SAITO Tadashi

The world-renowned modern architect Bruno Taut (1880-1938) resided in Japan during the 1930s due to Nazi persecution. For a significant period, the people of Takasaki provided him with shelter and refuge. The present study focuses on Takasaki, the city that welcomed Taut, and re-examines the reasons why this city was able to pursue policies centered on culture while sometimes resisting the wishes of the government of the time. In addition, it explores the necessary measures for the protection of such an intellectual figure. In doing so, the author elucidated the reality of the three structures of discrimination that Taut confronted, and which had an impact on his life. Furthermore, the author analyzed how Taut managed to overcome this discrimination. Specifically, the third theme, which focused on bamboo crafts and discriminated communities, highlighted the potential for a global exchange of knowledge regarding discrimination. In conclusion, the following factors may be considered: a) Takasaki was a city that was well-equipped to welcome cultural figures, and had a personal network that could actually handle the invitation, such as Taut's patron, Fusaichiro Inoue. b) Taut, although initially unwilling, used "crafts" as a cultural catalyst, and built a solid relationship of trust with Takasaki's artisans, and furthermore, exhibited his works at the "Miratiss" store, making the results visible and easy to understand for everyone. c) Takasaki's rich cultural and natural environment and the genuine warmth of its residents. These factors interacted with each other, freeing Taut from the oppressive feelings of discrimination and helping to shape Takasaki into a more clearly cultural city.

The author, Kondo, joined the Yamaguchi City Office in April 1992, and has since been extensively involved in community development practices at the local level, including work at the Shiraishi Community Center, Odono Regional Exchange Center, and Tokuji Regional Exchange Center. In addition, while serving in the Collaboration Promotion Division, the author participated in the institutional design of citizen–government collaborative community development initiatives, following the implementation of the Yamaguchi City Ordinance on Collaborative Community Development in April 2009. Drawing on experience both as a municipal official and as a citizen, the author has engaged in various styles of community development. This paper introduces several practical case studies from these experiences and systematically examines them from the perspective of a coordinator. The analysis is conducted based on two key viewpoints. The first viewpoint concerns the participation of younger generations in community development. While community development initiatives that reflect local characteristics are actively pursued across different areas of the city, their primary actors tend to be retirees from older generations, and cases in which younger generations, such as university students, play an active role remain limited. The author has long recognized this imbalance and has explored mechanisms to facilitate youth participation; this paper reconsiders these efforts through a review of past practices. The second viewpoint emphasizes the cultivation of a sense of unity within Yamaguchi City. Despite the city's composition of 21 distinct areas, each with its own history, culture, and regional identity, and the ongoing community development efforts that leverage these characteristics, concerns have been raised that such diversity may inadvertently hinder the formation of a cohesive citywide identity. This paper also examines community development practices from this perspective. It is hoped that this study will provide insights not only for Yamaguchi City but also for other cities facing similar challenges in community development.

This study explores the effectiveness of utilizing overseas social media and international students to promote inbound tourism in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. Despite the national recovery in tourism, Yamaguchi faces challenges in attracting Chinese visitors due to low global awareness and the limitations of traditional information dissemination. This research specifically focuses on the potential of Douyin (the Chinese version of TikTok)to reach younger demographics effectively. Methodologically, the study employs content analysis, interviews, and participant observation through a governmentsponsored "monitor tour." The research highlights the unique role of international students as "cultural translators." Unlike short-term tourists, students offer authentic, resident-based perspectives that bridge cultural gaps and build trust with foreign audiences. Furthermore, the author conducted an experimental promotion by posting AI-generated "anime-style" images of Yamaguchi’s landscapes on Douyin. The analysis reveals that these visually reimagined contents significantly enhanced engagement, eliciting emotional responses and a renewed interest in visiting the region. The findings suggest that local governments should shift from one-way information dissemination to a co-creation model. By combining the logistical resources of the administration with the creative, multicultural viewpoints of international students, regional cities can generate high-value content. This approach not only improves information reach but also redefines the region's appeal, offering a sustainable strategy for revitalizing local inbound tourism.

In this study, we design digital teaching materials in the basic courses “Information Society Seminar” and “Introduction to Well-Being” in the Department of Information Society Studies. Using Moodle, this study not only focuses on the development of information technology but also presents one possibility for training humanitiesbased DX (Digital Transformation) personnel by solving social issues through technology to improve well-being. In the “Information Society Seminar,” in addition to the traditional study skills using paper and pencil, we decided to provide students with opportunities to learn basic skills using digital materials such as metaverse and smart pen as well as pictogram production, prototyping, and the use of maps, which are necessary for the information society. In the “Introduction to Well-Being,” we constructed lessons that use technology to address a variety of social issues such as medical care, food, disaster prevention politics and work styles.

In recent years, many places all over the country have been competing to attract tourists, and various"words" have been used to emphasize their uniqueness. On the other hand, rather than some official tourism pamphlets, guidebooks, and tourism websites, visitors are looking for information on the internet and social media, as well as word-of-mouth information from people who have visited tourist destinations. The authors of this paper would like to point out that because the transmission of information itself is changing in this way, the "effect of words" in tourism itself is also different from what it used to be. Since the image and brand of a region is determined by the kind of "words" used to represent the region, we must reconsider the "effects of words". Therefore, the authors investigated approximately 25 noteworthy events and projects that successfully utilized the effects of words, to clarify the following two points. 1) How do words work in improving the experiential value of tourism for visitors? 2) How do words work in encouraging residents' participation in the community development throughtourism? As a result, it was possible to classify words into four types based on their effects: a) "open recruitment type", soliciting comments from the public, b) "branding type", revitalizing the region through products and services that use characteristic words, c) "artist-mediated type", editing the words by third parties such as artists, and d) "narrative type", showing off the words and stories unique to the area. It was found that it is important to perform appropriate "editing" the words to increase the value of thevisitor experience and promote residents' participation in tourism exchange.

The rapid expansion of telework during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Japan brought a delightful opportunity for telework migration to Japanese rural areas that had not seen significant progress before the Pandemic. However, as the infection of COVID-19 began to subside, telework migration has shown some new aspects, such as an extension of commuting limits and simply relocating and moving to the edge suburbs. Considering that, this study takes the position that the area around JR Shin-Yamaguchi Station in Yamaguchi City is a marginal edge suburb for commuting to Hiroshima and Fukuoka cities, and examines the latent needs of telework migration targeting the hybrid workers who work in both cities. Also, considering migration as a kind of aggregation of real estate transactions and migrants as its target customers, the authors of this paper have tried to conduct a questionnaire survey of experienced teleworkers in Hiroshima and Fukuoka prefectures in July 2022. We attempted to understand their primary push and pull factors of the telework migration, and the size of the potential demand for the telework migration to the area around JR Shin-Yamaguchi Station. As a result, those who either themselves or their spouses are from or have lived in Yamaguchi Prefecture, plus those who have family and household reasons, such as nursing care for their parents, are the most likely to carry out telework migration. In addition, the size of the potential demand would be for approximately 3,400 people in the case where the telework implementation rate returns to the level at the beginning of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Based on a paper aimed to document the pioneering use of Blended Learning and Instructional Design published in March 2021, an attempt was made to improve one compulsory subject in the Postgraduate Schools of YPU. The goal of improving the class called ‘Quality of Life (QOL)’ was to show a model to be used at Postgraduate level for mostly adult learners so that they could access the class from their workplaces or homes. The construction of the whole class needed to be reviewed, instead of just utilizing an interactive online ICT tool. This paper also tries to present an idea for a certificate program based on the above QOL class. Yamaguchi Prefectural University promotes four educational principles, including “respect for human nature,” “emphasis on citizens’ perspectives,” “co-existence with the community,” and “response to globalization”. The focus on humanities is crystalized on the teaching subject, QOL, as mentioned above. ‘Quality of Life’ covers the examination of the quality of everyday life in today’s changing world to diverse life stages, and then into every type of lives in nature and around the globe. By placing the QOL class as the core and adding one or two classes, it is assumed that the certificate course could be started by connecting issues in local towns to innovative solutions in wider society.

Despite the various harmful effects caused by tourism, such as over tourism, there are few concrete measures to promote tourism and community development in an integrated manner. The background to this is that in tourism policies, indicators that are biased toward the evaluation of tourism exchange performance are set, and there is a lack of indicators that question the degree of involvement with the local community. On the other hand, in Europe and other countries, they contribute to the development of sustainable local communities by installing unified indicators (“ETIS” and “DIT-ACHIEV”) for advancing projects while considering tourism and regional formation from multiple perspectives. It should be a great example for Japanese local communities. The purpose of this study: Therefore, in this paper, we will analyze the factors that prevent the establishment and spread of indicators in the current situation, and analyze the method of setting indicators with high versatility based on the current situation. To accomplish these ends, the authors of this paper have tried to do questionnaire survey conducted by mail to 212 DMOs nationwide from November to December 2021. The conclusion of this paper: It was found; 1) Japanese DMOs lack the common purpose of "aiming for sustainable tourism", 2) Data collection for KPI is a burden for each DMO, 3) Relationship between DMOs and local residents is still weak, and in the first place, improvement in this point is desired.