Science of "Ba"
Online ISSN : 2434-3766
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Displaying 1-4 of 4 articles from this issue
  • Japan Association for Sustainability based on Co-innovation & Competit ...
    2025Volume 5Issue 1 Pages 0-
    Published: May 31, 2025
    Released on J-STAGE: June 30, 2025
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
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  • Insights from the Frontlines of High School Education Re-creation
    Nobuko Akashi
    2025Volume 5Issue 1 Pages 1-4
    Published: May 31, 2025
    Released on J-STAGE: July 06, 2025
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    This paper explores how to build adaptive and sustainable school organizations in response to the pressing challenges facing Japanese education today—declining student populations, budget constraints, teacher shortages, and rising absenteeism. Despite the system’s inertia, individual schools and educators across the country are initiating change. Sapporo Shinyo High School, where the author served as principal from 2021 to 2025, offers a case study in organizational transformation grounded in a clear vision and continuous learning. Located in Sapporo, this private high school faced severe enrollment and financial difficulties in the mid-2010s. Reforms began under Principal Yutaka Arai and were continued by the author, who focused on embedding sustainability into the school’s structure. A key initiative was the creation of the "2030 Vision" and a renewed school mission: to be "a school for those who challenge themselves and forge their own paths, " with an emphasis on diversity, inclusion, and co-creation. Drawing from Peter Senge’s concept of the "Learning Organization," the school cultivated a culture of reflection, dialogue, and shared leadership. Monthly "Nakatsuhi Circles"—open staff dialogue sessions that replaced traditional faculty meetings—became a central mechanism for building trust, aligning around the vision, and fostering psychological safety. These dialogues contributed to a culture that could adapt and grow beyond any single leader’s tenure. Curricular innovation was another pillar of the transformation. Students designed their own schedules under a flexible credit-based system, choosing courses aligned with their interests and future goals. This autonomy was supported by diverse learning formats, including independent study, project-based courses, and external experiences like internships. The school’s approach—described as a "learning buffet"—aimed to develop students’ self-direction and respect for others. The school also implemented the house system, which replaced traditional homerooms, enabling cross-grade mentoring and collaborative learning. Students engaged in multiple overlapping communities—houses, clubs, project teams—through which they developed leadership and social-emotional skills. These reforms were not meant to position this high school as a unique outlier, but rather as a model that other schools might adapt. By openly sharing both successes and failures, the author hoped to support educators across Japan in taking their own first steps toward change. Ultimately, creating schools that can keep evolving—"changing to remain unchanged"—is essential for them to remain places where future generations can truly belong.
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  • KIKUCHI Junichi, KON Satoshi, TANAKA Yasuyuki, NAKAGAMI Yuuto
    2025Volume 5Issue 1 Pages 5-39
    Published: May 31, 2025
    Released on J-STAGE: June 30, 2025
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    I. Issues related to the Vulnerability of Innovation Bases In the innovation area, it is not easy to design the content of research and technology development activities in advance and to link the prescribed results to social implementation. However, a bird's-eye view of various industry-academia-government collaboration projects that started with national projects in the past 10 years, as well as the development of similar measures in other countries, does not necessarily indicate that the outputs and events in R&D process have progressed successfully. There was some kind of vulnerability in the innovation base. In the preliminary stage, it is an urgent issue to at least recheck the key points related to the conceptual design of social outcomes, guidelines for setting up advanced issue hurdles, ensuring the robustness of the envisioned supply chain, and ensuring the mutual mobility of human resources. II. Cutting-edge Areas of Innovation Bases and Artificial Intelligence Although the organizations that support the innovation bases need to be independent, the current situation is fragile in that many organizations can only singlehandedly carry out activities for innovation and tend to rely solely on the power of individuals. The viewpoint to seize opportunities for innovation is also an issue, and organizations that can appropriately salvage changes in society are needed. Furthermore, we must not underestimate the importance of making the organization's activities known to a large number of people. Taking artificial intelligence (AI) as an example, the patent application status of AI-related inventions by the Japan Patent Office in October 2024 shows that the growth of patent applications for AI core inventions has slowed in all countries, but the number of applications in China is exceptionally high. Therefore, it can be assumed that the gap in the number of applications between Japan and China will continue to widen in the future. Not limited to AI-related technologies, but the need for properly functioning "Innovation Bases" cannot be ruled out to realize innovation. III. Financing of Innovation Bases The financing of Innovation Bases is complex systems. But also fraught with difficulties due to a lack of specialized financial personnel and a lack of understanding of the value of the business by financial institutions. Small and medium-sized businesses in particular face high barriers to loan screening. And also they have difficulty in obtaining bridge financing after the adoption of subsidies. While venture capital and crowdfunding are attracting attention, their effectiveness is limited. There are also many problems with the way institutional financing such as the Japan Finance Corporation (JFC) is provided. In recent years, the Financial Services Agency (FSA) has introduced a new system of legislating business loans, such as the "Enterprise Mortgage Right," and is finally moving in the direction of evaluating corporate value. We look forward to further progress.
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  • Murakami Kyoichi
    2025Volume 5Issue 1 Pages 40-62
    Published: May 31, 2025
    Released on J-STAGE: June 30, 2025
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Japan is a "robot superpower," yet its future is in jeopardy due to the absence of an ethical code of conduct. This paper explores the role of robots in Japanese society. Although Rinri research that considers cultural backgrounds and social contexts is necessary, it has not yet been conducted. Under the Rinri of "Aidagara,"  interact with machines that appear to be human but are not. This is the Rinri problem of robots. To address this issue, I propose the concept of a <Kijin Ba> . where humans and <KyoKi> interact. This paper discusses the the Rinri of technology and social responsibility, topics that have not been addressed in the past. Specifically, I will reevaluate Junzo Karaki's argument, which was often overlooked despite the warning signs that emerged during a time when people believed that science and technology would create a bright future.
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