In the modern era, more persons frequently move in their daily lives, leave their hometowns, and become “migrants.” These changes reflect the concept of “mobile society” and “mobile lives” (proposed by Elliot and Urry), where people are usually “moving.” They use the mobile phone and internet for acquiring information and connecting with others (family, friends, colleagues, and anonymous people) when “on the move.”

　The COVID-19 pandemic changed this situation completely. People were restricted from going out, traveling, eating or drinking in a restaurant, or meeting people. Eventually, they retreated from their “mobile lives.” However, this study emphasizes that restricted spatial movements are compensated by remote communications and delivering/supplying goods online, which help us live in a “mobile society” during/after the pandemic.

　Further, we notice that the social inequality, exclusion, and gap widened in the “mobile society.” Urry explains how freely a person’s choices to leave or stay decides the person’s social class or status. He warns that “mobile lives” are energy-wasting because more people use cars, trains, and airplanes for self and goods transportation, which causes global warming. This study shows that social problems caused by “mobile lives” must be taken seriously during/after the pandemic era.

　The COVID-19 pandemic impacted local communities in various ways, including restriction on people’s movement. This study aims to reveal how the pandemic influenced people’s mobility in Japan. To this end, I present four case studies, focusing on mobility between urban and rural areas and the relational population to describe how mobility practices have been affected.

　“Relational population” was first deployed in 2016 to refer to individuals who engage unconventionally with local communities; they are “more than sightseers, but less than long-term residents.”’ In the context of mobility between spaces, the relational population can be characterized into four categories: visitors, Kaze-no-Hito, dual residents, and non-physical interactions.

　The four case studies clarify two trends in how mobility practices have changed. The first trend concerns local communities’ focusing on the relational population residing within the same prefecture. Communities that usually welcome the relational population residing outside the prefecture for continued projects accepted only those within the prefecture following the pandemic. Second, a shift to online and digital communication was made to involve the relational population. Some local communities continued their projects with the relational population by relying on online communication, regardless of whether the relational population lived in or outside the prefecture. In other words, based on the above relational population characterization, the first trend suggests increased proximity to visitors, while the second trend indicates an increase in non-physical interactions among people in urban and rural areas.

　Increased non-physical involvement is desirable because it allows for more choices for the relational population to engage with local communities. For instance, purchasing goods produced in local communities through e-commerce websites cannot be seen only as consumption but also as support for these communities based on their built relationships. Therefore, some municipalities consider the pandemic an opportunity to offer more options for people to engage with local communities.

　This study focuses on the relationship between foreign technical intern trainees and companies that employ them in depopulated areas in Japan. It aims to determine the significance of international labor migration for foreign technical trainees and companies, analyze how regional characteristics affect their relationship, and examine how strict immigration restrictions to control the COVID-19 pandemic influenced their relationship.

　While population and capital are primarily concentrated in Tokyo, smaller local governments in mountainous areas are experiencing a severe decline in population and local economy. Companies in seriously depopulated regions, such as Mimasaka City, Okayama Prefecture find it, challenging to secure an adequate workforce without relying on foreign technical intern trainees.

　Contrarily, due to the monetary economy penetration in Vietnam, numerous young people have been seeking employment in Japan as technical interns in recent years. Vietnamese technical intern trainees employed by companies in mountainous area use various livelihood strategies to earn much income. They also work hard to pay off their large debts to the placement agencies in their home countries. This situation reveals the interdependency of companies in underpopulated areas and technical interns.

　Border closure as a pandemic control measure prevented many technical intern trainees from entering Japan. Simultaneously, many technical intern trainees who had finished working in Japan could not return home.

　Under the government's special measures, technical intern trainees who could not return to their home countries were provided the right to choose to continue work at the companies where they were employed, or wait for their return without working. Some technical intern trainees switched their visa statuses and continued working in Japan.

　Even before the pandemic, technical intern trainees had the right to select their place of employment. Nevertheless, with the COVID-19 pandemic, it become more clearly apparent that Japanese society and companies were not in a position to choose foreigners, but to be chosen by them.

　Geographical Indications (GIs) and the branding of agricultural products have received constant attention in the agriculture sector in recent years, and the benefits and drawbacks of GIs along with their impact on agricultural workers, rural communities, and the food supply chain have been discussed in a specific rural or urban context in previous studies. This study discusses GI’s effect on local communities in China’s suburban areas, with a more noticeable shift in urban-rural relationships. This study investigates the branding strategy impact of Xinhui Chenpi, a GI-designated agricultural product, on the neighboring four village communities in South China. The study found that a substantial portion of farmland in two villages was urbanized by expropriation, despite producing high-value Chenpi. Contrastingly, in the other two villages with a relatively short history of citrus cultivation, Chenpi production has become a “sixth industry” and even enhanced the preservation of agriculture and rural landscapes. From the inter-regional comparison perspective, this study illustrates that (1) “agricultural product branding” and “regional branding” are related but distinct, and (2) regional differentiation in rural China results from the conflict between the current local fiscal system and rural development policies. Despite peculiarities, GIs and the regional branding strategy could be considered beneficial tools for rural development in an era of rapid urbanization in contemporary China.

　This study analyzes how civil projects operating within civil enterprises influence urban space restructuring and their impact on regional revitalization. Furthermore, the study discusses the social significance of autonomous financing which is indispensable for the operation of these projects. The analysis focuses on a Hausprojekt developed as a civil project in Leipzig, Germany, and the role of GLS Bank, which actively finances this kind of project.

　The Hausprojekt is a civil project in which residents jointly own buildings to secure affordable rental housing to continue living and prevent the buildings from becoming the subject of property speculation. In addition, the Hausprojekt provides a venue for civil activities. In the area around LSW33, an organization which was referenced in the case study of Leipzig City, the concentration of such civil projects in the district had a ripple effect of restoring the area’s vitality by opening several shops to suit residents and others involved.

　The virtuous cycle creation within the community is facilitated by a social bank named GLS Bank, which is willing to finance Hausprojekts even when other banks are reluctant. Such finances would make it easier for citizens to acquire buildings that require a huge amount of money when purchasing and renovating them. This leads citizens to become involved in community revitalization through Hausprojekts. Civil projects with autonomous financing, including finances by such social banks in addition to individuals, are considered to have values of urban policies for regional revitalization.

　This study highlights an exhibition opened in July 2021 at the former Okawa Elementary School in Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, to serve as a poignant reminder of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster. The study focuses on the consensus-building process leading to the exhibit creation, including decisions regarding "what to communicate and how" when conveying the essence of the disaster through the damaged building. The interrelationships and interactions of stakeholders that occurred till the summer of 2022 were analyzed, along with the resulting transformations in the local community.

　Okawa Elementary School was devastated by the tsunami that resulting in the deaths or disappearances of 74 students and 10 teachers. The families of 23 students filed a lawsuit in 2014, claiming that the local government failed to take appropriate disaster prevention measures. In 2019, the Supreme Court confirmed “organized negligence” by the local government. The disaster also took a toll on the Okawa district, where the school was located, and caused the loss of 418 residents, or 17% of the population. After living in temporary housing for almost 8 years, the residents of 4 villages were relocated 15 kilometers away from the coast. Debates over whether to retain or demolish the school building commenced, and the mayor decided upon its preservation in 2016. Discussions regarding maintaining and using the building as a memorial still continue.

　The lawsuit created tension between victims’ families —who desired to display the reality that would influence future school disaster preparedness—and city officials. Meanwhile, residents preoccupied with rebuilding their lives found participation in the discussions difficult. Relocation altered their communal connection and information sharing. Despite these challenges, the families of the victims and other residents collected materials and held exhibits and storytelling events independently. It is necessary to consider the best ways to incorporate diverse viewpoints using voluntarily provided materials and stories into the process of reaching a communal consensus to create engaging exhibits that encourage visitors to reflect deeply on the disaster.