The two initiators, who have come together beyond their positions, speak passionately about the aims of a new initiative that will help revitalize the local community, along with university students who have been forced to take remote classes due to the COVID-19 pandemic and are yearning for a sense of reality in life.
The theme of the first Aozora Study Abroad in 2021 is fishing. Seven university students, who passed the selection process from more than 300 interested applicants, will work in fishing industries across the country. They will uncover real problems in the field and take responsibility for solving them.
The initiators of this initiative are Hiroyuki Takahashi, CEO of Pocket Marche, which operates an app that connects producers and consumers through food, and Shiro Matsuzaki, CEO of JAL's International Partnership Department and CEO and initiator of W-PIT, a JAL-recognized in-house venture.
Matsuzaki joins Takahashi as he recalls his memories 10 years since the earthquake.
It all began with a "walking presentation" on the coast of Fukushima Prefecture
Matsuzaki: "I met Takahashi at the end of 2019. It was at a cross-industry leadership training session that I participated in as a JAL employee. The training session aimed to have employees from various companies uncover real issues faced by businesses and local governments and present solutions, and Takahashi was on the business side. While the other business people were making crisp presentations using beautiful materials, Takahashi spoke passionately about his thoughts in his own words without any materials. His messages, such as 'Most of the information you can get from your cell phone is from the past' and 'Mixing cities and rural areas will lead to the revitalization of Japan', resonated with me very much, and I felt a surge of excitement inside my body wanting to take on the challenge of 'something' to create the future of Japan with him."
As society faced the COVID-19 pandemic, JAL strengthened its regional business as one of its new businesses that was not dependent on aviation alone. In the midst of this, Matsuzaki visited Takahashi for the first time in about 10 months, hoping to do something as a JAL employee. To mark the 10th anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake, Takahashi walked 500km of the coastline from Miyagi to Fukushima, the disaster area, on foot, to reflect on the 10 years of recovery from the earthquake.
Takahashi: "Shigeru joined us and we walked together for the last four days. We listened to the presentations while walking along the coast. That's where it all began."
Takahashi became so close that he called Matsuzaki by his nickname, "Shigeru." The two hit it off and agreed to launch a consortium called "Japan Vitalization Platform (JVP)" with the aim of revitalizing Japan.
The consortium concept to revitalize Japan was born from the passion of two people who transcended their positions
Takahashi: "The relationship between cities and rural areas is like the relationship between minds and bodies; it should never be severed. The most prominent example is the relationship between production and consumption over food, but currently there is a breakdown, and rural farming, mountain and fishing villages where producers are located are suffering from depopulation and an aging population, while densely populated urban areas are indifferent to the decline of these production areas. It is important to create a system that fosters more movement between cities and rural areas and fosters relationships between urban residents and producers. JVP is a movement, and anyone can join, whether that be companies, local governments, or government agencies. The important thing is that it starts with individuals."
Matsuzaki: "People often ask me, 'You're not part of the Regional Business Headquarters, so why are you doing this?' When that happens, I answer like this: 'I belong to the International Partnerships Department (which mainly handles partnerships with overseas airlines), but I also want to connect not only Japanese cities with the world, but also Japanese regions with the world. That's why I aim to mix cities and regions together, and from there connect them to the world.' In the context of regional revitalization, JVP may not be anything new, but there aren't many initiatives that bring together people who don't usually interact much in the past - CEOs of venture companies, private companies, government agencies, students, and producers. It's often by mixing people together that you realize something for the first time, and I strongly feel that this is where the future can be created."
JVP's first activity, "Open-Air Study Abroad," was initiated by a current university student's sense of crisis
Aozora Study Abroad was born as JVP's first initiative.
Matsuzaki: "At first, I didn't have the idea of getting university students involved. When Takahashi came to JAL, he brought along some students from the University of Tokyo. He suggested that he wanted to get involved with JAL's Hometown Ambassador and Hometown Support Team initiatives. The reason was that university students were forced to take classes remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and as a result of the sharp decline in opportunities to interact with family and friends, they lost the reality of living. However, there are places in the community where you can feel the reality of life, such as primary industry sites. I thought that connecting university students who want to feel alive with communities that are in need of manpower would be beneficial for both sides. Meanwhile, JAL has also been facing changes in its business environment due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and in the current era in which each employee is required to change their way of working and living, we thought it was important for JAL employees themselves to face the community as stakeholders. So we decided to jump into the community together with the students and accompany them."
Thus, the framework for Aozora Study Abroad was created. However, the COVID-19 pandemic is not the only factor behind this initiative.
Takahashi: "Young people enjoy unprecedented prosperity, in which the conditions necessary for survival and life are met, but at a young age they are faced with the fundamental question of 'what do I live for?' Many people don't know what they want to do. I believe that what you love is not discovered by thinking about it, but by using your body and feeling it with your five senses. By gaining experience by actually being on the job site, you may be shaken emotionally, and before you know it, you may find yourself passionate about something. I want people to throw themselves into a production site in order to train their minds through physical and emotional experiences that fully engage the five senses, something that is difficult to get in city life.
Furthermore, in urban life, where human relationships are scarce, it is difficult to get a true sense of life. That's why I want people to accumulate experiences that make them feel the importance of human relationships in rural communities, where it's easier to see who is supporting and enabling their survival and livelihood, before they enter society. I don't want people to base all their values on their experiences in urban consumer society. I think that by being in the countryside, people will be able to see what has been overlooked in a society that has pursued limitless, expansive rationality. I have high hopes for a future created by people who have met many different people in many different places and been exposed to many different values."
New ideas for regional revitalization brought to life by young people who will shape the future of Japan
Studying abroad to learn how to live: "Blue Sky Study Abroad" concept video
urldefense.comTakahashi sees Aozora Study Abroad as "a place to nurture the Japanese people of the future."
Takahashi: "Is it useful or not, convenient or inconvenient? If we only prioritize rationality, then we'll end up living in a mechanical world. In a world where rationality is increasingly pursued due to the evolution of AI, I think we need to redefine what it means to be human and what it means to be a society. In order to think about this, it's important that local communities such as rural farming, mountain and fishing villages, which have cherished and passed down values outside of rationality, continue to exist, and that urban residents continue to be involved with them."
The Aozora Study Abroad project was announced in June 2021 as an effort to give university students who will create the future of Japan a sense of reality, solve the problems of producers who are lacking in successors, and explore ways to create sustainable regions.
Matsuzaki: "We called for applications at the same time as we released the press release, and out of over 300 people who expressed interest, we narrowed it down to seven students. Three fishermen volunteered to work with us as producers. The seven students were divided into three teams, and together with accompanying JAL employees, they lived as fishermen in Akita, Yamaguchi, and Kumamoto prefectures."
Students and JAL employees help out with fishing on board Eijiro Sato, the youngest captain in Nikaho City, Akita Prefecture.
This is not just a fisherman experience, but a study abroad program in which learning is an important theme. The goal is to explore real issues in the fishing industry and the region, and to create business methods to solve them.
Yuka Uchikoshi (far right) and students (three from the left) of Kawabe Fish Farm in Takamori Town, Aso District, Kumamoto Prefecture
We will go into more detail about the specifics in the second article, but first, after experiencing bottom trawl fishing (Captain: Eijiro Sato) in Nikaho City, Akita Prefecture, the team planned a travel tour where participants could experience being fishermen.
The team also experienced blue crab fishing and bottom trawl fishing (Captain: Koji Kubota) in Sanyo Onoda City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, and collaborated with a local food processing company to develop a new product.
The team involved in farming yamame trout at Kawabe Fish Farm (Representative Director: Murakami Hironao) in Takamori Town, Aso District, Kumamoto Prefecture, cooked the yamame trout and sold them online as "Aozora Ryugaku" limited products on Pokemaru.
They analyzed issues in each region, proposed and implemented solutions, and this required not only the ideas of the students, but also the skills of JAL employees to turn them into a business.
University students and JAL employees gained important insights from real-life experiences
Matsuzaki: "JAL employees are not only involved in the administrative procedures such as tickets and accommodation for travel, but are also the people directly involved on-site. The relationship between the students and employees is such that they jump into the field as one team. They are members of W-PIT who want to contribute to the local community."
W-PIT is an internal venture team officially recognized by JAL, launched by Matsuzaki in 2017 with the mission of "Making JAL a venture company." While all members have their own main responsibilities, the team of approximately 220 members from different departments and positions promotes cross-industry co-creation as a side business within the company, with "wakuwaku" (intrinsic motivation) as the key concept.
Takahashi: "I was confident that both the students and the JAL employees would gain many new realizations. They were able to see how their own lives are connected to producers, and the process was made visible, so they were able to experience the reality of living. They also came to understand deeply that there is something that cannot be understood by looking at data such as 'depopulation is progressing in rural areas' in office buildings in the city center or on university campuses. And their hearts were touched. The heart is not in the head, but in the body. This is the greatest realization. I hope that you will look forward to this new 'journey' based on this experience."
On the other hand, new challenges remain to be addressed.
Matsuzaki: "JAL has knowledge and know-how in the air transportation business, but knowledge and know-how in student education and community contributions are still developing. We were able to prove the hypothesis that a chemical reaction occurs when the ideas of students are combined with the business acumen of working adults. However, I felt that it would be better to provide concrete guidelines and directions to lead to more accurate community contribution outputs. That said, these issues are positive realizations that we would not have known without trying. I am looking forward to seeing how we can improve."
With the COVID-19 pandemic causing changes in work styles and lifestyles, in addition to the traditional demand for tourism and business trips, living in multiple locations is becoming more common. Starting with this Aozora Study Abroad, JAL will not only provide transportation, but also implement new proposals to "mix up cities and regions" with partners such as Pocket Marche.
Read the second part of the article here
We'll take you behind the scenes of JAL's work, including inside stories on the introduction of the A350 and the development of in-flight meal menus.
The contents published are accurate at the time of publication and are subject to change.
