The “Iwate Prefecture Manufacturing and Software Amalgamated Technology Center” aims to be one of the top manufacturing industry collectives in Japan, and will be formed through liaisons of industry leaders under the administrative operation of Iwate Prefectural University as a strategy to grow the manufacturing industry in Iwate.
We expect that this collective will act as a key support base for “innovation parks” such as the Takizawa IPU Innovation Center in hopes of forming an industrial collective made of participants from the automobile-related industries, the semiconductor- and medical device-related industries, the embedded system industry and so on.
The progress report as of the 2009 academic year indicates that, while the initiative is moving forward, it has not yet reached the level that might bring about changes in the industrial structure. The development of a local industrial community capable of competing in terms of high productivity and high quality, the development of a business community that is both technologically and competitively strong, and the concentration of research and development businesses that produce many added values have been raised as issues that will need to be addressed in the future.
We are strengthening our efforts with the aim of increasing the number of related collaborative research initiatives and training highly-qualified technicians, as well as increasing the number of related participating businesses.

The “Iwate Tourism Management Human Resources Development Seminar” was held over a total of two occasions in February and March of 2010. This represents one facet of our effort to promote the development of attractive tourism destinations through the training of “Tourism Management Professionals” who can work in tourism-related industries while focusing on the invigoration of the local area as a whole, and is targeted at local governmental employees and those working in organizations that are in some way connected to the tourism industry.
Iwate Prefectural University and Iwate prefecture joined forces in the implementation of lectures and exercises that allowed the participants to learn from specific cases of creating tourism destination in order to develop a systematic understanding of the tourism industry.
Mr. Shinji Ohnuma, Director of the Higashi Naruko Yume Kaigi [Higashi Naruko Dream Council], was invited to speak as a special lecturer. Mr. Ohnuma, who is the 5th generation head of a hot springs retreat at Miyagi Prefecture’s Naruko Onsen that has been in existence for several hundred years, discussed unified regional development that tears down fences even as it maintains tradition.

<Event Summary>

Date and Time/(1st Meeting) February 22, 2010 10:00AM~5:30PM
(2nd Meeting) March 9, 2010 10:00AM~5:20PM
Venue/Iwate Prefecture Citizen’s Cultural Exchange Center (Aiina), 7th Floor
Number of Participants/55

The Iwate Prefectural University Research Results Presentation was held on November 7, the final day of public lectures for the 2009 academic year, in front of 200 participants at the Takizawa Campus Lecture Hall. The public lectures were open to a wide range of people in Iwate and garnered 100 and 200 participants each time such lectures were held at the Takizawa Campus.
This year, from among the research that had concluded in the 2008 academic year, 4 research projects directly relating to medical and nursing care, dealing with care facilities for the elderly, and psychology within daily life were presented under the general theme of emotional and physical health, which was the area of greatest interest among the participants.
The 4 research topics that were presented are shown on the right.

<Research Topics>

1 The Close Linkage Between Metabolic Syndrome and Fatty Liver

　Kazuyoshi Ishikawa, Professor, School of Nursing
— An analysis of the genesis of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in cases of metabolic syndrome —

2 How Should Social Welfare Facilities Fulfill the Roles and Provide the Services Demanded by Local Areas?

　Yoshiro Miyagi, Associate Professor, School of Social Welfare

3 Considering Self-Abasement From the Perspectives of Both the Conscious and the Unconscious

　Kimihiro Shiomura, Associate Professor, School of Social Welfare

4 Nursing and Health Activities in the Event of a Natural Disaster Where Local Areas and the University are Linked

　Mayumi Miura, Professor, School of Nursing

(all titles correspond to those held at the time of the presentation of the research results)

After being held in Kyoto city last year, “Urushi [Japanese Lacquer] Summit 2010” moved to Meiji University in Ochanomizu, Tokyo for the 2009 academic year. This event, which started with a speech by Jakuchou Setouchi, honorary chief priestess of Tendaiji Temple, was well-attended throughout the summit, and ended in a roaring success.
Faculty of Policy Studies Associate Professor Kana Yamada’s practicum class, as well as Associate Professor Yuichi Takashima’s practicum class presented the results of the lectures and fieldwork dealing with Ninohe city’s Japanese lacquer that they conducted during the second-term classes, ran a panel display, and also worked with Meiji University’s students in helping out with venue management and operations.
The Prefectural University first became involved with Japanese lacquer when our students gave support to the display on “lacquer” that Ninohe city hosted in Kyoto during the 2008 academic year. In addition to helping with venue management and operations, the students used questionnaires to survey guests about lacquer, and provided information on lacquer manufacturing in Iwate along with Ninone city.

Photo: Joboji Temple Museum of History and Folklore