Economics and Social Studies Course

Overview

In the modern world there are two conflicting patterns; convergence through regional integration and the polarization of integrated regions. Although these patterns enhance the development of the global economy, at the same time there are various problems occurring at both the local society and international society levels. These problems include conflict, economic inequality, and environmental issues. In this socio-economics course, students will analyze modern societal trends using theories related to economics and business. Students will also learn to formulate specific strategies for solving some of the key problems within modern society.

Faculty

Name	Research Fields	E-mail (* Note2)
IDE Akira	Tourism Studies (Especially Dark Tourism), Art Management, Social Informatics	akiraide@staff.
IKARIYAMA Hiroshi■	Public Finance, Public Policy	ikari@staff.
OHKI Kazuyoshi	Macroeconomics	k-ohki@staff.
OZAWA Yuka	Social Policy Theory: Social Policy, Poverty Reduction, Social Exclusion	y-ozawa@staff.
KATO Atsuyuki	Applied Econometrics, International Economics, Productivity Analysis, Trade and Growth	akatoecon@staff.
KATOU Minehiro	Monetary Theory, Banking Theory	minehir@staff.
KANAMA Daisuke	Innovation Theory, Marketing Theory	kanama@staff.
KAWASUMI Atsushi	Regional Management: Tourism and Urban Development, Community Development	kawasumi@staff.
KIKUCHI, Naoki	Environmental Sociology, Natural regeneration,Ecotourism, Adaptive Governance	nkikuchi@staff.
KOBAYASHI Shinsuke	Economic History, Japanese History, Regional History, History of Social Movements, History of Immigration, Popular History	kobashin@staff
SAITO Takeshi	International Management, International Human Resource Management	tsaito@staff.
SAKAGUCHI Hiromasa	Management Accounting (Healthcare Field)	sakaguchi@staff.
SATOU Kiyokazu☆	Financial Accounting	kiyosato@staff.
SATO Hideki	British and French Financial History, European Finance	h-sato@staff.
SAMUTA Hikaru	Regional Economics	samuta@staff.
SHIRAISHI Hideo	Urban and Architectural Planning, Civil Engineering and Transportation Planning, Community Development	hideoshiraishi@staff.
SUZUKI Tomoki	Business Administration	tosuzuki@staff.
SEO Takashi	Political Economics, History of Economics, Evolutionary Economics	t-seo@staff.
TAKAHASHI Ryoko☆	Sociology, Welfare and Medical Sociology, Disability Studies, Gender Studies	takahasi@staff.
TAKESHIMA Sadaharu	Bookkeeping Accounting, Accounting Systems, Accounting Theory, Accounting History	take470@staff.
TANABE Hiroshi	Sociology	tanabeh@staff.
CHIBA Yoshihiro	Medical History, Labor History, Agricultural History, Southeast Asian History	hirochiba@staff.
ZHANG Jing	Marketing Theory (Service Marketing, Retail Marketing, Customer Understanding, Value Co-Creation)	j-zhang@staff.
TSUTSUMI Atsuro	Social Welfare, Public Health, International Mental Health	atsuro@staff.
DOI Taeko	Curriculum Theory	tdoi@ed.
HAYASHI Naoki	Rural Planning Studies, Ecosystem Services, Rural Planning for Retreat	nhayashi72@staff.
FUJISAWA Mieko★	Applied Microeconomics (Experimental Economics, Urban Economics, etc.)	fujisawa@staff.
HOSHINO Nobuaki	Economic Statistics	hoshino@kenroku.
MASAKI Toyomu	Economic Development Theory, Economic History of West Africa, Money and Currency, World Political Economy	tmasaki@staff.
MAZUMI, Yusuke	Sociology, Global Sociology, International Migration	ymazumi@staff.
MANABE Tomoko	Sociology, Community Welfare Services	manabe@staff.
MARUYA Kota	Community Design, Cultural Landscape, Traditional Crafts, Landscape Theory	maruya@staff.
MURAKAMI Shinji	Social Security, Economic Philosophy	shinji.murakami@staff.
MORIYAMA Osamu☆	Social welfare, Medical Welfare, Care Theory	moriyama@ed.
YAMADA Naoko	Interpretation, Heritage Resource Conservation, Sustainable Tourism, Visitor Studies	yamada@staff.
YOO JaeKyu☆	Production Systems, Management Engineering, Supply Chain Management	yoo@staff.
WADA Kazuya	Development Economics	kwada@staff.

Note

Those with ■ on the right of the name column will not be Senior Supervisors because they will transfer in March 2026, ☆ in March 2027, and ★ in March 2028.
Please add “kanazawa-u.ac.jp” after the “E-mail” field.

Introduction of the laboratory

The most distinctive feature of our laboratory is that in addition to conventional research on such issues as “village development” in Japan, we conduct research on “strategic village development” and “village downsizing.” This research examines the possibility of revitalization in an era of declining population of the country as a whole. The basis of our entire research is agriculture-related civil engineering and rural planning, with an emphasis on “ecosystem services” and “food security at the national level”. Regarding the aforementioned topic of “shrinking villages that are capable of revitalization,” the following four points are considered: (1) the civil engineering potential of the land (e.g. easy restoration of arable land), (2) land rights potential (e.g. rights barriers during revitalization), (3) the historical continuity of villages, and (4) the life and livelihood-related technology in the villages (i.e. the need to live in harmony with nature and sustainable livelihoods in the traditional way). We also develop and evaluate board (card) games as tools for thinking about “strategic village development”. The goal of our laboratory is not to re-create an ideal model village. What we value is to increase the number of options for the “survival of villages” as they exist by facing up to the reality of shrinking and declining villages in Japan.

Title of research / project title and responsible person for the research

How to incorporate the option of “downsizing the settlement” that leaves the possibility of revitalization into the existing settlement development (Naoki Hayashi)