and enhance their virtue mutually”. Thesewords can be applied to the Kobe University Global Forum, which not only contributes to academic
cooperation between Taiwan and Japan, but also promotes mutual bonds of friendship between the two sides.
Deputy Education Counsellor Guan-chau Huang concluded by expressing his sincere respect to all theattendees delivering speeches and sharing their wisdom.

Profile
1987
1990
1991

BA, Journalism, Chinese Culture University
MA, Japanese Studies, Chinese Culture University
Naval Officer

1993
1999
2001

Entered the Ministry of Education (MOE), Third Culture Secretary
Second Culture Secretary
Second Culture Secretary, Culture Division of Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office(TECO) in Japan
2007 Director of Office of Mainland Affairs, MOE2009 First Education Secretary, TECO in Osaka
2015 Deputy Education Counsellor, MOE

6

Congratulatory Address

Congratulatory Address
President Hiroshi Takeda, President Ching-Ray Chang,distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
It is a great pleasure for me to be here and participate in the
Kobe University Global-Link Forum in Taipei at National
Taiwan University.
On behalf of Japan Interchange Association, I would liketo express my sincere congratulations to Kobe University for
hosting this important forum in terms of strengthening JapanTaiwan academic exchange.
As you well know, Japan and Taiwan have shared alongstanding friendship that transcends the areas of economy,
international trade, tourism, culture and academia.
We are close partners that stand united against various
challenges, which is especially evident when Taiwan
extended its generous and helping hands to Japan during andafter 3.11, the East-Japan Earthquake. Many Japanesecitizens still express their gratefulness toward Taiwan’s
generosity.

Takashi HAMADA

Secretary-General of the Interchange
Association Japan（Taipei Office）

International exchange and mutual understanding as well as continued capacity building are
indispensable for strengthening Japan and Taiwan’s relationship. To nurture the next generation ofleaders that will develop our future relationship, Japan Interchange Association has long promoted
Japan studies and Japanese-language education in Taiwan.
Through hosting the Global Link Forum in several cities in Asia, Kobe University has beenpromoting international academic exchange all over the world. Today’s forum in Taipei covers avariety of academic fields; humanities, social sciences, medical sciences, and energy andenvironmental issues.
The distinguished scholars from each field will bring diverse insights and perspectives. I am
confident that this Global-Link Forum, in cooperation with National Taiwan University, is of great
importance to both Japan and Taiwan.
Lastly, I sincerely wish the two-days forum a great success, and further development of academic
exchange between Japan and Taiwan. Thank you very much.
Profile1991 Graduated from Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, Japan
1991 Entered Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan
2002 Principal Deputy Director, United Nations Policy Division, Foreign Policy Bureau
2005 Deputy Consul General and Director of General Affairs and Political Section, Consulate
General of Japan in New York, USA
2008 Principal Deputy Director, Personnel Division, Minister’s Secretariat2011 Director, Japan-China Economic Affairs Division, Asian and Oceania Affairs Bureau
2012 Director, Third Division, Intelligence and Analysis Service
2014 Secretary-General of the Interchange Association Japan(Taipei Office)7

Congratulatory Address

Congratulatory Address
Esteemed Kobe University President Takeda, Taiwan
University Executive Vice President Chang, Ministry of
Education Counsellor Huang, Japan Interchange Association
Taipei Office Secretary-General Hamada,
Honored guests,
My name is David Chang and I am the President of the Kobe
University Alumni Association in Taiwan. I would like to saya few words of greeting in Chinese and Japanese.
First, I would like to thank the organizers for inviting me toattend the sixth Kobe University Global-Link Forum. It is anhonor to be giving these opening remarks, and I am truly
grateful to you all for traveling from various parts of Japan andTaiwan to be here today.

David Chang

President of the Kobe University
Alumni Association in Taiwan

Two years ago I visited Kobe University as a representativeof this Alumni Association, and I was privileged to meet former University President Fukuda andrequest that the Global-Link Forum be held in Taipei. Thanks to the support and hard work of many
people during the past two years, we have been able to achieve that goal, and hold this wonderfulforum in Taiwan.
There are many regional and historical links between Taiwan and Japan. For a long time the twocountries have collaborated and developed side by side in multiple areas including agriculture,
production, and business. The theme of this years’ forum is “Re-realizing the Relationship with
Taiwan and Japan: Cooperation in Science, Technology and Innovation”. I hope that this will be an
opportunity for mutual exchange in the specialist fields of both universities, and for progress inresearch initiatives that will contribute to creating a better society for future happiness and prosperity.
I myself am not part of the academic sphere – I have been working in the IT industry now for along time. During this time, I have done business with people from many different countries. I believethat in order to succeed in business, the most important points are mutual respect and valuing personalconnections between individuals. I hope that we can use this Global-Link Forum as a chance todiscover more common features between us in addition to our research, and build the foundations forincreased collaborations in the future.
Finally, I would like to express my deep gratitude to those from Taiwan University and Kobe
University who have worked very hard to make this forum possible. I wish this forum every success.
Thank you for listening.
Profile
2000
2000
2004
2008
2011
8

Graduated from the Kobe University Department of Computer Science and Systems
Engineering
Joined Fujitsu Limited (Tokyo)
Joined Foxconn Electronics Inc in Taipei, Taiwan)
Founded Bayhub Inc in the USA (a service for corporations)Founded second company, Framy Inc (creator of mobile phone applications)Keynote Speech

Keynote SpeechDistinguished guests, honorable speakers, our wonderfulalumni, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Kobe University
Global-Link Forum in Taipei.
First of all, on behalf of Kobe University, I would like toexpress my profound gratitude to all the speakers andparticipants for attending today despite your busy schedules.
I consider it a great pleasure to be able to host this Forum at
National Taiwan University over the next two days.
This Forum aims to promote our education and research
activities and the Kobe University Brand overseas by formingstronger links with overseas academic associations and theHiroshi Takeda
International Alumni Association Network, which provides an President, Kobe University
invaluable repository of knowledge for the University. We held
the first Kobe University Global-Link Forum in Bangkok,
Thailand in 2011. After the successful launch of KUGL, Kobe
University held the second forum in Seoul, South Korea, the third forum in Beijing, China, the fourthforum in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, Vietnam, and the fifth in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. This is now
the sixth KUGL forum.
This Forum could not be held without the cooperation of our co-hosts, National Taiwan University
and the Kobe University Alumni Association in Taiwan, and the support of Taipei Medical University
and the Taipei Office, Japan Interchange Association. I would like to express my appreciation for the
congratulatory messages from the Taiwan Ministry of Education, the Taipei Office, Japan Interchange
Association, and the Kobe University Alumni Association in Taiwan. I would also like to express mygratitude to the Executive Vice President of National Taiwan University Ching-Ray Chang for his
keynote speech, and to the other eminent professors who are speaking at this Forum from National
Taiwan University, Taipei Medical University, Taiwan Institute of Economic Research, and Chung Yuan
University. Our speakers are celebrated professors who stand at the top of their fields, and it is an honor
to have them with us.
Currently over 1,100 international students are studying at Kobe University, including 26 students
from Taiwan. Our University is also actively engaged in collaborative research with Taiwan: last year 89
researchers travelled to Taiwan, and 14 researchers from Taiwan visited Kobe University.
With the recent rapid economic development in Asia, deepening cooperative relations between
Taiwan and Japan is more important than ever. This year’s Forum theme is “Re-realizing theRelationship with Taiwan and Japan: Cooperation in Science, Technology and Innovation-.” Experts
from Japan and Taiwan will present their insights on contemporary issues, focusing on humanities andsocial sciences on the first day, and medicine and natural sciences on the second day.
Kobe University will continue to strengthen its education and research alliances with Taiwaneseinstitutions, working together to yield excellent research results and foster human resources who cantake on international leadership roles, just like the talented alumni gathered here today. I look forward to
your continued enthusiastic support in these international partnerships.
9Keynote Speech

Keynote Speech
Executive Vice President Ching-Ray Chang focused on the
topic of science, technology and innovation from theperspective of National Taiwan University. He spoke firstabout Taiwan as a whole. He stated that Taiwan’s success
was largely thanks to its advanced higher education system,
which has undergone multiple reforms. Taiwan faces
multiple issues: it is a densely populated country, with a lowbirth rate. Like Japan it experiences national disasters. It also
lacks natural resources, so more than 97% of Taiwan’s
energy is imported.
The success of Taiwan despite these challenges is due toits human resources, and these depend upon the quality of its
Ching-Ray Chang
Executive Vice President forhigher education. Taiwan invests about 3% of its GDP into
Administrative Affairs,
higher education, and also has many research andNational Taiwan University
development initiatives. These include industrial research
institutes sponsored by the Ministry of Economic Affairs andthe National Synchroton Radiation Research Center
supported by MOST.
The speech then turned to National Taiwan University. The Executive Vice President named it
Taiwan’s most prestigious university. It is also the largest, with around 32,000 students, 11colleges, and 3 professional schools. NTU owns about 1% of Taiwanese land, with four campuses
including an Experimental Forest. It is engaged in world-class research in fields including biology,
engineering, and disaster mitigation. He highlighted the importance NTU places on social
contributions and producing talented individuals to work in local industry.
International collaboration is also key to NTU’s strategy. NTU has three I-RiCE centers(International Research-intensive Centers of Excellence in Taiwan) and provides multiple language
and training programs, including MOOCs. NTU also has 67 double degree programs and more than
700 MoUs with universities worldwide. In 2015 NTU sent 118 students to Japan and had 57 visiting
Japanese students. As well as international collaborations, the university shares resources with twoneighboring universities, Taiwan Normal University and the National Taiwan University of Scienceand Technology.
The Executive Vice President emphasized that universities are only as good as their members: tobe a good university you need first-rate professors. Undergraduates are also a key resource, often
overlooked. Finally, he emphasized the importance of international mobility and international
collaborations in 21st century higher education.
Profile1988 Taiwan Associated Professor, Department of Physics, National Taiwan University
1989 Chairman of Department of Physics, National Taiwan University
1994 Professor of Physics, Department of Physics, National Taiwan University General
2008 Director of International Cooperation Department, National Sciences Council
2011 Dean of College of Sciences, National Taiwan University
2013 Executive Vice President for Administrative Affairs
10Historical Conciousness and the “Chinese Model”

Historical Conciousness and the “Chinese Model”
Yasushi Ogata
Director, Center for Asian Studies
Professor, Graduate School of Humanities
Kobe University
1. From the “Beijing Consensus” to the “Chinese model”
The debate of the “Chinese model” began in an article entitled the “Beijing consensus” announced
in 2004 written by an American writer Joshua Cooper Ramo. Ramo expected that only China could
become a superpower to confront the United States in the near future. And the characteristics of the“Beijing consensus” would be the soft power (containing political) that not include the armaments
factors, from this angle, it would be different from the “Washington consensus” which has been theworld consensus till then.
When China escaped from a world financial crisis started from Lehman shock in 2008 quickly andaccomplished rapid economic development, many people began to think that the secret of the successof China did not stem from “Beijing consensus,” it was just from an more comprehensive concept:“Chinese model.” Including Japan, many debaters of the Western countries considered that the“Chinese model” is one of the economic models of developmental dictatorship of the East Asia. But
we should notice that the reform and door-open policies from 1978 in China learned a lot ofexperiences from not only the economy model of Japan but also of Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong,
Singapore called NIES. As a study of Jonathan Anderson clarified it, 7.5-8.0% a year of Chinese
GDP from 1978 to 2000 is the almost same as 7.5-8.5% that Japan and NIES achieved at the same
time.
Following Ramo, if we pay attention to the soft power (containing political) of both, we can realizethat the two areas belong to the Confucius cultural sphere of Asia. Then can we clarify thecharacteristics of the “Chinese model” through considering the political culture in these areas from
historical background?

2. The return to the tradition and the “Chinese model”
It is well known that Xi Jinping Administration attaches great importance to Chinese soft power.
His slogan called “Chinese national dream (November 29, 2012) ” showed it. However, Deng
Xiaoping had mentioned that it was the feudal despotism inherited from traditional China had
disturbed the modernization of China in his “Reform of the leadership systems of the Party and thestate (August 18, 1981). ” And in the 13th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party in 1987, Zhao
Ziyang also stated that the feudal despotism should be overcome for a democratic revolution of China
when the socialistic primary stage was submitted. The CCP has become to regard Confucianism as
an important part of the socialism with the Chinese characteristics being the same as MarxismLeninism and Maoism from 1993. Xi Jinping’s remark was an extension of this thought, but his
historical recognition to return to the soft power of traditional China gave us an impression that hehad already revised a democratic reform and door-open policies which aimed at getting over the
feudal despotism.
The “Chinese model” can express it in other words with “oppressive authoritarian rule.” Thecharacteristics may be summarized as: 1) democracy at the bottom, 2) experimentation between local
and central levels of government, 3) meritocracy at the top. 1But the system is controlled strongly by
11Historical Conciousness and the “Chinese Model”

the CCP, basic society, local governments, central government, staffs and the organizations of thebureaucracy, are all highly centralized hardly to become a pluralistic society. The new practice which
tried to connect local and central levels called the “Chongqing model” promoted by Bo Xilai aimed
to get supports of the public people which was organized for the Party groups to monopolize thevested interests did not any effective role to relieve social vulnerable groups called “ruoshi qunti(poverty minority) .”The “Chinese model” had a great impact for the profit-sharing between various interest groups
included peasants and workers from the end of 1970s to the mid 1980s, but in the late 1980s, thepolitical interests between social groups has begun to be contradicted. The 1989 Tiananmen Square
Incident was an outcome of such interests opposition, after this the reform came to a deadlock.
The collapse of the communism in the Soviet Union, and the Eastern European countries of the early
1990s became the origin of the “Chinese model.” A modernization model that introduced capitalism
while maintaining a one-party dictatorship system was established since then. Through watching andhaving controlled the national government, national economy, and private society thoroughly, an
extremely effective power to perform a measure of the economic development was also born. Thishigh effectiveness was a good point of the “Chinese model” also a bad point at the same time.
Power was unified highly, and the bureaucratic capitalist society where a few special interest groups
in the CCP held real power of politics and economy was “low human rights, low environmental
protection” commented by Qin Hui. 2The attack of 75% of Chinese people is connected with waterpollution so that WTO report points it out in 2009, and, in public sector formed in the 1980s, the mostare on the verge of the extinction. The policy of “guojin mintui (a state-owned enterprise goes, and a
private enterprise withdraws) ” which led to high growth in China after 2008 is the one that has pickedup the bud of the political reform in China.
In fact, to remove the model of democratic revolution which aimed at overcoming the feudal
despotism which promoted by Deng Xiaoping and Zhao Ziyang, and the recent movements toconsider the Confucianism being made much of as Marxism-Leninism as an ideology and to advertise
soft power of the traditional culture abroad while rousing the “Chinese national dream” is the backand a list of the medal. It means to build up a bureaucratic capitalism with the Chinese characteristics
from a model to coordinate the interests opposition of various social groups to switch to a model tocentralize huge economic rights and interests in the state ownership sector. The reform and open-door
policies since 1978 changed largely into the movement to aim at such a bureaucratic capitalism by
the 1989 Tiananmen Square Incident. After 2008, the “Chinese model” has caught the eye of thewhole world instead of the American world hegemony.
It may be said that the “Chinese model” gets an inspiration of the new rule from an inheritance ofthe principle of bureaucracy and commercial capitalism that former Confucius society built up
consistently. The traditional Chinese soft power does not threaten the “Chinese model” anymore. The
feudal despotism in the Confucius China became the required soft power when the special interest
groups pursued to maintain their own power.

3. The return to the tradition ? Or the return to the revolution ?
However, the Chinese national dream includes another different connotations. Jin Guantao
promoted attention in two facts when we consider the traditional Chinese word “revolution.”3First, in China before the 20th century, the use frequency of the word “revolution” was far behind“equality.” The word “equality” born as a term for translation of the Buddhism sacred book prescribed
12

Historical Conciousness and the “Chinese Model”

the rules of action and ethics of the people deeply who lived in traditional China. That was why Mao
Zedong pursued to establish the society which is equal even if poor, as he had the historical
recognition common to a traditional Chinese ethos deeply.
Second, the word “revolution” in traditional China was used in a meaning to confirm that Tiandao(law of the heaven) did not change. The dynasty relief was born at the frequency once in 300 years,
and the revolution was not a daily event even if most people never had experienced in their life. The
Chinese history of the 20th century from the 1911 Revolution to the Great Cultural Revolution was
only an exceptional situation.
Meanwhile, the slogan which symbolized the 1990s was “say goodbye to the revolution (Li Zehou,
Liu Zaifu,1995)” when the democratic revolution that Deng Xiaoping and Zhao Ziyang pursued was
rejected. According to Jin Guantao’s consideration, it was much nearer a traditional normal sense of
China. However, paralleling to the “Chinese model” being noised a slogan “get back to therevolution” has begun to be advocated in China. What kind of reason will this depend on?
Zhu Xueqin thought that the turning point was in 2012. 4In this year, peasants of NiaoKan village
in Guang Dong Province gained villager self-government, and Sichuan public peace Director Wang
Lijun who was the subordinate of Bo Xilai escaped into US Embassy. According to Zhu Xueqin,
these two cases mean “the end of the times that giving priority to retaining stability for 20 years.”
Since the 1989 Tiananmen Square Incident, the threatening move to raise formal objection to theParty policy has been confined every corner under the principle of “giving priority to retaining
stability.” However, it was not going to protect the profit of the people in a true meaning. The recordbreaking monitoring society characterized by the “Chinese model” was created from here.
The principle “giving priority to retaining stability” confined rational talks of social classes morethan the social revolt. Therefore a “revolution” to bring back these talks cannot be revolution ofviolence. “It should be the organization of the rights-defense campaign since 2005 and the street
protests, also the politicization (words of Teng Biao, rights-defense groups lawyer).”5
It is to be demanded for modern China is the “Chinese constitutional dream” not the “Chinese
national dream.”

13

Historical Conciousness and the “Chinese Model”

1

Daniel A. Bell, The China Model: Political Meritocracy and the Limits of Democracy (Princeton
University Press, 2015) 179-180.
2
Ding Xueliang, The Chinese Model: for and against (Oxford University Press [China], 2014) 207.
3
Jin Guantao, “Zhongguoren keyi gaobie geming ma?” [Can the Chinese Say Goodbye to
Revolution?],Teng Biao and Wang Tiancheng co-eds. Huidao Geming [Get back to Revolution] (SuYuan Shushe, 2015) 245-247.
4
Zhu Xueqing, “Gaobie huo yongbao geming doushi weixiande” [It is All Dangerous for Us to Say
Goodbye to or Embrace Revolution?] Huidao Geming [Get back to Revolution] 240-244.
5Teng Biao, “Gongmin weiquan yundong yu zhongguo zhengzhi gaige” [Citizen Human Rights
Movement and The Chinese Political Reform] Huidao Geming [Get back to Revolution] 324.

14

Why Speak of “East Asian Confucianisms”?

Why Speak of “East Asian Confucianisms”?
Chun-chieh Huang
National Chair Professor and Dean
Institute for Advanced Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences
National Taiwan University
1.

Introduction
The theoretical foundations and future prospects of the new field of “East Asian Confucianisms”

still await deep and extensive scholarly deliberations. Back in 2003, I examined some of the issues
and problems in the article, “How is “East Asian Confucianisms” Possible as a Field of Study?”
The present paper examines the related question, ‘What is the Necessity of “East Asian
Confucianisms”? Part Two discusses the special features of “East Asian Confucianisms.” Part
Three considers the prospects of “East Asian Confucianisms” as a new field in the present
academic world as well as providing the foundation for a possible new Humanism for the
21st-century age of globalization. Part Four concludes the study.
2.

What is “East Asian Confucianisms”？

The contents and special features of “East Asian Confucianisms” can be viewed from a variety ofperspectives, the most significant of which are two: 1) the interaction between “part” and “whole,”
and 2) the contrast between “form” and “content.”
As to the interaction between “part” and “whole,” the term, “East Asian Confucianisms” isintended to stress that, within the rich diversity of the Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese
cultures and traditions, within their variety of differing Confucianisms, lies a common core ofshared intellectual and ethical factors. This special feature of “East Asian Confucianisms” hasseveral dimensions:First, “East Asian Confucianisms” refers to impact of Confucian values as manifested inindiginous thought and culture. The diversity of localized formations of Confucian thought andculture across East Asia is not a mere mosaic of these localized manifestations; for, as a matter offact, the Confucianisms of the East Asian countries influenced one another through exchanges andinteractions for centuries. Just as “Christendom” was formed through religious and culturalintercourse and interactions across Western Europe, thus featuring a plethora of distinctive localized
forms, a similar sort of “Confuciandom” took shape across East Asia. The term “Confuciandom”
underscores that, despite the rich variety of localized manifestations of “East Asian Confucianisms,”
there is a distinctive regional “wholeness” of shared intellectual and ethical factors that are held incommon.
Next, the regional wholeness of “East Asian Confucianisms” does not exist as an abstraction over
and above the concrete exchanges and interactions going on among the Confucian traditions of the15

Why Speak of “East Asian Confucianisms”?

East Asian countries. Rather, it exists—and grows and develops—right in the midst of theseexchanges and interactions among these diverse East Asian Confucian traditions. The watchword
here is “in the midst of,” again, this wholeness is not to be regarded as something “over and above.”
Further, since “East Asian Confucianisms” exists in the midst of, and not over and above, thecultural exchanges and interactions among the East Asian countries; it cannot be regarded as asingle, fixed, unchanging intellectual form that was originated and rigidly defined over 2600 years
ago on the Shandong peninsula in China. Rather, we must appreciate that it has undergone acontinuous, ongoing process of development for over 2000 years across East Asia. And, not only
has East Asian Confucianisms progressed over time, it has been adapted to suit each different locale
it has encountered so that the manifestations of Confucian tradition in each locale seamlessly reflect
the special features of that place while still sharing the central core values of Confucianism.
As to the contrast between “form” and “content,” the modes of Confucian intellectual and culturaltransmission across East Asia were not at all uniform; they were highly diverse indeed. For example,
while the transmitters of Confucian values in China were scholars or scholar-officials, in Tokugawa
Japan they were common intellectuals, and in Choson Korea they were the “yangban” (feudal
power holders). The transmitters of Confucian values in these three countries occupied very
different positions in society and had highly different relations to political power. However, despite
these differences, commonalties remained among the Confucian traditions of China, Japan, andKorea. To whit despite the different levels and scopes of Confucian transmitters (form) in thepolitics and societies of these three countries, they all shared the same core Confucian values incommon (content).
The core Confucian values shared in common by the Confucians in the various East Asian
countries include, at the very least, the following two: First, Confucians in all of the East Asian
countries all firmly believe that the foundation and starting point of Confucianism lay in a “selfcultivation” process that involves extending sympathy, proceeding along a continuum from “self” to“family,” to “society,” to “state,” and on to “world.” East Asian Confucians all hold, in effect, thatthe transformation of self is the starting point of transforming the world. Consequently, East Asian
Confucian masters all passionately devoted themselves to developing deep profound theories ofself-cultivation.
The second core value shared in common by the Confucians of each East Asian country andtradition is Confucius’ teaching of Ren 仁, rendered variously in English as Humanity, humaneness,
human-heartedness, benevolence, authoritative personhood, etc. The term Ren appears 105 times in
58 chapters of Confucius’ Analects (Lunyu 論語). Taking Ren as the core value on which to arrange
and construct the empire, the East Asian Confucian masters and students dreamed of realizing a
Confucian utopia.
3. What is the Necessity of “East Asian Confucianisms”?
Now we are in a position to consider the fundamental question: “Why is the necessity of ‘East
16

Why Speak of “East Asian Confucianisms”?

Asian Confucianisms’?” This question can be approachedfrom two angles.
First, we can view the rise of the field “East Asian
Confucianisms” on the new stage of scholarship in the 21st
century as a reaction to the form of Confucian studies
conducted in the Chinese-language academia of the 20th
century. For example, the 20th century Chinese New
Confucian philosophers tended to view Confucianism
narrowly as a segment of their national and ethnic destiny,
especially as bound up with the vast and far-reachinghistorical traumas and transformations of the early 20th
century.
Against this 20th century background, an importantfunction of the new field of “East Asian Confucianisms” is that it involves actively purging
Confucian studies of the limitations (and prejudices) of ethnocentrism to ensure that Confucian
studies will never again be confined within the study of single national histories, thus freeing
Confucianism to be more broadly conceived and extending its spiritual mission to new heights inthe 21st century age of globalization.
Freed of the 20th century ethnocentrism that characterized each East Asian country, scholars who
sincerely pursue studies on “East Asian Confucianisms” will be free to kick away the twin limiting
binaries of “center and periphery” and “orthodoxy and heterodoxy.” Moreover, they will be freed of
examining classical texts solely in the light of their single country’s history. Furthermore, scholars
in “East Asian Confucian” studies will be able to undertake open-minded analyses of theinteractions and fusions of Confucianism and the society and cultural traditions of each host country
and locale around East Asia. Indeed, the developmental vantage of Confucianism in each East Asian
country could be said to seamlessly reflect the developmental process of cultural subjectivity ineach of these respective countries.
4.

Can Confucianism Transcend the East Asian Sphere？

“East Asian Confucianisms” is constructed from the terms “East Asia” and “Confucianisms.”
However, once the terms “East Asia” and “Confucianisms” have been combined to form “EastAsian Confucianisms,” two questions immediately arise: First, in the 20th century the peoples ofEast Asia, including the Japanese, wrote East Asian history with their own blood, sweat, and tears.
The expression “East Asia” in the term “East Asian Confucianisms” genuinely carries too many sadand horrific 20th century “Memories of Imperialism.” Second, since the term “East Asian
Confucianisms” presents Confucianisms on the platform of East Asia, we might wonder whether
and how Confucianism could transcend this platform of East Asia and become a source of universal
values for the age of globalization?

17

Why Speak of “East Asian Confucianisms”?

The two above-mentioned questions touch upon two problems that warrant deeper discussion: 1)
the problem of the conflict between political identity and cultural identity faced by Confucians in allof the East Asian countries, and 2) the problem of how the cultural subjectivity of Confucians ineach East Asian country can manifest shared universal values.
The core of the first problem lies in whether “Confucian studies can transcend the confines of thestate.” The answer to this question is twofold. Viewed in the perspective of political identity, sincethe 17th century, after the rise of regional East Asian national identity, Confucian scholars havefound it gravely difficult to leap away from the nationalistic platform of their respective countries.
However, from the perspective of cultural identity, the Confucians in each of the East Asian
countries also share the Confucian core values of Ren, self-cultivation, etc. in common. Hence,these Confucian common core values ultimately transcend national boundaries and can be regarded
as values that might be shared by all of humankind.
Finally, the question remains: Can Confucianism shed its regional “East Asian” platform toprovide truly universal values to be accepted by humanity around the world in the age ofglobalization. I consider the answer to this question to be in the affirmative.
The “universal values” of today, such as democracy, freedom, liberty, human rights, etc., all arose
during the past 250 years in Europe and North America. Ironically, the western powers were
controlling and ruthlessly exploiting colonies and peoples in Asia, Africa, Latin America, etc. at thevery time that they were developing and promulgating such “universal” values. The Confucian
traditions which arose and developed over time in East Asia, with their loftiness, breadth, and depth,
naturally can be reinterpreted through the “interpretive,” “bridging,” and “normative” approaches
and emerge as the source of more truly universal values for the 21st century age of globalization,
most notably their shared core values of Ren, self-cultivation, kingly way, etc. In the civilizational
dialogue of the new age, these values can offer new inspirations and new meanings.
5.

Conclusion

This paper has explored several problems with regard to “East Asian Confucianisms” as a new
field of study. Section 2 explored how the Confucian traditions that arose in various East Asian
countries—China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam—shared a common thread-- or tapestry-- of corevalues right in the midst of the exchanges and interactions among Confucian scholars in thosedifferent countries, but certainly not as a definite and fixed consciousness over and above eachcountry’s Confucianism. For this reason, “East Asian Confucianisms” advanced—and diversified-in accord with the times and was constantly adapted to suit local intellectual traditions and trends.
Although the Confucians of each country in East Asia definitely held different specific values andhad widely different attitudes and practices; they continued to share several fundamental corevalues, such as Ren, self-cultivation, etc., in common.
In section 3 it was pointed out that the field of “East Asian Confucianisms” provides a sort ofbroad intellectual prospect. It involves the commitment to shed the confines of the narrow18

Why Speak of “East Asian Confucianisms”?

nationalistic ethnocentrism advocated by each of the East Asian country back in the 20th century,and moreover to adopt its broad purview to observe the development process of cultural subjectivity
in each East Asian country and locale. The very idea of a field of “East Asian Confucianisms”
should stir scholars to rectify the “reflexive Orientalism” of 20th century scholars in each East Asian
country and anticipate that scholars in the 21st century will reexamine this East Asian cultural
mainstream and its core values.
The political identity of Confucians in each East Asian country definitely should completely get
rid of the limitations of their nationalistic ethnocentrism, and bear in mind that the Confucian
intellectual world is an even more fundamental cultural homeland.

In the 21st century age ofglobalization, this field of “East Asian Confucianisms” and its common core values, which wereoriginated and developed in East Asia, bear tremendous potential for offering a platform for hosting
civilizational dialogue in the new century.

19

Innovation made by Technology Entrepreneurs in Japan

Innovation made by Technology Entrepreneurs in Japan
Hiroyuki Ozaki, PhD
Professor, Graduate School of Business Administration
Kobe University
ozaki@hawk.kobe-u.ac.jp
1. Abstract
Technology Startup (TS), which creates innovative products and services by utilizing technology
and science such as IT, biotech, and energy, makes an important role for an economic growth ofindustrially advanced countries. Key successful factor for TS is to make Technology Entrepreneur(TE) appear in large numbers. Kobe University`s new department, Graduate School of Science,
Technology, and Innovation (STIN), will challenge the difficult issue by providing interdisciplinary
education of science, technology, and business.
2. Background
For last decades, global economy has been led by growing technology companies such as Apple,
Google, Facebook, Amazon, Yahoo!, eBay, Genentech, Sentient Technologies, Parrot, Tesla Motors,
Space X and Uber. Those technology companies have provided added values for a global market bycreating innovative products and services based on novel technologies. The process is called“Technology Commercialization”, and the technology ranges over various fields including
information technology, communication, biotech, health care, clean energy, energy efficiency,
agriculture, chemical, engineering, and material.
Most of technology companies are young Technology Startups (TS), which are unevenly
distributed in USA, and managed by strong leadership by Technology Entrepreneurs (TE). As
Japanese economy needs series of innovations in order to grow by overcoming hard competitions ina global market, it is quite important to identify and share knowledge how to produce successful TS
in large numbers.
3. Technology Startup (TS) and Technology Entrepreneur (TE)
According to Christensen (1997), Disruptive Innovation is not made by main players in the
traditional market but by outsiders of the market. Also, disruptive innovation is not made by big
corporations, who usually pursuit sustaining innovation, but by small organizations such as TS who
always tries to create something unique.
Especially, TS makes an important role in transferring university technology to a market. Since
goals of a university and a company are different; the former is pursuing uniqueness and the latter isgaining profit, it is usually difficult to make an alliance between the two. TS, which is a young
startup company creating innovative products and services by utilizing university`s intellectual
properties, can be a bridge to connect the two contrastive organizations.
As TS has limited management resources, it should be led by strong initiative of management
20

Innovation made by Technology Entrepreneurs in Japan

person, which is called TE. Various kinds of persons can be TE, such as university researcher,engineer, product development professional, marketing specialist, salesman, and graduate student.
Since TE should understand whole value chain of the business including technology and market, heor she usually establish a management team by combining multiple professionals of different
expertise.

Figure 1, Historical numbers of IPO in Japan
2015 figure is until November 15th
Sources: Japan Exchange Group HP, and Tokyo IPO HP

4. IPO Market in Japan
Because of its business nature, TS needs much more capital and operating expense compared to
non-technology startups in the area such as e-commerce, application development, and system
consulting. Therefore, TS should make a solid financial strategy, which satisfies its long-term
fund raising requirement. TE should investigate financial alternatives including Initial Public
Offering (IPO) and Merger and Acquisition (M&A), and alliance with large corporations.
As Figure 1 says, In Japanese financial market, opportunities for IPO are now expanding. In
2015, approximately 90 companies are expected to go public. This figure is more than four timesof the recent bottom in 2009 right after the global financial crisis. The result has come fromeasy-money policy by Bank of Japan and long-term effort by public and private to promote manysuccessful entrepreneurs.
5. Management Issue for Growth Strategy
Every company has various management issues such as building management team, hiring
talented research staff, creating and maintaining intellectual property, executing productdevelopment, designing manufacturing infrastructure, doing marketing research, establishing sales
21

Innovation made by Technology Entrepreneurs in Japan

team, and creating PR strategy. Since TS doesn`t have enough money, human resources, andbrand, TE makes an important role in making up a shortfall. TE should work harder than any
other staff in the company, and do multiple tasks in order to solve various management issues.
Unlike a big corporation, TS doesn`t have an organizational capability, and highly depends on
individual ability and effort of TE.
6. Kobe University's Project
If you want to become a successful TE, what kind of education and training you should take?

If

you are going to invest in technology project, where you should go to find a talented TE? Thoseare difficult issues, which have to be solved.
Newly created educational department of KOBE University, Graduate School of Science,
Technology, and Innovation (STIN), will come to grips with the challenging goal to educate
students to become TE. As Figure 2 says, STIN provides an interdisciplinary education ofmultiple academic areas, which are the followings:① Bio-production Technology② Advanced Information and Communication Technology③ Advanced Membrane Technology④ Advanced Medical Science⑤ Entrepreneurship, Strategy, Finance, and IP rights
STIN`s educational program is composed of regular class room, laboratory research, seminar, andproject research of making business plan based on above mentioned technologies and basic
researches. In the project, students will learn process of making a technology transferred to themarket through discussion with professors, entrepreneurs, and business professionals.

22

Innovation made by Technology Entrepreneurs in Japan

Figure2: Structure of STIN

7. Conclusion
For industrially advanced nations such as US, Germany, Japan, and Taiwan, it is critical to create
innovative products and services in order to win in highly competitive global markets. It is one ofthe prevailing solutions for the issue to set up a situation to make TE appear in large numbers.

References:

Christensen, Clayton M. (1997), The innovator's dilemma: when new technologies cause great firms to fail,Boston, Massachusetts, USA: Harvard Business School Press

Walter Isaacson (2011) “Steve Jobs” Simon & SchusterAkio Morita (1988) “Made in Japan: Akio Morita and SONY”, Fontana Press

Joseph A. Schumpeter(2011) “The Theory of Economic Development”

Phil Simon (2011) “The Age of the Platform: How Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google Have RedefinedBusiness”, Motion Publishing

Ashlee Vance (2015) “Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future”, Ecco

23

Taiwan and Japan’s industrial and economic outlooks and their prospect

Taiwan and Japan’s industrial and economic outlooks
and their prospect
Chien-Fu Jeff Lin
Associate Dean of Institute forAdvanced Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences
Professor of Economics
National Taiwan University
President of Taiwan Institute of Economic Research
In the following I outline four parts in this short paper to describe Taiwan and Japan’s industrial
and economic outlooks and their prospect. The first part is Taiwan-Japan macroeconomic
development. The second one is Taiwan-Japan investment and trade development. The third one iscurrent Taiwan-Japan industrial cooperation and future opportunities, and finally the prospect of
Taiwan-Japan industrial cooperation.

A. Taiwan-Japan Macroeconomic Development:
Taiwan and Japan both have very similar economic and industrial conditions due to their pasthistoric and cultural factors. Taiwan and Japan suffered severe economic shocks post the 2008 global
financial crisis hitting the worldwide. Development slack in manufacturing sector and weakening inservice sector development in Taiwan resulted in Taiwan’s inadequate economic growth momentum
comparing to the periods before 2007. Similarly, Japan's economic recovery was slower-thanexpected, although Abe’s administration depreciated Yen sharply through its strong financial policies.
However, it seemed unsuccessfully to stimulate its economy. Additionally, Japan’s weak economic
growth intensity could be also explained facing its internal structural reform and the global economic
slowdown. According to Global Insight’s forecasting data, Taiwan and Japan’s forecasting GDPs in
Q4-2016 are 2.66% and 1.25% respectively, showing that the growth rates are still in slump.

24

Taiwan and Japan’s industrial and economic outlooks and their prospect

As for the export performance, Taiwan had negative growth for 10 consecutive months after February
2015 that is the first time to see such decline in its 2015 export annual growth rates (YOY); Japan’s
export growth rates showed recessions excepting for its January export growth rate of 2.8% due to
weak export performance with limited contribution of depreciation in Yen, meaning that theslowdown in global economy weakened Taiwan and Japan’s export performance.
Secondly, Japan’s industrial recovery is less optimistic than Taiwan. Tightening in global investment
demand depressed the growth in Taiwan’s production, investment, and exports, resulting in 2009
growth rate dropped to 3.42%. However, due to hot sales in 2014 Taiwan’s electronic products, metal
and mechanic industries, helping manufacturing sector grow by 6.30%. Japan faced more server
situation than Taiwan. 2009 Japan manufacturing sector declined by 17.70% even there was a reboundin 2010; Japan’s manufacturing sector only grew up by 0.12% limitedly to 2013, which shows its
manufacturing sector yet to recover to the level before global financial crisis.
Furthermore, the proportion of Taiwan’s fixed capital investment decreased from 22.15% in 2013 to21.58% in 2014, declines for 4 consecutive years, through the investment to GDP ratio measure,showing a weak momentum in Taiwan’s investment. While Japan’s gross fixed capital formation tonominal GDP ratio continuously increases, the proportion of fixed capital formation was 22.35% in
2014, to pre-financial crisis proportion level after Japan’s 311 tsunami. Overall speaking, Taiwan andJapan’s investment level still remain low, comparing the proportion of Korea’s fixed capital formationof 29.11% in 2014.
Taiwan and Japan’s industrial complementary relationship has been gradually changed along with
Taiwan-Japan closed industrial cooperation. Taiwan-Japan industrial development was the one-way
flying geese model in the past, which is simply an up/down streams supply chain. In which, Japan, atechnical leader, provided core technique, OEM in Taiwan, then assembled in Mainland China orSouth East Asia. Nowadays, Taiwan-Japan bilateral industrial development has developed to avarious cooperation model, which both countries compete with each other as well as use common
resources and work to expand markets, along with improved industrial development and technique in
Taiwan and South East Asia.
B. Taiwan-Japan Investment and Trade Development:
The data from Investment Commission shows that Japan is one of Taiwan’s major sources of foreign
investment countries. A significant drop on Japan to Taiwan investment value as well as a decrease
in its proportion of Taiwan’s foreign investment post the financial crisis; Japan to Taiwan investment
of US$548 million with 9.51% of Taiwan’s total foreign investment in 2014 and US$213 million in
1H16. On the other hand, Taiwan to Japan investment is relatively small, in which the historic highinvestment amount of US$1.089 billion due to the joint venture of Sakai Display Product (SDP)
between Hon Hai and Sharp in 2012; second highest of investment amount of US$ 690 million wasan acquisition of Tokyo Star Bank by China Trust Commercial Bank in 2014 and it was the first case25

Taiwan and Japan’s industrial and economic outlooks and their prospectof Japan’s bank taken by foreign bank.
Japan’s investment in Taiwan’s industries changed in recent years. In early period of Japan’s
investment in Taiwan was mainly in electronic parts and components, semiconductor and panel due
to a consideration of Taiwan’s low HR cost, developed high-tech OEM, and expanding emerging
markets. However, Japan changes its investment strategy to key component parts and R&D centres.
It’s also notable that service industry is now the main stream of Japan’s investment in Taiwan under
the umbrella of ECFA and Taiwan-Japan investment agreement which stimulate growth in finance,
insurance, wholesale and retail trade. And, manufacturing industry is still the main stream of Taiwan’s
investment in Japan.
Trade relation between Taiwan and Japan is extremely closed, that is Japan was the third largest
trading partner to Taiwan in 2014, the first two largest trading partners were US and China. In thepast, Taiwan had large and long-term trade deficit with Japan, but a trade deficit of US$ 33.9 billion
in 2010 reduced to US$ 21.8 billion in 2014 shows that a reduction of trade deficit in-between Taiwan
and Japan. Further to analyse the trade structure, Taiwan’s export to Japan has steady growth, a growthrate of 3.55% yoy with US$ 19.9 billion and accounts for 6-7% of Taiwan’s export value in 2014.
Japan is the second largest importing country to Taiwan, the importing figures declines year by year
regardless of importing value and its proportion to all import since 2011, the import growth rate
dropped 3.40% with US$41.7 billion and accounts for 15.22% of Taiwan’s import value in 2014.
In addition, more than 50% of products exported to Japan from Taiwan are machinery, equipment andelectronic products, followed by basic metal and its products, plastic and rubber and its products andchemical products. Japan’s products exported to Taiwan are mainly in machinery, equipment andelectronic products. The proportion has been significantly decreased that is 47.17% in 2004 to 38.18%
in 2014.
C. Current Taiwan-Japan industrial cooperation and future opportunities:
In recent years, Japan’s large-size companies have a thinking of worldwide distribution supply chain
while Japan faces long-term sluggish domestic demand, thus overseas market expansion is necessary
indeed. Meanwhile, Taiwan and Japan’s companies established a strong industrial partnership underlong-term mutual trust to promote 2011 “Taiwan-Japan Industrial Collaboration Bridging Plan”,
which aims to enhance complementary partnership between companies in both sides. And TaiwanJapan Industrial Collaboration Promotion Office (TJPO) successfully promoted 154 cases of TaiwanJapan Industrial Cooperation with an injection of NT$ 22.6 billion since the office was established in2012 as well as TJPO has also established contact pipeline with 30 Japan’s local governments orindustrial organisations.
In the trend of globalization, global industrial development trend as well as Taiwan-Japan futureindustrial development direction will be influenced by fast flows of traditional commodity trade,26

Taiwan and Japan’s industrial and economic outlooks and their prospect

capital, talents, technology in-between countries and the rise of emerging markets. Taiwan has
completed hi-tech and manufacturing supply chain and commercialised capacity while Japan has
forward-looking technology and design capability, if both sides could perfectly integrate with theiradvantages and complement each other’s needs, such as medical and pharmaceutical treatment inaging society, cultural and creative industry, electric cars industry, and green industry, for jointly
expanding new markets and developing new innovative industries.
Taiwan-Japan industrial cooperation opportunity, for example developing ASEAN region, ASEAN
region is Taiwan second largest export destination since 2007 while Japan is the largest foreign
investment source in ASEAN region. However, facing the challenges from China, Korea, and othercountries Taiwan and Japan’s import market shares in ASEAN have no significant increase, and Japaneven has a consequence of reduction in its importing market share in ASEAN. Therefore, TaiwanJapan must have further industrial cooperation, from division of industrial chain to joint R&D
cooperation and business cooperation model, in order to strengthen development momentum in
ASEAN.
Moreover, deepening bilateral industrial cooperation through the supply chain system or strategic
alliances with the solid foundation of Taiwan-Japan economic and trade collaboration, such as someof Taiwan’s motor vehicle and parts manufacturers cooperate with Japan in ASEAN market. Taking
Eurocharm Group as an example, this company sees Asia region as a global major motorcycle market.
Asian sales volume accounts for 80% of global motorcycle sales volume in 2012, china is the largest
motorcycle market followed by India, Indonesia, Viet Nam, and Thailand. Honda, YAMAHA, Suzuki,
KAWASAKI became global leading companies by entering into Viet Nam and supplying local
motorcycle components for opportunities in ASEAN market.
On the other hand, CTCI Group achieved the mutual benefits by adopting strategic alliance.
CHIYODA Coporation, a company specialise in natural gas business in Japan, acquired 10% of CTCIGroup’s stake for forming a strategic alliance in order to strengthen CTCI Group’s competitivenessin the non-refining and petrochemical field. Besides endeavouring getting the construction plans ofsetting up new 20 private power plants and incinerators announced by Thailand government in 2011
for more revenue, CTCI Group actively process positioning and cooperation of the Indonesian natural
gas projects with CHUYODA Coporation, aiming to make profits for both sides.
D. Prospect of Taiwan-Japan Industrial Cooperation:
Abe’s administration processed Japan’s economic structural reform through powerful financial
policies since 2014, which drives a huge depreciation of Yen, but it seemed failed to benefit its
economy. While inadequate economic momentum, export slump, and weak investment momentum
facing to Taiwan, hence Taiwan and Japan should combine mutual advantages and compliment theneeds with each other to enhance Taiwan-Japan industrial cooperation.
It is noteworthy that, China is conducting “One Belt, One Road” strategy. If Taiwan-Japan
cooperation could jointly participate the business opportunities brought by “one belt, one road” for27

Taiwan and Japan’s industrial and economic outlooks and their prospectfurther more business opportunities. However, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) led by
China remains cautious to Japan, thus Japan yet to submit its application for AIIB’s membership.
However, Japan is experienced in participating Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Greater Mekong
Subregion (GMS) initiated by ADB contribute to increase the Japan’s investment proportion in South
East region.
Therefore, Taiwan and Japan should expand ASEAN market based on their experienced Taiwan’s
market expansion. Both Taiwan and Japan’s enterprises could take Taiwan’s market for market testing
purpose as well as accumulate cooperation experience for both sides and then to increase the andconfidence and success rate of expanding the third market. In terms of Taiwan-Japan industrial
cooperation, different plans and collaboration directions should be adopted depending on eachcountry’s positioning in ASEAN region, for an example, Indonesia has large domestic demand market,
thus Taiwan enterprises could help maintain local Chinese network then to penetrate into the Chinese
market. Taiwan and Japan should form a strategic partnership, seeking complimentary nature of theenterprises, in order to enhance Taiwan-Japan collaboration bridging function. On top of that, bothsides could further develop the industrial clusters in ASEAN region, such as 3C products,
as wellas establish a completed industrial supply chain for creating a WIN-WIN situation for Taiwan andJapan.

28

Sustainable Strategies for Recovery from Natural Disasters

Sustainable Strategies for Recovery from Natural Disasters
Shinya Horie
Project Associate Professor
Graduate School of Economics
Kobe University
Introduction
It has been almost five years since the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake struck Japan. The recovery process
has been moving forward, but it is far away from the completion. The central government of Japan
has estimated that the recovery takes roughly ** years. As the recovery is expected to be such a longtime, the sustainability of the recovery itself can be questioned. The recovery In the presentation I
explore the recovery policies after the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami comprehensively.
By doing so, we assess how the disaster-affected cities' possession of their accommodation promotes
the effectiveness of the policies.
The Japanese National Police Agency reported that the incident caused 15,883 of deaths, 6,143 of
casualties, and 2,681 of missings. The report also confirmed physical damage of 129,225 totallycollapsed, and 269,454 half-collapsed buildings. Different economic damage is about 5-7% of GDP.
After the incident, the central government of Japan established Reconstruction Agency to replace
Reconstruction Headquarters as a response to the incident created on June 24, 2011 and to support
the local governments' recovery plans. The government prepared 25 million yen for the 5 years of theincident. The budget is allocated to four major projects of cleaning up the debris, reconstructing thedamaged infrastructure, managing the nuclear related issues, and financial support for local
businesses and employment creation in the disaster area.
In the current four years, interestingly, there have been differences among the disaster areas in themagnitude of successfulness in recovery plans although some of them have experienced the same29

Sustainable Strategies for Recovery from Natural Disasters

levels of devastation. The cities located in the southern area have recovered relatively faster than the
one in the northern area.
One of the goals of the recovery plans is to achieve fast and sustainable recovery of the disasterarea. However, if the severity or the coverage of the damage exceeds certain limits or ranges, thedisaster area cannot find the undamaged areas in neighborhoods.
For an affected city, one of the keys to successfully recover from damage is to have neighboring
cities that can accommodate its economy while it establishes the basis for its sustainable and selfdriving recovery. If an affected city does not have such cities, the city cannot secure the labor supply
and capital. The cities located in the southern area are close to the city of Sendai, which is the biggest
city in the Tohoku region and the center of the business district was not severely damaged by theincident. Therefore, they had the accommodation for their economies. But the ones in the northernarea are far from the city of Sendai and do not secure the resources.
I focus on this matter as a source of difference in the magnitudes of recovery considering nuclear
plant nearby areas, and propose the necessity for the local cities to have their potential
accommodation as a part of preparing for the smooth recovery.
A recovery of an economy of affected area can mean to put the economy back to what it was before
the disaster. However, a great-scale disaster can be an opportunity to solve the fundamental problems
in the economy and reshape the economy. Unless we take advantage of this opportunity, the recovery
plan cannot be sustainable because of the fundamental problem, not because of the damages
themselves.
Population Movement from Tohoku Region
The Tohoku Region has had experienced outward population movement even before the 2011
Tohoku Earthquake. Several literature has found the determinants of the residential location choicesof the people in the Tohoku Region. People would stay in the Tohoku Region when the current income
is high enough; when the occupation is associated with the original residences (the monetaryopportunity cost for moving is high); when their length of residence is long enough; when theiraffection to the residential area is high enough (the social opportunity cost for moving is high), andwhen the health risk from the radioactive contamination is high (Munro and Managi, 2014; Sanaei,
Horie and Managi, 2015; Horie and Managi, 2016).
The 2011 Tohoku Earthquake destroyed every determinants for most of the people in the coastal
area. Tsunami destroyed the fishery industry, social capital, and increased people’s fear for the healthrisks. The place that shows the complexity of the triple disaster is Fukushima. Tanaka and Managi(2015) show that the evacuee from Fukushima would put more weight on whether other people cameback rather than on whether the radioactive contamination levels were low. To recover the economy
agglomeration can be one of the most important element, but the three conditions can be satisfied
almost simultaneous. The Tohoku Region need to have comprehensive policies to overcome these
difficulties.

30

Sustainable Strategies for Recovery from Natural Disasters

Radioactive Decontamination and Recovery of Major Industry
Besides these damages, the incident in Tohoku has significantly different aspect than otherdisasters, which is the major explosion of Fukushima nuclear power plant associated with theearthquake and tsunami. The leakage and contamination of radioactive have been affecting 12 cities
and more than 8,8000 residents in Fukushima prefecture. The Tokyo Electric Power Company
announced that they have a clear schedule to put the crisis under control and to demolish the nuclear
reactor, and that it takes 40 years to complete it.
One of the most attractive policies for Japanese after the Fukushima incidence wasdecontamination. Both the central and the local governments have spent more than 2 trillion Japanese
yen for the decontamination of neighboring cities of Fukushima. Because of their almost endlesseffort of decontamination, the health risk from radioactive can be low enough, but the families withsmall children are reluctant to come back to their original residences. Nonetheless, creating cities thatare location-wise close enough but with risk-wise lower enough to their original residences. Suchattempt can be more enforceable to attract the original residents to come back.
What about industry? The fishery industry has had experienced the severe levels of inefficiency inproduction. The production levels in fishery industry in Japan has been decreasing since late 80’s
because of the overcatch, and has been over-invested. By having 90% of the fisherman to close theirbusiness, the industry can decrease 400 billion Japanese yen, which simply increases the profit offishery industry (Yagi and Managi, 2011).
The damages in fishery industry consist of ports (68％), boats (14％), aquaculture (12％) andprocessing factories (5%) (Demura,2011), which means that there are ports that were damaged
themselves and their processing factories were damaged as well. To enhance the recovery process,the government could support the ports without the damaged processing factories. The industry has
been over-equipped already and less numbers of fabric facilities can imply less cost.
As I mentioned at the beginning, one of the keys for successful recovery for the damaged
economies is to have less or no damaged neighboring economies. As the coastal area of Tohoku
Region is vastly damaged and it is very hard to find cities with small damages, the central and local
government need to create such cities. In such situation prioritization matters.
Concluding Remarks
Natural disasters incur humongous unexpected extra cost to economics. Unfortunately, when thesources are very limited, the recovery cannot be done uniformly. To implement successful recovery,prioritization matters, and the prioritization should be based on cost efficiency. For policy makers, it
must be very challenging to announce that the policies are based on cost efficiency because the people
who are included in the fields with low priority will feel as if they were sacrificed. However, to havesustainable recovery plan, the principal needs to be cautious on the amount of resources. Once theysuccessfully create the recovered cities with less structural economic problems that existed before thedisaster, the people who are in the field with low priority can be helped. Meanwhile, the policy makers
need to compensate such people and the compensation should be part of the recovery plan.

31

Sustainable Strategies for Recovery from Natural Disasters

References
Yagi, M.and S. Managi (2011), “Catch Limits, Capacity Utilization and Cost Reduction in JapaneseFishery Management,” Agricultural Economics, Vol.42(5), pp.577-592.
Tanaka, K. anad Managi, S (2015). "Impact of a Disaster on Land Price: Evidence from Fukushima
Nuclear Power Plant Accident", The Singapore Economic Review (forthcoming).
Munro, A. and S. Managi (2014), “Going back: Radiation and intentions to return amongst
households evacuated after the Great Tohoku Earthquake,” GRIPS Discussion Paper, 14-14.
Sanaei, S., S. Horie, and S. Managi (2015) Job Opportunity and Ownership Status: Return Decision
after the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami”, Singapole Economic Review, forthcoming.
Horie, S. and S. Managi (2016), “Why Do People Stay in or Leave Fukushima?” Kyushu University
Working Paper.

32

Taiwan Agricultural Technology Foresight 2025

Taiwan Agricultural Technology Foresight 2025
Julie C. L. Sun
Director, Biotechnology Industry Study Center
Taiwan Institute of Economic Research
The Role of Agriculture in Taiwan
Taiwan was one of the leading countries in subtropical agriculture several decades ago, but now
agriculture has lost its importance in job creation, domestic production and international trade.
However, agriculture is still at the root of the economy and has many functions beyond production –it provides the food we eat, conserves the environment we live in and is a force of social stability.
Taiwan, with a nominal GDP of $530 billion dollars and a GDP (PPP) per capita of $46 thousand US
dollars in 2014, is known for its manufacturing capabilities today, but it used to export a large numberof agricultural products and technologies to many countries a long time ago. Since 1959, more than
100 agricultural missions have been dispatched to more than 60 countries, about half of which are
currently at work in Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and Asia-Pacific.
In fact, Taiwan's total land area is about 36,000 square kilometers, most of which is mountainous orsloped. Therefore, agriculture is practiced mainly in the plains, which comprise 29 percent of thecountry. As a subtropical island characterised by high temperatures and heavy rainfall, Taiwan offers
biodiversity for agriculture but also lends itself to the breeding of insects and diseases. There are alsofrequent typhoons that cause natural disasters in the summer and autumn every year.
There have been significant changes in Taiwan’s agricultural exports over the years, however. Yearsago, Taiwan exported sugar cane, rice and canned mushrooms or asparagus. Now Taiwan’s main
exports are aquaculture products (e.g., tuna, eel, tilapia), leather and feathers, and its main agricultural
imports include corn, soybeans, wine, tobacco, cotton, lumber, beef and wheat. In 1953, the averagevalue of agricultural production increased by 7.3 per cent annually, and exports increased at a rate of
9.3 per cent. Beginning in 1970, however, agricultural exports fell behind agricultural imports. In
2010, imports were USD 12.8 billion and exports were USD 4 billion. The production value basedon agriculture is estimated at approximately 11.2 per cent of GDP while primary production accounts
for only 1.5 percent of GDP in Taiwan.

33

Taiwan Agricultural Technology Foresight 2025

The Revitalisation of Agriculture in Taiwan
In order to revitalise the agricultural sector to meet the challenges of trade liberalisation, globalisation,
the knowledge-based economy and, particularly, climate change, the Taiwanese government’s Councilof Agriculture (COA) commissioned a project – Taiwan Agricultural Technology Foresight 2025 – tothe Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER). This four-year project (2008–2011), with an annual
budget of USD 350,000, conducted foresight-related activities, including demand surveys, trend andpolicy analyses, horizon scanning, visioning, essay contests, training workshops, two-round Delphi
surveys, roadmapping and the development of policy suggestions (short-, mid- and long-term
development plans and priorities) (see Figure 1).

Figure 1. Structure of the Taiwan Agricultural Technology Foresight 2025 project
The project aimed to identify R&D priorities to meet the long-term objectives for agriculture in
Taiwan, such as to improve farmers’ productivity and livelihoods, develop resource-efficient andenvironmentally friendly methods of farming, and ensure food safety by instituting a traceability
system. These objectives were embedded in a vision of making Taiwan a better place to live in termsof industrial development, environmental protection and quality of life in general.
The Taiwan Agricultural Technology Foresight 2025 ProjectIn 2008, TIER set up a task force of six researchers and two assistants to learn foresight techniques,mainly from Japan. It compiled a database of social needs, technological trends, research resources,
critical issues and agricultural policies nationally and worldwide.
Under the support and approval of COA, the project set up the Planning Committee consisting ofgovernment officers, agricultural experts and senior researchers, including social scientists and an
economist. The Planning Committee decided that the project’s target year was to be 2025 and thatthe purpose of the foresight was to identify R&D priorities to meet the long-term objectives for
agricultural development in Taiwan stated above.

34

Taiwan Agricultural Technology Foresight 2025

Visioning for Research Topics
In order to link the foresight and policy, the project set up the Strategy Formation Committee, withten subcommittees corresponding to the ten research areas of COA, each of which was comprised ofagricultural experts and senior researchers. The members of the Strategy Formation Committee were
nominated by the Planning Committee and then approved by COA. The Committee’s task was todepict a vision for 2025 in each research area and to figure out the research topics that need to beaddressed to shape the future of agriculture in Taiwan as anticipated by the Planning Committee.
In 2009, the Strategy Formation Committee proposed more than 100 research topics for the project.
The TIER task force tried to consolidate some of them and organise them in a uniform format. Then,the Planning Committee identified the final 74 research topics and the related key questions for theDelphi questionnaire.
In 2010, the TIER task force developed an online survey platform and carried out two rounds ofDelphi surveys. There were 675 experts and researchers on the list of the first round, 546 of whom
participated in the Delphi survey (response rate of 80 percent) and 512 of whom returned valid
questionnaires, which were thus included in the analysis. For the second round, 546 experts andresearchers were listed, 413 of whom participated in the Delphi survey (response rate of 76 percent);
407 of them returned valid questionnaires that were included in the analysis.
Based on the survey responses to the questions concerning the 74 research topics, the projectcompiled indices of industrial development, environmental protection, quality of life, national
priorities and government support respectively to measure the research topics in different respects.
The standard deviations of all indices turned out smaller in the second round than in the first round.
This implies that the Delphi survey produced results converging toward a consensus.
Shaping the Future of Agriculture in Taiwan
The project particularly tried to compile a ‘national priority’ index composed of the factors industrial
development, environmental protection and quality of life, each of which was given equal weight increating a vision of a better life in Taiwan. The ten highest ‘national priority’ scorings among the
research topics identified in the project are shown in Table 1. These research topics reflect the needs
for shaping Taiwan’s agricultural future in ways to improve farmers’ livelihoods (priorities 2, 6, and8), develop resource-efficient and environmentally friendly methods of farming (priorities 3, 5, 7, 9)
and ensure food safety by instituting a traceability system (priorities 1, 4, 10).

Table 1. The top 10 research topics of the Taiwan Agricultural Technology
Foresight 2025
1. Development of accurate, rapid and simple diagnostic kits for pesticide residues.
2. Research on the ecological restoration of polluted farmland, derelict rearing ponds,
overdrawn groundwater areas, riverbeds and banks, and degraded forestland.
3. Elucidation of global climate change affecting Taiwan's agricultural ecosystem andthe development of counter measures.
4. Improvement of integrated safety tests, a tracking system and certification for agrifood products.
5. Development of crop production systems with low energy consumption, low emissionof greenhouse gases and efficient use of water resources.
6. Improvement of forecasting and monitoring techniques for slopeland debris slides.
7. Development of groundwater-saving aquaculture.

35

Taiwan Agricultural Technology Foresight 2025

8. Development of agricultural environmental resources monitoring and early disasterwarning technology.
9. Development of energy-saving and carbon-reducing preservation and shipping
technologies for agricultural products.
10. Clarification of transmission modes and pathogenic mechanisms of animal and humaninfectious diseases.
The survey shows that the government should support those research topics with higher scores inenvironmental protection and quality of life, particularly due to the multifunctional nature of
agriculture (positive externalities). By contrast, in regard to those research topics that scored high interms of industrial development, the respondents considered less need for government supported
research since the private sector can be expected to take charge in these areas (see Appendix). All ofthese research topics have been incorporated into COA’s research agenda as evidenced by COA’s
call-for-projects announcement.
In addition, in order to attract the young generation to think about the future of agriculture, the project
invited young people to participate in the Taiwan Agricultural Technology Foresight 2025 contest(see Figure 2). The contest asked youngsters to depict images to reflect what agriculture will look
like in the future in Taiwan.

Figure 2. The winners of the Taiwan Agricultural Technology Foresight2025 contest
Foresight for Policy and as Policy
This was the first time that Taiwan conducted a large-scale expert opinion survey using the Delphi
approach. The goal was to identify the research topics to meet the needs for shaping the future of
agriculture in Taiwan. Based on roadmapping, the project presented policy suggestions at the end of
2011.
The project’s major contribution has been the government’s support for the research topics that havebeen identified as a ‘national priorities’ in terms of industrial development, environmental protection
and quality of life. The project is expected to improve farmers’ productivity and livelihoods,
particularly for smallholders, develop resource-efficient and environmentally friendly methods offarming in Taiwan’s limited land area and reinforce the links between production and consumptionof agricultural products by implementing a traceability system.

36

International Collaborative Research on Infectious Diseases－ J-GRID (MEXT), SATREPS (JST/JICA), A*STAR (Singapore), JSPS Programs －International Collaborative Research on Infectious Diseases－ J-GRID (MEXT), SATREPS (JST/JICA), A*STAR (Singapore),
JSPS Programs －Hak Hotta, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus, Kobe University
Honorary Professor, Airlangga University, Indonesia
Adjunct Professor, University of Indonesia
Endowed Chair and Professor
Department of Oral Vaccine and Drug Development
Kobe University Graduate School of Health Sciences
Graduate School of Medicine and Graduate School of Health Sciences, Kobe University, have beencollaborating with top universities in ASEAN countries, such as Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore and
the Philippines, since 1960’s. Especially for the past 10 years, we made use of governmental grants,
such as 1) Japan Initiative for Global Research Network on Infectious Diseases (J-GRID; 2007-2010;2010-2015; 2015-2020) supported by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science andTechnology (MEXT), 2) Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development(SATREPS; 2009-2014) from the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) and the Japan
International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and 3) Re-inventing Japan Project for International
Students Exchange (2012-2017) supported by MEXT and Japan Society for the Promotion of Science(JSPS). We also make use of other international grants, such as 4) A*STAR supported by Singapore
and jointly by JSPS. In the J-GRID program, we have dealt with topics of a number of important
infectious diseases, such as highly pathogenic H5N1 avian
influenza, viral hepatitis caused by hepatitis B, C and E
viruses

(HBV,

HCV,

HEV),

dengueanddenguehemorrhagic fever, HIV/AIDS and diarrhea. In this forum,
Dr. Masanori Kameoka will talk about HIV/AIDS anddengue, and Dr. Toshiro Shirakawa about diarrheal diseases
and novel therapeutic measures using biological products.
To begin with, I will first explain the organization of the JGRID and SATREPS programs and then present and discuss
some of our important achievements on the study of HCV
during the J-GRID, SATREPS, A*STAR and JSPS
programs.

37

International Collaborative Research on Infectious Diseases－ J-GRID (MEXT), SATREPS (JST/JICA), A*STAR (Singapore), JSPS Programs －1) It is estimated that more than 170 million people are infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV)
worldwide. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the worst and common sequel of HCV infection.
HCV exhibits heterogeneity in nucleotide sequences of the viral genome and amino acid sequencesof the viral proteins. Currently, the possible clinical impact of the viral heterogeneity on HCC
development is not fully understood. We investigated sequence heterogeneity in the core protein,
NS3 and NS5A of HCV genotype 1b (HCV-1b) in patients who later developed HCC and in those
who did not even after long-term follow-up. Sequence analysis revealed that glutamine at position 70of the core protein (core-Gln70), tyrosine at position 1082 plus glutamine at 1112 of NS3 (NS3Tyr1082/Gln1112) and 6 or more mutations in the interferon/ribavirin resistance-determining region of
NS5A (NS5A-IRRDR≥6) were significantly associated with development of HCC. Our results
suggest that HCV isolates with core-Gln70 and/or NS3-Tyr1082/Gln1112 are more closely associatedwith HCC development compared to those with Non-(Gln70 plus NS3-Tyr1082/Gln1112). This sequence
heterogeneity can be used as a diagnostic tool to predict high or low risk of HCC development inpatients infected with a particular group(s) of HCV-1b strains.

(References)
El-Shamy A, et al. Hepatology, 48: 38-47, 2008.
Sanjo M, et al. J Med Virol, 82: 1364-1370, 2010.
Kim SR, et al. J Gastroenterol, 47: 1143-51, 2012.
El-Shamy A, et al. PLoS ONE, 7; e30513. 2012.
El-Shamy A, et al. Hepatology, 58: 555-563, 2013.
El-Shamy A & Hotta H. World J Gastroenterol, 20: 7555-7569, 2014.
Hotta H. Patent No. 5713337 (2015/3/20)．

2) Strong and sustained T cell responses against HCV, especially against the nonstructural protein 3(NS3) of HCV, are important for recovery from acute HCV infection. Rapid and a wide range of
specific CD4+ helper and CD8+ cytotoxic T cell responses are critical for HCV clearance. We
generated recombinat Bifidobacterium longum displaying HCV NS3 peptides containing CD4 andCD8 epitopes and tested for its potential as an oral therapeutic vaccine against chronic HCV infection.
The results demonstrated that oral administration of this vaccine could induce HCV NS3-specific T
cell immune responses in mice probably through cross-presentation of the antigens in the intestinal
mucosal immune system. This suggests the promising potential as a novel oral therapeutic vaccine
against chronic HCV infection. The idea of an oral therapeutic vaccine can also be applied to chronic
HBV infection, in which currently available direct-acting antiviral agents (DAAs) against HBVcannot eliminate the virus completely and an additional immune-stimulating agent(s) or immunecompetence condition is needed to completely eliminate the virus from the patients. Safe, easy-to-38

International Collaborative Research on Infectious Diseases－ J-GRID (MEXT), SATREPS (JST/JICA), A*STAR (Singapore), JSPS Programs －take and effective oral therapeutic vaccines against pathogenic viruses to cure chronically infectedpatients would open up a new paradigm of vaccine strategies. We would like to expand our mutual
collaboration with researchers in National Taiwan University to develop a good oral therapeutic HBVvaccine.

(References)
Takei S, et al. Vaccine, 32: 3066-3074, 2014.
Ratnoglik SL, et al. PLoS ONE, 9: e98877, 2014.
Putri DH, et al. Jpn J Infect Dis, 68(5): 357-63, 2015.
Shirakawa T, et al. PCT/JP2014/053560．

3) Cholesterol-lowering statins, such as lovastatin, have been shown to suppress HCV RNA
replication in cell culture. In our attempt to search possible anti-HCV substances, we came acrossextracts from a microbe that unexpectedly enhanced HCV production in cell culture, and eventually
identified lovastatin as a responsible compound for the enhancement. Mechanism-of-action analysis
revealed that lovastatin and other cholesterol-lowering statins at high concentrations enhanced releaseof HCV infectious particles (virion) from infected cells compared to the control, without enhancing
HCV RNA replication, HCV protein synthesis or HCV virion assembly in the cells. Lovastatin
treatment increased the phosphorylation (activation) level of extracellular-signal regulated kinase 5(ERK5). Lovastatin-induced increase of HCV virion release was partially abrogated by ERK5
inhibitors, BIX02189 and XMD8-92, or by ERK5 knockdown using small interfering RNA (siRNA).
We can conclude that statins at high concentrations markedly enhance HCV virion release from
infected cells, partly through activation of ERK5. The statin-induced enhancement of HCV virion
release potentially may have an important clinical relevance; high viremia titers in HCV-infectedpatients who are concomitantly treated with statin and other drugs that are metabolized by cytochrome
P450 isoenzymes, such as cyclosporine A, macrolides, azole antifungals, fibrates and antiviralprotease inhibitors against HIV and HCV. It may also have a potential benefit in biomedical
application; cost-effective production of an inactivated HCV whole virion vaccine on a commercial
basis.
(References)
Aoki C, et al. submitted.
Wahyuni TS, et al. Fitoterapia, 99: 276-283, 2014.
Hotta H, et al. PCT/JP2013/76414．

39

International Collaborative Research on Infectious Diseases－ J-GRID (MEXT), SATREPS (JST/JICA), A*STAR (Singapore), JSPS Programs －4) We previously reported that HCV infection induced Bax-triggered, mitochondrion-mediatedapoptosis. However, it was still unclear how HCV induced Bax activation. Recently, we showed thatthe HCV-induced activation and mitochondrial accumulation of Bax were significantly attenuated bytreatment with a general antioxidant, N-acetyl cysteine, or the specific c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK)
inhibitor SP600125. The results suggest that the reactive oxygen species (ROS)/JNK signaling
pathway is upstream of Bax activation in HCV-induced apoptosis. We also demonstrated that HCV
infection transcriptionally activated the expression of the pro-apoptotic protein Bim (three major
splice variants BimEL, BimL and BimS). The HCV-induced increase in the Bim expression was
significantly counteracted by treatment with the antioxidant or the specific JNK inhibitor. The results
suggest the involvement of ROS/JNK signaling pathway in the Bim upregulation. Also, HCV
infection resulted in a marked accumulation of Bim on the mitochondria and augmented interaction
with Bax. On the other hand, downregulation of Bim by siRNA significantly prevented HCVmediated activation of Bax and caspase 3. We conclude that HCV-induced overproduction of ROS
and JNK activation transcriptionally lead to enhanced Bim expression, resulting in Bax activation
and apoptosis induction in HCV-infected cells.

(References)
Deng L, et al. J Virol, 82: 10375-10385, 2008.
Mohd-Ismail NK, et al. J Virol, 83: 9993-10006, 2009.
Deng L, et al. J Gen Virol, 96: 2670-2683, 2015.
Aweya JJ, et al. Virology, 474: 41-51, 2015.
Keng CT, et al. Gut, 2016 (in press)(Related articles)
Kasai D, et al. J Hepatol, 50: 883-894, 2009.
Deng L, et al. J Virol, 85: 8556-8568, 2011.
Matsui C, et al. J Virol, 86: 12903-12911, 2012.
Nakashima K, et al. PLoS ONE, 7: e46634, 2012.
Matsui C, et al. J Gen Virol, 96: 2200-2205, 2015.
Yamauchi S, et al. J Biol Chem, 290: 21857-21864, 2015.

40

Characterization of Southeast Asian type of HIV

Characterization of Southeast Asian type of HIV
Masanori Kameoka
Associate Professor
Department of International Health
Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS)(HIV/AIDS) cause a serious health problem and have a big impact on the economic of several
Southeast Asian countries. HIV type 1 (HIV-1) is the major causative agent of AIDS, and is prevalent
all over the world. Thailand has the highest HIV-1 prevalence rate among Southeast Asian countries.
In addition, the epidemic of HIV-1 is currently rapidly growing in Indonesia. In order to gain a better
understanding of the HIV-1 situations in the countries, we have conducted collaborative studies withThai and Indonesian researchers. HIV-1 is characterized by extensive genetic heterogeneity anddivided into four groups, M (major), O (outlying), N (new or non-M, non-O) and P (pending). In
addition, viruses in group M is further classified into many subtypes and circulating recombinant
forms (CRFs). Of these, subtypes A, B, C, D and G, as well as CRF01_AE and CRF02_AG, are themajor subtypes and CRFs responsible for the worldwide HIV-1 pandemic. While subtype B of HIV1 is the predominant subtype in the Americas, Europe and Australia, the epidemic of non-B subtypes
and CRFs is growing in Africa and Asia. CRF01_AE is prevalent throughout Southeast Asia and is
responsible for most infected cases in Thailand and Indonesia.

Immunological characterization of Southeast Asian HIV-1 CRF01_AE viruses
The envelope glycoproteins (Env), gp120 and gp41, of HIV-1 play a central role in viraltransmission and mediate attachment and incorporation of the virus into target cells through specific41Characterization of Southeast Asian type of HIV

interactions with the CD4 receptor and chemokine co-receptors. In addition, Env is a major target ofhumoral immune responses against HIV-1 and is therefore a candidate for a vaccine antigen. Env
gp120 and gp41 are the most variable HIV-1 proteins with typical intersubtype and intrasubtype
differences, reaching 35% and 20%, respectively; therefore, the humoral immune responses against
Env potentially somewhat vary among different subtypes and CRFs. In addition, recent HIV-1
epidemiologic data show that non-B subtypes are more prevalent than subtype B in Asian and Africancountries where a protective vaccine against HIV-1 infection is needed urgently. Therefore, more
information on the Env of non-B subtypes is required. In collaborative projects with Thai researchers,
we studied the immunological characteristics of Env derived from HIV-1 CRF01_AE viruses(CRF01_AE Env) isolated in Thailand. Our study revealed that the neutralization susceptibility of
CRF01_AE Env to previously established, broadly neutralizing antibodies against gp41 and HIV-1infected patient plasma varied, while most viruses showed resistance to anti-gp120 broadly
neutralizing antibody, IgG1 b12 (b12). Among the CRF01_AE Env clones we tested, 34 clones wereresistant to b12, while a clone was susceptible to b12. So, we conducted molecular analyses in orderto determine the responsible region(s) for b12 resistance of CRF01_AE Env using molecularbiological techniques. A series of studies to evaluate the molecular mechanism(s) of how the HIV-1
CRF01_AE Env confer resistance to the antibody revealed that an amino acid substitution at position
185 in the V2 region of gp120 played a crucial role in regulating the b12-susceptibility of CRF01_AE
Env by cooperating with 2 potential N-linked glycosylation (PNLG) sites at positions 186 (N186)
and 197 (N197) in the V2 and C2 regions of Env gp120. The amino acid residue at position 185 and
2 PNLG sites were responsible for the b12 resistance of 21 of 23 (>91%) CRF01_AE Env clones
tested. Namely, the introduction of aspartic acid at position 185 (D185) conferred b12 susceptibilityof 12 resistant CRF01_AE Env clones in the absence of N186 and/or N197, while the introduction ofglycine at position 185 (G185) reduced the b12 susceptibility of 9 susceptible CRF01_AE Env clones
in the absence of N186 or N197. Our study revealed that 2 PNLG sites, N186 and N197, and an aminoacid residue at amino acid position 185 of CRF01_AE Env gp120 are responsible for the neutralizing
resistance of Southeast Asian strains of HIV-1 CRF01_AE viruses to the broadly neutralizing humanmonoclonal antibody, b12. In other words, information of the epitope of previously establishedneutralizing monoclonal antibody, b12 is not able to apply for vaccine development for HIV-1 strainsprevalent in Southeast Asian countries. Therefore, we also have tried to establish anti-HIV-1
neutralizing human monoclonal antibodies by ourselves in Thai and Indonesian collaborations;however, candidates of broadly neutralizing monoclonal antibodies have not been successfully
established yet so far.
Sero and molecular epidemiology of HIV-1 prevalent in Indonesia
According to the report from the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the42Characterization of Southeast Asian type of HIV

number of people newly infected with HIV-1 continues to fall year by year globally; however, rapid
epidemic growth of HIV-1 is continuing in several countries. Among Southeast Asian countries, theannual incident rate of HIV-1 infection has declined in many countries, including Cambodia,
Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal and Thailand, whereas it has continuously increased in countries such as
Indonesia, Bangladesh and the Philippines. In Indonesia, the number of people living with HIV-1 wasestimated to be 380,000 at the end of 2011, and 55,000 people were newly infected with HIV-1 in
2011. In addition, the estimated number of people living with HIV-1 markedly increased (3166.7%)
from 12,000 people in 2001 to 380,000 people in 2011 in this country. Furthermore, uncertainty inthe estimation of the number of people living with HIV-1 in Indonesia is apparent, suggesting theimportance of accumulating more epidemiological data in Indonesia. HIV-1 is a blood-borne virusthat spreads through contaminated blood and other body fluid. In Indonesia, the sharing of needles
and syringes is considered to be a major high-risk practice for HIV-1 transmission among injecting
drug users (IDUs). In addition, the sexual transmission of HIV-1 has also apparently increased inIndonesia. Commercial sex plays a significant role in the spread of HIV-1; however, the coverage ofHIV-1 prevention programs among commercial sex workers (CSWs) is reported to be less than 25%
in Indonesia. As a sero-epidemiological study in collaboration with Indonesian researchers, we
conducted an epidemiological study on the prevalence of HIV-1 among CSWs residing in Surabaya,
the capital of East Java province of Indonesia with large communities of CSWs. In addition, an
epidemiological study on the prevalence of other blood-borne viruses, hepatitis B virus (HBV),
hepatitis C virus (HCV) and GB virus C (GBV-C), were carried out. The results showed that theprevalence rates of HIV-1, hepatitis B core antibody, hepatitis B surface antigen, anti-HCV antibodies
and anti-GBV-C antibodies were 11%, 64%, 4%, 0.5% and 0% among CSWs involved in this study,
respectively. In addition, most CSWs showed low awareness of sexually transmitted diseases and had
unprotected sex with their clients. The HIV prevalence rate among CSWs was significantly higher
than that among the general population in Indonesia (0.2-0.4%). In addition, CSWs were at a highrisk of exposure to HBV, although chronic HBV infection was less frequently established. These
results suggest the necessity of efficient prevention programs for HIV and other blood-borne viral
infections among CSWs in Surabaya, Indonesia. In addition, we have studied the genotypiccharacteristics of HIV-1 strains isolated in Surabaya as well as in many other regions in Indonesia.
PCR-amplification and sequencing analysis of viral genes revealed that HIV-1 CRF01_AE viruses
are mainly prevalent in many regions in Indonesia; however, other subtypes and recombinant forms,
such as recombinant viruses between CRF01_AE and subtype B viruses, an African CRF02_AG
viruses and other unique recombinant viruses are also detected as minorities throughout the country.
In addition, somewhat different pattern of HIV-1 subtype distribution is found in the Papua province
compared to other regions of Indonesia. We are going to continue molecular epidemiological studies
in order to reveal the distribution of HIV-1 subtypes and CRFs in Indonesia. Furthermore, as a part43

Characterization of Southeast Asian type of HIV

of molecular epidemiological studies, we also studied the appearance of drug resistant viruses against
antiretroviral therapy (ART) among HIV-1-infected individuals on ART in Surabaya, Indonesia.
Although HIV-1 drug resistance is a major obstacle in Indonesia, information on drug resistance islimited in the country. Therefore, appearance of drug resistance mutations in the HIV-1 protease (PR)and reverse transcriptase (RT) genes were studied among ART drug-treated, HIV-1-infected patientsin Surabaya. HIV-1-infected individuals who are on ART more than 2 years were randomly recruitedregardless of the viral load or ART failure. Fifty-eight HIV-1 PR genes and 53 RT genes were PCRamplified and sequenced. CRF01_AE viruses were identified as the predominant strain, as describedabove. Major drug resistance mutations were not detected in the PR genes. In contrast, 37.7% (20/53)
of the participants had 1 or more major drug resistance mutations in the RT genes, predominantly
M184V (28.3%), K103N (11.3%) and thymidine analogue mutations (TAMs) (20.8%). The highprevalence of drug resistance mutations in RT genes indicated the necessity of monitoring theeffectiveness of ART in Indonesia.
We believe that the research outcomes of these collaborative studies may provide important
information for better understanding the characteristics of HIV-1 strains prevalent in Southeast Asian
countries.

44

Development of the novel oral vaccine platform utilizing bifidobacteria

Development of the novel oral vaccine platform utilizing bifidobacteria
Toshiro Shirakawa MD, PhD
Professor, Department of International Health
Kobe University Graduate School of Health Sciences
toshiro@med.kobe-u.ac.jp
Abstract:
We have been developing the novel oral vaccine platform efficiently and safely to induce mucosaland systemic immunity against various infectious pathogens (e.g. Salmonella Typhi, hepatitis C virus,
influenza type A virus, and others). Our proposed vaccine platform utilized bifidobacterium
displaying antigen, including CD4 and CD8 epitopes of the pathogens on the cell-surface. The healthpromoting benefits and safety of bifidobacterium have long been recognized. In addition, comparing
to Lactobacillus, bifidobacterium has the higher adhesive ability to human epithelial cells and thebetter effect on activating human immune systems. Bifidobacterium can be freeze-dried andencapsulated in PH-dependent seamless capsule. Encapsulated bificdobacterium can be delivered tointestine with resistance to gastric acid, and be stored at room temperature. The advantages of thisnovel oral vaccine platform are efficient cellular and humoral immunities expected, less side effects(pain, pathogenisity), no necessity of needles, stored at room temperature, easy to administer tochildren even in poor hygiene conditions.

Background:
The majority of vaccines in use today are delivered by injection to the intramuscular, subcutaneous,or intradermal spaces, although this practice is painful, requires a needle and syringe, and poses a risk

45

Development of the novel oral vaccine platform utilizing bifidobacteriaof transmission of infections among patients, health workers, and the community, especially indeveloping countries [1]. The initial infection with most human pathogens occurs at thegastrointestinal, respiratory, or genital mucosa. Theoretically, oral vaccines could induce effective
mucosal and/or systemic immunity, and could be easily and safely administered without a needle andsyringe to a large number of people in a short period of time. Despite these advantages, oral vaccines
have been used relatively infrequently against infectious diseases such as poliomyelitis, typhoid,rotavirus, and adenovirus infections. In most cases, oral vaccines are employed against entericinfections using attenuated live pathogens. These facts suggest the difficulty of inducing systemic
immunity using oral vaccines. Recently, several attenuated bacterial strains, including Salmonella
strains, have been used as heterologous antigen carriers for oral mucosal vaccines[2]; however, amajor concern is that the attenuated pathogen is not suited for use in immunocompromised or weak
hosts, for whom it can potentially be pathogenic[3]. Therefore, the use of probiotic bacteria as an
antigen delivery vehicle has been considered as a key component of a novel oral mucosal vaccine[4].
Several antigen-expressing systems to a specific location in the cytoplasm, cell wall, or extracellular
medium were previously tested for their efficacy in antigen-presentation for mucosal immunity, andit was confirmed that the antigens expressed on the cell-surface were better recognized than thoseexpressed intracellularly[5]. We successfully developed a novel Bifidobacterium antigen cell surface
displaying system using the GLBP as an anchoring matrix as for the novel efficient oral vaccine
platform.
Typhoid vaccine:
Although typhoid fever, caused by the enteric pathogen Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar
Typhi (S. Typhi), has long been controlled in industrialized countries, it still represents a significant
socio-economical burden in developing countries[6]. According to the World Health Organization(WHO), 16 to 33 million people are affected by this disease worldwide, which causes 500,000 to
600,000 deaths annually [6]. In 1948, the introduction of chloramphenicol for the treatment of typhoid
fever decreased the mortality rate from 10-30% to 1-4%, but outbreaks of chloramphenicol-resistant
S. Typhi began to emerge in 1972[7]. Since the 1990s, fluoroquinolones have replaced
chloramphenicol as the drug class of choice for suspected typhoid fever, but S. Typhi strains withresistance to fluoroquinolones are now increasingly reported in several countries [8]. The infection is
spread by the fecal-oral route and is closely associated with poor food hygiene and inadequate
sanitation. The control of typhoid fever by vaccination of high-risk populations is the most costeffective means of containing this disease [9].
S. Typhi causes typhoid fever in humans, but is avirulent in most animals, including mice. By
contrast, S. Typhimurium causes enteric fever in mice, with symptoms similar to those observed inhumans after infection with S. Typhi[10]. Therefore, S. Typhimurium infection in mice is widely
accepted as an experimental model for typhoid fever, and this murine typhoid fever model is very
suitable for evaluating the efficiency of typhoid vaccine[11]. we investigated the efficiency of thevaccine of recombinant B. longum displaying Salmonella-flagellin in a murine typhoid fever model,
and demonstrated that this vaccine could protect mice from a lethal challenge of S. Typhimurium. We
46

Development of the novel oral vaccine platform utilizing bifidobacteria

also confirmed that no S. Typhimurium was grown in the spleens of the vaccinated mice, using
quantitative real-time PCR. These data suggested that this novel vaccine efficiently induced adaptive
immunity enough to eliminate S. Typhimurium from our murine typhoid fever model.
HCV vaccine:
It is estimated that more than 170 million people are infected with the hepatitis C virus worldwide,
and these chronic carriers are at risk of developing liver cirrhosis and cancer [12]. HCV is anenveloped, plus-strand RNA virus of the family Flaviviridae and is classified into six major genotypes[13]. Genotype 1b is the most prevalent in Japan and is widespread in the United States and Europe.
This genotype also has a high rate of resistance to interferon-based treatments. The standard treatment
for HCV infection is based on a combination of pegylated (PEG)-interferon (IFN) and an antiviral
agent, such as ribavirin (RBV), although the virus eradication rates do not exceed approximately 50%
with HCV genotype 1b infection, while that for genotypes 2 and 3 approaches 80% [14]. A strong T
cell response against the nonstructural protein 3 (NS3) is important for recovery from acute HCV
infection, and an early multi-specific CD4+ helper and CD8+ cytotoxic T cell response is critical for
HCV clearance. In the present study, we successfully constructed a genetically modified
Bifidobacterium longum (B. longum) displaying recombinant HCV-NS3 peptides containing someCD4 and CD8 epitopes located in the HCV-NS3 region as an oral vaccine against chronic HCV
infection. The oral administration of this vaccine could induce NS3-specific immune responses inmice through intestinal mucosal immunity. Our findings suggest that this novel oral vaccine has great
potential as a novel oral vaccine against chronic HCV infection.
Conclusion:
We have developed the novel oral vaccine platform using bifidobacteria, and constructed the typhoidvaccine using recombinant bifidobacterium displaying salmonella flagellin and the HCV vaccine
using recombinant bifidobacterium displaying NS3 peptides containing several CD4 and CD8
epitopes, and we confirmed that these vaccines could induce both humoral and cellular immunity ina mouse experimental models. In the future, this needle/syringe-free and cold-chain-free oral vaccine
could be applied to the large number of patients with various infectious diseases to markedly improve
the world public health.
Note:
This presentation is based on our previous studies of following.
1: Takei S, Omoto C, Kitagawa K, Morishita N, Katayama T, Shigemura K, Fujisawa M, Kawabata
M, Hotta H, Shirakawa T. Oral administration of genetically modified Bifidobacterium displaying
HCV-NS3 multi-epitope fusion protein could induce an HCV-NS3-specific systemic immune
response in mice. Vaccine. 2014 May 23;32(25):3066-74. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2014.03.022. Epub
2014 Mar 21. PubMed PMID: 24657718.
2: Yamamoto S, Wada J, Katayama T, Jikimoto T, Nakamura M, Kinoshita S, Lee KM, Kawabata M,
Shirakawa T. Genetically modified Bifidobacterium displaying Salmonella-antigen protects mice47

Development of the novel oral vaccine platform utilizing bifidobacteria

from lethal challenge of Salmonella Typhimurium in a murine typhoid fever model. Vaccine. 2010
Sep 24;28(41):6684-91. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2010.08.007. Epub 2010 Aug 13. PubMed PMID:
20709009.
References:[1] Giudice EL, Campbell JD. Needle-free vaccine delivery. Adv Drug Deliv Rev 2006;58(1):68-89.
[2] Garmory HS, Brownb KA, Titball RW. Salmonella vaccines for use in humans: present and future perspectives FEMS
Microbiol Rev 2002;26(4):339-53.
[3] Seegers JF. Lactobacilli as live vaccine delivery vectors: progress and prospects. Trends Biotechnol 2002;20(12):50815.
[4] Wells JM, Mercenier A. Mucosal delivery of therapeutic and prophylactic molecules using lactic acid bacteria. Nat
Rev Microbiol 2008;6(5):349-62.
[5] Lee JS, Shin KS, Pan JG, Kim CJ. Surface-displayed viral antigens on Salmonella carrier vaccine. Nat Biotechnol
2000;18(6):645-8.
[6]Crump JA, Luby SP, Mintz ED. The global burden of typhoid fever. Bull World Health Organ 2004;82(5):346-53.
[7]Mirza SH, Beeching NJ, Hart CA. Multi-drug resistant typhoid: a global problem. J Med Microbiol 1996;44(5):3179.
[8]Butt T, Ahmad RN, Salman M, Kazmi SY. Changing trends in drug resistance among typhoid salmonellae in
Rawalpindi, Pakistan. East Mediterr Health J 2005;11(5-6):1038-44.
[9]DeRoeck D, Jodar L, Clemens J. Putting typhoid vaccination on the global health agenda. N Engl J Med
2007;357(11):1069-71.
[10]Mittrucker HW, Kaufmann SH. Immune response to infection with Salmonella typhimurium in mice. J Leukoc Biol
2000;67(4):457-63.
[11]Werner GT, Ulm K. Evaluation of oral vaccination against mouse-typhoid in a new animal model. Experientia
1981;37(8):900-1.
[12] World Health Organization. Hepatitis C: global prevalence. Wkly Epidemiol Rec 1997;72(46):341-8.
[13] Bukh J, Purcell RH, Miller RH. Sequence analysis of the core gene of 14 hepatitis C virus genotypes. Proc Natl Acad
Sci U S A 1994;91(17):8239-43.
[14] Brody H, Gravitz L, Schlütter J. Hepatitis C. Nat 2011;474(7350):S1-7.

48

Telemedicine and Emergency Air Medical Services

Telemedicine and Emergency Air Medical Services
Shin-Han Tsai
Dean, College of Public Health and Nutrition
Taipei Medical University
Introduction:
Emergency Air Medical Service (EAMS) is a limited resource in most countries. The balance ofthe outcomes in literature shows a mortality benefit to helicopter emergency medical service overground transport. Appropriate use of EAMS seeks to maximize utilization of a scarce resource toimprove patient outcomes. Overtriage of EAMS has been found in a number of countries andexposes a system to increased costs. Overtriage may also expose the program to unjustifiable safety
risks. Rural and remote islands of Taiwan has benefited from the availability of the EAMS forinterfacility transfers. The demands for Emergency Air Medical Services (EAMS) have increased
worldwide in recent years. The geographical limitations in Taiwan main-island and unequal
development of medical manpower and facilities on remote islands have resulted in a growing needof EAMS to the main island of Taiwan. A lack of the preflight screening mechanism has resulted in
rapid growth of unnecessary flights. On account of cost containment, the Taiwan Department of
Health established the National Aeromedical Approval Center (NAAC) for the preflight screeningof patients requesting EAMS in 30 remote locations.

Methodology:
Retrospective analysis of all interfacility air medical transport flight records from Oct 2002 to Jul2015 was performed. All materials were collected from the databank of Taiwan National
Aeromedical Approval Center (NAAC). The NAAC is a physician-based 24-hour control center49Telemedicine and Emergency Air Medical Services

coordinating the transport of severely injured or critically ill patients between Taiwan and its
surrounding islands. Before NAAC was established, all EAMS were dispatched upon request of
local physician.
The data were analyzed with Microsoft EXCEL and SPSS v. 11.0 softwares. We comparedcharacteristics of patients in terms of general demographics, diagnosis, transferring time, approvalrate, mortality rate within three days and location. Special consideration was made in regards toinfectious diseases. Cost analyses involved direct costs, including operating costs, claims to
National Health Insurance and indirect costs. Operating costs included personnel, capital,
operations, National Health Insurance and administration. We aimed to identify practice patterns in
EAMS related to resource utilization and clinical outcomes among patients undergoing interfacility
transfer for definitive care. We hypothesize that patients benefit from to helicopter transport withincorporation of preflight video-telemedicine screening system, and we compare costs
before and after NAAC was established.

Results:
Between Oct 01, 2002 and Jul 31, 2015, there were 4658 EAMS requests (avg. 0.99/day). Amongthem, there were 3952 requests for interhospital transports. A total of 3421 interhospital transports
were approved, with overall approval rate of 86.56%. Among all completed cases, male patientsoutnumbered female patients (M:F= 2:1). Mean age of patients was 49.5 years. Medical andsurgical conditions comprise 72% and 28% respectively. Stroke was the most common medical
condition of EAMT; while head injury was the leading cause in surgical cases. There has been nopatient safety or flight safety issue in 3421 flights. Cost is based on the difference between
expenditures for the decreased in number of flights after NAAC was established, the cost of NAAC,
video-telemedicine equipment and the fares for commercial flights and shuttle ferry. The average
cost for each patient transfer was NT$200,000 (US$6,250). The annual budget of NAAC including
physicians is 13,000,000 NTD (US$ 406,250). The operating cost of telemedicine system, including
the equipment in 30 locations, is 6,500,000 NTD (US$203,125). The cost of transport by scheduled
50Telemedicine and Emergency Air Medical Services

commercial flight was $120 for round-trips and regular shuttle ferry of $ 70 for round trip.
Costwise, the savings of government expenditure is US$43,700,066 during the twelve years and ten
months period. The indirect cost includes the productivity loss due to patient disability, loss of
future productivity due to premature death, social impact, family burden and risk of air crash. We
were not able to quantify the indirect cost savings. Contrast to many reports that infectious diseases
are contraindications to EAMS, our study showed infectious diseases are transportable with carefulselection and preflight assessment. Because of the strict criteria on suitability for air transport ofpatients who have infectious diseases, even those with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS),
the benefits of air transport clearly exceed the risk. During the SARS outbreak in Asia, patients withsuspected SARS were safely transported by air with the use of an airtight portable isolation unit.
Negative-pressure portable isolation units are equipped with air-purifying respirators. The
construction is light and durable and has working ports through which the medical crew canmonitor patients and perform procedures. So far, many patients with active pulmonary tuberculosis
have also been safely transported in such novel isolation units, with an average flight time of 8hours. The medical crews reported no problems during or after transport (and unpublished data).
Meticulous preparation for air transport and post-transport monitoring are mandatory fortransporting patients with communicable diseases who require respiratory isolation. In addition to
SARS, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) outbreak is associated withconsiderable morbidity. Prompt patient isolation and active monitoring of clinical progress areimportant principles. Patient disposition to designated medical centers may be inevitable. How tocontrol infection and protect medical personnel who are responsible for patient movement is evenmore important. We have used portable medical isolation unit (PMIU) with successful experiencesin transporting SARS and open tuberculosis. It can also apply to current escalating avian flu
situation. It is made of clear lightweight polyvinyl chloride (PVC), weighted only 5 kg. Prior toassembly, it folds up into a valise. Fully assembled, it is 200cm in length, 55 cm wide and 65cm
high. Fresh air enters the unit through three ports fitted with disposable PAPR-P3 HEPA filters.
This PMIU provides seamless care and safety of hospital staffs. It can be re-used after disinfection.
For current MERS-CoV situation, it can be used in selected cases for proper infection control.

51

Telemedicine and Emergency Air Medical Services

Conclusion:
In an era of healthcare spending reform and scrutiny, the patterns in the mode of transportation forpatient transport must be examined. There are numerous prerequisites for optimal outcome: acentral coordinating authority, a well equipped ambulatory service, seamless communication
between the ambulances and the receiving hospital, predefined arrangements between hospitals inthe same geographical area, adequately trained paramedics and strict protocols of action are only
few of these. The shortage of manpower and facilities in remote hospitals has necessitated EAMS
for prompt and definitive treatment of critical patients. EAMS is becoming an increasingly
important factor in improving the quality of primary care and avoiding medicolegal issues. The
analysis of monthly EAMS applications and actual flights showed a significant decrease after
NAAC was established. The physicians in the NAAC played crucial roles in this aspect. One of the
major roles the physicians is being a gatekeeper for EAMS approval and transport quality. The
system, including the protocols used, screening criteria, and the use of video telemedicine, isthought to have caused the reduction of EAMS applications. Our study demonstrates the physicianassisted preflight screening using video-telemedicine significantly reduced the frequency of
unnecessary air medical transports, achieve better infection control and consequently led to reduced
costs. Video-telemedicine can be an essential tool to support physicians in decision-making forpatient screening.

52

Optimized Immunotherapy to Cure Chronic HBV Infection
by Using a Convenient Immuno-competent Mouse Model

Optimized Immunotherapy to Cure Chronic HBV Infection
by Using a Convenient Immuno-competent Mouse Model
Pei-Jer Chen
Hepatitis Research Center, National Taiwan University Hospital
Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine
College of Medicine, National Taiwan University
Chronic hepatitis B claims about 240 millions patients by WHO’s current assessment. To control
CHB, two main approaches have been undertaken: the first is vaccination of naïve newborns orother subjects; the second is to treat chronic hepatitis B patients. The universal vaccination has beenpromoted since year 1984, and covered more than 75% of countries in the world. It is widely
expected a notable decline of HBV carriers after the launching of vaccination program.
Nevertheless, even in Taiwan where universal HBV vaccination began from year 1986 and covered
more than 99% of newborns, the total HBsAg carriers only reduced from 3 millions in year 1982 to
2.4 millions in year 2005. More surprising, the estimated world HBsAg carriers increased from 224
millions in year 1990 to 240 millions in year 2005. The paradoxical increase of total HBsAg
carriers, despite of decreasing HBsAg prevalence, after vaccination is largely contributed by the
aging of world population, that resulted in more HBsAg carriers in the adult or senior people
sectors. Therefore HBV vaccination has to be continued meticulously.
Regarding CHB load in Japan, new epidemiological survey
showed hepatitis B as an emerging infection, and even taking
over hepatitis C as the main chronic viral hepatitis. A recent
survey from children to senior citizens discovered a 1.5-3
folds higher prevalence of CHB than that of CHC, especiallyamong younger than 60 year-old group. The acute viral
hepatitis sentinel report also showed the annual acutehepatitis B cases around 3000-4000 versus 100-800 cases ofacute hepatitis C. Both findings indicated a big hepatitis B
susceptible population in Japan, accounting for the higher
risk of acute or chronic hepatitis B cases. Thus it deserves totake more active intervention steps, especially revising the
HBV vaccination policy from selected immunization of
newborns from HBV carrying mothers to a universal
immunization of all newborns, irrespective of mothers’
HBsAg status. It is expected Japan may adopt the new universal HBV vaccination in newborns in
the near future.
For chronic hepatitis B carriers, they are t at high risk of developing end-stage liver diseases.
53

Optimized Immunotherapy to Cure Chronic HBV Infection
by Using a Convenient Immuno-competent Mouse Model

From REVEAL study, the male HBsAg carriers have a life-time risk of HCC up to 30% whereas therisk of female HBsAg carriers as 10%. Therefore these CHB patients do need effective antiviraltherapies to control the hepatitis B virus activity. Currently there are two approved regimens for
CHB treatment. One is the small molecules inhibiting HBV reverse transcriptiase, so-called
nucleos(t)ide analogs, such as Entecavir or Tenofovir. These drugs are very effective in shutting
down HBV replication and rapidly clear HBV virions from patients’ circulation. However, the drugs
cannot stop the gene expression of HBV in already-infected hepatocytes, so there are little reductionof infected hepatocytes from the patients. This makes the discontinuous of antiviral drugs almost
impossible, as this will be followed by a rapid replication of HBV and a new round of HBV
infection. Many treatment guidelines thus advocate life-long therapy that becomes very difficult forcompromising drug compliance. Only about 1% of NA-treated patients can clear HBV after longterm therapies. The other therapy is the immune-modulator, namely the interferon-alpha. A 24- or
48 weeks IFN therapy can result in prolonged hepatitis B suppression in 20-30% of patients.
However, only in around 10% of patients can clear HBV after IFN therapy. Therefore there is aclearly unmet demand for a curative therapy against CHB, aiming to clear HBsAg from patients,that is a serological cure.
In order to reach a serological cure of CHB, the most effective approach can be the cytotoxic
lysis of HBV-infected hepatocytes by cellular immunity. Among CHB patients, they retained a low
and modest immunity against HBV but insufficient to clear all infected hepatocytes. The oligoclonal and exhausted T cells toward HBV has been the fundamental deficiency in failure toeliminate chronic hepatitis B.CHB is involved the complicated interaction between evolving
hepatitis B virus and the host immune responses. Current antiviral Nucs effectively control new
cycles of viral replication, but do not upgrade the host anti-viral immune responses. However, tostudy the HBV-specific immune responses and to optimize immune-therapy, we need a simple
immune-competent animal, especially mouse, model.
There are several mouse models relevant to HBV immunological experiments, including HBVtransgenic mice; human hepatocytes-chimera mice; or blood-hepatocytes chimera mice. However,these systems are quite complicated and difficult to maintain for more than one year, necessary forchronic hepatitis B experiments. We adopted the hydrodynamic injection of HBV DNA system. The
platform can efficiently deliver viral genome into the mouse liver to initiate viral gene expression,
viral replication, and to release the complete virions and HBsAg into the circulation. Though there
are no new cycles of HBV infection, this approach can stimulate the host anti-HBV immune
responses. Depending upon the strains of mice, certain strains of mice clear the HBV rapidly butothers cannot so the HBV become persistent. In the Balb/c, the mouse rapidly clears HBV 4 weeks
after HDI of HBV DNA. In contrast, mice of CBA or C3H strains keep HBV and HBsAg in 8090% of HDI-HBV treatment for more than 6 months. The commonly-used B5 mice cleared HBV in
an intermediate rate.

54

Optimized Immunotherapy to Cure Chronic HBV Infection
by Using a Convenient Immuno-competent Mouse Model

By using this system, it is possible to study the mechanism of HBV persistence, and also tested avariety of new immonu-modulators. For example, we evaluated the role of individual HBV gene in
the immune reaction. By simple in-situ mutagenesis, we could create HBV mutants losing a single
viral gene. These single-gene knock-out HBV mutants were then injected into B6 mice to evaluate
the HBV clearance. The results indicated HBV core and HBx gene playing essential role in HBV
immune clearance. Next, we can assess the individual gene in HBV clearance by exploring a libraryof gene knock-out mice. The knock-out of B cells and IFN did not change HBV clearance, but
knock-out of CD4 or CD8 did prolong HBV persistence, as anticipated. There are many genes
involved in innate immunity also assayed. It turned out the TNF-alpha pathway to be essential for
HBV immune clearing in the mice model. The third application of this mouse model is the ability toselective depletion of individual non-parenchymal cells to interrogate their relevance in HBV
immune clearance. When the Kuppfer cells depleted by chlodronate, the HDI-HBV treatment
resulted in a more rapid clearance. This suggested KC likely playing an immune-suppressing rolefor HBV clearance. In contrast, when the NK cells depleted by anti-sAGM antibodies, the HBVclearance was much delayed, indicating a pro-immuno clearing activity. All these experimental
approaches are only possible in this HDI-HBV mice models. Now the model started generating new
directions about HBV immunity. The in-depth analysis of murine anti-HBV immune responses may
shed new lights on the mechanisms. In the end, we will like validating these findings in the HHB
patients.
Finally, the HBV-persistence mouse models allow the testing new immune-therapies against
CHB. We have shown both anti-HBV NAs or IFN insufficient to clear HBV from these micemodels, consistent with current clinical experiences. The model can be applied to test or study novelanti-HBV approaches. For example, new TLRs ligands or therapeutic antibodies (against HBsAg or
immune-inhibitory molecules ,PD1 or PDL1), are now studied in this system. In addition,
exploratory therapies, such as reactivating exhausted NK cells, or preferential killing of HBVcarrying hepatocytes by cIAPs antagonists, have been updated. In the future, we are interested instudying other new immune-therapies against hepatitis B, including the new oral vaccination
approach developed in Kobe University. Prof. Hotta and Shirakawa recently constructed thebifidobacteria carrying HCV NS3 or other human cancer antigen, which can be easily taken orally
55

Optimized Immunotherapy to Cure Chronic HBV Infection
by Using a Convenient Immuno-competent Mouse Modelto stimulate specific immunity in the mice models, showing a possible and practical platform. We
looked forward to test and study this new approach in the immune-competent CHB mouse model.

56

Development of Water Treatment Membrane for the Resolution of World Water Shortage

Development of Water Treatment Membrane
for the Resolution of World Water Shortage
Hideto Matsuyama
Director
Center for Membrane and Film Technology, Kobe University
Professor
Graduate School of Engineering, Kobe University
Water shortage is widely recognized as one of the major social issues in 21st century. According
to a number of research, it is estimated that 2/3 of the people in the world would suffer from shortagesof water by 2015. Hence, it is believed that 21st century is the age of water, shifting from the age of
petroleum in 20th century.
In Kobe University, with the aim at tackling the global issues such as water shortage, the Center
for Membrane and Film Technology (MaFTech center) was established in 2007, along with Kobe
University’s strategic focus on environmental studies. Within this presentation, firstly an introduction
on the center and its recently activities including international linkages will be presented. Secondly,
research on the water treatment will be focused. Throughout the content, we hope you can easily
obtain an overall understanding on the MaFTech center’s activities and seek collaboration
opportunity with Kobe University.
The MaFTech center is now the largest academiadriven membrane research center in Japan. In April of2015, it opened its newly constructed research facility,with totally 6 floors and 6000 m2 space. At MaFTech
center, currently there are 28 faculty as well as over 100
students engaging in membrane engineering research.
They are mainly divided into 5 research groups: 1.Bioprocess group, 2.Organic membrane group, 3.Gas
separation group, 4.Water treatment group, 5.Film andmembrane coating group. By integrating the work ofthese groups, MaFTech covers a great variety ofmembrane research from basic to applied perspectives.
Now the research is conducted intensively andsynergistically at the new building.
MaFTech’s academic focuses are not only domestic
but also international. It has been paying effort onbuilding up connections with world renowned membrane
research centers. Currently, it has established official linkages with 10 famous membrane

research centers in Asian, Oceanian and European areas (Taiwan, Korea, China, Hong Kong,
Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia and Europe). In order to enhance research and educational57

Development of Water Treatment Membrane for the Resolution of World Water Shortage

collaboration among MaFTech and its overseas partners, MaFTech center initiated an annualinternational membrane workshop called iWMK
in Kobe in 2014. It is a Kobe University based
academic event supposed to be held every year at
Kobe University. Within iWMK, we invite all ofour partners with MOU (Memorandum ofUnderstanding) signed to give presentations on
their latest research. Then all of the members
have closed discussion and exchanges on suchpresentations. We welcome all people fromacademic and industrial domains to join theiWMK. Apart from academia, MaFTech center
also play a key role in collaboration with industry.
By cooperating with the off-campus organization called Organization for Membrane and Film
Technology, it is now collaborating with more than 68 membrane related companies in Japan. Overtens of co-research projects are now in progress by utilizing MaFTech’s latest research facilities.
Regarding the research which focuses onmembrane utilized water treatment, now we are
implementing the research mainly via thefollowing aspects, 1) membrane for water reuseand desalination with considerably low energy
consumption, 2) strong anti-fouling membrane
based on new materials, 3) energy production by
membrane process, 4) innovative separation
system by using our newly developed membrane.
The major activities will be introduced as thefollowing.
The membrane process for water treatment such as desalination, wastewater treatment andenrichment of products mainly includes three processes, i.e. reverse osmosis (RO), forward osmosis(FO) and membrane distillation (MD). In principle the transport mechanism of RO and FO is basicallythe same. The MaFTech center focuses on the development of novel materials and membranes suchas mixed matrix membrane, biomimetic membrane to applications environmental and economic
processes.
One of the MAFTech’s focused membrane research is on membrane fouling. Membrane foulingis caused by the adsorption of organic macromolecules to the membrane surface. It results in a severe
permeability decline during the water filtration. To improve the antifouling property of the membrane,
MaFTech center aim to develop novel blend or copolymer membranes. Since nowadays there are still
too many factors in the membrane fouling not yet understood, we pay a large amount of effort on the
study of fouling mechanism. In order to have a comprehensive understanding of membrane fouling,
our research covers experimental and theoretical perspectives. Additionally, via co-research withcompanies, the outcome of our study is not only limited to the laboratory level but close to theindustrial use.

58

Development of Water Treatment Membrane for the Resolution of World Water Shortage

The fabrication of membrane is another major field in our research. Regarding the FO membrane
research, we have successfully developed high performing FO membrane with the highest fluxes inworld, not only the FO flux can be controlled as desired but also it suits the configuration of flat sheet
and hollow fiber flexibly. Moreover, when considering the industrial use, since the module analysis
is important to design and optimize full-scale FO desalination plant, our research also covers the FO
module performance analysis. This approach will accelerate the laboratory research outcome to realindustrial application.

Other research such as the study on biomimetic membrane and its fabrication method is also
conducted at MAFTech center. We believe the research outcome will help develop the next
generation membrane with great performance increase. Also, we propose hybrid system with low

59

Development of Water Treatment Membrane for the Resolution of World Water Shortage

energy, cost as well as high recovery ratio for waste water treatment and desalination process, as
FO/RO, NF/FO/RO hybrid system, moreover, investigate fouling behavior and mechanism on themembrane surface through molecular dynamics (MD) and three dimensional phase-field simulations.
As an integrated large scale research unit of membrane technology, MaFTech center’s research ishighly diverse and multi-perspective. Apart from water-centric research, we also conduct advanced
research on gas separation, organic thin films, coating process etc. Our goal is to contribute to theachievement of a sustainable society in future, by utilizing membranes and the innovations inmembrane processes.

60

Morphology Control of Polymeric Membranes ― Roles of Polymer Chain Entanglement

Morphology Control of Polymeric Membranes--- Roles of Polymer Chain Entanglement
Da-Ming Wang
Department of Chemical Engineering
National Taiwan University
Nonsolvent-induced phase separation (NIPS) has been used for decades to prepare polymeric
membranes for different membrane separation processes. For NIPS, homogeneous polymer solution
is cast on a substrate and then immersed in a coagulant (polymer nonsolvent) bath, where phaseseparation of the polymer solution occurs because of the exchange of solvent and nonsolvent, andthe resulting polymer-poor phase becomes the membrane pores and the polymer-rich phase forms
the membrane matrix. Though the method has been widely used, a clear insight into how membrane
forms still remains a challenge.
It has been noticed by many that the morphology of the polymer membranes prepared by NIPS isstrongly influenced by the mass transport of solvent and nonsolvent during membrane formationand its interplay with phase separation. Analysis of the mass transport has therefore attracted muchresearch attention. Most researches in this area are theoretical work focusing on determining thecomposition path and superposing it on the ternary phase diagram of polymer, solvent, andcoagulant. It was usually presumed that phase separation occurred once the composition pathintersected the binodal and the associated phase separation mechanism was nucleation and growth.
However, phase separation via the mechanism of nucleation and growth may not occur if there is
not enough time for the nuclei to form. Therefore, the time given for the nuclei to occur plays animportant role in the formation of membrane pores. If the solution stays in the meta-stable region
long enough for the nuclei to occur, phase separation via the nucleation and growth mechanism
occurs and results in cellular pores. On the other hand, if the time the solution stays in the61Morphology Control of Polymeric Membranes ― Roles of Polymer Chain Entanglement

metastable region is not long enough, the polymer solution does not phase separate in themeta-stable region and the following intake of nonsolvent would bring it to the unstable region(inside spinodal) and make it phase separate via the mechanism of spinodal decomposition.
Inter-connected pores can thus be obtained. On the basis of the above discussion, the time that thesolution stays in the meta-stable region is an important time scale in determining the membrane
morphology.
The time that the casting solution stays in the meta-stable region is strongly related to theexchange rate of solvent and nonsolvent and is not easy to be determined experimentally. Ourlaboratory has been working on measuring the change during membrane forming in concentrationsof polymer, solvent, and coagulant by using FTIR microscopy. An FTIR microscope equipped witha liquid cell was used for detecting the composition change at different positions during membrane
formation. A drop of a polymer solution was placed in the cell and the nonsolvent was injected fromthe side of the cell. The IR beam was then focused at a position in the polymer solution and thespectra were taken at different times. The focused spots were varied so that the information at
different positions was obtained. By identifying the characteristic peaks corresponding to thepolymer, solvent and nonsolvent used, we were able to determine the compositions of the solution
at different times and positions. We could then construct the composition path on the ternary phase
diagram of polymer, solvent, and nonsolvent. With the procedures discussed above, the time thesolution stays in the meta-stable region (between binodal and spinodal) could be determined. The
time is referred to as tm in the following.
It was found that the solution at the location near the interface of casting solution and nonsolvent
bath stayed in the meta-stable region much shorter than the solution located deeper, because themass transfer in the solution near the interface was faster than that in the deeper locations. We
observed that the solution near the surface stayed in the meta-stable region too short to allow for the
nuclei to occur. It thus crossed the meta-stable region without phase separation and underwent
spinodal decomposition as its composition path entered the unstable region. The solution locateddeeper in the casting solution stayed in the meta-stable region long enough for the nuclei to occur.
Therefore, the pores were inter-connected near the membrane surface and turned into cellular atdeeper positions. And at a certain position, the porous structure changed from inter-connected tocellular. The tm at the structure transition position can be interpreted as the time needed for the
nuclei to occur, referred as tmc.
The results we obtained indicate that two time scales are important in determining the pore
structure. One is the time given for the nuclei to occur (tm) and the other is the time needed for the
nuclei to occur (tmc). With tm>tmc, the phase separation was via nucleation and growth and the pores
were cellular. On the other hand, with tm<tmc, the phase separation was via spinodal and the pores
were inter-connected. For a casting solution, tmc is constant and tm is dependent on where thesolution locates. tm is higher as the solution locates further from the interface. Therefore, it wasobserved that transition from interconnected to cellular occurred at a deeper location in the preparedmembrane for the casing solution with higher tmc, since longer tm was needed for the nuclei ofpolymer-poor phase to occur.
We investigated several factors affecting tmc, including polymer concentration, polymer
molecular weight and the solvency of the solvent used to prepare the casting solution. With higher
polymer concentration, higher polymer molecular weight and lower solvency, tmc was higher and62Morphology Control of Polymeric Membranes ― Roles of Polymer Chain Entanglement

membranes with interconnected pores were easier to be obtained. By choosing suitable solvent,polymer molecular weight and polymer concentration to prepare casting solution, we were able toobtain membranes with interconnected pores throughout the cross section.
With a specific polymer and a solvent to dissolve it, the tmc of the polymer solution was observed
to be strongly dependent on the polymer concentration: as the polymer concentration was lower
than a transition concentration (CT), tmc was not sensitive to the concentration and the value wasabout 1 sec; as the polymer concentration was higher than CT, tmc increased dramatically withincreasing polymer concentration and could be as high as 10 sec. With higher polymer
concentration, tm also increased for two reasons: higher solution viscosity and larger gap between
binodal and spinodal in the phase diagram. With increasing polymer concentration, the increase in
tmc would make the solution easier to perform spinodal decomposition (less easy to form nuclei),but the increase in tm would make the solution easier to phase separate via nucleation and growth(staying longer in the metastable region to form nuclei). The two effects competed with each otherand resulted in an interesting behavior as the polymer concentration crossed CT. With a polymer
concentration (C) lower than CT, the effect of polymer concentration on tm dominated since tmc was
not sensitive to polymer concentration with C<CT; therefore, the solution was less inclined to
preform spinodal decomposition with increasing polymer concentration. On the other hand, with
C>CT, the effect of polymer concentration on tmc dominated since tmc increased dramatically withincreasing C as C>CT; therefore, the solution had higher tendency to preform spinodal
decomposition with increasing polymer concentration. On the basis of the above discussion, thetransition concentration CT can be interpreted as a polymer concentration that the solution has thelowest tendency to perform spinodal decomposition when it is used to prepare membranes. Also, it
was observed that the value of CT depends on the polymer used to prepare membranes, its
molecular weight and the solvent used to dissolve it. CT decreased with increasing polymer
molecular weight and lower solvency.

63

Morphology Control of Polymeric Membranes ― Roles of Polymer Chain Entanglement

CT is the polymer concentration at which tmc begins to increase dramatically with increasing
polymer concentration. We also observed a transition polymer concentration (Ce) at which thesolution viscosity begins to increase dramatically with increasing polymer concentration. The
reason for the dramatic increase in viscosity is known to be related to polymer chain entanglement.
As the polymer concentration in a solution reaches a threshold (the entanglement concentration), thesolution viscosity begins to increase dramatically because of the occurrence of chain entanglement.
On the basis of the above discussion, the transition polymer concentration Ce can be interpreted as
the entanglement concentration. Our results also show that Ce coincided well with CT, indicatingthat the dramatic increase in tmc with increasing C as C>CT was caused by the occurrence ofpolymer chain entanglement in the polymer solution. With increasing polymer molecular weight orusing lower quality solvent (lower solvency), chain entanglement started to occur at a lower
polymer concentration (lower Ce), resulting in lower CT. By using the normalized polymer
concentration (C/Ce), we obtained a superposed curve of tmc versus C/Ce (all the data collapsed intoa single curve), indicating that the time needed for the nuclei to form (tmc) is strongly related to thedegree of polymer chain entanglement in the casting solution. By using the superimposed curve of
tmc and a simple diffusion model for tm, we can calculate the position in a membrane where theporous structure changes from inter-connected to cellular. The calculated results agree well with theexperimental data.
We will give examples showing that by varying solvent quality, polymer concentration, polymer
molecular weight, we can change the degree of polymer chain entanglement and thus change thephase separation mechanism and the resulting membrane morphology. Also, examples will be given
to show how the knowledge about the interplay of mass transfer and phase separation can lead tothe preparation of highly porous membranes with inter-connected pores.

64

Tough Ion Gel Membranes Containing Amino Acid Ionic Liquid as a CO2 Carrier

Tough Ion Gel Membranes Containing Amino Acid Ionic Liquid
as a CO2 Carrier
Eiji Kamio
Assistant Professor
Graduate School of Engineering
Kobe University
Increase of CO2 in the atmosphere causes serious environmental impacts including global warming
and climate change. Hence, development of an economically viable and environmental friendly CO2
capture technology is inevitable. During the last two decades, membrane technology has drawn
considerable interests due to its potential and possibility to realize a CO2 capture process with low
energy consumption and low capital and operating costs. A feasible and desirable CO2 separation
membrane with high CO2 flux but without sacrificing of CO2/N2 selectivity should be developed tofulfil the practical requirements.
In this context, room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) have been proposed as an attractive CO2
permeation media for supported ionic liquid membranes (SILMs), because of their distinct properties
such as high CO2 absorption capacity, negligible vapor pressure, huge chemical diversity, and highthermal stability. However, the poor mechanical stability under pressurized condition inherent to
SILMs limits their application to low trans-membrane pressure systems. Incorporation of nonpolymerizable ionic liquids (free ILs) into the matrix of functional cross-linkable ILs, called poly
(RTIL)/RTIL composite membranes, was considered as a promising strategy to overcome mechanicalstability issue of SILMs. However, despite mechanical stability improvement, the poly(RTIL)/RTIL
composite membranes suffer from the low CO2 permeability because of the low CO2 absorbability of
RTILs. Recently, use of amine-functionalized task-specific ILs (TSILs) for CO2 capture, which haveat least a CO2 reactive amino moiety in the molecule, have been considered as an attractive approachto overcome the poor CO2 absorbability challenge [1].

65Tough Ion Gel Membranes Containing Amino Acid Ionic Liquid as a CO2 Carrier

By taking the advantage of a selective reaction between CO2 and the TSILs, we recently havereported a new class of SILMs containing amino acid ILs (AAILs) [2]. The AAILs-based SILMs
demonstrated remarkably fast and selective CO2 permeation based on facilitated transport mechanism.
The advantages of AAILs over widely used conventional non-IL type CO2 carriers made them apromising candidate as a CO2 carrier as well as a diffusion medium for facilitated transport
membranes. However, similar to conventional SILMs, the AAIL-based SILMs cannot be used underpressurized conditions because AAILs were held in a porous support with weak interactions andeasily leaked out from the support.
To resolve the aforementioned issue related to pressure stability of AAILs-based SILMs, we
proposed a straightforward approach to fabricate polymer gel membranes containing AAILs (AAILgel membranes) [3]. Developed AAIL-gel membranes with high AAIL content revealed acceptable
CO2 separation potential nearly analogous to AAIL-based SILMs. However, to achieve desirable CO2
separation performance, a large amount of AAILs must be incorporated into the AAIL-gel membrane,
which is accompanied by the decrease of mechanical strength as well as pressure resistance of the
AAIL-gel membranes. That is, the trade-off between mechanical strength and CO2 separation
performances still remains a challenge which should be explored. Moreover, the low mechanicalstrength of the gel membrane hinders the preparation of thin gel membranes with high CO2 flux forpractical applications.
To address this issue, here we propose a novel tough AAIL-gel membranes with excellent
mechanical strength based on a specific double-network gel matrix [4] which allows to improve thepressure resistance of the gel membrane containing a large amount of AAIL and also fabricate a thinmembrane with high CO2 permeance [5].
The AAIL-based Double network (DN) gel membranes were prepared via multi-step preparation
method; (1) DN hydrogel preparation, (2) impregnation of an AAIL/water mixture into DN matrix,and (3) remove water from the gel by evaporation. DN gel membranes with different AAIL contents
were prepared by using aqueous solutions with different concentrations of AAILs. The AAIL content
in the prepared gel membranes reached up to 80 wt% and became constant towards the increase of
the AAIL concentration in the aqueous solution. One of the most outstanding features of the AAILbased DN gels is the extraordinary mechanical strength. The DN gel membranes containing 80 wt%
AAIL were mechanically strong enough to be easily manipulated by hand and also their gas transport
properties be evaluated under pressurized conditions. We measured the fracture stress of the DN ion
gels consisting of with different AAIL contents. It is worth to mention that even the DN ion gels withca. 80 wt% of AAIL content were not broken at more than 25 MPa of compression stress, which ismore than 25 times higher than those previously reported for AAIL-based ion gels consisting of single
polymeric gel networks prepared in our group. During compression, no AAILs leakage from the gel
network was observed as a consequence of good compatibility between the polymer networks andthe AAILs. From the above mentioned results on the excellent mechanical strength, it was expectedthat the fabricated AAIL-based DN ion gel membranes could be used under pressurized conditions.
The pressure resistance of the DN gel with ca. 80 wt% of AAIL content was evaluated at elevated66

Tough Ion Gel Membranes Containing Amino Acid Ionic Liquid as a CO2 Carrier

temperature of 373 K and a constant permeate side pressure (atmospheric pressure) through changing
the feed side pressure from 100 to 500 kPa. From the investigation, it was confirmed that the CO2
permeability, the N2 barrier property and CO2/N2 selectivity of the AAILs-based DN gel membraneremained constant at high level in whole range of trans-membrane pressure difference investigated inthis study. Especially, the observed CO2 permeability and CO2/N2 selectivities were more than 4000
barrer and 100 at high pressure difference conditions, respectively. These results indicated that the
AAIL-based DN ion gel membranes withstood pressurized condition due to their tough doublenetwork structure. In addition, the AAIL-based DN ion gel membranes showed stable CO2 and N2
permeation for 5 days at elevated temperature under pressurized conditions. The high and selective
CO2 permeability, the superior pressure resistance and the long term stability of the fabricated AAILbased DN ion gel membranes make them an attractive option for a broad area of CO2 capture
application.
The tough AAIL-based DN ion gel has thepotential of being fabricated in thinner form withkeeping the high CO2 permselectivity as the ratecontrolling step of CO2 permeation through AAILbased membranes would be intra-membranediffusion of the CO2 complex. Therefore, wefabricated the AAIL-based DN ion gel membranes
with thinner thickness and measured the CO2 andN2 permeances. The CO2 partial pressure
dependency of CO2 and N2 permeances for thethinnest AAIL-based ion gel membrane (58x10-6m) prepared in this study almost same to those of
the AAIL-SILM although the thickness of the ion
gel membrane was thicker than the AAIL-SILM.
This result indicates that the diffusion resistance in the DN ion gel network is smaller than that of theporous support used for AAIL-SILMs because of the low polymer content in the DN ion gel
membrane. Furthermore, from the relationship between the CO2 permeance and inverted thickness ofthe membrane, 1/, it was found that the CO2 permeance linearly increased with the decrease of 1/,
which indicates that the CO2 permeation through the thinner DN ion gel membrane is still controlled
by the intra-membrane diffusion. This raises the possibility of achieving higher CO2 flux through thefurther reduction of the membrane thickness.
In summary, we successfully developed the AAIL-based DN ion gel membranes with the advanced
properties as a facilitated CO2 separation membrane. The prepared membranes were tough and hadhigh pressure resistance as well as high CO2 permeability and CO2/N2 selectivity. Many possibilities
to improve the mechanical strength as well as reduce the polymer content for achieving much higher
CO2 permeability is still remaining. Optimization of the AAIL-based DN ion gel membranes would

67

Tough Ion Gel Membranes Containing Amino Acid Ionic Liquid as a CO2 Carrier

provide feasible and desirable CO2 separation membranes for various practical CO2 separation
processes.
This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number 15K18256.
1. S. Hanioka, T. Maruyama, T. Sotani, M. Teramoto, H. Matsuyama, K. Nakashima, M. Hanaki, F. Kubota and M. Goto,
J. Membr. Sci., 2008, 314, 1
2. S. Kasahara, E. Kamio, T. Ishigami and H. Matsuyama, Chem. Commun., 2012, 48, 6903.
3. S. Kasahara, E. Kamio, A. Yoshizumi and H. Matsuyama, Chem. Commun., 2014, 50, 2996.
4. J. P. Gong, Y. Katsuyama, T. Kurokawa and Y. Osada, Adv. Mater., 2003, 15, 1155.
5. F. Moghadam, E. Kamio, A. Yoshizumi and H. Matsuyama, Chem. Commun., 2015, 51, 13658.

68Development of Novel Aerogel Membranes to Resolve the Carbon Abundance and Water Scarcity Issues

Development of Novel Aerogel Membranes to Resolve theCarbon Abundance and Water Scarcity Issues
Kuo-Lun Tung
Dept. of Chemical Engineering
National Taiwan University,
Taipei 106, Taiwan
Tel: +886-2-33663027, Fax: +886-2-23623040
E-mail:kltung@ntu.edu.tw
In this talk, I will report the development of novel aerogel membranes and operation modes forvarious process applications with membrane contactors (MCs). In particular, it will focus on thedevelopment of tuned hydrophobic, hydrophilic and asymmetric wettability membranes. Membrane
contactors are membrane systems that can find application in different fields of industrial interest,
covering, for example, gas-liquid operations, liquid-liquid extractions and vapor-liquid distillation.
In past decade, the use of membrane absorption to capture carbon (membrane absorption, MA), toprepare emulsions (membrane emulsification, ME), to recover resources from sea (membrane
crystallization, MCr) to carry out distillation processes for water scarcity issue (membranedistillation, MD) has been subject of many research activities worldwide. Focus of this talk will beplaced on the applications of the developed novel aerogel membranes for MA and MD processes toresolve the carbon abundance and water scarcity issues, respectively, for achieving an ultimate goal
toward a sustainable planet.
The past few decades has seen the rapid developmentof silica aerogels in many applications such as drug
releasing, heat insulation, separation. Silica aerogels
are classified as mesoporous material showing thecharacteristics of high thermal resistance, large surface
areas, high porosity6. Several attempts have been madeto synthesize silica aerogel via sol-gel processes using
tetramethyl
orthosilicate(TMOS),
tetraethyl
orthosilicate (TEOS) and other organosilane
compounds as the precursor. However, a major problem
with these silica aerogels is that they are intrinsicallyhydrophilic and appropriate surface chemical
modifications are needed to render them hydrophobic.
In 2006, Rao et al. have developed a direct synthesis ofwater-repellent
silicaaerogelsusing
methyltrimethoxysilane (MTMS) precursor by a
two-step sol-gel process followed by the supercriticaldrying. The synthesized polymethylsilsesquioxane(PMSQ) aerogels are inherently superhydrophobic dueto the hydrocarbon functional group on the MTMS
precursors. A number of researchers have reported that the key parameters such as the
MeOH/MTMS molar ratios, gel aging time in the silica aerogel synthesis process contributed todifferent porous structures and physicochemical properties.
The hydrophobic SiO2 aerogel membrane was prepared using a MTMS precursor in a sol-gel
process. First, the reactants of MTMS (0.01 M), ethanol (0.03 M), HCl (0.007 mM) and H2O (0.01
M) were mixed homogeneously in a flask by stirring for 90 min, after which ammonia (2.2 mM),69

Development of Novel Aerogel Membranes to Resolve the Carbon Abundance and Water Scarcity Issues

ethanol (0.01 M), and H2O (0.02 M) were added to the resulting solution, following by the stirringfor 30 min. Al2O3 membrane supports, purchased from Kinik company in Taiwan, with a diameter,
thickness, pore size, porosity and specific pore volume of approximately 47 mm, 2.4 mm, 1 μm,
46 % and 0.23 cm3/g were immersed in the prepared solution. After gelation, the MTMS-derived
hydrophobic SiO2 aerogel membrane was aged in the ethanol solution at 25ºC for two days. The
resulting SiO2 aerogel membrane was then transferred to an n-hexane solution for one day toremove the ethanol. Then, the drying process was carried out at room temperature in a flask coveredby parafilm to evacuate the solvents gradually. Hydrophobic surface modification of the hydrophilic
Al2O3 membrane support was also carried out using fluoroalkylsilane (FAS) in an n-hexane solution
to demonstrate the advantage of the MTMS-derived silica aerogel coating on an Al2O3 membrane
support. To modify the surface, the Al2O3 membrane support was soaked in a 0.02 M FAS/n-hexane
solution at 40°C for several hours and then dried using the same procedure described above.
The membrane distillation was conducted in a vacuum membrane distillation (VMD) mode. The
NaCl solution of the feeding concentration was 3.5% corresponding to sea-water salinity. Deionizedwater was used as the water source. The feed solution was heated by the pump and maintained at
70oC under atmospheric pressure. The membrane surface temperatures on two sides were detectedby the inserted thermocouples. The flow rate of was kept constant at 1L/min. On the permeate side,
the vacuum pressure was regulated with the aid of the vacuum gauge controller and the vacuum
pump. The permeate side was controlled at room temperature with the gauge pressure ranging from-70 to -98kPa. The permeate water was condensed at the trap bottle cooled with liquid nitrogen. The
flux was measured by collecting the permeate water in the trap every 10 minutes. In the CO2
absorption experiments, AMP (1 M)/PZ (0.2 M) amine absorbents are flowed into one-side of theMTMS-derived SiO2 aerogel membrane and FAS-modified Al2O3 membrane support with a flowrate of 100 sccm and 9 vol% CO2/N2 gas mixtures are flowed into the other sides of the membranewith a flow rate of 200 sccm. The CO2 output concentration was measured using a nondispersive
infrared (NDIR) sensor to calculate the amount of CO2 absorbed and CO2 absorption flux. For thewashing procedure between each cycle, pure N2 gas is flowed into the gas-side of the membranewith flow rate of 200 sccm for 2 h while no amine absorbent exists in the liquid-side of themembrane.
For water sacristy concern, membrane distillation (MD) is an emerging technology fordesalination of sea water18 which is also used in organic and heavy metals removal from aqueous
solution, waste water treatment and many other separation processes. Among the various separation70

Development of Novel Aerogel Membranes to Resolve the Carbon Abundance and Water Scarcity Issues

technologies such as reverse osmosis (RO), electro-dialysis (ED), MD is a cost effective separation
process utilizing alternative energy sources and low-grade waste. MD is a thermally driven
membrane process, in which water vapor molecules transported through porous hydrophobic
membranes separating the heated feed solution and a cooled permeate side. The membranes used in
MD systems must be hydrophobic to prevent wetting phenomena. Also addition factors such as
mass transfer resistance, thermal stability, thermal conductivity and wetting phenomena are crucial
factors in MD separation performance. In most of the MD systems, non-wetting polymeric
membranes are widely used and commercialized, including polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE),
polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF), polypropylene (PP). However, it was found that polymer
membranes are thermally and chemically susceptible and showed morphological changes whenbeing contact with solvents. On the contrary, inorganic porous ceramic membranes are known for
their mechanical stability and high thermal resistance. The only difficulty is to modify the original
surface of the ceramic membrane from hydrophilic to hydrophobic. Thus, a variety of modified
membrane were obtained in the previous studies. The MTMS derived PMSQ aerogels membranes
were successfully utilized in membrane distillation process. The TGA results demonstrated thethermal stability of the PMSQ aerogel. By varying the molar ratios of EtOH2nd, MTMS and the HCland HN4OH concentrations, we investigated the surface morphologies and hydrophobicity of the
as-prepared aerogel membrane in different synthesis condition. The permeate flux in the membranedistillation process using the best modified PMSQ aerogel membranes in our study was up to
20LMH. This flux is much higher comparing with other modified inorganic membrane in theliterature. Thus, the MTMS derived PMSQ aerogel membranes have proven to be a potential
modified material for membrane distillation processes.

For carbon abundance issue, highly mesoporous and hydrophobic SiO2 aerogel membranes weresuccessfully coated onto macroporous Al2O3 membranes using MTMS precursors via a sol-gel
process. The surface contact angles of the MTMS-derived SiO2 aerogel membrane and
FAS-modified Al2O3 membrane support were both approximately 142°, demonstrating thehydrophobic characteristics of the membrane surfaces. The highly mesoporous MTMS-derived
SiO2 aerogel coating not only prevented membrane wetting by aqueous amine absorbents but alsoenhanced the CO2 absorption flux at least 500% compared to the uncoated MTMS-based SiO2
aerogel membrane. Thus, the CO2 absorption flux of the MTMS-derived SiO2 aerogel membrane islarger than that of the FAS-modified Al2O3 membrane. The durability of the MTMS-derived SiO2
aerogel membrane in capturing CO2 was also demonstrated under continuous operation for at least
71

Development of Novel Aerogel Membranes to Resolve the Carbon Abundance and Water Scarcity Issues

four days. The results indicate that the as-prepared MTMS-derived SiO2 aerogel membrane can beused for reusable and continuous long-term CO2 absorption. This study suggests that the
MTMS-derived SiO2 aerogel membrane can be used in membrane contactors for CO2 capture.
Large-scale CO2 capture should be the next important topic for future research. Hydrophobic
MTMS-derived SiO2 aerogels could be coated on tubular and ceramic hollow fiber membrane
supports to increase the CO2 absorption quantity in the future.
References
Rao, A. V.; Bhagat, S. D.; Hirashima, H.; Pajonk, G. M. (2006) “Synthesis of Flexible Silica Aerogels Using
Methyltrimethoxysilane (MTMS) Precursor” J. Colloid Interface Sci., 300, 279.
Lin, Y.F., C.H. Chen, K.L Tung, T.Y. Wei, S.Y. Lu and K.S. Chang (2013) “Mesoporous Fluorocarbon- modified Silica
Aerogel Membranes Enabling Long-term Continuous CO2 Capture with Large Absorption Flux Enhancements,”
ChemSusChem, 6(3), 437-442.
Lin, Y.F., C.C. Ko, C.H. Chen, K.L Tung, K.S. Chang and T.W. Chung (2014) “Sol-gel Preparation ofPolymethylsilsesquioxane Aerogel Membranes for CO2 Absorption Fluxes in Membrane Contactors,” Appl. Energy,
129, 25-31.
Lin, Y.F., C.S. Wang, C.C. Ko, C.H. Chen, K.S. Chang, K.L. Tung and K.R. Lee (2014) “Preparation of Electrospun
PVDF/Siloxane Nanofibrous Membranes Enabling Long-term Continuous CO2 Capture with Large Absorption Flux
Enhancements,” ChemSusChem, 7(2), 604-609.
Lin, Y.F., C.C. Ko, C.H. Chen, K.L Tung and K.S. Chang (2014) “Reusable Methyltrimethoxysilane -based
Mesoporous Water-repellent Silica Aerogel Membranes for CO2 Capture,” RSC Advances, 4(3), 1456-1459.
Lin, Y.F., C.M. Chang, Q. Yeh and K.L Tung (2015) “Hydrophobic Fluorocarbon-Modified Silica Aerogel Tubular
Membranes with Excellent CO2 Recovery Ability in Membrane Contactors,” Appl. Energy, 154, 21-25.

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Polymeric membrane microstructure characterization by positron annihilation spectroscopy

Polymeric membrane microstructure characterization
by positron annihilation spectroscopy
Prof. Kueir-Rarn Lee
Director, Center of Membrane Technology (CMT )Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering
Chung Yuan University
Abstract
The concept of correlating the physical defects at the atomic and molecular level, such as vacancy
or free volume with membrane performances, such as permeability and selectivity, for optimal designof membranes is very important. In general, atomic probes, SEM, and AFM are powerful tools for
detecting static defects near the surface. However, the above instruments are difficult to be used toanalyze the fine structure under the membrane skin-layer. One important approach is to study thefree-volume properties of polymeric membrane systems, the very origins of physical structure ofpolymers, i.e., from the Å to 1 nm level and 10-6 - 10-15 s time scale of motion. In this presentation,
we introduced a special physical technique, positron annihilation spectroscopy (PAS), it is a special
nondestructive evaluation (NDE) technique for materials characterization. During the recent decades,
PAS was developed as a useful tool to probe the fine structure of polymeric membrane. Especially,
PAS was used to measure physical properties of defects, i.e., free volumes at the atomic and molecularlevels as a function of chemical changes and molecular modifications in a polymeric membrane
systemPositron annihilation theory and Characterization of Polymeric Membrane Fine Structure
Traditional Characterization Method
The concept of correlating the physical defects at the atomic and molecular level with membrane73

Polymeric membrane microstructure characterization by positron annihilation spectroscopy

separation performances for optimal membrane structure is the central idea of research. Thus, thecharacterization of the chemical and physical structures of polymeric membrane is very important.
Methods for characterizing chemical structures, such as Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR), NMR and Electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis (ESCA) etc., detect configuration andconformational variations. Characterization of physical structures for polymeric membranes has been
pursued by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmitting electron microscopy (TEM), atomic
force microscopy (AFM), X-ray, electron, neutron, and ion diffractions, etc. Each of these analyticaltechniques has its advantages and shortcomings in structural determination. For example, SEM and
AFM are powerful tools for detecting static defects near the surface, but they are difficult to explore
the fine structure under the membrane skin. One important approach is to study the free-volume
properties of polymeric membrane systems, from the Å to 1 nm level, the very origins of physicalstructure of polymers.
However, how to measure the free volume of the polymeric membrane precisely is the key-point of
membrane characterization?
A. Theoretical Free Volume Estimation
Conventional methods to obtain free volume information are Bondi’s group contribution and
Molecular dynamics simulation. Both methods are theoretical calculations to estimate free volume.
But how do we directly obtain free volume?
B. Positron Annihilation Spectroscopy
In this presentation, we introduced a special physical technique, positron annihilation spectroscopy(PAS), to measure physical defects at the atomic and molecular levels in a polymeric membrane
system. PAS is a special nondestructive evaluation (NDE) technique for materials characterization.
During the recent decades, PAS was developed as a useful tool to probe the fine structure of polymeric
membrane. Positron, an antiparticle of electron (anti-electron), can be obtained from the radioisotope
decay. For example, Sodium-22 (22Na) is most widely used because of its long half-life (2.6 years)
time. When 22Na nucleus decays, a proton in that transforms into a neutron. 22Ne and β+ particle(positron) are formed, coupling with the emission of a 1.28 MeV gamma ray (γ-ray) as a start signal.
Then, when positron diffuses into a material and annihilates in low momentum defects, two 0.511MeV -rays are emitted as a stop signal. Detectors measure the time difference between start and stop
signals. This measured time is known as the positron annihilation lifetime. Generally, larger freevolume has longer positron annihilation lifetime.
C. Positron Annihilation Theory
When a positron meets an electron, two phenomena occur. One is the positron-electron annihilation.
The other is the formation of positronium (Ps). Owing to the different combinations of positron andelectron, Ps has two states. One is the para-Ps (p-Ps) from the anti-parallel spin. The other is the orthoPs (o-Ps) from the parallel spin. The p-Ps has a shorter lifetime than the o-Ps and it undergoes 2γannihilation, however, the o-Ps undergoes 3γ annihilation. The intrinsic lifetime for the free p-Ps and74

Polymeric membrane microstructure characterization by positron annihilation spectroscopyo-Ps is 0.125 and 142 ns, respectively. Moreover, the Ps can pick off electrons with anti-parallel spin
to undergo 2γ annihilation. The pick-off annihilation of o-Ps shortens the o-Ps lifetime from 142 ns(free o-Ps) to a few ns (about 0.9 - 8 ns). The o-Ps lifetime analysis is one of the most useful methods
for positron and positronium chemistry.
The o-Ps lifetime and intensity can be analyzed by PATFIT program from Positron annihilation
lifetime spectrum. The Relationship between τ3 (ns) and free-volume radius R (Å) can be analyzed
by Tao’s equation. PALS can be used to probe the pore size and distribution quantitatively

In VMSPB system, two very important parameters should be defined: The S parameter is defined as
the ratio of the central part of the annihilation spectrum to the total spectrum; it reflects positronannihilation with low momentum valence electrons. The W parameter is defined as the ratio of theedge of the annihilation spectrum to the total spectrum; it reflects positron annihilation with highmomentum electrons (core electrons). The W parameter is related to the chemical environment where
the annihilation takes place.

D. Positron Annihilation Technique
Two kinds of position annihilation techniques were used to analyze the fine structure of polymeric
membrane. One is the Fast-Fast coincident PAL spectrometer that is focused on thecharacterization of the microstructure of symmetric membrane system. The other is slow positron
beam system that is a powerful tool to probe the thin-layer structure in depth profile of75

Polymeric membrane microstructure characterization by positron annihilation spectroscopy

asymmetric membrane system. It includes two major parts : Doppler Broadening Energy
Spectrum (DBES) focused on the pore structure (qualitatively) analysis; Positron Annihilation
Lifetime Spectroscopy (PALS) focused on pore size and distribution (quantitatively) analysis.

Fine Structure Analysis by PAS
A. Nuclear medicine
The positron technology can be used to analyze the fine structure of inorganic material, organic
material and organic/inorganic hybrid system. In 1970, PET (Positron Emission Tomography)
scanning was used in a nuclear medicine. PET is the best imaging technique to assist in the diagnosisof tumor. In addition, the control release is a very important research topic in medicine field. Thus,
how to prepare a smart membrane to control the drag releasing rate in patient is a valuable issue.
Much kind of gating membranes was prepared by grafting thermo-responsive monomer onto thehigh porosity support membrane. For example, NIPAAM are widely used to prepare thermoresponsive gating membranes, as temperature increases the PNIPAAM chains shrink, resulting in
the pore open. These phenomena can be further confirmed by PALS.
B. Polymeric membranes
a. Bulk positron system
The radioisotope 22Na decays and generates the positrons coupling with the emission of 1.28
MeV γ-rays (start signals). The generated positrons insert into the materials and trap into thespace. Then, the positron or positronium annihilations occur in the space of materials andsimultaneously emit the 0.511 MeV γ-rays (stop signals). The lifetime of the positron fromgeneration to annihilation is dependent on the size of the space in materials. Bulk positron system
can be used to analyze the plasticization effect、chemical structure effect and swelling effect ofpolymeric membrane on the free-volume and free volume distribution.

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Polymeric membrane microstructure characterization by positron annihilation spectroscopy

b. Variable monoenergy slow positron beam (VMSPB)•
A variable monoenergy slow positron beam (VMSPB) is a powerful tool to probe themicrostructure and depth profile in metals. However, continuously implanting positrons ontoinsulating materials, a serious positive charge accumulating on the surface, commonly called
as charging effect results the system doesn’t work. Removal of the charging effect is necessary.
Two existing techniques are used to partially overcome this problem. One is filling air or dry
N2 to the beam (typically several hours), the other is implanting electrons into insulators using
an electron gun. To solve such problems, a technique of depositing an ultra-thin layer ofsputtering noble metals on insulators is developed by CMT. The sputtering technique for PALS
measurements, made it possible to conduct depth profiling and obtain free volume information.
Moreover, VMSPB was also used to analyze the depth profile and the thin-film growth directionof thin film composite membrane. A newly developed method, which combines the techniqueof PECVD and PALS to overcome the problem during the wet state measurement under thehigh vacuum condition by VMSPB. The PALS results for the TFC membrane in the wet state
have the same trend as the dry membrane. The important information we observed is that the τ3
and I3 for the membrane in the wet state are higher than those for the membrane in the dry state.
This result indicates that PALS and the developed plasma polymerized methods can be used toprobe the asymmetric membrane fine structure in the wet state.
However, Positronium (Ps) can chemically react with molecules and different functionalgroups by two processes, chemical quenching (nitroaromatics, quinones, maleic anhydride,and ions) which decreases o-Ps lifetime (τ3) and chemical inhibition (polyimides andcarbon) which decreases the probability of o-Ps formation (I3). To further investigate thequenching or inhibiting effect on positronium interacting with chemical functional groups, anewly modied equation has been developed following the Tao’s equation and using the free
positron component (τ2) of PALS.
To improve the energy resolution, a combination of DBES and PALS technique, the so-called
age-momentum-coincident (AMOC) spectroscopy was developed. AMOC has a much better
energy resolution. Only the AMOC results could reflect the correct amount of voids incomposite membranes since it is derived from 3γ annihilation.
Conclusion
The application of PAS in polymeric sciences is still in its developing stage. Existing PAS is asensitive tool to measure free-volume and void properties. For polymers which have no or very smallo-Ps components, a new calibration equation between the positron lifetime (τ2) and free-volume isavailable. 2D-PAS techniques coupled with VMSPB can enhance the analysis ability of PALS.

77

Kobe University Alumni Networking in Taipei

Kobe University Alumni Networking in Taipei
Ministry of Economic Affairs
Information and Communications ResearchLaboratories, Industrial Technology ResearchInstitute (ITRI), Committee of Communications
Industry Development
Project Manager

Yeachi Chen
The Collaboration Between Taiwan and Japan in
Mobile Innovation
The Committee of Communications Industry Development (CoCID) is under
the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Taiwan. CoCID serves as the contact
window to promote general affairs of the communications industry, such as
4G/5G, wearable/IoT, and smart city related technologies. It aims at promoting
industrial cooperation, business opportunities and innovative applications andservices. In this session, Yeachi Chen will introduce what Taiwanese
government does for promoting the communications industry and what
opportunities lie in the collaboration between Taiwan and Japan in mobile
innovation.

Academic Background: Graduate School of International Cooperation Studies, Kobe University
Academic Degree: Master of Economics
Career: Project Manager of Committee of Communications Industry Development, Ministry of
Economic Affairs

78

Kobe University Alumni Networking in Taipei

Kobe University Alumni Networking in Taipei
Ki A Peng Sian (枝仔冰城)
Shop Manager

Jeng Ju Chuan

Comparison between northern and southern Taiwanesecuisine
Although Taiwan is not a big country looking at the geographic area,
Taiwanese cuisine has developed into very distinct food culture and taste
between northern and southern region. This shows the wide variety and multifacet of Taiwanese food culture, and it is one of the reason that Taiwanesecuisine has attracted many visitors to Taiwan.
The speaker intend to introduce this distinctive food culture throughintroduction of the famous restaurants in both the northern and southern
Taiwan, their history and interesting facts.

Academic Background: Graduate School of Humanities, Kobe University
Academic Degree: Master of Art
Career: Shop Manager of “Ki A Peng Sian (枝仔冰城)”79

Kobe University Alumni Networking in Taipei

Kobe University Alumni Networking in Taipei
Tunghai University
Department of Industrial Engineeringand Enterprise Information
Professor

Ren-Jye Liu
The frontier of Taiwanese manufacturing innovation
Over the past decade, facing severe business environment changes, especially the impact of fierce
competition in China and other emerging countries, the continued challenge manufactures innovative
Taiwanese companies are gradually attracting attention. Here, I will clarify the frontier of Taiwanesemanufacturing innovation.
Recent innovation theory is constantly emphasized the importance of research and development, joint
development, co-production and joint marketing with external organizations through collaboration.
Concrete presentation is modularization in design or production. Furthermore, it is also emphasized theinter-organizational relationship and open innovation by cooperation with suppliers, competitors, customers,
and external research institutes.
Based on these two dimensions, I will present two innovative patterns through the frontier cases of
Taiwanese bicycle and Panasonic notebook computers production in Taiwan. Firstly, it will co-create new
products, new processes and new markets with affiliating companies overall supply chain-relatedorganizations including of a competitor and module production companies. Secondly, it will cooperate withcomponent, part and modular suppliers to develop new products through module design, production and tocreate high customer value. Such development patterns, based on Taiwanese companies’ customer value
creation, is considered as a co-creation model, a new concept of manufacturing innovation.

Profile:Professor Ren-Jye Liu received his Ph.D in Business Administration from Kobe University in Japan in 1991. Liu was
Chairman of his department at Tunghai University (1998-2001) and an advisory committee member for the Taiwan
Economic Ministry (1993-98). In the global academic field, he has been a Visiting Professor in the Business School,
Kobe University (2006), Osaka City University (2010-), and was a visiting faculty member in the Wharton School,
University of Pennsylvania (2002-03). In the private sector, Liu has been the director of the Precision Machinery
R&D Center and the Taiwan Machine Tool Foundation.
He is the author of eleven books in Taiwan as well as eight expertise articles in academic books in both Japaneseand English. He is the winner of many academic awards, including Carolyn Dexter Award Nominee (2007, theAcademy of Management), the Best paper Award (1997, Association for the Study of Industrial Management inJapan), the Excellent Book for Business Award (1997,1998, 2009, the Taiwan Economic Ministry).

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Kobe University Alumni Networking in Taipei

Kobe University Alumni Networking in Taipei

81

Kobe University Alumni Networking in Taipei

82

Kobe University Alumni Networking in Taipei

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Kobe University Alumni Networking in Taipei

84

Acknowledgement

Acknowledgement
The 6th Kobe University Global-Link Forum held at National Taiwan University on
3-4 December 2015 was a great success. I would like to take this opportunity to express
my heartfelt thanks to everyone at National Taiwan University who was involved inorganizing this symposium. In addition to hosting the symposium they also provided agreat deal of support. I would also like to thank the members of Kobe University and
our Alumni Association in Taiwan who assisted with the organization of the forum.
Kobe University held the first of these forums in January 2011 in Bangkok, Thailand.
Since then we have continued to hold academic symposiums throughout Asia, supported
by our Kobe University Alumni Associations. Kobe University is located both in Japan,
a member of the Asian region, and in the outward-looking port city of Kobe. In order toincrease our international presence, every year we have held Global-Link Forums, six in
total, and strengthened our ties with researchers from many countries for exchange andcollaborative research. Kobe University, our Institute of Promoting International
Exchange Programs, and our Centre for Asian Studies will continue to collaborate with
the Alumni Associations and strengthen our links with research organizations
throughout Asia. I ask for your continued support and collaboration in this mission.
INOUE Noriyuki
Executive Vice President of Kobe University

85AgendaRe-realizing the Relationship with Taiwan and Japan:
Cooperation in Science, Technology and Innovation

Organized by: Institute of Promoting International Exchange Programs, Kobe University
Co-hosted by: National Taiwan University
Kobe University Alumni Association in Taiwan
Nominal Supporting Institutions: Taipei Office, Japan Interchange Association
Taipei Medical University

Forum - Day 1 -Date： Thursday 3 December 2015
Venue： Liang Kuo-Shu International Conference Hall, College of Social Sciences,
National Taiwan University
10:00-11:20 Morning Session (Opening Session)
Opening Remarks
Noriyuki Inoue, Executive Vice President in Charge of International Exchange and Internal Control,
Kobe University
Congratulatory Address
Guan-Chau Huang, Deputy Education Counsellor, Department of International and Cross-strait
Education, Ministry of Education
Takashi Hamada, Secretary-General, Taipei Office, Japan Interchange Association
David Chang, President, Kobe University Alumni Association in Taiwan
Keynote Speech
Hiroshi Takeda, President, Kobe University
Ching-Ray Chang, Executive Vice President for Administrative Affairs, National Taiwan University
13:30-16:50 New Orientations in the Humanities and Social Sciences in East Asia
Commentator
Lin Huang, Director of Kobe University China Office/ Professor of Graduate School of Business
Administration, Kobe University
13:30-14:30 Humanities *This session will be held in Chinese.
Historical Consciousness and the China Model
Yasushi Ogata, Director of Centre for Asian Studies/ Professor of Graduate School of Humanities, Kobe University
Why Speak of “East Asian Confucianisms”?
Chun-chieh Huang, National Chair Professor and Dean, Institute for Advanced Studies in
Humanities and Social Sciences, National Taiwan University[Discussion: 20mins]
14:30-14:50 Coffee Break
14:50-16:50 Social Sciences
Innovation Made by Technological Entrepreneurs in Japan －Challenge of KOBE’s
Interdisciplinary Education－
Hiroyuki Ozaki, Professor, Graduate School of Business Administration, Kobe University
The cooperation of industries between Taiwan and Japan
Chien-Fu Jeff Lin, Professor of Department of Economics/ Associate Dean of Institute for Advanced
Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences, National Taiwan University/ President, Taiwan Institute of
Economic Research (TIER)
Sustainable Strategies for Recovery from Natural Disasters
Shinya Horie, Project Associate Professor, Graduate School of Economics, Kobe University
The Development of the Biotechnology Industry in Taiwan
Julie C. L. SUN, Director, Biotechnology Industry Study Center, Taiwan Institute of Economic Research[Discussion: 40mins]
16:50-17:00 Closing
Closing Remarks
Yasushi Ogata, Director of Centre for Asian Studies/ Professor of Graduate School of Humanities, Kobe University

86AgendaForum - Day 2 -Date： Friday 4 December 2015
Venue： Liang Kuo-Shu International Conference Hall, College of Social Sciences,
National Taiwan University
9:20-12:30 Advanced Research of Emerging and Reemerging Diseases in Asia
Opening Remarks
Satoshi Takada, Dean and Professor, Graduate School of Health Sciences, Kobe University
International Collaborative Research on Infectious Diseases － J-GRID (MEXT), SATREPS (JST/JICA), A*STAR (Singapore), JSPS program－
Hak Hotta, Professor and Endowed Chair, Graduate School of Health Sciences, Kobe University
Characterization of Southeast Asian type of HIV
Masanori Kameoka, Associate Professor, Graduate School of Health Sciences, Kobe University
Development of the novel oral vaccine platform utilizing bifidobacteria
Toshiro Shirakawa, Professor, Graduate School of Health Sciences, Kobe University
Telemedicine and Emergency Air Medical Services
Shin-Han Tsai, Dean of College of Public Health and Nutrition/ Professor and Chair of Departmentof Emergency Medicine, Shuang Ho Hospital, Taipei Medical University
Novel Immunotherapy to Cure Chronic HBV Infection by Using a Convenient Immunocompetent Mouse Model
Pei-Jer Chen, Professor of Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine, Medical College/ Professor of
Hospital Hepatitis Research Center, National Taiwan University[Discussion: 30mins]
13:30-16:50 Advanced Membrane Technology Contributions to Resolving Energy andEnvironmental Issues
Keynote Speech: Development of Innovative Membranes for Water Treatment and CO2 Separation
Hideto Matsuyama, Director of Center for Membrane and Film Technology/ Professor of Graduate
School of Engineering, Kobe University
Report 1: Morphology Control of Polymeric Membranes --- Roles of Polymer Chain
Entanglement
Da-Ming Wang, Professor and Chairman, Department of Chemical Engineering, National Taiwan University
Report 2: Tough Ion Gel Membranes Containing Amino Acid Ionic Liquid as a CO2 Carrier
Eiji Kamio, Assistant Professor, Graduate School of Engineering, Kobe University
Report 3: Development of Novel Aerogel Membranes to Resolve the Carbon Abundance andWater Scarcity Issues
Kuo-Lun Tung, Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering, National Taiwan University
Report 4: Polymeric membrane microstructure characterization by positron annihilation
spectroscopy
Kueir-Rarn Lee, Director of Center for Membrane Technology/ Professor of Department of Chemical
Engineering, Chung Yuan University
16:50-17:00 Closing

Kobe University Alumni Networking in Taipei
Date: Friday 4 December 2015
Venue: World Trade Center Club

[Registration Open: 17:30]
18:00- Panel Discussion
The Collaboration Between Taiwan and Japan in Mobile Innovation
Yeachi Chen, Project Manager, Information and Communications Research Laboratories, Industrial
Technology Research Institute (ITRI), Committee of Communications Industry Development,
Ministry of Economic Affairs
Comparison between northern and southern Taiwanese cuisine
Jeng Ju Chuan, Shop Manager, Ki A Peng Sian (枝仔冰城)The frontier of Taiwanese manufacturing innovation
Ren-Jye Liu, Professor, Department of Industrial Engineering and Enterprise Information, Tunghai
University
19:00- Reception

87Organized by: Institute of Promoting International Exchange Programs, Kobe University
Co-hosted by: National Taiwan University
Kobe University Alumni Association in Taiwan
Nominal Supporting Institutions: Taipei Office, Japan Interchange Association
Taipei Medical University

神戸大学 KOBE UNIVERSITY
1-1 Rokkodai-cho, Nada-ku, Kobe 657-8501, Japan
TEL: +81-78-803-5043
FAX: +81-78-803-5049
E-mail: intl-plan@office.kobe-u.ac.jp
http://www.office.kobe-u.ac.jp/ipiep/index.html