Hiroshi Nakanishi
Professor
Graduate Schools of Law, Kyoto University

This was the fourth fiscal year in which applications were selected for the Research Grant Program based on the theme of “Interlinkages and Innovation for Future Societies.” Although no major revisions were made to the application guidelines from the previous year, the Foundation placed greater emphasis on the interdisciplinary nature of the research, the diversity of the participants, international perspectives, and the various impacts on society.

Research grants based on this theme were initiated in 2021 while the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic was rampant. Many of the research projects addressed the theme of new connections made during the shock of drastic changes in the nature of our society, previously taken for granted, over a short period of time. Since then, society has gradually moved toward normalcy; however, this trend of change continues. In retrospect, the pandemic experience may have been an aspect of a time of great change in social connections among humans, the relationship between humans and the natural environment, and of the relationship between humans and technology. We must address numerous issues that cannot be estimated from past experience, including mounting international tensions on a global scale, such as long-term military conflicts, the emergence of the Global South, changes in social demographics and gender attitudes, and the possibilities and challenges arising from the advance of the information society such as the practical application of generative AI. The Foundation has seen an annual increase in the number of grant applications for various research projects on these issues.

We selected eight projects out of 118 applications for grants this year. The number of applications increased from 100 last year. Moreover, 43 research applications were in English, a significant increase from 19 applications last year; however, only three were ranked in the top category, and a considerable number did not meet the requirements for this grant. This issue should be addressed in future work. The ratio of male and female project representatives changed slightly. Last year, the percentages were 54% male, 44% female, and 2% non-responding, whereas they were 60% male, 39% female, and 1% non-responding this year. The average age of project representatives was 36.8 years which is the same as last year. Continuing from last year, we felt that the quality of applications was high on average and that there was variety in the fields of study. Further, we introduce some of the selected research projects.

D24-R-0010 Yuki Someya (Associate Professor, Graduate School of Health and Sports Science, Juntendo University)

”Building a Support System to Improve the Environment for Sports of the Intellectually Disabled: Towards the Involvement of University Students Studying Sports and Health Sciences”

Although there has been an increasing public awareness regarding sports for people with disabilities such as the Paralympics, the rate of sports implementation among people with intellectual disabilities remains low. The project was judged to be highly effective in terms of social impact in that a preventive program would be developed and provided to increase opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities to participate in sports. Additionally, it would provide opportunities for university students studying sports and health to become sports partners and aim to expand opportunities for the social participation of people with intellectual disabilities in the future.

D24-R-0032 Kazuaki Iwabuchi (Assistant Professor, Center for Advanced School Education and Evidence-Based Research, Graduate School of Education, The University of Tokyo)

"Seismic Synergy: Learning from Traditional Wisdom to Build a Resilient Future"

In earthquake-prone regions in Asia, efforts are being made to integrate traditional regional architecture into contemporary architecture. This study verifies and compares earthquake countermeasure techniques and the related wisdom of traditional architecture and shares the resulting knowledge. Specifically, the research contributors are architecture-related experts from Indonesia, Nepal, and Pakistan; together with the project representative, a specialist in the field of communication, the aim of the project is to share international knowledge, which is expected to yield original and socially useful outcomes.

D24-R-0064 Koichiro Shiratori (Lecturer, Department of Community Design, Faculty of Sociology, Otani University)

"Overcoming the Information Barrier between Supporters and Recipients: ICT to Integrate Academic and Tacit Knowledge and Design Social Systems"

One factor aggravating the issue of impoverishment is the problem of information barriers or information gaps between supporters and recipients. To address the lack of accurate information about support systems, a survey will be conducted regarding the ways in which supporters provide information to citizens and citizens share essential information with supporters. This section presents an ICT-based solution. The project is considered to be of great social and practical importance.