AGU RESEARCH

Local/Community

※ Video markItems marked with include video content.

  • School of Global Studies and Collaboration, Department of Global Studies and Collaboration
  • Published on 2026/04/30
  • As a member of the local community, we listen to people's voices and explore the possibilities of international cooperation.
  • Professor Masanobu Horie
  • International relations is a field of study that analyzes the relationships between states and the structure and challenges of the international community. Professor Masanobu Horie, while specializing in this field, incorporates fieldwork from a cultural anthropological perspective into his research methodology. He was drawn to the field of international cooperation while working for a major general contractor, and transitioned to becoming a UN staff member. Currently based primarily in West Timor, an Indonesian territory, he continues to explore how to deliver the "light" of international cooperation while listening to the voices of the people living there. He argues that ultimately, the most important thing is the attitude of people understanding each other, regardless of ethnicity, religion, or lifestyle. The human relationships he has sincerely built through his research have become an invaluable asset for Professor Horie.

  • College of Literature, Department of Comparative Arts
  • Published on 2025/05/19
  • Unveiling the little-known aspects of Kabuki and offering hints for people to live more fulfilling lives.
  • Professor Katsura Sato
  • Professor Katsura Sato conducts historical research on Kabuki, a classical Japanese performing art, focusing primarily on the late Edo period through the Meiji and Taisho eras. While Kabuki, originally aimed at the masses, became more sophisticated over time, she focuses on "Koshibai," which remained a form of entertainment for ordinary people. Furthermore, she delves into the life of Ichikawa Kumehachi, a female Kabuki actress considered the foremost of her time, attempting to unravel the "strength to live" that enabled her to survive adversity. (To be released in 2025)

  • College of Education, Psychology and Human Studies, Department of Education
  • Published on 2025/05/16
  • From a perspective only available by being on the ground, this book questions the state of higher education in Japan.
  • Professor Yumiko Sugitani
  • Professor Yumiko Sugitani, specializing in higher education theory and educational sociology, is immersed in the university setting, her research subject, and actively teaches numerous courses and seminars. From her position as a university faculty member, she grasps various issues in the educational field and continuously observes and analyzes the realities through her daily interactions with students. Furthermore, through a wide range of research activities and social contributions, including participation in Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology councils and joint surveys with companies, she explores the future of higher education in Japan. (Published in 2025)

  • College of Community Studies, Department of Community Studies
  • Posted on 2024/05/16
  • Considering work-life balance in the era of 100-year life spans
  • Professor Seiko Ogawa
  • Work-life balance means striving for harmony between work and life outside of work, without sacrificing either. It is a concept that cannot be avoided when solving social issues such as the declining birthrate. Professor Ogawa Seiko decided to become a researcher after becoming interested in corporate training during her time as a flight attendant. Rather than pursuing an ideal, she always keeps in mind "research that does not diverge from the real world" and takes the theme of work-life balance seriously.

  • School of International Politics, Economics and Communication, Department of International Economics
    ​
  • What impact do differences in living environments have on children's development?
    Contributing to the realization of a sustainable society through both education and research
  • Associate Professor Seung-Gyu Sim
  • Associate Professor Seung-Gyu Sim has been researching the impact of differences in living environments on development through surveys and analysis of children who live in environments other than the home they were born into. He says that empathy for others, a positive way of thinking, and the ability to see things from a broad perspective are all essential elements for realizing a sustainable society, and are fostered through good relationships with those around us and education. He himself aims to make further contributions to society through his daily guidance of students and specialized research into child development.
    (Released in 2023)

  • College of Community Studies,
    Department of Community Studies
  • From "sensitivity" and "intuition"
    We aim to unravel the state of education and society and resolve issues.
  • Professor Hiroshi Nishijima
  • Sociology of education considers education in society. By considering the relationship between education and society through themes such as music education, the approach spreads beyond time and region, and how we should approach academic studies. The attitude also emerges.
    (Released in 2023)

  • School of Global Studies and Collaboration, Department of Global Studies and Collaboration
  • Mexico's economy falls into the "middle-income trap."
    We will consider the regional disparities and poverty issues.
  • Associate Professor Kaoko Sakikawa
  • Associate Professor Kaoko Sakikawa encountered Spanish language and development economics during her undergraduate years, and began researching development issues in Latin America at our graduate school. After studying abroad at the Mexican Graduate School, she developed a strong interest in the issues of inequality and poverty in the Mexican economy, and has been working on research based on three pillars: economic theory, empirical evidence, and national characteristics. Looking back on her own journey, in which she has continued to take on challenges driven by curiosity and energy, she offers her support to all students with promising futures.
    (Published in 2022)

  • Faculty of Law, Department of Human Rights
  • Exploring LGBTQ human rights issues from the field of law, with a focus on legal interpretation.
    ​
  • Professor Hiroyuki Taniguchi
  • Serious discussions on LGBTQ human rights issues began in Europe in the 1980s and spread globally, but the situation in Japan is still far from ideal. Professor Hiroyuki Taniguchi is addressing this issue from the perspective of legal interpretation, conducting research on the influence of international human rights norms on Japanese legal interpretation, keeping in mind its historical and social connections. Not only for LGBTQ issues, but for human rights issues in general, viewing them solely from the perspective of individual awareness and feelings will lead us further away from fundamental solutions. What perspective should we adopt?
    (Published in 2022)

  • College of Community Studies
  • What is the purpose of a museum?
    Understanding from people, history and background
  • Associate Professor Masanori Oki
  • From around 2000, local governments began to merge and close public museums against the backdrop of worsening finances and other factors. This prompted people to question the purpose of museums and their significance. Associate Professor Oki Masanori, who specializes in museology, explains the importance of museums in discovering and evaluating cultural resources, and providing local residents with a place for intellectual activity. We will consider the value of museums in the present and future by unraveling the history of museums established by philanthropists in modern Japan and the aspirations and history that have been passed down to the present day. (Published in 2021)

  • College of Economics
  • Predicting population distribution for the next few decades by block and district
    Urban planning and disaster prevention planning
    Providing the underlying data
  • Professor Takashi Inoue
  • Foreseeing changes in the population structure over the long term is essential for national and local government policymaking. This is all the more true in Japan, where population decline is accelerating. However, detailed population estimates have been extremely difficult due to technical barriers. The smaller the estimated area, the more likely it is that numerical fluctuations will occur, and how can this be reduced? Professor Inoue applied a certain classical theory to devise a groundbreaking equation, enabling him to estimate future populations for each small region of the country. In this column, we will get to know the researcher better and explain the details of his new methodology.
    (Published in 2021)

  • College of Education, Psychology and Human Studies
  • The key to revitalizing the region lies in "high schools"
  • Professor Daijiro Hida
  • In recent years, the debate over regional revitalization has become heated due to concerns that the functions of communities will shrink due to population decline, and there is a demand to build an "autonomous decentralized society (a society in which each region becomes independent by utilizing its own characteristics and finds its own way of development)" as a measure for regional revitalization. In this column, we focus on high school education in regional areas in building an autonomous decentralized society, and use the example of a project to make high schools more attractive in remote islands and mountainous areas of Shimane Prefecture to argue that high school education holds the key to regional revitalization, and further explore the potential that education holds in regional revitalization.

  • School of Cultural and Creative Studies
  • Explore the reality of cities through soundscapes!
  • Professor Keiko Torigoe
  • "Soundscape," a compound word made up of "sound," meaning sound, and "scape," meaning scenery or landscape, is a way of thinking that captures scenery from the world of sound and treats the environment as a cultural issue. It does not just value listening to sounds, but seeks to capture the essence of the environment, including not only the visual sense but also the atmosphere and ambience of a place, such as the memories and history of a land that are not bound by form. In this column, we explain what soundscape is, and at the same time, introduce examples of "new urban development" that, through this way of thinking, can lead to environmental planning that values the culture and history of the land, while discussing the significance of the soundscape concept. (Published in 2016)

  • School of Business
  • Turning our local town into a vibrant place
  • Professor Yumiko Mimura
  • The last 30 years have been a time of upheaval for local commerce in Japan. Why did local shopping streets decline, and how have they been reborn since then? We trace the causes and path to revitalization. (Published in 2012)

  • School of Global Studies and Collaboration, Department of Global Studies and Collaboration
  • Published on 2026/04/30
  • As a member of the local community, we listen to people's voices and explore the possibilities of international cooperation.
  • Professor Masanobu Horie

  • College of Literature, Department of Comparative Arts
  • Published on 2025/05/19
  • Unveiling the little-known aspects of Kabuki and offering hints for people to live more fulfilling lives.
  • Professor Katsura Sato

  • College of Education, Psychology and Human Studies, Department of Education
  • Published on 2025/05/16
  • From a perspective only available by being on the ground, this book questions the state of higher education in Japan.
  • Professor Yumiko Sugitani

  • College of Community Studies, Department of Community Studies
  • Posted on 2024/05/16
  • Considering work-life balance in the era of 100-year life spans
  • Professor Seiko Ogawa

  • School of International Politics, Economics and Communication, Department of International Economics
    ​
  • What impact do differences in living environments have on children's development?
    Contributing to the realization of a sustainable society through both education and research
  • Associate Professor Seung-Gyu Sim

  • College of Community Studies,
    Department of Community Studies
  • From "sensitivity" and "intuition"
    We aim to unravel the state of education and society and resolve issues.
  • Professor Hiroshi Nishijima

  • School of Global Studies and Collaboration, Department of Global Studies and Collaboration
  • Mexico's economy falls into the "middle-income trap."
    We will consider the regional disparities and poverty issues.
  • Associate Professor Kaoko Sakikawa

  • Faculty of Law, Department of Human Rights
  • Exploring LGBTQ human rights issues from the field of law, with a focus on legal interpretation.
    ​
  • Professor Hiroyuki Taniguchi

  • College of Community Studies
  • What is the purpose of a museum?
    Understanding from people, history and background
  • Associate Professor Masanori Oki

  • College of Economics
  • Predicting population distribution for the next few decades by block and district
    Urban planning and disaster prevention planning
    Providing the underlying data
  • Professor Takashi Inoue

  • College of Education, Psychology and Human Studies
  • The key to revitalizing the region lies in "high schools"
  • Professor Daijiro Hida

  • School of Cultural and Creative Studies
  • Explore the reality of cities through soundscapes!
  • Professor Keiko Torigoe

  • School of Business
  • Turning our local town into a vibrant place
  • Professor Yumiko Mimura
↑