I thought about how lonely it must be for retiring people to part ways with their colleagues after receiving their bouquet of flowers, and I wished I could avoid that kind of loneliness, which was my naive experience back when I was working for a company. This feeling has remained with me since I entered academia. In my master's thesis, I confirmed the negative impact of retirement. In my doctoral dissertation, I examined factors that promote or impede people from continuing to be active in society and the impact of social participation, to consider what kind of lifestyle would be best for people after retirement.

Now, as an extension of this trend, considering today’s circumstances in which an increasing number of people continue working into their 70s, I am focusing on the “third age,” which is the period before retirement age when people are considered older adults but are still healthy. I am researching social participation that combines productive activities such as employment, social participation, and civic participation.

In this context, I am conducting research with academics focusing on business administration and economics concerning such older workers, who have been undergoing drastic changes in recent years.

We also know that it is not easy to continue to participate in society after retirement or to newly debut such participation in a regional community—as such, I am now researching social isolation and loneliness. I focus on this area considering how people will be unable to integrate into their community and will become isolated if they do not make a successful debut.

In contrast, it has long been pointed out that local communities where people make their debut in their community are in danger of collapsing. Considering the new ways of getting to know one's neighbors in the city and the progress of ICT in society, we have no choice but to consider the influence of virtual networks.

Based on the above research, I am currently engaged in action research to prevent social isolation and loneliness.

Japan currently leads the world in terms of having a “super-aging society,” and the measures it has taken to manage this population aging are attracting worldwide attention. It is also said that aging will progress in India and Africa within this century, making the population aging problem a global issue. I am conducting international joint research with overseas researchers to share knowledge from various countries and consider issues that should be addressed together. While we study the myriad differences among countries and cultures, there are also universal issues that stimulate us in many ways. I also believe that the expansion of fellow researchers overseas is one of the most exciting aspects of the research profession.

Speaking of stimulating subjects, interdisciplinary research is also fascinating to me. It is rewarding to be able to work closely with people in different fields and expand what we can do, even when different academic fields have completely different views on the same phenomenon or when we cannot solve a problem in our own field alone.

　Our laboratory is currently working on the “Wai-gaya Project,” a primary prevention project for social isolation and loneliness.

　This is an action research project that targets rental apartment complexes, where neighborhood relationships are said to be weak, to investigate—based on scientific evidence—whether fun community events, lifelong education and learning, virtual connections, and other initiatives can help form loose bonds among residents and prevent and alleviate isolation and loneliness.