Flexibility, Endurability, and PeaceVol. 3 Spring 2015

TAOYAKA Newsletter

TAO AKA

Inside This Issue●●●
Message from Academic
Mentor, Dr. Kaneko,
Social Implementation
Course Leader ---- 1

TAOYAKA Students visiting Fukutomi Town, Central Part of Hiroshima Prefecture-April, 2015

Message from Academic Mentor

Changing Our Way

Introduction of New
Students: Welcome to
TAOYAKA! ----- 2
Onsite Education: Onsite
Course Rotation ----- 8

Dr. Kaneko: Professor and Academic Mentor:
Social Implementation Course Leader

Internship Program:
A Report from
Bangladesh, by Alam
Mohammad Jahangir, D2
student ----- 13

For the last two years since the2015 Nepal Earthquake
Relief Activities -----14

TAOYAKA program was launchedin October 2013, we have been tied
up with the daily operation of thisvery challenging program. Now, it
is good to recall once again the
expectations and appreciations thatour proposed program has
committed. The biggest novelty of
the TAOYAKA program is to seek
community driven solutions for theextremely difficult problems that
disadvantaged areas are facing,through innovations of hightechnology development anddeployment. Eventually, the realsynergy of the teamwork amongprofessionals in humanities, social
sciences, sciences and technology,
which otherwise might never have

Seminars:Multidisciplinary seminar
and Taoyaka Seminarseries -----15
Evaluation:
Third-Party Evaluation
Committee meeting-----17

Kaneko Shinji
Social Implementation Course Leader

Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Spring 20151

been achieved, has to be demonstrated
in the field.
To ensure effective communications
for co-working within a team withdifferent experts from extremely
different academic backgrounds,
we need to find some approaches
and take proactive actions.
Although this is still a rather crude
idea in my mind, I am proposing todevelop a set of instruments, i.e., atechnology roadmap, storylines ofscience fiction, and innovationplans. The technology roadmap
describes current achievements
and future perspectives onparticular advanced science andtechnology being developed in
Hiroshima University in simple
language for nonprofessionals.
Thus the technology roadmap is an
instrument prepared by experts inadvanced science and high-techengineering for communicatingwith others. With the technology
roadmap, humanities scientists
visit and stay in disadvantaged
areas and prepare storylines ofscience fiction. The storylines ofscience fiction describe possible
positive and negative impacts offuture technology on the different
phases of development in society.
With the technology roadmap andthe storylines of science fiction,social scientists prepare an
innovation plan for proposing
business models and supporting
policy for adopting the technology
as a solution to a particular issue
and society in an appropriatemanner. Since the innovation plan
may not be realistic, the plan goesto the experts in advanced scienceand high-tech engineering forconsidering possible modifications
and adjustments in the technology
roadmap. While repeating this cycleof exchanging three instruments
among the different experts, theinnovation plan is expected to be
improved step by step.
Once the plan becomes matured,
we may even run an open
innovation contest with realentrepreneurs that can possibly
attract real investors and donors forverifying our proposed innovation
plan as realistic and competitive. I
know this is not easy and seems
ridiculous, nevertheless what weneed to challenge is largely changes
in our approach, since the
TAOYAKA program itself is aninnovative PhD program.

Introduction of New Students: Welcome to Taoyaka!!
The 3rd opening ceremony of TAOYAKA
program was held on April 3, 2015. We
welcomed the eight students from diverse
educational, professional and cultural
backgrounds to the TAOYAKA Program.

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Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Spring 2015

C ultural Creation Course
Su Guandong (Graduate School of Letters, Humane Studies)

My name is SU GUANDONG

and I am from Yunnan Province,
CHINA, which is in the south westof China. I graduated from Capital
Normal University, Beijing.
My present research mainly focuseson the Geographical Information
System (GIS), which is my major.
It is a system designed to capture,
store, manipulate, analyze, manage,

and present all types of geographicaldata. As a science student, thedevelopment of this field always
draws my attention, and I feel
especially fascinated by the Culture
Creation Course. I will learn
different skills and come up withnew ideas overall, while trying tofigure out the key issues we shouldsolve. I chose TAOYAKA Program,which I think can develop my skills
at geography as well as regional
development and culture etc. A GIS
can be thought of as a system - itdigitally makes and “manipulates”
spatial areas that may be jurisdictional,
purpose, or application-oriented. I
would try my best to study in order torealize multicultural coexistenceaccording to GIS analysis andrecognize
issuesrelatedtocohabitation and coexistence ofdiverse people and regions.
As the saying goes, “Travelling
1000 miles is as important asreading 1000 books,” which could
tell us the importance of personal
experiences. So I chose to go to
Hiroshima University and joined
TAOYAKA Program to continue
my studies. TAOYAKA Program
has provided us with a prefectplatform and plentiful resources tobecome leaders. It has also
provided us with a lot of support as
we also enjoyed cooperation witheach other and communication withstudents from different disciplinesand different backgrounds. To find,to seek, to strive but not to yield,
let’s try to do our best.

Imran Md. Masood (Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation,
Division of Educational Development and Cultural and Regional Studies)

Masood Imran is my name. I am

from Bangladesh and a student of
the Cultural Creation Course under
the supervision of Professor
Masahiko Togawa. I graduated fromthe Department of Archaeology,
Jahangirnagar
University,
Bangladesh. I was awarded Gold
Medals by the university forsecuring the highest marks. I earned
extensive field experiences insurveying and excavation during
my graduation time period. I believethat my academic results testify to
my motivation to do further study incultural heritage management sothat I can succeed in the proposed
field, as I love to read.

My job experience is the other key
evidence of my motivation to do a
PhD in my proposed field. As afaculty member of the Departmentof Archaeology, I conductedcourses at both the graduate andundergraduate levels, and as a parttime teacher in Pathshala South
Asian Media Academy, Dhaka,Bangladesh, conducting a “Creative
Writing” course at an undergraduatelevel. In addition to teaching, I havebeen actively involved with muchinterdisciplinary research combining
the fields of cultural heritage(tangible
andintangible),
management
policy,publicarcheology, systematic archaeologicalethnographic surveying and genderarchaeology
inBangladesh.
Moreover, recently, I am trying to
identify how interpretations ofarchaeological records of locations

Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Spring 20153

in third world countries, like
Bangldesh, could be used tosubjugate the people and theirperceptions. I presented papers at
international and national seminars.
I have twelve (12) research
publications and three (3) books to

my credit along
unpublished works.

with

many

In this age of globalization, theinternational system is changing
rapidly. In this fast-changing
scenario, more research in cultural

creation courses may serve as agreat help towards the survival andwell-being of developing countries
like Bangladesh. It is my longrange goal to establish myself as arenowned scholar and teacher in
my country.

Maharjan Shree Kumar (Graduate School for International Development andCooperation, Division of Educational Development and Cultural and Regional Studies)

Mr. Shree Kumar Maharjan, from
Nepal, has joined Hiroshima
University as a Taoyaka Cultural
Course student in International
Development and Cooperation(IDEC) from April 2015. Prior tojoining Taoyaka Program, heworked in Asia Indigenous Peoples
Pact (AIPP), a regional indigenous
peoples’ organization based in
Chiang Mai, Thailand as Section

4

Head of the Thematic Programmes
Section, in which he was
responsible for supervising 3 major
programmes - Environment, Human
Rights and Indigenous women –being implemented within thesection. He worked in the AIPP for
4 years from 2011. He belongs to
the Newar Ethnic tribe in Nepal.
He also has work experiences in
Nepal from local to national levels,
after completion of his Masters inScience (Agriculture), specializingin Conservation Ecology from theInstitute of Agriculture and Animal
Science (IAAS), Rampur-Chitwan
Nepal.
His schooling was in Jana Sewa
Higher Secondary School, agovernment school in Panga,
Kirtipur Nepal. The I Sc., B.Sc.
and M. Sc. In Agriculture wasaccomplished at the same instituteunder Tribhuvan University, in
Nepal.

Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Spring 2015

He has been enthusiasticallyfollowing up indigenous peoples’issues, concerns relating to lands,
territories and resources, climatechange, biodiversity, and sustainable
development, among others. He
has also published some popularand journal articles especially
focusing on agriculture, climatechange, community based approaches,indigenous peoples’ issues andconcerns including a training
manual on Free, Prior and Informed
Consent for indigenous peoples in
REDD+.
In the Taoyaka program (Doctoral
Program), he is planning to carryout research on climate change
coping and adaptation in the
Agriculture sector in Nepal and
Bangladesh, since both of thesecountries are highly vulnerable andleast developed.

T echnical Creation Course
Michiaki Inoue(Graduate School of Engineering, System Cybernetics)

I

studied the C programming
language in the faculty ofengineering
at
Hiroshima
University. I have made some
programs such as binary searchtree programs, production schedule
programs, and shortest routesolution programs. In my graduate
studies, I studied high-speed visionin the robotics laboratory ofHiroshima University. High-speed
vision can do real-time processing
rates of 1000 frames/s or faster. I
constructed a system, which
consisted of high-speed vision andmirrors. It can take a clear photofrom a moving vehicle. I want to
use it to create a system that caninspect the condition of roads andtunnel walls. I also joined the Jazz
circle and held concerts sometimes.

I learned of a lot of things from it.
I want to acquire communication
knowledge with local people in a
local
environment
through
TAOYAKA program, to check
whether this system can be used.
And then, I want to experience a lotof things in many locations indifferent countries. In my research,
I constructed a system which has
the ability to inspect walls androads from a moving vehicle. I
want to use this system to inspect
the condition of roads and tunnel
walls and challenge the issues ofinfrastructure in disadvantaged
areas. Recently, in many developing
countries, a huge number of roads
and tunnels are being built quickly,
and the original condition of theseroads and tunnels might not be sogood. This system would be a great
support.
In TAOYAKA program, there aremany students majoring in different
fields. They often help me withdifferent views through discussion,and I can get some new ideas fromthese opportunities. So, let’s talkand work together for innovation!

Kazuma Takeda (Graduate School of Engineering, System Cybernetics)

I have been studying robotics andkinematics since I was anundergraduate in engineering.
Particularly, my research topic is
4-legs walking robot. It should be

able to move with high-speed andhigh-effectiveness, so it will beable to become a new method oftransportation and search more
efficiently and safely for many
people in regional areas. However,for utilizing the robot, visits andobservations in these areas of
introduction are necessary, because
it is not until I understand andconsider the situation of each area
(e.g. environments, factor of
accidents, and so on) that I can beable to design the robots that reflect
these factors. So, through On-site
course rotation and some programsin TAOYAKA LP, I would like to learn
the way to collect the requisite
information. Finally, I would like todesign and make a robot that can be well

adapted to the situation of each area.
Moreover, nowadays, it is necessary
to have not only technique but also
cooperation between the techniquesofexperts.
For
example,comprehension of other research
fields and communication withpeople who have different
countries, languages and cultures.
In addition, if I want to work on the
global stage, I need to be equipped
for internationality. So, I aim to
improve my English communication
ability. TAOYAKA LP has people
who study various fields and havevarious nationalities. Therefore,
there are many opportunities toconsider and show our own
opinion.

Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Spring 20155

Thus, I think that this program is agood environment for gaining theinternational
communication
ability, training in the skill of

thoughtfulconsideration
andlearning how to express opinions.

S ocial Implementation Course
Henriquez Million Adriana Maria (Graduate School for International Development
and Cooperation, Division of Development Science)

My name is Adriana María

Henríquez Millon, I come from
Costa Rica. I worked as an English
teacher for nine years back in mycountry, offering my students asecond language which allowed
them to communicate with people
from different countries and also
use the language as a tool for directaccess to scientific, technologicalandhumanisticknowledge,
because English has become auniversal language. I did mymaster’s in Technical Education in
the Instituto Tecnológico de Costa
Rica, obtaining my master’s degreein 2011. I do consider that Technical
Education should be reinforced
and the Ministry of Public
Education should adopt newmodels into the Costa Rican
Curriculum to enhance and include
technology and language learning
into this approach, to enrich thisfield of education and the vocational
training as well.

My main goal is to become a Social
Implementation Innovator as adevelopment educator and a change
agent, also being a leader andcoworker for others, not only foreducational institutions and NGO`sin rural places and settlements thatare considered as marginal ordisadvantaged areas, in which theyurgently need support to improvetheir quality of life, in terms of theaccessibility they do not have tothe most basic services nowadays.
For that purpose and considering
their main needs, it will benecessary to provide leadershipand collaborative work, startingwith education, because it is one of
the most immediate ways to help
and contribute directly to growpeace and stability, also to bond thecultural characteristics of thoseareas with science and technology
to create new ecological tools tofacilitate and enhance theirconditions.

The essential skills as a leader I
will work to share with others
embracing actions to achieve
peace, using education as a tool forcommunicating and building abetter world, involving different
skills, strategies, techniques andactivities in order to help people toachieve the goal of peace and also
work together to have a sustainable
and a decent place to live in theircommunities.

Nair Siddharth (Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation, Division of

Development Science)

I am very keen to make the bestuse of the range of opportunities
afforded by the TAOYAKA
program to embark on research thatspans both academia and realworld decision making processes.
The linkages between technologies,
communities, policy-makers andthe average citizen is one that is
6

Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Spring 2015

bridged by interconnected systems
that all these diverse participants
are an inherent part of. As we know,
mankind has continually attempted
to make sense of the dynamics andchanging patterns of these larger
systems, frequently unsuccessfully
so. The recent decade has seen ICT
tools and technologies that extend
our range of abilities and help copeor even manage the inherently
ever-changing nature of these
coupled human-natural systems.
When it comes to the local or micro
scale, we need the vital input
provided by these technologies to
help
local
knowledge-based
communities
andrelatedparticipatory-action groups toengage and interact with the otherparticipants in the system, andhence make collective decisions
for a sustainable pathway to their
future. Urgent issues such as healthand medicine are a focus here,

which are of relevance globally toboth developed and developing
nations alike.
Havinghad
aninherently
interdisciplinary educational andwork background that culminatedin issues related to ICT for
development, my research now
attempts to integrate these two
streams of Health and ICT, bylooking at how knowledge-based
communities
in
underserved
regions can best make use of
emerging digital tools andinterventions to collectively makeinformed decisions for their health.
The breadth of research projects
and the diverse backgrounds andinterests of fellow researchers at
Hiroshima University makes it an
apt
place
for
such
an
interdisciplinary exploration that
attempts to tackle and address thiskey challenge faced by both urban
and rural inhabitants today,
irrespectiveofgeographicallocation or level of economic orsocial development.

Vu Ha Thu (Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation, Division of

Development Science)

financial issues as well as banking
processes on me. I worked at OJB
for about 6 months, before moving
to Thai Nguyen University ofAgriculture and Forestry with aposition as a lecture assistant inAgricultural Economics and Rural
Development Faculty. This derived
from my passion for research inapplied economics.

K

onnichiwa, my name is Vu Ha
Thu, and I am from Vietnam.
Because I am passionate for
economics, I chose Vietnam Banking
Academy for my undergraduate
course. After a 4 – year period, I got
an excellent Bachelor’s Degree in
Banking and Finance and was one of
the few students who received anaward for excellent academic achievementfrom the Dean of Banking Academy.
After graduation, I worked at
Ocean Commercial Joint Stock
Bank (OJB) as an individual
customer officer. This position at a
young and dynamic financial
institution bestowed valuable
practical experience about personal

Regarding my research interest,
I’m studying microfinance for ruraland mountainous regions. In
Vietnam, thanks to a renovation in
mid-1980s, the country has gained
major economic achievements.
However, the poverty rate in someremote areas remains very high.
Hostile geographical characteristics
such as high mountain ranges
prevent economic development;
thus, local people have been
enduring miserable living condition.
Some state banks and other financial
institutions have been providing
financial services to the poor, i.e.
microfinance, for the sake of better
rural livelihoods. Nonetheless, thecontribution of these programs tohouseholds’ wealth stays ambiguous.

Thus, I’m obsessed with microfinanceresearch in order to assess current efforts
and to recommend better policies.
TAOYAKA Program of Hiroshima
University characterizes itself by
its interdisciplinary principles.
Multifaceted thinking is so crucial
for a person to achieve success inmodern society. More interestingly,
with regional development being
the main interest, the program
offers on site courses to
disadvantaged areas in Japan aswell as South Asian countries
including Bangladesh, where arewitnessed numerous successful
stories about microfinance. Hence,
when I read information about
applicationsfor
TAOYAKA
program, I knew for sure that I
must never miss such a wonderful
opportunity. Luckily, I am now aparticipant in TAOYAKA.
With limited working experienceand modest English proficiency, I
understand tremendous challenges
are standing ahead, but I just can’t
wait to work with talented students
from all around the world.

Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Spring 2015

7

Onsite Education
Onsite Course Rotation

Nagasaki: Onsite Visit, November 21-22, 2014
By Qingyi Gu,
Special-Appointment Associate Professor, Graduate School of Engineering

peaceful Taoyaka society.

What did the students
learn from the activity?

Summary:
In Nagasaki On-site Visiting, we
focus on Structural Health
Monitoring (SHM). Our Taoyaka
students learned about the people
training program “Michimori
project”, as well as several SHM
technologies. We encouraged ourstudents to introduce Michimori
project and new SHM technologies
in disadvantaged regions to createa safe and peaceful society byconsidering the cost and difficultyof maintenance.

Aims of the visit:
The process of implementingadamagedetection
andcharacterization
strategyforengineering structures is referred
to as Structural Health Monitoring(SHM). In this onsite visit module,
8

professors from Nagasaki University
introduced “Michimori” project to
our Taoyaka students. Our students
understandthat
periodical
maintenance of old structures androads is very important for people’ssafety.
The Michimori project started from2008, which is a cooperative effort
by Nagasaki University andNagasaki-ken. This project is apersonnel training plan for roadinfrastructure management andmaintenance. The aim of this projectis enhancing people’s safety byteaching professional knowledge
andtechniques
relatedtoinfrastructure management andmaintenance. By taking the lecture,
we expect our Taoyaka students
can consider how to apply this kindof SHM system in disadvantaged
regions, to create a safe andFlexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Spring 2015

Firstly, our Taoyaka students
learned the purpose of theMichimori project. There are many
old roads and bridges in Nagasakiken, Japan, which have alreadybeen used more than 50 years. The
statusofthosesignificant
infrastructures is progressively
deteriorating. People’s safety willbe threatened by the damage of old
infrastructures. Secondly, our
Taoyaka students learned thepeople training program of theMichimori project. Thirdly, our
Taoyaka students learned some
SHM technical terms, such as“Long-term Remote Monitoring ofa Steel Truss Bridge” and “3D
measurement and reconstruction .“How can it be applied andbe useful for TAOYAKA
program’s aims?
In disadvantaged regions, SHM isespecially important to guarantee
the safety of human life. For
example, an aging bridge is indanger of collapse, a building after
earthquakes is in danger of falling
down.
Structural
healthindisadvantaged regions (mountainous
areas and remote villages) is
incredibly bad, compared toadvantaged regions (big cities).
People’s life is in danger in suchdisadvantaged
regions.
To
introduce SHM techniques andsystem into disadvantaged regions
is an urgent task to improve people
safety. However, several problems
in culture, technique, and social
implementation
shouldbeconsidered to implement SHM in
disadvantaged
regions.
We
encourage our students to introduce
the people training program ofMichimori project to disadvantaged
regions. We also expect sometechnique innovations from ourstudents. By considering the costand difficulty of maintenance, ourstudents can make a plan toimplement a SHM system in
disadvantaged regions.

Aki Takata: Onsite Visit, January 09, 2015
By Nao Ishikawa,
Special-Appointment Associate Professor, Graduate School of Letters

Summary:
The theme of the visit is “Newapproachofregional
development―Collaborations oflocal organizations and residents”.
We went on a visit to Kawane
village and Midori town in
Akitakata-city. In Kawane village,
we learned about activities ofregional operation systems by local
residents. In Mirodi town, we
listened to how to revitalize thetown by taking advantage of“Kagura”.

Topic 1: Activities ofregional operation systems
by local residents (Kawane)
Kawane village is located in themountainous area of Akitakata city.
Although they are aging, this
districthas
succeededinrevitalizing local governance.
Local residents have establishedregional operation systems such as
a community factory of yuzu, a gas
station and a general store. These
achievements are the result ofcooperation between municipal
offices and local residents. We
listened to both sides andconsidered how to revitalize an
aging community. In Kawane, we
met 2 influential residents.
1) Key person 1: Tsujikoma
Kenji-san, the community leader
The seminar started with a talkshow between Tsujikoma Kenjisan and Ishikawa. Tsujikoma-san is
the leader of the resident
organization in Kawane. After
working in Hiroshima city, hecame back to his home town,
Kawane, to take over the house. In
1972, concentrated heavy rain tookdevastating toll on Kawane.
Althoughlifelinesandtransportation were stopped andmany houses were destroyed, thetown office could do nothing. “If
we rely on the town office, ourcommunity will decline anddisappear!”
Residents
stood
together and established “Kawane
promotion association”. They
cleared collapsed houses bythemselves. In 1990, Kawane
people faced a new problem.
Agricultural Cooperatives decided
to withdraw its branch from
Kawane. The branch was managing
a gas station and a general shop
which were the only commercial
facilities in Kawane. If it
disappeared, the closest shop was
12km away. Kawane promotion
association decided to succeed to
the facility. All Kawane residents
invested in them. In this way, it
became a common facility of
Kawanwe.

Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Spring 20159

After the talk show, we visited thegas station and the general shop.
2) Key-person 2: Kumataka
Junya-san, sales manager of theyuzu factory
There is a factory for processing“yuzu” (citron) next to the gas
stationandgeneralshop.
Kumataka-san is sales manager ofthe factory. The climate in Kawane
is suitable for growing yuzu.
According to Kumataka-san, thepeel of Kawane yuzu is less bitter
than other brands. Therefore they
are producing various kinds ofsweets making use of yuzu juice
and peels. All employees of thefactory live in Kawane. The scaleof the yuzu factory is smaller
compared to the factories in urban
areas, but Kumataka-san said they
are trying to establish the brand“Kawane yuzu” by improving its
quality and safety. One of highlights
of visiting the factory was tastingsour yuzu juice and yuzu peelpreserved in sugar. Many students
cheered the taste of the yuzu
products.

local governance by various kindsof administrative reform such as
setting up a regular conference
between residents and the town
office. Recently, the city haschanged emphasis on the way of
supporting each community. They
still continue to support community
activities, but they cannot say it istheir main political measure forregional promotion. We learned
about the difficulty of continuous
support from local administration
due to the limits of its tight budget.

Topic 2: To revitalize thetown taking advantage of“Kagura”
Kagura is a traditional music anddance. It was performed as a ritual
festival held in the rice harvest
season,conveyingpeople’sappreciation to nature. Akitakata
city is one of the most famousplaces for Kagura. Kagura played
an important role in enhancing
solidarity and partnership in thegroup. Even now it is forming thefoundation of a community where
people help each other. Akitakata
city office has established a theme
park of Kagura and promoted
Kagura as a resource for tourism.
We learned about promotion of thecommunity through traditional
culture.

3) Support from Akitakata-city
We also listened to Yamane-sanand Takebe-san, public workers in
the regional policy division of
Akitakata-city. Kawane promotion
association was established withthe backing of the previous mayorof the city. He aimed to promote
10

Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Spring 2015

We listened to Toda-san, a public
worker and Kagura dancer. He said
there are 2 purposes for thepromotion of Kagura. One isutilization of community resources
as tourist attraction. Another isvitalization of local communities.
Kagura has taken root in generaland been handed down to others.
Some young people are willing tocontinue living in their hometown,
because they love Kagura. As apublic worker, Toda-san feels theyshould support local residents inhaving something to live for.

Discussions:
After going back to Hiroshima
University, we discussed how toproceed post learning. First of all,we shared common awareness of
the issues among the 3 courses. It
was “How to make the developmentof Kawane sustainable?” On thatissue, each group set up the topic
and made a presentation.
The topic of the Cultural groupwas, “the mechanism to improve
the relationship between local
government and residents”. They
pointed out changes to the policiesof the city office due to its mayor
and the need for a long term
coordinator who facilitates talks
between local residents and thelocal administrative office. The
Technical group came up with,“Factory to increase their income”.
Yuzu products in Kawane are
wonderful, but it is not enough toearn much money. Therefore, theymentioned the possibilities toharvest other new fruits byimprovement of the production
technology such as remotecontrolled green houses or bio

technology. Finally, the Socialgroup gave some ideas forenhancementofeconomicopportunity in Kawane. They
remarked, “Kawane people needsuccessors to keep their community
activities. To keep the young in thecommunity, they need jobs.”
After all the presentations, we
discussedwhycommunity

activities are so important for someregions, what kind of problems
exist for their activities and how tosolve these problems. In the end,
Prof.
Okahasi,
ProgramCoordinator mentioned that when
we discuss issues of mountainous
areas, we should consider how it islinked with agriculture, since thebasis of their livelihood isagriculture.

Fukutomi: Onsite Visit, April 24, 2015
By Nao Ishikawa, Special-Appointment Associate Professor, andChin Lin, Special-Appointment Assistant Professor, Graduate School of Letters

Summary:“Onsite course rotation” is an
important onsite education subject
for TAOYAKA students. Thissubject aims to promote awarenessof the onsite issues in the Chugoku
and Sikoku regions of Japan, which
are related to peace, energy, disasterprevention, medicine, transportationand so on.
In the first onsite visit of 2015, wehave been to Fukutomi Town,
Higashi-Hiroshima on April 24,
2015. 17 TAOYAKA students, 1
TA student and 9 TAOYAKA staff

attended this onsite visit. The main
theme is regional innovation
throughfocusingonthedevelopment of a sixth industry.

Aims of the visit:communities, and led to a decline
in its number. Therefore, how torevitalize agriculture and agriculturalcommunities in Japan is becoming
a big issue and need to consider for
our TAOYAKA students. Thistime, we selected Fukutomi town,
where the sixth industry is
successfully implemented, as ourfield site. Sixth industry means thepromotion of 1st industry, 2ndindustry and 3rd industry in thesame place. It brings more newvalue to agriculture and can help
the revitalization of agriculturalcommunities. In this visit, we hopestudents can understand which
factors are difficult in implementing
sixth industry and how it brought
regional innovation in rural Japan.

Through the visit to Fukutomi
town, we expected TAOYAKA
students would recognize what are
the challenges for Japan’s
agriculture and dairy farming, andknow how the local people have
tried to solve these problems bythemselves. Since a lot of issues
exist in the agriculture of Japan,
these weakened the agricultural
Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Spring 2015

11

to
the
establishmentof“shakunage”, and it has become an
important member of “Kodawari”
network nowadays.

Introduction of regionalinnovation in Fukutomi
town:
The idea of “Regional innovation”
focuses on innovation based on theregional characteristics of culture,society and industry. It includes not
only scientific technology but also
the creation of new systems andrelationships in the view of personalconnection,inter-organizational
relations, conception of values andeconomical
characteristics.
Fukutomi-town is a model case ofregional innovation through sixth
industry.
In Fukutomi town, the history ofregional innovation can be divided
into 3 stages. The first stage wasstarted from 1990 to 1996. The
regional innovation happened
because of immigrants fromoutside. The second stage from1997 to 2001, local people in
Fukutomi town also intended toopen new businesses. In thisperiod, one of the big events is theestablishment of“Kodawari”
network by 14 shop owners in
Fukutomi town in 1999. This
network is playing a central role in
the establishment of regional
brands and bringing an increase of
tourists. From 2002 is the third
stage of regional innovation.
Fukutomi town office also
recognized the importance of“Kodawari” network. And this led
12This time we visited two facilities
which
have
succeededinrevitalizing dairy husbandry andagriculture. The first place to visit
is Uenohara Farm “Cadore”.
Cadore is a private company
engaging in a set of farming, foodprocessing of milk products, andservice industries such as direct
stores and restaurants at the sameplace. The next facility to visit is a
shop for processed foods withspecial products in Fukutomi,
named “Shakunage”. “Shakunage”
was built by the local government
and is now being run by the third
sector. They have commercialized
agricultural products made bysmall-scale agriculture such asegoma1) Uenohara farm: businessoriented type sixth industry
In the first part of the visit, welistened to a talk between Ueda
san, president of Uenohara farm,and Prof. Ishikawa in Uenohara
farm. Through this talk, we learned
the difficulties in the managementof dairy farming in Japan, andunderstood why Ueda san began
sixth industry to empower theirbusiness.
In the 1970s Ueda san’s parents
started dairy farming from 1970. In
1987 Ueda san also took part in thedairy farming. After 10 years of
sufferingfrommanagement
difficulties in dairy farming, at theend of 1990s they decided to
expand their business throughadding new value on milk.
Thereafter, restaurant Cercadore, acheese workshop and a café store

Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Spring 2015

opened one by one. Thesebusinesses can achieve great
success because they are adding
new value to his farm’s milk andtaking advantage of the network of“Kodawari”.
2) Shakunage:
community-oriented type sixth
industry
In the second part of the visit, welistened to a talk between Mizuwaki
san, director of farmers’ market
Shakunage, and Prof. Ishikawa.
Shakunage was established in 2002
as a center for promoting the sixth
industry and an exchange hub
between urban and rural areas. Thisfacility is playing a crucial role in
the local development of this area.
Around 190 local residents are
participating in the activities ofprocessing healthy foods such as
egoma. This facility also acts as an
information center for visitors fromoutside due to its big parking area
and toilet facility. This brought a
sharp increase in the number oftourists from neighboring cities.

After the visit: Students’presentations anddiscussions
After coming back from the field,
TAOYAKA students had group
work and made presentations
mainly focused on “Regionalinnovation: focusing on thedevelopment of sixth industry”.
The following are some theactivities of the students after thevisit.

innovation and give a proposal
about how to solve the difficulty inimplementing sixth industry inJapan.

In the first group work, we required
students to know how regionalinnovation takes place and what
factors are necessary in theimplementation of sixth industry indisadvantaged areas. As an outputof the group work, we asked
students to make two models foreach case from the fieldwork andexplain the relationship between
regional innovation and sixth
industry.

During the presentations, threecourses’ students showed us theirwork. Cultural students gave us apresentation about how to promote
regional
revitalizationindisadvantaged areas. They picked
up some important factors such as
resources, market, product andnetwork. Technical students tried
to access the functions and qualities
of sixth industry. They pointed out
some remarkable points andsuggested the importance ofpromoting a combination of them.
Social students gave us an original
summary of sixth industry andimpressed us. They pointed out the
shortcomings of implementing
sixth industry in each case, andalso give their original solutions. In
the discussion time, we invited
Ueda san and Mizuwaki san to ourclass. Students shared what they
had gained, their opinions andIn the second group work, wewould like students to deepen theirunderstanding of sixth industry andregional innovation. We requested
students to point out which factors
are common and difficult in
implementing sixth industry inother disadvantaged areas in Japan.
Through this work, we asked
students to make a general model
about sixth industry and regional

solutions first, and then exchanged
ideas with the two guests.
Absolutely, they have obtained alot of valuable feedback from local
leaders. In my opinion, the students
still couldn’t give local leaders
perfect
solutionsfor
theirbusinesses, but, I think they havefelt the students’ passion to try tosolve their issues. As an appropriate
way to reach the above goal, it isimportanttodeepentheircommunication and understanding
in the field as was suggested byProf.
Okahashi,
ProgramCoordinatorof
TAOYAKA
program.

Internship Program: A Report from Bangladesh
By Alam Mohammad Jehangir,
D2 Student, Social Implementation Course

Report of Internship Program:Grameen Shakti (GS), Bangladesh
Feburary19-March 22, 2015

To understand the concept ofsustainable development throughrenewableenergyandits
implementation among the peopleof disadvantaged areas where
diverse cultures and many obstacles
co-exist, was the key purpose of
my internship. Grameen Shakti(GS), as a non-profit company

established in 1996, is one of thepioneers to introduce renewableenergy successfully. The vision of
GS is promoting, developing andextendingrenewableenergytechnologies in the remote rural
areas of Bangladesh. That’s why
GS was chosen for an internshipfor enhancing my understanding
Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Spring 201513

about the impact of thesetechnologies on disadvantaged
regions’ livelihood. The tenure of
my internship was February 19,
2015 to March 23, 2015. I took it asan opportunity to observe thetechnological and economicalchange of Solar Home System(SHS) in Bangladesh and try tounderstand the level of acceptanceof SHS among the lowest income

group in disadvantaged areas.
The areas with no access toconventional electricity and lesschance of getting connection to thegrid within 5 to 10 years are themain target of GS’s solar program.
It is one of the most successfulprograms. Currently, GS is one of
the largest and fastest growing
rural based renewable energy

companies in the world. GS is also
promoting Small SHS to reach low
income rural households. SHS hascreated tremendous positive social
impacts such as poverty reduction,
extension of the study hours forchildren,incomegenerating
activities and empowerment of
women etc. A typical 50 watt SHS,
which can power four to six energyefficient LED lights plus a socket
for a TV, radio, or battery recharger
and a mobile-phone-charging unit,
costs around 20,000 takas (about
30,000 yen). Customers can pay
cash for their system or takeadvantage of a micro-credit scheme(down payment and monthly
installments) that makes SHS
affordable for ordinary ruralfamilies. I found some positive andinteresting historical change of
SHS during the internship period
through some literature anddocuments provided by GS which
is mostly similar to others’ findings.

2015 Nepal Earthquake Relief Activities
By Niraj Prakash Joshi,
Special-Appointment Assistant Professor, TAOYAKA Program

Activities in Hiroshima University
To support victims of the 2015 Nepal Earthquake

The major earthquake having an

epicenter 77km North-West ofKathmandu and a magnitude of 7.8
hit Nepal on April 25, 2015
(Saturday) at 06:11:26 UTC (USGeographical Survey). The earthquake
proved to be devastating for Nepal,
claiming 8857 precious human
lives, (As of 23 July 2015) withthousands missing and injured andmillions affected. Similarly, it has
destroyed many of the precious

14

Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Spring 2015

historical properties recognized by
the UNESCO as world heritage
sites in the Kathmandu valley, andmajor highways are disrupted.
Anticipating the loss that theearthquake would bring to Nepal
and the support needed, concerned
students and professors ofHiroshima University, including
Taoyaka Program, formed thegroup named “2015 Nepal Major
Earthquake Disaster Relief Group”.

The group took initiations to raise
funds in order to provide immediate
relief to the victims. Standing withthe donation box around different
places at Hiroshima University,
Higashi Hiroshima Campus (30thApril and 1st May, 2015), Youme
Town, Higashi Hiroshima Branch(2nd May till 6th May), and Saijo
Plaza (5th and 6th May) was the
major activity. Support provided
byJapanese
students
andHiroshima University International
Student Association has been
crucial in all these endeavors.
Taoyaka Program also placed adonation box in its office. Meal
coupons were also sold for fundraising in coordination with Indian

Restaurant Tandoor,
Hiroshima Branch.

Higashi-

A part of the funds raised throughthe donation box is alreadychannelized to the victims throughpre-existing connections in Nepal.
As the first step, relief materials(Basic medicines and food items)
were distributed to the victim ofPanga, Kirtipur through Professor
Dharma Raj Dangol, who was alsoa Visiting Professor at IDEC,
Hiroshima University (April – October,2011). Similarly, relief materials
have also been distributed to
victims of Bhusunde Village,
Gorkha district through theconnection of Bijan Maskey, a PhD

student at IDEC.
Responding swiftly to the disaster,
Hiroshima University at theuniversity level has also called for
donations, which are channelized
to Nepal through Japan Red Cross
Society.

Seminars: Multidisciplinary and Taoyaka Seminar series
Taoyaka Program frequently offers two kinds of Seminars: 1) Multidisciplinary Seminars which involves three
Taoyaka courses (Cultural Creation, Technical Creation, and Social implementation courses) and are part of theonsite education and 2) Taoyaka Seminars which involve specific courses. Taoyaka seminars are open to the public.
Please see our website for upcoming seminars: <http://taoyaka.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/english/index.html>
The following are highlights from past seminars since last November, 2014.

1) Multidisciplinary Seminar Series
Field Research on Problems of Ecotourism in Less Favoured Areas:
Yakushima, Kagoshima, February 25 - March 1, 2015
By Carolin Funck,
Professor, Graduate School of Integrated Arts and Science

This fieldwork was conducted tolearn about the possibilities andproblems of tourism in lessfavoured areas.

Four students from the Taoyaka
program and one student from the
Graduate School of Integrated Arts
and Sciences visited Yakushima

together with Prof. Carolin Funck.
During the fieldwork, hearings
were conducted with the following
institutions and groups:

Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Spring 201515

ecotourism guide group (currently
working on a guide accreditation
system for Yakushima town); 4)Worldheritageconservation
center; 5) Yakushima Forest
Conservation Centre (Forestry
Agency); 6) Yakushima Town
Office: department for commerce
and tourism, department forenvironmental issues; and 7) Nagata
Sea Turtle Conservation Association.

1) Yakushima Environmental andCultural Foundation Visitor Centre;2) Tourism Association ofYakushima; 3) Tourism Associationof Yakushima, leader of theDuring the hearings, many
ecological problems connected totourism in Yakushima wereexplained, among them the
management of trails and garbage(especially human waste) and the
management of the Yakushima
deer population. The leader of theecotourism guide group informed
the students about the contents ofthe guide accreditation systemcurrently planned and about thedifficulties in implementing such asystem. The students also gained alot of information about nature andhistorical and cultural information
about Yakushima.
At the meeting with the Nagata Sea
Turtle Conservation Association,
many residents attended and talked
about their experience as a guidefor turtle watching and the
management of sea turtle watchingactivities by local residents. The
trip finished with a guided ecotour
to Yakusugi Land. Throughout thetrip, we were accompanied by
Steve Bell, a British ecotour guide
who has lived on Yakushima forseveral years now. He helped withtranslations and gave us interesting
insights into the tourism system ofYakushima.

Participation in Soundness Survey of the Atomic Bomb Dome
Atomic Bomb Dome, Hiroshima, March 6, 2015

By Qingyi Gu,
Special-Appointment Associate Professor, Graduate School of Engineering

Aims of the Observation
The Atomic
Bomb
Dome
(A-Dome), which is one of theworld’s heritage sites, has asignificant cultural value as asymbol for eternal peace; theA-Dome is also a 100-year-old
structure seventy years expired

16

after exposed. To pass such aculturalsymboldown
thegenerations, it is very important to
conduct sustainable preservation
activities based on various
advanced
technologies
incooperation with administrative
organizations and various citizen’s
groups. As part of such preservation
activities, Hiroshima City has
conducted a soundness survey ofthe A-Dome every three years. In
this short visit, we observe the 8-th
A-Domesoundnesssurvey(2014/11~2015/3), which is now
being conducted, thanks to
Hiroshima City and Keisoku
Research Consultant Co., Ltd.
(President Takuji Okamoto is oneof the professional mentors in

Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Spring 2015

TaoyakaLP).
The
onsiteexperiences of observing thesurvey in the inside of the A-Dome,
where the public cannot enter,
provide the chance to consider how
culture, technology, and society
should be strongly integrated
towards Taoyaka Peaceful Society.

What did the students
learn from the activity?
Firstly, Mr. Izumi, a Hiroshima city
office worker, gave all attendees an
explanation of the 8-th Soundness
Survey (inside the A-Bomb). Our
Taoyaka students learned about themaintenance history of the Atomic
Bomb Dome. Secondly, all students
went to the top of the A-dome in 5
person groups. Our Taoyaka
students obtained actual feelingand experience of the preservation

system. They understood that
periodical maintenance of historicalstructures is very important. Thirdly,
professionals also illustrated somemaintenance methods, such as
knocking at the wall to estimate theinner structure. Our Taoyaka
students obtained the experience ofactual maintenance techniques.

How can it be applied anduseful for TAOYAKA
program aims?
By taking this observation, ourstudents understood the meaningof historical structure maintenance.
They
also
obtained
actualexperiencesofmaintenancesystems and techniques. It is a very
good training for our Taoyaka
students. They can consider how
culture, technology, and society
should be strongly integrated tocreate a Taoyaka Peaceful Society.

2) Taoyaka Program Seminar Series
India-Japan Relations in the 21st Century January 8, 2015
The Cultural Creation Course of
TAOYAKA program invited Mr.
Aseem R. Mahajan, ConsulGeneral of India, Osaka-Kobe, toHiroshima University and offered a
TAOYAKA seminar to deepen our
understanding about India. Not
only did the lecture provide us withbasic information about India, butalso information about relationships
between Japan and other countries.
We had about seventy participants
for the lecture and TAOYAKA
students actively participated in
discussions with Mr. Mahajan. As
India is one of our main onsite

locations, we
believe that
this lecture
has positively
influenced
TAOYAKA students in their future
research plans and activities. We also
had an opportunity to provide theConsul-general of India withinformation about our program andresearch involving in India.

Evaluation
Third-party evaluation committee meeting

March 2, 2015

By Masaru Ichihashi,
Professor, Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation

We had the 2nd Third-Party
Evaluation Committee meeting at
the Headquarters Building ofHiroshima University on March
2nd, 2015. Totally, 47 members
including five committee members,
three external members and one
overseas advisor attended thismeeting and gave us comments on

our education and the program.
Many committee members highly
evaluated this leading PhD program
because the program is challenging
a new type of human resource
development in the university’s
education by involving On-Siteeducation.

Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Spring 201517

each education course. That’s themain purpose of the On-Siteeducation.

Some said the university andprofessors
shouldprovideopportunities so that students inthis program can integrate theirinterdisciplinary experiences andknowledge with their major filed in

On the other hand, pursuing thisPhD program, including both
specialty area research andinterdisciplinary ones, is tough for
all students and staff in thisprogram. Committee members said
we should know to take time tobring up new types of global
leaders, and that we don’t need tohurry to see the outcome.

Also, the meeting confirmed that
we conducted a survey of students
and professors to hear theiropinions about the education
program, and one of the committee
members asked us to keep thesurvey for the reform of university
education.
Now, we’re trying to improve more
to reflect on their advice on both
On-Campus and On-Site education.

Upcoming Events
 Onsite Education: Oki Island (August), Bangladesh (September) The 2nd International Symposium (TBD)
 April 2016 Admission (Second admission) October 2016 Admission
 Taoyaka Seminars (please check our website/facebook for details)

Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace

TAOYAKA Newsletter Spring 2015
Vol. 3 / Issued in: August 2015
TAOYAKA Program for creating a flexible, enduring, peaceful society
Organization of the Leading Graduate Education Program

Contact Us
TAOYAKA Program 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
Web: http://taoyaka.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/english

www.facebook.com/taoyaka

Copyright©2015 TAOYAKA Program
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Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Spring 2015