How deliberative dialogue transforms participants’ citizenship remains insufficiently understood. In this study, questionnaire surveys were administered before and after a workshop organized by Ageo City to identify participants whose autonomy scores increased or decreased (“autonomy shifters”). The open-ended responses in these questionnaires were then analyzed to clarify in which round these autonomy shifters experienced “learning and awareness” and what kinds of learning or awareness they reported. Furthermore, various records were used to determine at which table the autonomy shifters sat in each round and what the age composition of their fellow participants was. By integrating this information, the specific moments and settings of dialogue in which transformations in autonomy occurred were temporally and spatially identified.

This paper focuses on two participants whose score for questions concerning civic awareness increased by two points, examining the transformation of their identity as discussion participants through their linguistic behaviour and contributions. One participant remained entirely silent until the latter part of the second round of discussions, only beginning to speak towards the end of that round. It is plausible that he initially lacked firm opinions of his own. By listening to other participants' views, he may have discovered his own opinions and, by voicing them (a shift from ‘receiver’ to ‘actor’), this likely contributed to their heightened sense of autonomy. The other participant exhibited facilitator-like behaviour from the outset and spoke actively. He also consistently presented himself as a beneficiary (with the city as the provider) from the start of the discussion. However, in the third round, collaborative construction increased among participants on the topic of autonomous activities. This likely contributed to their heightened civic awareness.

This paper examines how dialogue in Hanashi-ai workshops for community development contributes to transformations in participants’ consciousness of autonomy. Since a mixed methods research approach was adopted, based on the results of a prior quantitative study, two participants who demonstrated enhanced autonomy were selected for qualitative analysis. Their utterance sequences during Hanashi-ai were analyzed. The findings suggest that they sustained multiple affiliative interactional sequences and fostered mutual trust beyond criticism or confrontational exchanges. Furthermore, this study discusses transformations of consciousness that emerged through dialogue with persons positioned as “others,” whose perspectives are heterogeneous to the self.

This paper examines how interaction in a community workshop contributes to participants’ civic awareness. Five participants were selected for detailed analysis based on pre-and post-workshop questionnaires and their participation in group discussions. Adopting Conversation Analysis as the methodological framework, the study analyzes interactional practices across three rounds of discussion and explores the relationship between participants’ interactional conduct and changes in civic awareness. The workshop was organized in a World Café format: the first and third discussion rounds involved the same group of participants, while the second round brought together participants from different groups. The analysis shows that participants oriented to epistemic asymmetries among themselves, which at times facilitated and at other times constrained their participation in the discussions. These findings further suggest that articulating one’s own opinions in the workshop fostered a sense of contribution among participants, which in turn enhanced their civic awareness.

This research examined how various actors interacted in the process of creating regional social innovation. An empirical analysis was conducted from the perspective of a collaborative community (ba), one of the elements of collaborative governance. The target areas as case studies are Toyooka City, Hyogo Prefecture, and Sado City, Niigata Prefecture. Both cities are believed to have succeeded in regional social innovation through the re-introduction program of endangered species, Konotori and Toki, respectively. In this research, in total four leaders were selected in overall ba and the specific individual ba, “the sites for development of the new environmentally-friendly farming", in the two cities. Then, the interaction between the overall and individual ba and the leaders in each city were analyzed. The results showed “distributed leadership”, a style of leadership based on shared leadership among all people involved, in the regional social innovation process. Moreover, to come into effect “distributed leadership”, three findings about leader’s three capabilities were suggested.

This case study aims to examine how the relationship between a Destination Management/Marketing Organization (DMO) and local tourism businesses evolves over time, applying a network approach within the Tourism Area Life Cycle (TALC) model. Previous studies identify the characteristics of the relationships between a DMO and its stakeholders, but over a limited period. Therefore, the way that a DMO’s network changes in relation to TALC is still unknown. The study focuses on Kutchan Town, Hokkaido, Japan, an internationally well-known ski destination, and the DMO managing the destination is the Kutchan Tourism Association. The study utilizes primary and secondary data to identify the destination’s lifecycle and conducts interviews with key individuals involved with the DMO to analyze its functions as an intermediary organization. The findings are that the network and functions of the DMO change in line with changes in the lifecycle.

This study explores support systems for citizen guardians by core agencies, comparing Hyogo Prefecture, which mandates guardianship supervisors, and Osaka City, which does not. Through qualitative interviews, key challenges in training, support, and supervision are identified. The findings emphasize the need for flexible supervision, clear role distinctions, and increased public awareness. A proposed assessment sheet facilitates the transition from the Daily Life Independence Support Project to the Citizen Guardianship System. The study underscores the importance of strengthening support within core agencies while balancing efficiency and accountability.

A community school is an educational system in which the school and local community collaborate in the management of the school. The author's university campus is located in Sakai City, Osaka Prefecture. All elementary and junior high schools in Sakai City are promoting community school. This study clarified the current status and trends of community school in Sakai City by analyzing school evaluation forms published by elementary and junior high schools in Sakai City. The analysis revealed that the central activity as a community school is information dissemination. Schools and communities evaluated information dissemination highly. On the other hand, we hypothesized that the schools' contribution to the community doesn’t work well.

In order for community schools to further produce educational effects, this study concluded that they need to develop from supportive to collaborative activities.

The tourism industry, including inbound tourism, plays a key role in Japan’s socio-economic landscape, supporting local economies and communities. This study examines how tourism benefits local societies and the mechanisms needed to achieve these effects. While corporate social responsibility (CSR) promotes sustainable and ethical tourism, research on the interaction between businesses, residents, and travelers is still limited. Focusing on practical examples and evolving traveler values, this study analyzes Korea’s ‘Gongjeong Travel’ (Fair Travel), which emphasizes fair transactions and local partnerships, and Japan’s “Community-based Tourism,” which fosters collaboration with local communities and encourages culturally and environmentally responsible behavior. By exploring these cases, the research clarifies the theoretical basis of social responsibility in tourism and offers insights into its practical implementation, highlighting how such initiatives can promote more responsible and sustainable tourism practices.

Publicly owned and privately operated accommodations in depopulated areas are facing significant financial challenges. To support the operations of these facilities, municipalities provide annual subsidies. A key issue is their inability to forecast the necessary subsidy amounts needed to ensure business continuity. This study applies break-even point analysis to estimate the subsidies required to sustain a publicly owned and Privately Operated accommodation. The analysis focuses on a multi-purpose accommodation facility managed by a third-sector organization in Tenryu Village, Nagano Prefecture. Financial data from the facility reveals a cost structure in which revenue increases lead to proportional expense increases, preventing the achievement of a break-even point at which total revenue exceeds total costs. The facility relies on subsidies to cover fixed costs, regardless of revenue fluctuations, ensuring a balanced budget and eliminating operating deficits.

Amidst the prolonged stagnation of the Japanese economy, the importance of innovation in municipal management and regional revitalization is increasing. The government’s “Comprehensive Strategy for Town, People, and Work Creation” emphasizes collaboration between local industries and universities. “Michi-no-Eki” (roadside stations) have evolved as practical venues for collaborative innovation to address these challenges, engaging with diverse stakeholders. This paper analyzes the content through discussions during the renewal process of an actual “Michi-no-Eki” and interviews with its operators.

This study, indicators were established for the core cities (62 cities) to clarify the characteristics of each city. Using these indicators, each city was evaluated by calculating the deviation value for each item, and by applying cluster analysis to the results of the evaluation, the characteristics of each city were typified. After ascertaining the characteristics of the typified categories and identifying a group of cities that are considered to have high policy effectiveness for the Compact City Plus Network, Maebashi was selected as the city to be evaluated for its green infrastructure functions. Next, the study assessed the current and future functions of green infrastructure in Maebashi City, focusing on the compactness of the city based on population distribution, green space distribution and expected disaster damage. The results of the evaluation showed that while the general evaluation in GI functions generally increased as the compactness of the city increased, there were some green infrastructure functions whose evaluation decreased.

This study aimed to empirically examine the relationship between civic pride and regional settlement among university students in Kitakyushu City. In 2024, a survey of 465 students was conducted, and structural equation modeling was employed to analyze the causal relationships among determinants of civic pride, evaluations of the residential environment, and settlement intentions. The results indicated that emotional factors, such as “regional appeal” and “nature and tradition,” as well as urban functional factors, such as “culture and transportation,” contributed to the formation of civic pride. Furthermore, the urban functional factor of “urban environment” had a direct effect on settlement intentions. These findings suggest that strategies to promote long-term settlement and to foster community engagement among young people should integrate both emotional and urban functional factors.

In order to prevention of climate change, it is essential to create the decarbonized community. This paper examines changes in traits of participants in local global warming prevention activities through a case study of KIKO NETWORK.

Analysis of questionnaire survey of KIKO NETWORK members conducted in both 2010 and 2022 identified a shift from the policy advocacy orientation to the community development orientation among participants in local global warming prevention activities. As momentum for the creation of decarbonized communities grows, there is a need to create opportunities for citizens to participate and play an active role, and to design of policies to support for local initiatives.