On Saturday, October 24, 2020, the “RESAS Workshop: Regional Inquiry” was held at Ohara House Katalyzer.
Though they came from different backgrounds, the following people, all active in the field of “regional inquiry,” gathered together.
- Mr. Yuya Uno, from the Secretariat of the Headquarters for Overcoming Population Decline and Vitalizing Local Economy in Japan, Cabinet Secretariat, which created the Regional Economy and Society Analyzing System (RESAS)
- Mr. Hiroshi Sakanoue, from Takahashi River Basin School, working on the front lines of regional revitalization projects
- Ms. Mayumi Jikihara, from the General Policy Department of Akaiwa City, working in local government
This article reports on the “RESAS Workshop: Regional Inquiry.”
The information presented was current when this article was published in November 2020. Please note that it may differ from current information.
Overview of the RESAS Workshop: Regional Inquiry
The “RESAS Workshop” is a five-part series of workshops designed to deepen participants’ perspectives and thinking about the region’s “present” and “future.” It is aimed primarily at school personnel, and also includes people from private companies and local government who work with data in their jobs.
The Regional Inquiry session was the fourth workshop in the series, and followed this program.
| Topic | Speaker |
|---|---|
| Educational Use of RESAS | Yoshimi Kawasaki |
| RESAS in Society 5.0 | Yuya Uno |
| Thinking About “Thinking Based on Evidence” From the front lines of regional revitalization | Hiroshi Sakanoue |
| Regional Inquiry Is Work | Mayumi Jikihara (online) |
The venue for the first three sessions was Okayama Prefectural Kurashiki Commercial High School, but this time the venue was Ohara House Katalyzer. The workshop began with opening remarks from its director, Yoko Yamashita.
For reports on the second and third sessions, see the articles below.
Educational Use of RESAS (Yoshimi Kawasaki)
For the first 30 minutes or so, Yoshimi Kawasaki, a teacher in the Commercial Studies Department at Okayama Prefectural Kurashiki Commercial High School and a RESAS specialist committee member, introduced the relationship between the educational use of RESAS and the new Courses of Study that will take effect in FY2022.
The “Regional Economy and Society Analyzing System (RESAS)” is big data designed to support various regional revitalization initiatives by providing information.
It is not, in itself, a “teaching material.”
So why can RESAS be used in education?
Ms. Kawasaki believes that using RESAS helps develop “inquiry skills.”
Under the new Courses of Study, high school “Period for Integrated Studies” will become “Period for Inquiry-Based Cross-Disciplinary Study” starting in FY2022.
She considers “inquiry skills” to include the following:
- Research, organize, and present
- Do this repeatedly in all kinds of situations
- Conduct independent inquiry, individually and in groups
When these activities focus on the “region” where students live, RESAS, one of the objective datasets created by the national government, is a good tool to use.
For example, when considering local industry or population issues, researching them independently, interpreting the data, and organizing the findings is “inquiry itself.”
Research. Organize. Speak up. Evaluate.
Ms. Kawasaki hopes that repeating this cycle will help students improve their inquiry skills.
For example, as part of the “Regional Inquiry Course” project-based research class she teaches, students created content for their peers visiting the Bikan Historical Area on school trips, with technical guidance from Kurashiki Tocotoco.
RESAS in Society 5.0 (Yuya Uno)
Next, Yuya Uno from the Secretariat of the Headquarters for Overcoming Population Decline and Vitalizing Local Economy in Japan, Cabinet Secretariat, took the stage.
The Secretariat of the Headquarters for Overcoming Population Decline and Vitalizing Local Economy in Japan, Cabinet Secretariat, is an organization that promotes policy planning based on data analysis, including RESAS.
Mr. Uno explained the importance of “data literacy” as the ability to interpret and use data in Society 5.0, and introduced the educational use of RESAS.
What is Society 5.0?
A human-centered society that balances economic development with the resolution of social issues through a system that highly integrates cyberspace (virtual space) and physical space (real space)
Source: Cabinet Office, “Society 5.0”
Vast amounts of knowledge are now gathered in cyberspace.
Thinking of internet searches may make this easier to understand.
Even without memorizing the details, anyone can now easily search for and find the information they need.
This is the information society as we have known it.
Furthermore, as we increasingly hear terms such as “big data” and “AI,” AI is now able to analyze vast amounts of data and produce results.
Does this mean that people no longer need to do anything?
People need to set the “purpose,” and the skills to respond are required.
- Good practices as the creators of data
- Literacy as the users who interpret and apply data
In other words, Mr. Uno said that “data literacy” is important in the Society 5.0 era.
It is important for the workforce of the future to acquire “data literacy,” and one useful tool for this is “RESAS.”
This does not mean that RESAS is the only option; it is helpful to understand that RESAS is “ideal” for education.
The reason is that RESAS is a “regional economy analysis system,” and local communities are familiar to students.
Local communities face a host of challenges to address, including population decline and aging, making them ideal material for developing “business skills” through real-world experience.
For this reason, they hope people will use RESAS as a starting point for data analysis.
They also hold an event called “RESAS for Regional Inquiry” to raise awareness of RESAS supplementary teaching materials.
About “V-RESAS”
The final system introduced was called “V-RESAS.”
The “V” in V-RESAS stands for “Vital Signs of Economy.” It was launched in June 2020 to visualize the impact of COVID-19 on regional economies.
In fact, “RESAS” has the drawback of lacking real-time data, since its data is updated only about once a year.
V-RESAS updates its data every week for the time being, making newer data available sooner.
Thinking About “Thinking Based on Evidence” (Hiroshi Sakanoue)
Next, Hiroshi Sakanoue of the Takahashi River Basin School gave a talk.
The talk was more like a workshop.
Presentations on the same topic, each created using one of three approaches, were assigned to three people on the spot, who then presented them.
Most participants in the RESAS workshop are involved in education.
All three were teachers, so even when asked to speak without warning, they spoke well, using gestures and hand movements.
What matters here, however, is not how they speak, but how they present the data.
Although they all reached the same conclusion—that they needed to solicit a budget and donations—their approaches were completely different.
Sakanoue introduced three approaches to presentations.
Their characteristics are as follows:
- “Logic” explains through theory and reasoning.
- “Data” uses objective figures.
- “Passion” conveys one’s feelings and enthusiasm.
The presenter may have their own strengths and weaknesses, and the way a message comes across also varies depending on the audience, so no one method is inherently better or worse.
He said that it is important to understand the characteristics, think for yourselves about how to combine them, and try things out.
Regional Inquiry Is Part of the Job (Mayumi Jikihara)
The final speaker was Mayumi Jikihara of the Akaiwa City General Policy Department.
She introduced the following examples of RESAS use in local government:
- “Use in meetings,” because the data is easy to understand
- Ideal for “staff training,” because the data can be compared
- Helps people experience the fun and appeal of policy planning
- A tool for obtaining funding from the national government
What particularly stood out was its introduction as “a tool for obtaining funding from the national government.”
This is important not only in government but also in proposals made by private companies: supporting your case with figures from relevant data matters.
RESAS, with its “objective data” compiled by the national government, seems especially useful in local government.
From the Writer
After listening to four speakers at the “RESAS Workshop: Regional Inquiry Edition,” I came away with these three thoughts:
- Data itself has no special meaning
- How it is interpreted and used differs depending on the “person (or organization)”
- The skills to think for ourselves and put data to use are important
Education, national politics, local government, community activities… although the fields differ, people in each are engaged in “inquiry” as they go about their daily work.
I have also worked for many years as a systems engineer, so I have had many opportunities to meet people who work with data on the front lines of business.
The amount of data keeps growing over time. But simply storing it is meaningless.
You can use it to identify problems or find information needed for a new business…
Even when looking at the same data, what angle do you take? In other words, your “perspective” matters, and that is where the individuality of people and organizations comes through.
Perhaps the message we should convey to pupils and students is that “inquiry” continues even into adulthood.
The FY2021 RESAS Workshop on Educational Use will be held starting July 10, 2021.
▼For details, please check the official page.
RESAS Workshop on Educational Use: Explore! RESAS Online Seminar
▼The application form is below.
Application Form
RESAS Workshop: Regional Inquiry Edition Information
| Name | RESAS Workshop: Regional Inquiry Edition |
|---|---|
| Date | October 24, 2020 (Saturday), 10:15 a.m.–12:30 p.m. |
| Location | 1-2 Chuo, Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture |
| Admission (tax included) | Free |
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The FY2021 RESAS Workshop for Educational Use will be held starting July 10, 2021.
▼For details, please check the official page.
RESAS Workshop for Educational Use: Explore! RESAS Online Seminar
▼The application form is below.
Application Form