On December 19 (Saturday) and 20 (Sunday), 2020, the Policy Forum of the Inter-university Seminar for the Future of Japan (ISFJ) was held online (with cooperation and support from the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry of Japan and the Matsushita Institute of Government and Management) in which the Nobuyuki Kanazawa Seminar of Soka University’s Faculty of Economics won the “Subcommittee Award.”

The ISFJ upholds the ideal of “realizing a desirable society through student policy proposals,” provides support for students with high aspirations in making policy proposals, and provides opportunities to support the realization of such proposals. In terms of policy proposals, experts are invited from respective fields in industry-government-academia to provide advice, and opportunities for discussions are provided. Participating groups are recruited from university seminars across the nation, and at policy forums held every December, presentations for policy proposal papers are made. This year’s event, which is the 25th of its kind, saw 91 papers from 20 universities being submitted, including from Keio University, Osaka University, Hitotsubashi University, and Kobe University, with an attendance of approximately 440 students.

Soka University’s Nobuyuki Kanazawa Seminar, which participated in the Regional Creation (2) Subcommittee, presented under the title, “Minimum Wage as Seen from the Standpoint of Regional Creation: The Relationship between Population Migration and Minimum Wage,” sharing what they researched over the course of approximately one year by “empirically analyzing whether increased minimum wage can prevent youth outflow from regions, along with policies for regional creation based on the outcome of the analysis.”

Mr. Kazumasa Higashiguchi, who represents the award-recipient team, shared some thoughts: “Due to COVID-19, the event was held online, which brought with it various obstacles in terms of the preparation stage, but thanks to each member’s behind-the-scenes effort and with support from seniors and professors, I am extremely happy that we were able to receive the Subcommittee Award. Using this experience, I would like to ensure the further development of the Nobuyuki Kanazawa Seminar, which is still in its pioneering stage, as well as my own growth.”

Seminar members that received the Subcommittee Award

Hideo Usui, Ryoto Zushi, Kazumasa Higashiguchi, Erika Fukushima, Tomoko Horie, Miho Manabe, Masamichi Watanabe