R&D PROJECTS

Project Overview

Lack of opportunities for communication that builds rich interpersonal relationships during adolescence and the associated risk of isolation and loneliness

International comparisons and other studies have long shown Japan to have a strong tendency toward isolation. On top of this, there are concerns that community ties will weaken during the COVID-19 pandemic, causing a loss of empathy for those at risk of isolation and aggravating people’s sense of loneliness and social isolation. Particularly in the case of university students, the active use of remote education during the pandemic is reducing opportunities for them to communicate and empathize with each other face-to-face. According to brain science, adolescence is the time when people’s social-emotional skills and other skills undergo further development. Yet, despite this, there is a lack of safe and comfortable opportunities to foster these skills, both individually and as a community. This presents a problem.

Preventing isolation and loneliness by fostering an empathetic community through education using the theatrical method

Through this project, we will strive to nurture and restore an empathetic community using various methods of applied theater. The theatrical method involves setting up a variety of communication venues in which diverse participants co-create stories, play roles, and watch each other perform in a unique and unconventional theatrical world where there are no right answers. Because of this, they are expected to foster a rich community—one serving as “safe haven” for participants to talk to, carefully listen to, and perform for each other—through educational settings. We will implement our project at the universities to which the principal investigator and other researchers belong with focus on the following three points. (1) Society is supported by a diverse range of people, and the risk of social isolation and loneliness depends on the characteristics of each individual. To build a society that understands the variety of characteristics people possess and embraces diversity, we will introduce the theatrical method into adolescent education with the aim of creating a community capable of fostering rich interpersonal relationships. (2) We will also look at the visualization of and evaluation indicators concerning the risk of social isolation and loneliness for individuals and groups. Here, we will visualize various personality traits, indicators of isolation and loneliness, and social capital—particularly in terms of real-world and online relationships—while simultaneously evaluating the effectiveness of the theatrical method. (3) We will develop and implement educational techniques using the theatrical method through both in real-world and online realms with the cooperation of theater artists to provide a social mechanism for preventing social isolation and loneliness. We will also introduce the Listening Hour (LH) program as a setting for empathic communication. LH can be conducted remotely and provides a setting in which people can talk about their experiences and listen to each other’s stories. It is an approach founded on careful listening, and we expect it to be useful in preventing isolation and loneliness by enabling people to feel connected to each other through listening and reflecting on guides’ stories. We will combine the effects of the activities described above with various evaluation methods to assess actual impacts on isolation and loneliness. We will also aim to establish these activities as educational techniques by expanding to nearby universities and high schools, and work to disseminate them widely throughout educational settings.

Q&A

Please tell us more about the social vision this project aims to achieve for the primary prevention of social isolation and loneliness.

There are many different communities in society. The possession of empathy by those communities is an indication that people belonging to that community feel psychologically secure, that diverse people (including those at risk of isolation and loneliness) are accepted, and that rich communication is created. Through workshop-based education using theater, we aim to create a society with an abundance of human resources capable of expanding connections among people as leaders of empathetic communities.

What are the biggest challenges (bottlenecks) in achieving the social vision above?

In Japan, there appears to be a preconceived notion that “theater” is a work performed on a stage by actors that one appreciates as an audience member. In actuality, however, theater can be free of form, so our biggest challenge is to get beyond this preconception and make the theatrical method something that can be incorporated into learning for people of all ages. The theatrical method is a great way to create a safe setting, learn communication skills that bring people together in the community, and learn the joy of creating something together. It is also available to everyone.

Participating/Cooperating Institutions

• Tohoku University, Miyagi University of Education, Miyagi Gakuin Women’s University, Tohoku Fukushi University, Miyagi University, Sendai Mukaiyama High School, Sendai Daiichi High School, Higashimatsushima High School, Sendai Ikuei Gakuen High School, PLAY ART! Sendai, LondonPanda Theatre Company, PLAYBACK AZ, School of Playback Theatre (Japan School), office Kaze no Utsuwa, Arai Masumi Voice Training, Aska Company Co., and others

Report

• FY2021 Research and Development Report (Japanese) (PDF: 1413KB)

Related Links

• Biofunctional Science Course, Department of Physiology, Tokyo University School of Medicine