NEWS

The July 2021 issue of the Research Office Newsletter, a regular publication of the APU Research Office, is now available online. The following is an excerpt from said newsletter.

Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (KAKENHI) is considered to be one of the most prestigious and well-known research grants in Japan, and accounts for more than 50% of competitive funds provided by the Japanese government. The Research Office is proud to announce that for the first time, an APU faculty member, Professor YOTSUMOTO Yukio (College of Asia Pacific Studies), has been awarded the Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A) with a grant amount of approximately 38 million Japanese yen. Read on to find out Professor YOTSUMOTO’s thoughts on his successful application.

Grant Project Title: A Comparative Study on Creating Sustainable Communities through Tourism in Depopulating Areas During the COVID-19 Pandemic Era

Grant Project Summary: This research project is a comparative study on sustainable community development in depopulated areas that aim to revitalize their communities through tourism during the COVID-19 pandemic era. The study considers the following countries: Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, and New Zealand. The socio-economic impact of COVID-19, as well as general perceptions regarding community revitalization via tourism, will be revealed. Additionally, the process of community regeneration from the COVID-19 pandemic will be investigated, and a sustainable community model based on post-COVID-19 tourism shall be presented.

Professor Yotsumoto on how research outcomes, achievements and experience from previous Grant-in-Aid projects have influenced the success of this Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A) project application:
Two of my previous Grant-in-Aid projects, entitled “An Empirical Study of Factors Impeding Tourism-based Community Development” and “A Comparative Study on Rural Development through Tourism in the Areas of Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS) in Japan”, gave me the opportunity to explore and examine the idea of community revitalization. The experience accumulated as a result of conducting research on the same theme over time definitely contributed to the success of this application.

Professor Yotsumoto on the roles other APU project members play in this project:
As mentioned above, this research project investigates the concept of sustainable community development in depopulated areas in mainly six countries, namely Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, and New Zealand. Each Co-Investigator shall oversee fieldwork in a different country. More specifically, Associate Professor YOUN Seung Ho is in charge of Korea, Associate Professor JONES Thomas E., the U.K.; Professor VAFADARI M. Kazem, Italy; and Visiting Professor COOPER M.J.M, New Zealand. The remaining four co-investigators from other universities are in charge of fieldwork in Japan and Germany.

Professor Yotsumoto on key factor(s) leading to the success of this application:
The preparatory research stage for this application took place two months before the application submission deadline, during which I invited prominent faculty members (both from APU and other universities) in related research fields to be a part of the project. I believe the make-up of my research team played a significant role in the success of the application.

Read the rest of the July 2021 Issue here .
Previous issues of the Research Office Newsletter are catalogued here.