Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace
TAO AKATAOYAKA NewsletterVol. 5 Summer 2016

Inside This Issue
Welcome to TAOYAKA!
Opening Ceremony ----- 1
Introduction of New
Students ---------------------- 2
Introduction of Academic
Staff --------------------------- 10
Onsite training at Gujarat Institute of Disaster Management, India

Onsite Education

Welcome to TAOYAKA Program!

Onsite Course Rotation:
Akinada and Mitsuta
Bridges in Kure -------- 11

Opening Ceremony: April 06, 2016

Onsite Training: India --- 13

By Toshiaki Kondo, Ph.D., Specially Appointed Associate Professor,
Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation

April 2016 Admission and 2
students for the Transfer Admission
into the third year, 2016. The
students are from Japan, Italy,
India, China, the U.S.A., Bangladesh,and Vietnam (for details, pleaserefer to pages 2-10).
Prof. Makoto Miyatani,
Program Director of TAOYAKA Program

The fifth opening ceremony of the

TAOYAKA Program was held on 6
April 2016, and the program
welcomed 11 new students for theOnsite Team Project:
Development ofbiomass-based
ecotourism in
Kita-Hiroshima -------- 15

Internship Program
At Tokyo Metropolitan
University ------------------- 18

Evaluation
Third Party Evaluation
Committee Meeting --- 19

At the opening ceremony, theProgram Director of TAOYAKA
Program
MakotoMiyatani(Executive and Vice President ofHiroshima University) warmly
greeted and encouraged the newstudents:

Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Summer 2016

1

“From now, I expect all of you to study hard in order to be a global leader and work globally. You will get the full
support of our university so that you can devote yourself to studies. You will be working on various issues andlearning together not only with students from Hiroshima University but also leading graduate schools from otheruniversities. I hope that the global leaders from this program will successfully complete the courses and play anactive role in the international arena, to stand up against adversity and lead the way toward safer future.”
The 13 new students
aim to become
global leaders inpromotingthecreation of regionalsocieties for coexistence by collaboratively
workingwith other fields of studies throughthe TAOYAKA Program.

Introduction of New Students:

C ultural Creation Course
Rie Usui (D1: Graduate School of Integrated Arts and Sciences, division of Integrated Arts and Sciences)★Transfer Student into the 3rd Year of the Program

I am Rie Usui from Japan and I

spent most of my childhood years
in Hiroshima. Following my highschool education, I studied in the
United States and obtained my
Bachelor of Science in Evolution
and Ecology as well as
Anthropology from The Ohio State
University. Subsequently, I received
my Master of Science in Primate
Behavior and Ecology from Central
Washington University. For my2master’s thesis, I conducted
fieldwork at Mt. Huangshan in
Anhui province, China, where
tourism was thriving owing to thepresence of a group of wildmonkeys. In particular, my research
focused on the role of park rangers
in managing monkeys and tourists.
This experience inspired me tocomprehend further human andnon-human
animal
(NHA)
relationships in different spatial,
cultural, and temporal contexts.
Because my research was related towildlife tourism, I intend tocontinue my studies in the area
where animals are used as tourism
resources. Our relations withanimals are often overlooked.
However, they play a significant
role in shaping our society. In thisrespect, I believe that human-NHA
relationship is one of the essential

Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Summer 2016

From: Japan
aspects deserving attention in ourefforts towards the revitalization ofcommunities. During my time in
the TAOYAKA program, I hope tocontribute to the community inachieving sustainable development.
After the program, although I
would love to become an academic,
I am open to any opportunities thatmight come my way. Wherever the
future takes me, I wish to work
internationally and contribute to
the society at both regional andinternational levels. Now, this is
my career plan, but the sky is thelimit for me when it comes topursuing opportunities. Perhaps, I
will discover a new ability inmyself in the coming years during
the TAOYAKA program and open
a new door towards my future
career.

Zollet Simona (M1: Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation, Programin Educational Development and Cultural and Regional Studies)going back to Italy to complete mymaster’s degree, I became part ofan association that promoted
cultural activities in my hometown.
In addition, I am very passionate
about vegetable gardening andorganic farming practices.

I am Simona, and I come from

Italy. Before joining the TAOYAKA
program, I was studying Environmental Science and Sustainability
at Ca’ Foscari University, Venice.
In 2013, I got an opportunity tospend a semester at Hiroshima
University’s IDEC, which sparked
myinterestinsustainableagriculture, food sovereignty, andcommunity development. AfterMy research plan focuses on
smallholder farmers in marginalareas, especially young farmers. I
believe that small farmers play a
key role in providing food security
and environmental sustainability;
further, in order to achieve thesegoals, we need to convert thecurrent industry-based and external
input heavy paradigm of agriculture
to a sustainable one. This implies
emphasisonagro-ecologicalprocesses,
soil
and
water
conservation, renewable energies,

From: Italy
and the indigenous knowledge of
local people. In particular, young
people have the creativity andpotential necessary to be the force
behind this change; however, thechallenge is to make agriculture an
attractive career choice for themagain.
I wish to contribute to this effort
and, irrespective of my future
career, I will keep working on
issues associated with putting
sustainable agriculture back at thecentre of community development(or revitalization), as either aresearcher or an active worker. I
understand that equity, environmental sustainability, and foodsecurity for an ever-increasing
world population are at stake.

Thakur Gajender (M1: Graduate School of Letters, Program in Humanities)

I am Thakur Gajender from India.

Prior to enrolling as a TAOYAKA
student, I completed my Master ofPhilosophy in Japanese Studies
from the Department of East AsianStudies, University of Delhi, India.
During this course, I obtainedmuch information about the various
aspects of East Asian countries;
however, I primarily focused on
the Japanese social security system.
In addition, I submitted a thesis
titled ‘The Role of Japan towards
the Development of Welfare State
System: Regarding Social Security
Policies for Aging Society’.
I am now working on the social
security of the aging society ofJapan with a comparative study ofSouth Asian countries and a special
focus on India. The TAOYAKA
program will help me to conductconcrete research on aging
societies. The social security
system of Japan can be comparedwith the systems of developed
Western countries, like Canada andAmerica. However, in this respect,
the Japanese government needs tocreate appropriate policies for
coordinating the declining birthrate and growing elderly populationof Japan. After completing the
TAOYAKA program, I plan tocontribute to academic research in
the fields of Humanities and Social
Sciences by contributing articles to

From: India

international Japanese studies
journals, such as The Journal of
Asian Studies and The Journal ofJapanese Studies. Further, I plan tocontribute to the Japanese welfare
sector, and I will definitely try to
promote Japanese studies in India.

Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Summer 2016

3

Qu Meng (M1: Graduate School of Integrated Arts and Sciences, division of Integrated Arts andSciences)

From: China
festivals.

My name is Qu Meng; however,my friends call me Mo. I hail fromthe cultural creation course. My
interests
includegardening,cooking, pottery, and aikido.
From 2006 to 2013, I worked as aninteractive design director and VP
between Shanghai and Beijing in
the digital media art and museum
design industry. As a non-profit art
institution academic secretary in
Xucun International Art Commune
from 2011, I am applying myself tothe revitalization of rural communities through international art

Simultaneously with working, I
obtained my bachelor’s degree in
Art Design from the Fine Arts
Academy of Shanghai University.
From 2013 to 2015, I researchedon the topic ‘Aesthetic Experiencesin Augmented Reality Art’ as partof my master’s degree at Hiroshima
University. In addition, in 2015, I
co-organized the Earth Bag House
project in Fukutomi town ofHigashi-Hiroshima city as an art
director. In this project, I committed
myself to rural revitalization
through volunteer work events.
Currently, I am focusing on theinternational contemporary art
festival of Setouchi Triennale under
the research topic ‘Contemporary
Art Intervention for the Sustainable
Revitalizationof
Rural
Communities’ in the TAOYAKA
program. Art festivals aim atrevitalizing rural communities by

not only encouraging art tourism
and rural tourism but also
stimulating people to engage increative thinking and attempting
actively to promote the relationshipbetween the natural environment
and a sustainable society. They try
to ease the ‘depopulation of thepsyche’, which is intended ascultural impoverishment.
I concentrate on the ‘sustainability’of festivals, ‘intervention’ forcontemporary artworks and events,
and the ‘revitalization’ of ruralcommunities, although we cannot
treat contemporary art as a nostrum
for revitalizing all rural communities. Through my research, at least
we will have a clear judgment
regarding the types of rural areasthat have the right condition toallow contemporary art to intervene
and the type of art intervention thatis beneficial for rural areas.

T echnical Creation Course
Kohei Shimasaki (M1: Graduate School of Engineering, Program in System Cybernetics)
From: JapanI

am Kohei Shimasaki. I’m from
Kochi prefecture. And I am fromthe Graduate School of Engineeringin Robotics Laboratory in
Hiroshima University.
On April 2016, I joined the
TAOYAKA Technical Creation
Course. I am very interested in
multiple course communicationand the targets of disadvantaged
4

areas. I want to have precious
opportunity have many kinds ofexperience that people cannot
touch in normal life. This is why I
aim to become a team leader who
works hard with people fromdifferent fields in, for example,
obtaining and using the relevant
technology to solve the issues
faced by disadvantaged areas;
implementingatrouble-freeFlexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Summer 2016

society; and obtaining a higher
quality of independence, cooperativeness, and the ability to takeaction. Through this program, I
want to become a researcher who
can lead projects to contribute to
the improvement of disadvantaged
areas and for international societies.
Subsequently, I will be able toobtain business chances fromvarious points of view all over theworld.
In my research, I utilize myprogramming skills to work on

image processing with high-speed
vision. I plan to make an image
processing
hardwaresystemproviding high-speed vision. Using
high-speed image processing, theefficiency of vegetation surveys
can be improved significantly.
Such surveys are beneficial in thatthey contribute to protecting theenvironment and endangered
species of animals and plants. Thisnovel
technology
canbe
implemented in a normal camera,
as well.

Hence, I will make an auto
vegetation survey system tounderstand the condition anddistribution of crops with ease. In
general, camera images are clearer
than the memory of people. They
can detect the problems occurringin this area. Further, I want toimplement a multiple view system
to understand wider areas. In the
future, apart from the auto
vegetation survey system, othersystems such as a health monitoring
system will be successful.

Hiroaki Gau (M1: Graduate School of Advanced Sciences of Matter, Department of Semiconductor
Electronics & Integration Science)

I am Hiroaki Gau. I am from

Fukuoka prefecture, Japan. My
major is semiconductor integrated
circuits. In April 2016, I joined theTechnical Creation Course of the
TAOYAKA program. Previously,
in March 2016, I obtained mybachelor’s degree in engineeringfrom Hiroshima University.

From: JapanAs an undergraduate, I mainly
studied semiconductors. During
my graduate study, I designed a
two-port-SRAM memory for the
hardware implementation of an
image
recognition
system.
Hardware implementation makes
Internet
accessunnecessary.
Hence, hardware implementation
enables people to apply image
recognition in disadvantaged areas.
Through on-site education, I want
to research the best application
method of image recognition indisadvantaged areas and developing
countries. In the future, I plan todesign an image recognition systemand do the hardware implementation
by myself.
Through the TAOYAKA program,

I want to acquire communication
skills, learn multiple viewpoints on
various concepts, and develop
problem-solving skills. After
graduating from the program, I
plan to work as an engineer in a
multinational company. I want tocontribute to not only the company
but also the development of
disadvantaged areas. Utilizing myexperience from the TAOYAKA
program, I will develop relevant
technologies for disadvantaged
areas and developing countries andbecome the leader of project teams
dedicated to such areas. Using
these technologies, I plan to
improve the quality of life indisadvantaged areas and developing
countries.

Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Summer 2016

5

Yoshinori Ohnishi (M1: Graduate School of Engineering, Program in System Cybernetics)
From: Japan
robots so that I can make amusing
and useful robots for everybody.

I am Yoshinori Ohnishi, and I

joined the TAOYAKA TechnicalCreation Course in April 2016.
Before joining the TAOYAKA
program, I studied system engineering, electrics, and mechanics
at Hiroshima University. I not only
love robots but also love to makerobots. Moreover, I believe thatrobots contribute to the comfort
and happiness of all humankind.
Hence, I want to be a creator of

My current research field isrobotics (keywords: robot, design,
control, dynamics, kinematics, andstatics). Currently, I am developinga robotic arm for an airborne drone
to pick up objects. It is very lightweight and has a low reaction. This
research requires the study ofdynamics and controls. My goal is
to pick up an object by using adrone equipped with a robotic arm.
On achieving this goal, we can use
this device to pick up objects athigh or dangerous places. Of course,many problems must be faced
before the robotic arm becomes apractical application, for example,
the device’s energy, safety, andusability must be considered. I willsolve these problems progressively.

One more goal is to make toughrobots that are difficult to break,for example, robots that go todangerous places instead of humanbeings are easy to break at theseplaces and do not come back. How
can anyone fetch these robots?
This is a serious problem.
Therefore, I want to make toughrobots. During my research in the
robotics laboratory, I achieved
these goals.
As I mentioned before, I believethat robots make our lives better.
As a leader, it is very important to
identify the areas requiring
improvement and apply technics tothese areas. The TAOYAKA
program will help me learn theskills to achieve my goals.

Sharma Sneha Atul (M1: Graduate School of Engineering, Program in System Cybernetics)
From: India

My name is Sharma Sneha Atulfrom India. I pursued my bachelor’s
degreeinElectronics
andTelecommunication Engineeringfrom Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj
Nagpur University in 2014. During
my academic year, I always wanted
to be a good leader and a goodspeaker. For that I usually took partin cultural and technical activities
to enhance my personality.
I am also interested in sports
activities like badminton, chess,and swimming. I participated inchess tournaments during myacademic years. I applied for the
PhD under the TAOYAKA Programin the Department of system6cybernetics in the Control System
Lab in Hiroshima University under
the guidance of Prof. Toru
Yamamoto. The active team underhim has been working on Control
Systems similar to my proposed
research plan. I am really looking
forward to joining his team, as well
as working and learning with themfor the next five years. My plan is
to begin researching information
regarding my literature survey,
taking part in on-site visits andgaining expertise on the required
tools in the first year. After that I
will create a proper work plan andstart working accordingly in thesecond year. I aim to exercise themethods planned while trying for

Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Summer 2016

optimization and implementationof the system in real time, also
overcoming any shortcomings in
the final three years of my research.
Taoyaka Program is the best
platform where I could progress
toward my future, being anamalgamation of technical, culturaland social implementation courses.

Technically after the Taoyaka
Program I would like to implement
my knowledge for social welfare

especially in disadvantaged areas. I
plan to look for job opportunities
after my studies. In the future I

would like to take my culminatedefforts and become a professor.

Swagata Das (M1: Graduate School of Engineering, Program in System Cybernetics)
From: India
I worked on a Brain Computer
Interaction project based on
MATLAB, which was intended toassist immovable or paralysed
patients.

I

am Swagata Das from India. I
started my undergraduate education
at the age of 17 and specialized in
the Electronics and Communication
Engineering stream from India,
following which I completed mymaster degree in Electronics
Design and Technology from
Tezpur University, Assam, India,
as a gold medallist. During thesecond year of my masters, I
worked as a trainee engineer at
CSIR-CEERI, Pilani, India, where

During my undergraduate years, I
got an opportunity to publish apaper entitled, ‘Performance of aHybrid MRC/SC Diversity receiver
over Rayleigh Fading Channel’ atan IEEE conference held at
Bengaluru, India, in the year 2013.
During the TAOYAKA program, I
plan to design an assistive systemthat can be used by elderly people
for lifting heavy objects or
performing tasks involving muscle
fatigue. I plan to do this with thehelp of pneumatic actuators.
TAOYAKA is a beautifully designed
program covering the social,
cultural, and technical aspects ofresearch implementation. Afterobtaining my degree in Japan under
the TAOYAKA program, I anticipate
myself to have wider levels of
experiences and to be able to focus
on social issues related to real-life.
Further, I plan to return to my own
country and join companies aiming
at rural development and theadvancement of disadvantaged
areas directly or indirectly. Since I
have not gained any work
experience to date, after graduation,
I hope to start my career byacquiring practical knowledge by
working in core companies.
Subsequently, I plan to focus
primarily on the all-round development of disadvantaged areas inIndia through technical contributions, be it through an existing
private organization or governmentalorganizations.

S ocial Implementation Course
Zhang Linghan (D1: Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation, Programin Development Science)★Transfer Student into the 3rd Year of the ProgramI

am ZHANG Linghan from thePeople’s Republic of China. In
April 2016, I joined the TAOYAKA
Social Implementation Course. In
2013, I completed my bachelor’s
degree in Tourism Management at
Sichuan University, China. My

From: China

major is tourism management,
which is a combination of multiple
subjects, such as sociology, humangeography, economics, and history.
Following my undergraduate
course, I went directly to Sun Yatsen University to work for mymaster’s degree. At Sun Yat-sen, I
systematically gained academic
expertiseandprofessional
knowledge in the field of tourism
planning. During the last term of
my studies, I joined the exchange
project between Girona University,

Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Summer 20167

well. I kept participating in field
trips to the heritage sites of
UNWTO Sustainable Tourism
Observatory Monitoring Programand joined the tourism-planning
project in the rural area of
Guangdong province. All theseexperiences helped me nurture myinterest in rural area tourism andequipped me with basic knowledge
for further studies.
Spain, and Sun Yat-sen University.
This six-month experience helpedme broaden my horizons andunderstand international cooperation
deeply. During my studies, in orderto strengthen my practical skills, I
participated in many field studies
and tourism-planning projects, asI chose the TAOYAKA program
mainly because it provides students
opportunities for multidisciplinary
study and international cooperation,
which are essential for theinternational scholar of today. In
my own research, I am interested
in the rural tourism development of

disadvantaged areas. Considering
the context of mobility, I will
discuss how the mobility withinglobalization and features of rural
regions affect the management anddevelopment of destinations.
The TAOYAKA program provides
a great platform for academic, onsite, and interdisciplinary study. I
strongly believe that all thetrainings in this program will bebeneficial to my future career andhelp me make my own contribution
to the social development of rural
areas. Study deepens understanding,
travel broadens the mind, andcommunication provokes thinking.
You can gain all these in the
TAOYAKA program.

Kloepfer Thomas Michael (M1: Graduate School for International Development andCooperation, Program in Development Science)

My name is Thomas Kloepferfrom the United States. I received
my undergraduate Degree at
Applachian State University inNorth Carolina. I double majoredin Sustainable Development andOutdoor Experiential Education. I
have been living in Japan since2011. During this time, I worked at
a Brewery, Textile Company, andas an English Teacher for theOnomichi city Board of Education.
I have been very interested instudying in Japan, specificallyconcerning agricultural and theenvironment. I have lived in many
places in the Japanese inaka, aplace of hard work, reverence fortradition, and bountiful nature. I
hope that my studies in the Taoyaka
Program will provide research and8

From: The U.S.A.

support in the disadvantaged areas
and I hope to continually beinspired by the people, cultural andagricultural abundance that exist
there too.
The Taoyaka program will allow
me the opportunity to take myskills and experiences further as I
develop as a professional researcher
in the field of environmental
economics. My research topic
concerns Hemp and its role forsustainable livelihoods in rural ordisadvantaged regions. I specificallywant to look at how Hemp as aresource can provide sustainable
access to ishokuju. At present the
misconceptions regarding Hemp
and reliance on petro chemicals in
clothing, food, and shelter has
swayed us away from a plant that

Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Summer 2016

has co-existed with man before
written records.
In my “free” time I also work thefields on Mukaishima, in Onomichi.
If you have interest in visiting
farms in Japan, getting your hands
dirty, or cultivating for body, mind
and soul come on out to the Farm!

Hossain Aktar (M1: Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation, Programin Development Science)

I am Hossain Aktar from

Bangladesh. I was born in 1990 at
Cox’s Bazar, a place famous for its
unbroken beach, which is one of
the world’s longest beaches. In
2014, I received my Bachelor ofSocial Science in Economics fromthe
UniversityofDhaka,
Bangladesh; further, in 2015, I
received my Master of Social

From: Bangladesh
Science in Economics from thesame university. While completing
my graduation, I worked as a parttime research assistant at theRefugee and Migratory Movement
Research Unit. From the very
beginning of my graduation years,
my cherished dream was to receive
a PhD in the field of Development
Science. Then the door of mydream started to open as soon as I
learnt about the special PhD
program run by Hiroshima
University called TAOYAKA
Program. I applied, and I was
admitted to the TAOYAKA programas part of the April 2016 enrolment.
The aim of this program is to create
global leaders. Therefore, throughthis program, I aim to become a

global leader by gaining the best
qualities of a leader. The knowledge
acquired from the program willserve as the basis for creating new
ideas and methods for the
betterment of the global society.
On-Site Learning is one of the core
concepts of the program, which
encourages the sharing of ideas
among students from different
fields. I have keen interest in
researching the impacts of climatechange on the environment, human
life, and the regional developmentof developing countries. Aftercompleting my PhD, I plan to start
my career in an organization thatworks for human and global
development.

Tran Anh Quan (M1: Graduate School of Engineering, Program in Civil and Environmental

Engineering)

I am TRAN ANH QUAN from

From: Vietnam

Vietnam. I belong to the Social
Implementation Course of the
TAOYAKA program. In addition,
I am a master’s student at the
Department
of
Civil
and
Environment Engineering, Graduate
School of Engineering, Hiroshima
University (Japan).

Darmstadt Technical University(Germany). I worked for approximately 2 years as a teachingassistant in UTC. During this time,
I worked as not only a transport
researcher in the Transport
Consulting Centre but also atransport consultant in the companyof Sustainable Urban Development.

Previously, in 2010, I obtained abachelor’s degree in Transport
Management and Planning fromthe Hanoi University of Transportation and Communication (UTC).
After 4 years, I did a complete
master’s course in Traffic andTransport at Vietnamese-German
University under the support ofSubsequently, I joined someprojects on rural transport systemdevelopment in Vietnam. In
particular, before coming to Japan,
I participated in the traffic safety
research project for motorcyclists
in the northern mountain andmidland area sponsored by the
Vietnam Association of Motorcycle

Manufacturers and National Traffic
Safety Committee. Participating insuch practical projects has helpedme acquire experience andknowledge.
Aftercarefulobservation of the success andfailure of these projects, I recognizethat my country, especially its

Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Summer 20169

disadvantaged regions, has been
facing serious and complicatedtransport issues. Until now, due tothe lack of scientific approaches
and technical innovations, they
have not been solved completely.
The example depicted in myresearch study is illegal parking
behaviours occurring around andoutside the old and narrow resident
areas accessed only by motorbikes
in Hanoi. These behaviours
increased traffic congestions, traffic

accidents, and environmental
pollution over the entire road
network.
Hence, joining the TAOYAKA
program will be a good opportunity
for me to further my researchinterests under the enthusiastic
instruction of excellent professors
and learn up-to-date technicalsolutions
that
have
been
successfully implemented by theJapanese and other international

experts for transport improvementin their disadvantageous areas.
Moreover, through the on-sitetraining courses and interdisciplinary subjects offered by the
program, I hope to be equippedwith the skills and multi-sector
understanding that are necessary
for becoming a leading candidatein transport management anddevelopment projects in Vietnam.

Introduction of Academic Staff
Luni Piya, Ph. D. (Specially Appointed Associate Professor)
Affiliation: Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation (IDEC)With Chepang kids: Taking a break during
fieldworkH

ello. I am Luni PIYA from
Nepal. I graduated from IDEC in2012 with PhD in Rural Economics.
After graduations, I worked in a
Nepalese National NGO, which
specializes
in
implementing
development-cum-research projects
focusing on the enhancement ofrural livelihoods. I joined IDEC as
Associate Professor in April 2015
and am affiliated to Taoyaka
Program from May this year.
I believe that rural development isa prerequisite for a balanced
national development. In the due
course of development, every
10

nation passes a stage when urban
development becomes the prime
focus of national policy anddevelopment
activities.
Asurbanization takes pace, ruraldevelopment issues tend to receive
comparatively lesser attention in
the national development agenda.
It is during this phase when theinequality between the rich and thepoor is at its maximum. A country
cannot achieve sustainable development unless rural areas receive
equal priority in its development
efforts.
In this context, my academic
practices and researches are
directed towards addressing thesocio-economic, cultural, environmental, and policy issues prevalent
in the rural area of Nepal.
Specifically, my research focuseson the livelihoods issues of an
indigenous community called
Chepangs residing in the remote
Mid-Hills. Rural livelihoods covers
the issues of livelihoods strategies

Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Summer 2016

like income sources (cash andkind); food security and selfsufficiency; livelihood risks andshocks; short-term strategies toovercome such risks/shocks; andlong-term strategies to adapt topolitical/ socio-economic trends. I
am also interested in studying thecultural dynamisms of thiscommunity, mainly focusing on thereligious transformation. Thesefindings are relevant for similar
communities across South Asia.
My research expertise is relevant to
the Taoyaka Program in many
ways. Taoyaka Program also
focuses on the disadvantaged
regions of Japan and South Asia,
which are similar to my researchsite. Since Nepal is one of the focus
countries of Taoyaka Program, myresearch findings can provide a
realistic background to design andimplement on-site programs in
Nepal. My research works areextensively based on first-handinteractionwithcommunitymembers. Since on-site courses
and trainings emphasizes on thecommunity based interactions for
two-way learning and sharing,these components of Taoyaka
Program matches my researchinterest in terms of researchmethodology.
My academic experiences are more
directly related to the social
implementation
andculturalcreation components of Taoyaka
program in terms of understanding

the livelihoods of marginalized
communities. Understanding thetarget community in terms of
demography,socio-economic
characteristics, livelihood strategies,
and cultural practices are importantfor devising policies and projects
for the livelihoods enhancement ofsuch communities. In this regards,
my expertise would also be crosscutting with the technical creation
components. In the days ahead, I
look forward to having a sharinglearning interactions with themultidisciplinary team of Taoyaka
Program.

Household survey insettlement in Nepal

a

rural

Chepang

Onsite Education

Onsite Course Rotation: Fall-Winter 2015

The first stage of the onsite education which consists of six classes including a one-day onsite visit

�Akinada and Mitsuta Bridges in Kure, Hiroshima: December 11, 2015
By Sushil Bapurao Raut, University Research Administrator (URA)
Supervised by Fengwei An, Specially Appointed Assistant Professor,
Graduate School of Engineering

Akinada Bridge Inspection

R

ecently various technologies
have been evolved to maintain theconstruction sites, such as stadiums,
urbanheights(buildings),
conventional and modern bridges,

historical sites, etc. Considering
the requirements of inspection andmaintenance,thespecific
technologies should be used forstructure health monitoring. On

December 11, 2015, 11 Taoyaka
students along with 7 professors
and 2 staffs of Taoyaka Program
have visited Akinada and Mitsuta
Bridges in Kure City, Hiroshima
Prefecture to get the knowledge ofmodern bridge inspection systems
and maintenance technologies.
This visit was a part of TechnicalOnsite Course Rotation, which isone of the major subject in Taoyaka
Program. We targeted two types ofbridges, one of them is Mitsuta
Bridge the old bridge which islocated inside the Kure city andanother one is Akinada bridge themodern bridge which is sea-sidehighway bridge also located in

Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Summer 201611

Kure area. During our visit we had
2 major objectives such as get theknowledgeofconventional

techniques and modern techniques
used for inspection and maintenance.
We were accompanied by Kurecity office members and bridge
maintenance company who areexpert in structural health monitoring.

Our Schedule was as follows:
9:00-10:00
10:00-11:00
11:00-11:30
11:30-12:00
12:00-13:00
13:00-13:30
13:30-17:00
17:00-18:00

Lecture: Bridge asset maintenance in Hiroshima prefecture
Presenter: Staff of Hiroshima Association of Civil Engineering
Classroom: Large Conference Room, IDEC.
Move to Kure City, Hiroshima prefecture (from Bus stop in front of Daigaku Kaikan)
Visit Mitsuta Bridge maintained by Kure City Presenter: Staff of city office, Staff of Hiroshima Associationof Civil Engineering
Interview staff of city office
Lunchtime
Move to Akinada Bridge
1. Obtain experience of bridge inspection (move to the top of main tower of the bridge)
2. Study and observation of bridge inspection by using drone system.
Return to Hiroshima University

At first we visited Mitsuta Bridge
for inspecting health of underbridge-concrete
structurebyconventional means of inspection.
Since it is old bridge, we usedhammer and surface rubbing tools
to inspect concrete health.
After Mitsuta Bridge we moved
towards modern bridge site.
Akinada bridge is fully metal
bridge which is supported by giant
metal columns and steel wires.
Such a durable and sturdy

12construction makes it to sustain instrong wind, earthquake upto 8
richter scale and tolerate othernatural calamities. In order toincrease the life of bridge and its
strength, it need periodic inspection
and quick maintenance using
modern engineering techniques.
After arriving Akinada bridge site,
we have attended introduction andinstruction presentation which waspresented by bridge maintenancecompany.

Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Summer 2016

We put on life safety belts before
climbing on metal tower (bridge
column). Bridge has 2 towers ofapprox. 100 meter each. They are
facilitated with special elevators.
We used one of them to reach to the
top of the tower. Maintenancestaffs have explained us how theyinspect and continuously monitor
the tied metal ropes with manualand by using special sensors.
Then we got opportunity to enter atbottom of the metal tower and alsobottom of concrete column.
Maintenance company had flown
Hiroshima University’s Drones
mounted with specialized camera
to capture close-up images of thebridge. This technique is so efficient;
it gives feeling of human eyes
inspection without putting humanlife in danger. They had also

captured several images for our
homework. We used those images
to reconstruct concrete column
using “Smart 3D capture” software.
It helped us to realize the actual
concrete structure without climbing
on it as well as we can find out
minute cracks on the walls. Thisvisit was concluded with lot
knowledge of modern technologies.

Group Presentations
The Group work on 18th and 25th ofDecember was followed by grouppresentations which was organizedon 8th January in Hiroshima
University. Bridge inspection
onsite was presented with threeperspectives,
1. Technical Creation
2. Social Implementation

3. Culture Creation
We appreciate the efforts taken by
university professors, staffs andother supporting members including
Kure city office members as wellas maintenance company to makesuccessful technical onsite visit
with unique experiences of modern
technologies and facing challenges
to keep bridges safe.

Onsite Training: Fall-Winter 2015

The second stage of the onsite education involving a short stay in disadvantage areas in Japanand overseas including India, Bangladesh, and Nepal

�India: March 10-15, 2016
By Makoto Chikaraishi, Ph.D., Specially Appointed Associate Professor,
Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation

Vishwasnagar slum

the Gujarat Institute ofDisaster Management

Sanjaynagar slum(construction site of SRA housing)n March 2016, together with the
Gujarat Institute of Disaster
Management and Prof. Prem
Pangotra from the Indian Instituteof Management Ahmedabad,
TAOYAKA program organized a
training program titled ‘Challengesof Urban Development in Cities ofEmerging Economies’ in Gujarat,
India. It intended the developmentof an in-depth understanding ofdevelopmental issues, challengesof urban planning and management,
heritage conservation, innovativetechnological solutions, and therole of various stakeholders. In
total, 19 students (13 students from
Hiroshima University, 3 students
from the University of Texas atAustin, and 3 students from someuniversities in India) participatedin this training program.

The program offered lectures;interactive
sessionswithdevelopment experts, government
officials,
academicians,
nongovernmental organizations, andcommunity members; and several
field visits. The details of thelectures and filed visits are as
follows:

I

Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Summer 201613

DAY 1 (10 March): Urban Development Challenges

Lecture 1: Challenges of Urbanization in India [by Prof. Prem Pangotra]
Lecture 2: Reflection on Urbanization - Case study of Japan [by Prof. Akimasa Fujiwara]
Field Visit 1: Sabarmati Riverfront Development Project (SRFDP)

DAY 2 (11 March): The Redevelopment of Slums

Lecture 3: Issues of urban poverty and slums in Indian cities [by Prof. Prem Pangotra]
Lecture 4: Public Private Partnership for Slum Redevelopment - Case of Sanjaynagar slum[by Mr. Neeraj Lal]Field visit 2: Sanjaynagar slum

DAY 3 (12 March): ‘Janmarg’: Bus Rapid Transit System

Lecture 5: Ahmedabad Bus Rapid Transit System(BRTS) [by Mr. IP Gautam]
Lecture 6: Ahmedabad Bus Rapid Transit System(BRTS) [by Prof. Shivanand Swamy]
Field visit 3: BRTS project

Sanjaynagar slum(construction site of SRA housing)

DAY 4 (13 March): The Improvement of Slums

Lecture 7: Water and sanitation in slum communities [Ms. Manvita Baradi]
Lecture 8: Slum Improvement Initiative [Ms. Bijal Bhatt]Field visit 4: Vishwasnagar slum

DAYS 5 & 6 (14–15 March): Cultural Heritage

Lecture 9: Integrating cultural heritage in urban planning and development [by Prof. Rohit
Jigyasu]
Lecture 10: Assessing heritage values and significance [by Prof. Rohit Jigyasu]
Lecture 11: Getting the city back to the people: Heritage Cons
Field visit 5: Heritage walk in Walled City

Heritage walk in Walled City

Based on the lectures and fieldvisits offered by the program,students were asked to perform
group work to consider a proposal
for promoting sustainable urban

development
in Ahmedabad.
Accordingly, students formedgroups of 6 or 7, which prepared
their own themes, as follows:“Slum Community Development(Group 1), Overcoming Obstacles(Group 2), and Urbanization’s
Impacts and Opportunities for
Women in Ahmedabad (Group 3).”

Group 1

Group 2

Group 3

The first group focused on theurban poor who live in slums anddiscussed possible solutions for theissues faced by slum dwellers, suchas waste management issues, lackof access to basic services such as
education, and the scarcity of
employment opportunities. The
group made some suggestions,
including the formation of ahandicraft organization for womenand promotion of the recycle andreuse of garbage by slum residents
to ensure better job opportunities
and waste management. The
second group set their theme basedon an approach, instead of an issue.
This group followed a type ofbottom-up approach: They tried toobserve ‘core’ obstacles hindering
successful development and thenmake recommendations tailored toeach site. The third group focusedon a particular social group,
women, partly because Ahmedabad
is widely known as the birthplaceof the Self Employed Women’s
Association(SEWA).
While
recommending
that
more
comprehensive discussions are
required before reaching a general
conclusion, the group found thatsome projects, such as slum
upgradation, might contribute to
the improvement of the quality oflife of women.

Overall , the training program was
successful in terms of improving
our understanding regarding urban
issues in India; however, we also
learnt that the issues differ greatly
from site to site and it is difficult tofind a universal solution.

14

Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Summer 2016

Students’ presentation

The students’ impressions of the
training program (excerpt) are as
follows:

Jenny Yamamoto (Social Implementation Course, Joined in September 2014)
When I reflect on the week we spent in Ahmedabad, my strongest impression was that foralmost all of our speakers, these projects had become a part of their life narratives. This waspartly because all of the projects had taken a long time – from idea, to design, to implementation;in fact, none of the projects are really “finished”. But it was also because one could see thateach person had had to really struggle to actually realize their project. Their lectures weremore like a recount of the challenges they had faced, and how they had overcome them.

Shree Kumar Maharjan (Cultural Creation Course, Joined in April 2015)
The rest of the World, both developed and developing countries, can learn lots of things fromthe city of Ahmedabad. Nepal, being a neighboring country, can also learn all of theseachievements since the political and socio-economic contexts/situations are more or lesssimilar. For instance, Bagmati River in Kathmandu valley also faces the same issue of waterand air pollutions, land encroachment, issue of slums etc. are very much same as Sabarmati
River. In that sense, Bagamati River can be like Sabarmati, if the government and civil society
organizations join hands together in the form of public private partnership. Likewise, other successful projects in the city of
Ahmedabad could also be done in Kathmandu city in Nepal and rest of the world to solve the issues and challenges related to
Urbanization. The most important aspect in this regard is proper vision and action plan with the commitment of the governmentand civil societies

Onsite Team Project: Fall-Winter 2015

The final stage of the onsite education. The third year (D1) of TAOYAKA Students team-up withmultidisciplinary course members and challenge a real-world problem.

�Japan (Kita-Hiroshima): during the academic year 2015
Project Members:
1. Nattacha Paksung (D1), Technical Creation Course
2. Mattana Tunchai (D1), Technical Creation Course
3. Andhang Rakhmat Trihamdani (D1), Social Implementation Course
4. David Perez Barbosa (D1), Social Implementation Course, a role of Cultural Creation in the project

Development of biomass-based ecotourism in Kita-Hiroshima, Japan

From the left: David, Nattacha, Mattana,
and Andhang

Being the first on-site team projectin the Taoyaka program (May 2015
to February 2016), our team was
assigned for catering to thesituation,
challenges,
andopportunities of the site. The target

area of the project was Oasa andChiyoda Town in Kita-Hiroshima,
Hiroshima prefecture, Japan. The
places are located in a mountainous
area, 50 km from Hiroshima city.
They are famous for cultural
tourism (i.e. Kagura), as well as
winter sports. Similar to the current
state of many rural regions inJapan, Kita-Hiroshima is facing theissues attributed to an increasing
aging population and depopulation,
which pose many challenges forthe region’s future.

As an initial step, several field trips
were conducted in order tounderstand the study area. We
interviewed the people who are
involved in agricultural andtourism practices in the region andstayed with a local family in
Chiyoda, as well. Moreover, we
joined the regular events held by anon-profit organization called INE
OASA. Getting in touch with thelocal people helped us to gain
usefulinsights
andtheircooperation as well.

Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Summer 201615

From our experiences during thefield trips, we listed the main
problems faced by the area: (1)depopulation and an aging society,(2) limited agricultural production
in winter, (3) inability of smallscale farmers to depend on theincomefrom
agricultural
production alone, and (4) limited
options for sport tourism insummer.
Accordingly, the objectives of our
project were set as follows: (1) findmechanisms to increase theagricultural production of the area;(2) diversify the value-added
products from existing agricultural
production; (3) take advantage of
agricultural residues to generateenergy; and (4) utilize the naturalenvironment to generate tourism
activities, especially in summer.
All these initiatives were aimed atcreating further income possibilities
and attracting more visitors, which
would help the small-scale farmers,
businesses, and residents inrevitalizing the area.

Harvesting Tomatoes at the Farm in
Kita-Hiroshima

Home-Made Dried Tomatoes

16

Current tomato production flow and the proposed additional flow

Tomato related activities
Tomato is the largest vegetableproduct of Kita-Hiroshima; it iscultivated in the spring–summer
seasons. In contrast, we could
rarely find tomato-based productsin the area. Moreover, theagricultural residue simply goes towaste. Therefore, we proposed a
new cycle for the existing tomato
production process (see below) inorder to enable the utilization of
tomato residues for generatingenergy.
We chose supercritical watergasification (SCWG) because it issuitable to convert wet biomass
into hydrogen-rich gas, without
drying it. The gas produced by
SCWG can be used for heating thegreenhouse in winter. Therefore, it
is expected that farmers will beable to increase their production by
0.2 ton (equal to 1.7 greenhouses)
if all the tomato residues are turned
into feedstock. Since the increment
is quite small, other agriculturalresidues (e.g. rice husk) should be
used, as well, to generate moreenergy to power more greenhouses.

Dried Tomato-Making Workshop“Kita-Hiroshima Dried Tomatoes” at theOrganic market in Hiroshima City

Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Summer 2016

In addition, we developed atomato-based value-added product.
In this study, from various options,dried tomato was chosen to be
developed. In October 2015, adried-tomato-making
workshop
was conducted to introduce therecipe to the local residents of KitaHiroshima. The results of a sensory
test and market survey indicatedthat the dried tomato was acceptableto the market, has potential forcommercial-scale production, andcould generate more income to thefarmers.

Cycling-related activities
Cycling-related activities aim toprovide more options to theexisting sports tourism in KitaHiroshima. In order to study the
town’s potential regarding sports
tourism activities, a group of 10
cyclists joined a cycling tour andvisitedseveralinterestingsightseeing spots in Chiyoda andOasa Town. The tour was conductedin September 2015 and after that,
their opinions about the places andsports tourism possibilities of thetown were surveyed. The results

obtained indicate a high potential
for cycling tourism in KitaHiroshima in the warm season of
the year. In addition, we developed
a cycling map as a useful tool topromote the area.

Lessons learned
During the course of this project,
we faced several challenges anddifficulties. At the beginning, mostof the difficulty was related to ourlimited skill in using the Japanese
language and knowledge of the
project site. We took time to findcollaborators in the university, as
well as Kita-Hiroshima. While
implementing the project, welearned about the importance ofbalancing our academic goals andStart of the Cycling Tour to Kita-Hiroshima

approaches with the perspectivesof the local residents. This isbecause what we want may not be
what they need. In addition, we
need to integrate our visions ofwhat we want to achieve from thisproject; what we want to learn fromit; and how we can make it
beneficial for our individual
research, our group, and the local
people. Moreover, we need tounderstand that the people living inthe study area have their own
lifestyles and routines that weshould understand comprehensively
before initiating any type of activity
that involves them as a community.

Acknowledgement

The Cycling Tour Group visit to Tengushide, one of the most remarkable sightseeing spots in
Kita-Hiroshima

We would like to thank Mr Takahiro
Hotta (INE OASA), Mr Yuji
Makura, Ms. Asuka Toya, and thepeople of Kita-Hiroshima for theirsignificant
cooperation
andsupport. We also would like tothank Mr Masafumi Yamashita forbeing our interpreter and actively
cooperating as our fifth teammember.

Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Summer 201617

Internship Program
Internship at Tokyo Metropolitan University: Dec. 7-11, 2015 and Apr. 4-9, 2016
By Yuki Nakamura (D1), Graduate school of Engineering,
Department of System Cybernetics, Technical Creation CourseIn recent years, renewable energy
sources (RESs) represented byphotovoltaic power and wind
power generation have attracted
extensive attention as a feasible
solution to environmental problems
such as the depletion of fossil fuels
and global warming phenomenon.
In Japan, especially, it has promoted
the introduction of solar power
generation, and the introduction
amount has increased significantly
following the rapid launch of feedin tariff. Therefore, it is expectedthat the introduction of additional
RESs will be promoted. Generally,
RESs connect to the traditional
power system by means of powerelectronics devices. In the future,with the increase in the use of
RESs, the ratio of power electronics
devices in the traditional powersystem will rapidly increase. These
increases may cause adverse effects
on the power system when system
failure occurs. Therefore, in order
to transmit electric power stably
and efficiently, the development of
power electronics devices withhigh performance and large
capacities is necessary. Hence, in18

my current studies, I focus on thesedevices.

● The extraction of problems andconsideration of the solution

Our laboratory has a simulated
power system consisting of a solar
powered battery, inverters, MG
sets, and so on. Further, I have
performed a verification test on mycontrol model using this system.
However, in order to carry myinverter to and operate it indisadvantaged areas, I must
understand its structure andcharacteristics. Therefore, in thisinternship, I made a DC-DC
converter and a single-phase
inverter in Prof. Shimizu’slaboratory
in
the
Tokyo
Metropolitan University, which
has expertise in producing powerelectronics circuits. Prof. Shimizu
is involved in the development andmanufacture of power electronics
equipment, and there are production
and measurement equipment in hislaboratory. It is a perfectenvironment for me to learn thebasics of power electronics
equipment.

Since I have been conducting
simulation-based research so far, I
faced various problems during
actually creating a circuit, forexample, my knowledge regarding
the functioning of the drive circuitand the measures of a surge voltage
was lacking. In addition, when I
operated the finally created stepdown chopper, I found that the
MOSFET was broken. This wasdue to the surge voltage, and higher
than expected voltage was applied
to the device when I actually
measured it. Although I do notwant to elaborate here, there weresome heating and sampling issues.

The fabrication procedure of thestep-down chopper is as follows:● The determination of the target
specification of the chopper
circuit operation theory● The confirmation of circuit
operation using the circuit
simulator (PSIM)● The production of the chopper
circuit● The operation test and characterization of the chopper circuit

Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Summer 2016

In this internship, I was able to reexamine my research from different
points of view. Although I facedsome unexpected troubles during
my internship, I consider them partof an amazing academic experience.

Switching device and drive circuit

Temperature measurement of the inverter

I was able to understand theimportance of making things with
my own hands. Therefore, I wantto take advantage of this experienceand participate in the future
activities of the Taoyaka program.
Finally, I express my sincere

gratitude to Prof. Shimizu and hislaboratory members for the supportand encouragement I received
during my internship period.

Evaluation
Third-Party Evaluation Committee Meeting at Hiroshima University:
March 4, 2016

committee members and somerandomly selected students, which
helped in understanding the programfrom students’ point of view.

Discussion with external committee members

The 3rd Third-Party Evaluation

Committee Meeting was held at
Hiroshima University on March
4th, 2016. A total of 45 members
attended, including six external
domestic and overseas members,
five committee members, 16
faculty members, 10 students, andeight staff.
To begin, Program Director, Prof.
Sakakoshi, presented the program

activities during the year 2015,
focusing on on-site education.
Improvement of multidisciplinary
seminars
and
the
first
implementation of the Qualification
Examination (QE) were alsoannounced.
Followingothermembers’ presentations, students
also reported on their research
results and activities in on-site
education. A discussion was also
heldbetweentheexternal

TAOYAKA students presenting their on-site team project

The external members thenprovidedcommentsandsuggestions, primarily concerning
on-site and on-campus educationand degree evaluation. Student
achievement was highly evaluated.
The meeting resulted in deep
discussion on connecting on-siteknowledge
withon-campus
education, developing a strong
cooperation system with theresearch site, and continuing onsite research.

TAOYAKA students in discussion withexternal members

A TAOYAKA student presenting on-site training in Oki Island

Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Summer 201619

Upcoming Events
 Onsite Training: Shimane (August 2016), India (March 2017), Nepal (March 2017)
 TAOYAKA Seminars (please check our homepage and Facebook for details)

Contact Information:
TAOYAKA Program Office (Main Office)1-5-1 Kagamiyama, Higashi-Hiroshima, 739-8529 JAPAN
Tel: +81 (0)82-424-6152
E-mail: taoyaka-program@office.hiroshima-u.ac.jp
Website: http://taoyaka.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/english

www.facebook.com/taoyaka

TAOYAKA Program Satellite Office in Nepal
Alternative Energy Promotion Centre (AEPC)
Khumaltaar Heights, Lalitpur, Nepal
E-mail: npl@taoyaka.hiroshima-u.ac.jp
Tel: +9771-5539390 Ext. 303
Post Box No.: 14364

www.facebook.com/Taoyaka-Program-in-Nepal-730260277036053

TAOYAKA Program Satellite Office in Bangladesh

Grameen Bank Bhaban (19th Floor) Mirpur - 2, Dhaka - 1216
Tel: +8802 8035347 Fax: +8802 8035345
E-mail: bgd@taoyaka.hiroshima-u.ac.jp

TAOYAKA Program Satellite Office in India

Gujarat Institute of Disaster Management (GIDM),
B/h Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University
Raisan village, Gandhinagar - 382 007 Gujarat, INDIA
Tel: +91-79-23275805
E-mail: ind@taoyaka.hiroshima-u.ac.jp

Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace

TAOYAKA Newsletter Summer 2016
Vol. 5 / Issued in: August 2016
TAOYAKA Program for creating a flexible, enduring, peaceful society
Organization of the Leading Graduate Education Program
Copyright©2016 TAOYAKA Program, Hiroshima University
20

Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Summer 2016