All eyes on the Child

Thursday, Jun 16, 2022, 19:30-21:30 (UTC+9)

1. Panel
2. Reading List

Mr. Gerald J. Hane, Ph. D.

Research Fellow, Health and Global Policy Institute

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Gerald Hane has spent four decades in policy, business and innovation to advance initiatives for well-being and sustainability with extensive experience addressing international linkages. He conducts work in mental wellness as a Research Fellow with the Health and Global Policy Institute (Tokyo) and organizer of the U.S.-Japan Council mental wellness initiative. Dr. Hane is also a Research Fellow at the Graduate Research Institute for Policy Studies (Tokyo) where he focuses on disruptive inclusive innovation for enhanced sustainability and well-being. Dr. Hane further serves as Senior Executive for the Asia-Pacific with Hitachi Asia, General Manager for Corporate Strategy and Chief Sustainability Officer. Dr. Hane was the President and CEO of Battelle-Japan a joint venture of Battelle Memorial Institute, the world’s largest independent, non-profit research organization, and the Mitsubishi Corporation. He has served as an advisor on the International Advisory Committee of the Prime Minister of Japan’s Cabinet Council on Science, Technology and Innovation, and advisor to the National Institute of Science and Technology Policy of Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.

Dr. Hane has also served as the head of International Strategy and Affairs at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), with a concurrent position with the National Security Council during the Clinton Administration. He oversaw international initiatives addressing such challenges as energy and environment, infectious diseases, natural disasters, food and nutrition, water quality, counter-terrorism, and export controls. He served as the OSTP Co-chair of the Interagency Committee on Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases. Dr. Hane was responsible for priority bilateral science and technology relations including Japan, China, and India, as well as multilateral relations with APEC, OECD, and the G8. In this capacity he worked with numerous non-governmental stakeholders including the National Academies and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Before entering OSTP, Dr. Hane was a Professional Staff Member of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the U.S. House of Representatives. He has been a Visiting Researcher at the National Institute of Science and Technology Policy (NISTEP) of Japan’s Science and Technology Agency, and began his career as a Research Engineer with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.  Dr. Hane received his Ph.D. in Political Economy and Government from Harvard University where he examined innovation policy and management, and the role of collaborative research and development activities in Japan.  He has B.S. and M.S. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University.

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Ms. Yuko Hayashi, Ph. D.

Professor, Graduate School of Innovation and Technology Management, Yamaguchi University

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Professor, Graduate School of Innovation and Technology Management at Yamaguchi University, a Liaison Member of the Science Council of Japan, an Outside Director of JCR Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd., which is producing the AZD1222 vaccine against COVID-19 for Japanese.   
Bachelor’s degree from the School of Medicine, Health Sciences at the University of Tokyo, followed by a Master of Science in Technology and Policy Program from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and a Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Engineering from the University of Tokyo in October 2006. 
Her research interests are based on the management of technology including policy-making in science and technology fields focusing on mediating functions between scientists and policymakers, innovation in advanced medical technology, and innovation for solving social problems related to SDGs. She has given more than 50 educational and popular talks at scientific seminars and colloquia. In addition, she has received research grants from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. 
Her prominent social contributions are a Vice-President of Japan MOT (Management of Technology) Society, Director of Japan Society for Research Policy and Innovation Management, Director of Special Olympics Nippon, and an Executive Director of Cultural and Sports Support Organization for the Great East Japan Earthquake’s Orphans.

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Isolation and loneliness -Invisible people

Have you ever felt lonely? A very surprising number was revealed in a survey by the Cabinet Office, Japan. According to the latest census of 20,000 people nationwide (2021) on “Isolation and Loneliness” after the pandemic of COVID-19, the highest number of people who feel lonely are in their 20s (44.4%), and followed by people in their 30s (42.2%).  The highest percentage of those who often / always feel lonely are in their 30s (7.9%), and followed by in their 20s (7.7%). It turns out that the younger generation feels a lot of loneliness. As a solution, it is important for a third-party organization to detect lonely people early and connect them to appropriate organizations. This is because the causes of loneliness are intricate and compounded, and often cannot be solved by the family alone. And if the person does not receive professional treatment, it is highly likely that the person will be invisible to society for a long time. Our group has started a demonstration experiment to prevent isolation and loneliness using avatars in a metaverse space. There are three major effects of Metaverse and Avatar. These are the three As, namely: Availability, Anonymity, and Agility.

◆Availability 　You can use the metaverse space regardless of the time or place. We hypothesis that people who feel lonely or isolated are on the Internet. So far, many supporting institutions for isolation and loneliness exist in physical space. However, it is difficult to reach an isolated people. They can access support agencies in Metaverse’s 3D space from their mobile phones while at home. They don’t have to have the courage to go outside or don’t need travel expenses. Currently, telephone consultations and text consultations using social networks have also been conducted. However, we provide an opportunity to be free from loneliness and isolation by consulting and interacting in the 3D metaverse space while staying home.

◆Anonymity   In metaverse, you can exist behind an avatar regardless of the age, gender, or title. You can have as many avatars as you like, and you can change them depending on your mood or start over if you make a serious mistake. By acting through an avatar, you can see yourself objectively and discover a new yourself. One research shows that people tend to make their avatars a little better than themselves. If you are an introvert, you become extravert through your avatar [1].

◆Agility  You can experience simulated experience in the metaverse space quickly. Simulated experiences using VR goggles etc. are often tried in physical and mental exposure therapy of sports. A research paper was published in Lancet that patients with mental illness had simulated experiences of riding bus in a virtual space and were successful in improving behaviors in the physical space[2]. We are planning an experiment that people with loneliness could participate in a festival in a virtual space that simulates the festival held in a physical space. For example, not only participation but also being a member of executive committee in a virtual festival. This could eliminate loneliness and raise the sense of belonging to a community.

Metaverse, which has the potential to expand significantly in the future, has been used mainly for gaming and entertainment. However, it can be fully used for such welfare purposes, and we believe that it will help prevent the young people from becoming invisible people in the society.

References:

[1] P. R. Messinger, X. Ge, E. Stroulia, K. Lyons, K. Smirnov, and M. Bone, “On the Relationship between My Avatar and Myself,” J. Virtual Worlds Res., vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 1–17, 2008, doi: 10.4101/jvwr.v1i2.352.

[2] D. Freeman et al., “Automated virtual reality therapy to treat agoraphobic avoidance and distress in patients with psychosis (gameChange): a multicentre, parallel-group, single-blind, randomised, controlled trial in England with mediation and moderation analyses,” The Lancet Psychiatry, vol. 9, no. 5, pp. 375–388, 2022, doi: 10.1016/S2215-0366(22)00060-8.

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Dr. Takahiro Kato

Associate Professor / Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medical Sciences

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Takahiro A. Kato, M.D., PhD. currently works at the Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medical Sciences , Kyushu University as a clinical psychiatrist and as a translational researcher to bridge the huge gap between mind and brain, especially focusing on microglia, depression, hikikomori and psychoanalysis. His works have been highlighted in Lancet, Lancet Psychiatry, American Journal of Psychiatry,World Psychiatry, etc…

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Mr. Keiji Mitsubuchi

Professor, Digital Hollywood University Graduate School

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Keiji Mitsubuchi, M.S. currently teachs at Digital Hollywood Graduate School as a professer, and involved in launching ventures and companies related to the Internet, metaverse, and web3.
Graduate School of Engineering, Stanford University as MS Computational Mathmatics.
His research is in the generation of diversified values in information space (Metaverse) , real space(Universe), and the human consciousness space (Mindverse).
His research is fcoused on that avatar communication creates a variety of possibilities and values, such as with the freedom from physical body, it will be possible to overcome gender discrimination and racial discrimination.

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