1Editorial Conducting International Collaborative Research in Uncertain Times:

Publishing the Third Issue of Environmental Education in Asia
Ryo Sakurai*, Kimiharu To**
Ritsumeikan University*, Aomori University**
Ⅰ. Context and focus

It gives us immense pleasure to announce the publication of the third issue of “Environmental
Education in Asia” (EEA) of the Japanese Journal of Environmental Education (JJEE). EEA
has its roots in an international workshop held at the annual conference of the then JapaneseSociety of Environmental Education (later renamed the Japanese Society for Environmental
Education [JSFEE] in 2015) in Tokyo in the summer of 2014. The workshop brought together
researchers from Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and the United States and discussed the prospect ofpublishing an English-language online issue of the journal (Takano et al. 2015). The JSFEE
General Assembly approved the project in 2015, and the work on the first issue of EEA began in
the fall of that year. JSFEE has a long history of collaborating with researchers and practitioners
from all over the world. We are confident in stating that JSFEE is probably one of the mostactive societies in the country in terms of international collaboration in the field of environmentand sustainability. Since 2009, the society has signed an exchange agreement (Memorandum ofUnderstanding: MOU) with Korean Society for Environmental Education (KSOEE), Chinese
Society for Environmental Education (CSEE), North American Association for Environmental
Education (NAAEE), and Australian Association for Environmental Education (AAEE).
We were able to publish the inaugural issue of EEA (JJEE-EEA 2017) in 2017 thanks to thesupport of countless individuals and partner associations. The issue included twelve papers andan editorial on environmental education (EE) in Asia. These papers and editorials covered thefollowing core themes: 1) EE in formal education, 2) EE in non-formal education, 3) research
trends in EE, and 4) insights into EE in Asia from outside of Asia.
One of EEA’s goals was to provide a social and intellectual home for EE scholars andpractitioners from Asia and around the world, which cannot be accomplished by publishinga single journal issue. Building on the publication of JJEE-EEA 2017, the JSFEE Board ofDirectors decided to publish the second issue of EEA (JJEE-EEA 2019). In the second issue,
we announced the launch of an international environmental education collaborative research
project, inviting research proposals from members of JSFEE and four partner associations. Ten
research projects and two editorials were published in JJEE-EEA 2019 from the 12 proposals
that were received and considered for publication.
Ⅱ. Structure of the “JJEE-EEA 2021”
Two issues of EEA featured a total of 27 papers (including editorials) that presented novel anddiverse perspectives as well as insights into EE research in Asia. When we published JJEE-EEAEmail: ryosak@fc.ritsumei.ac.jpⒸThe Japanese Society of Environmental Education 2021

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Ryo Sakurai, Kimiharu To

2019, we rephrased the goal of this series of issues, thus: “to provide a platform for researchers
who are not only doing research in his or her country, but are willing to engage in international
interactions and contribute to mutual and global understanding (Sakurai & Furihata 2019).”
This was driven by the desire to broaden our objectives, articulate our interests for global
collaboration, and invite EE researchers and practitioners to collaborate across national andcultural boundaries. We decided to continue our endeavor in the third issue (JJEE-EEA 2021)
to take the next step in promoting and expanding EE research throughout Asia, building andstrengthening a network of researchers with diverse backgrounds but shared goals, and fosteringa robust understanding of EE across countries.
There are two points worth noting vis-à-vis the publication of the third issue of EEA. To
begin, we would like to remind the readers that the whole submission and publication process
for this issue took place during the COVID-19 pandemic. While the spread of COVID-19 hada profound impact on the lifestyles of individuals, communities, and businesses worldwide, italso impacted the international collaborative research conducted by the authors of this issue.
We conducted a survey in April 2020 and found that the majority of the projects faced delays in
the progress of their research as a result of COVID-19. The investigators requested an extension
in the publication schedule to allow them additional time to conduct research, analyze data, andwrite their papers. Consequently, we decided to postpone the publication of this third issue ofEEA from June 2021 to November 2021. We are grateful to the authors of five papers publishedin this issue, who worked tirelessly during the pandemic to complete and submit the papers.
Second, while the number of papers published in this issue decreased from ten in the previous
issue (JJEE-EEA 2019) to five in the current issue (JJEE-EEA 2021), we believe the diversityof the papers, both in terms of substance and nationalities represented, remained constant orincreased. While the preceding issue featured various international collaborative researchstudies, the majority of the lead authors were Japanese members of JSFEE. Several principal
investigators from various countries applied in response to our 2019 calls for collaborativeinternational research. As a result, we are grateful that the majority of papers published havelead authors from countries other than Japan.
We believe that this issue (JJEE-EEA 2021) takes a significant step towards our goal ofproviding a platform for researchers to collaborate internationally beyond the confines of aparticular country, and we are confident that future editors and contributors will build on theassets presented by the three series of EEA.
Acknowledgments
We would like to express our gratitude to everyone who contributed significantly to the publicationof this special issue, particularly the JSFEE Board of Directors and the Director of International
Committee Fumiko Noguchi and Vice Director Lim Sachi Ninomiya. We also appreciate allcontributors for submitting thought-provoking papers and thoughtfully responding to our request
to limit their papers within the word count, and to the reviewers who provided valuable comments
on each paper. Finally, we thank all members of the international editorial team (Table 1).

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Table 1. List of Editors, Editorial and Guest Editorial Committee for JJEE-EEA2021
Chief Editors:
Ryo Sakurai, Ritsumeikan University
Kimiharu To, Aomori University
Editorial Committee (JSFEE members):
Shinichi, Furihata, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology
Go Hagiwara, Takasaki University of Commerce
Kazuyo Nagahama, Japan University of Economics
Fumiko Noguchi, United Nations University
Yusuke Sakai, Kagoshima University
Sachi Ninomiya-Lim, Tokai University
Kantaro Tabiraki, Matsumoto University
Ayako Takao, Ferris UniversityKazuyuki Tamura, Naruto University of Education
Jonbin Won, Gakushuin University
Yuki Ishiyama, Tottori University
Guest Editorial Committee:
Ju Chou, National Taiwan Normal University (CSEE)
Tzuchau Chang, National Taiwan Normal University (CSEE)
Yi-Hsuan Tim Hsu, Aletheia University (CSEE)
Jae-Young Lee, Kongju University (KSEE)
Sun-Kyung Lee, Cheongju National University of Education (KSEE)
Kim Chankook, Korea National University of Education (KSEE)
Helen Widdop-Quinton, Victoria University (AAEE)
Peta White, Deakin University (AAEE)Charlotte Clark, Duke University (NAAEE)
Arjen Wals, Wageningen University (NAAEE)David Allen, Texas A&M International University (NAAEE)
Sabrina Ho Abdullah, Universiti Putra Malaysia
References
Sakurai, R., Furihata, S. 2019. Advancing Environmental Education Research from Asia: WhyAsia? Japanese Journal of Environmental Education. 28(4): 85-88.
Takano, T., Hagiwara, G., Sato, M., Noguchi, F., Ninomiya-Lim, S., Won, J., Sakurai, R.,
Nagahama, K., Furihata. S. 2015. International Trends in Environmental Education in Lightof the Affiliated Organizations of Japanese Society of Environmental Education (JSOEE),and Proposals for the Effective Implementation of the International Exchange. Kankyo
Kyoiku (Japanese Journal of Environmental Education). 24(3):114-122 (in Japanese).
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