OSIPP student group wins Grand Prize at ISFJ Thesis Competition

Over two days starting on Saturday, December 10, 2022, the Inter-University Seminar for the Future of Japan (ISFJ) Japan Student Forum was held at Meiji University.

Of the theses entered into this thesis competition by 101 groups from 24 universities from around Japan, the thesis on the establishment of bridge maintenance written by the Kasaba Group, a group of students under the supervision of Professor AKAI Nobuo of the Osaka School of International Public Policy (OSIPP), received the Grand Prize for Policy Proposal.

Their thesis will be posted on the ISFJ Thesis Library.

The prize-winning thesis by the Kasaba Group, “Towards Establishment of Bridge Maintenance,” focused on measures to address aging bridges, pursuing a vision of achieving bridges that residents can continue to use safely.

Amid rapidly-accelerating decline of social capital, through their research, the students found that many bridges managed by municipalities were not properly maintained, although the need of repairs was recognized.

Seeing that bridges were not properly maintained by local governments due to lack of labor and budget as a problem, the thesis clarified factors that affected changes in judgement categories through analysis of data obtained from the first and second round of inspections of bridges managed by municipalities.

Based on their analysis results and interviews of municipalities, the student group proposed policies to address labor shortages in quality and quantity and funding shortages in municipalities.

Their winning thesis was highly evaluated in the following points:

・They analyzed a large amount of bridge data while focusing on changes in judgement categories in the first and second round of inspections, and

・From the analysis of present state to the hypothesis setting and policy proposal, the point of their argument was clearly stated.

Through writing their thesis, the students gained a deep understanding of a social issue, ageing infrastructure, and cultivated logical thinking ability.

Writing this thesis with an awareness of problems and creating bonds among students in different years through group activity became a precious experience for them.