Research Projects

The Project of Making New Socio-Economic Dynamic Models: Realizing Environment-friendly Welfare States in Asian Countries

Aiming for the construction of a new model for socio-economic growth centered on "civil society"

Over the past 20-30 years, countries in Asia have developed exponentially, and in the near future it is predicted that the working population will begin decreasing along with the aging of society, as is the case in other developed nations. In the present day when a variety of problems, such as the destruction of the environment and the depletion of resources, etc. are occurring on a global scale, development due to industrialization policies like those experienced by developed countries in the past cannot be expected. As the countries of Asia move forward with control of environmental consumption and advances in industry simultaneously, they confront the extremely difficult issue of having to create an "environmentally friendly welfare state" necessary for their coming aging societies. This project will build upon the current circumstances, and attempt to create a "blueprint" to consider a sustainable future for all of Asia. The target is the construction of a new model for socio-economic growth placing civil society at its core, with a different form to that of the socio-economic development model used up to now in Asia, which was centered on the state and markets.

Research in four categories is being advanced in this project: "work and employment," "social security," "the environment and the structure of industry," and "civil society." First, while gaining an understanding of the actual circumstances in various Asian countries, and debating a wide range of statistical indicators and results from field surveys, the cases of nations in Europe that are advanced in the areas of the environment and welfare will be studied, and the adaptive possibilities for Asia will be considered from economic and political angles. Finally, based on the research outcomes, this project aims to suggest concrete industrial, welfare and environmental policies that will contribute to the current policies of countries in Asia.

Notably, this project will focus on civil societies overlooked in conventional analysis of states and markets. As well as detailing what a civil society is in Asia, this project will investigate the socio-economic functions and roles of private relationships and unofficial personal networks, looking at the case of Thailand where monetary exchanges between family members, friends and couples thrive instead of, for example, a public social security system.

Through researchers from inside and outside Japan with diverse academic backgrounds gathering and organically joining the project, it is possible to grasp a three-dimensional, multifaceted complete picture of Asia, from a wide range of viewpoints. It is believed this will contribute to the development of young researchers, through their witnessing this academic, cross-sectional research.

Research Projects