Future Society Foresight
Social Cooperation Research Departments

"Future Society Foresight Studies" Social Cooperation Research Division

Integrating technological and policy perspectives to envision future society, identify emerging challenges, and chart pathways toward solutions.

What will our world look like in 2050? What challenges will we face, and how can universities, companies, and society at large come together to address them? RCAST has established the "Future Society Foresight Studies" Social Cooperation Research Division in partnership with NGK Corporation. By integrating technological and policy perspectives, the Division aims to develop and apply foresight research methodologies that clarify future societal scenarios and their inherent challenges. In doing so, it seeks to envision long-term societal models oriented toward 2050, providing strategic insights that inform corporate vision-building and strategy formulation.
Specifically, in collaboration with RCAST's diverse laboratories, the Division will review a broad range of cutting-edge knowledge to conceptualize multiple future scenarios by integrating three core perspectives: social trends, technological innovation, and policy change. It will subsequently clarify the pathways of change leading to each desirable future and the specific challenges to be addressed in realizing them.
At the same time, building on these practices, the Division aspires to generalize and advance foresight research methodologies—which have seen a resurgence of interest in both academic and practical fields in recent years—particularly from the perspective of industry-academia collaboration. Through various partnerships, workshops, and training opportunities, the Division also aims to contribute to the cultivation of "foresight professionals" who can put these methodologies into practice.
To drive this research, a resident researcher seconded from NGK Corporation will deepen their expertise in broad cooperation with RCAST faculty and laboratories. By proactively leading research initiatives, this researcher will also seek to build a hub that harmonizes the perspectives of industry and academia. By taking an integrated view of social trends, technological innovation, and policy change, the Division is expected to envision future scenarios that go beyond a simple extension of current society. Through this approach, it will identify the infrastructure and facilities required for a desirable future, the significant societal shifts and accompanying challenges, and the prospects for their resolution— thereby aiming to establish new foresight methodologies, cultivate foresight professionals, and enhance corporate value.

Cooperation Company/Organization

・NGK Corporation

Member

• 
• • Professor
    Ichiro DAIGO
  Research Area: Industrial Ecology, Life Cycle Assessment, Material Flow Analysis

• 
• • Associate Professor
    Ayako TAKEMI
  Research Area: Political science, Public administration, Global governance