“Life and Climate Change in the Arctic Island of Greenland” was held as an outreach activity of the ArCS II Research Program on Human Society at Miraikan – The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation (日本科学未来館). Dr. Alyne Delaney of Tohoku University’s Center for Northeast Asian Studies organized the event which focused on the impact of climate change on local people’s way of life. It also connected the changes that people are facing (such as climate change and economic conditions), with a focus on the sea and marine resources of Greenland. The “icy sea” was the connecting thread between the speakers.

The event opened with three original songs by Qaanaaq hunter and musician Aleqatsiaq Peary. Mr. Peary was featured National Geographic’s The Last Ice (2020) and served as a guide for Dr. Delaney during her fieldwork. While Mr. Peary’s songs played, a slideshow of the speakers and photos of Greenland’s nature and people played. Dr. Delaney then officially opened the event with a brief introduction of the speakers, as well as to Greenlandic society. Mr. Jacob Isbosethsen, Head Representative of the Government of Greenland to Asia, then gave a welcome speech to the audience. These talks were followed by four speakers. Mr. Takaaki Shimoda, Managing Director of Royal Greenland Japan, and University of Hokkaido Assistant professor Makoto Tomiyasu next spoke about the fisheries and sustainability.

The fisheries related talks were followed with a slideshow and talk by Tsutomu Endo, a professional photographer, who has spent years documenting the life of Arctic peoples. For this day he focused on, visual documentation of climate change from the perspective of hunting. The final speaker was Ms. Pipaluk Lykke, who joined us from Greenland to speak about her role in a project to teach water safety to young people. Greenland has a high rate of drowning at sea and this was one activity to combat this trend. The event ended with an open Question & Answer session, giving the audience an opportunity to speak directly with the event’s speakers.

Overall, the speakers explored the intricate relationship between the inhabitants of Greenland and their marine surroundings, delving into the realms of fishing, hunting, daily routines, traditional customs, and contemporary society. The challenges of changes to sea ice cover and climate change were also presented and discussed.

The event was organized by the Center for Northeast Asian Studies (Tohoku University) as a part of ArCS II Research Program on Human Society, with co-sponsorship by the Royal Danish Embassy (Japan) and Royal Greenland Japan. With 90 guests officially registered, plus the organizer, speakers, special guests, and student helpers, the event was felt to be a great success. Afterwards, Jacob Isbosethsen (Government of Greenland) even asked when the next event would be held, and if there would be another one this year.

The post Report on ”Life and Climate Change on the Arctic Island of Greenland“ first appeared on The Arctic Challenge for Sustainability II (ArCS II).

“GX and DX at North” event was organized on November 20-22, 2023 in Sapporo (FMI Hall, Hokkaido University). This event was based on industry-academia-government collaboration and cooperation between Japan (especially Hokkaido) and the Nordic countries. The event was co-organized by ArCS II (Elucidating the Complex Dynamics of Arctic Politics and Its Contribution to Japan’s Arctic Policy), Hokkaido University Arctic Research Center, Hokkaido University Arctic Initiative for Future Earth and SDGs, Hokkaido University Advanced IT Prototyping Laboratory, VTT Technical Research Center of Finland, Hokkaido Government and Hokkaido Nutopia Data Center Study Group.

The seminar with simultaneous interpretation into English and Japanese was attended by more than 100 participants from Japan, Finland and Denmark. The event consisted of two seminar days and one day dedicated to site visits in Ishikari and Tomakomai.

The first seminar day focused on renewable energy production and smart energy solutions in northern regions, new initiatives concerning hydrogen, energy storage and CCS (Carbon Capture and Storage) as well as smart agriculture and forestry in Hokkaido and the Nordic countries. The second seminar day was dedicated to presentations as discussion concerning Environmentally sustainable and energy efficient IT infrastructure and Smart and energy efficient cities and buildings. In addition to this, various keynote speeches elaborated issues ranging from trans-Arctic submarine fiber-optic cable projects to human rights implications of green transition on the Arctic indigenous peoples.

While focusing on green and digital transformations, this event paid attention to the environmental and geographical circumstances of the north to identify not only the challenges but also the possibilities these northern regions have vis-à-vis the GX and DX. While offering a forum for an immediate sharing of best practices and networking, the event also attempted to contribute to long-term collaboration as well as policy and technology transfers between various northern and Arctic stakeholders.

The event attracted attention among media and was covered by NHK news (only Japanese) , for example.

Reference: International Forum ”GX and DX at North”

The post Report on International Forum ”GX and DX at North” first appeared on The Arctic Challenge for Sustainability II (ArCS II).

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• JCAR (Japan Consortium for Arctic Environmental Research)

The post Report on the 1st Joint Workshop of ArCS II Research Program on Arctic Sea Routes and JCAR Working Group on Ice Engineering Research first appeared on The Arctic Challenge for Sustainability II (ArCS II).

On Friday, February 10, 2023, 13 participants (7 local, 6 online) of the FY2022 Overseas Fellowship Program presented their results at the participants’ presentation meeting held in a hybrid format at the TKP Tokyo Station Nihonbashi Conference Center (Chuo-ku, Tokyo).

The presentations by the 13 program participants included photos of the observation sites where they were sent, scenes from their presentations at academic conferences, and other vivid and realistic photos and stories of their fresh experiences overseas, bringing the audience together to share in the excitement of the destination countries. The audience was united in sharing their impressions of their destinations. After the presentations, questions were actively exchanged, and during breaks, the participants were seen chatting and laughing with each other, which also served as an opportunity for exchange among the participants from different research fields.

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The post Report on “ArCS II Overseas Fellowship Program 2022 Participants’ Presentation Meeting” first appeared on The Arctic Challenge for Sustainability II (ArCS II).

On June 19, 2023, the ArCS II Research Program on International Relations convened the 9th ArCS II International Relations Seminar approaching the Arctic submarine fiber-optic cables from the perspective of political economy.

This seminar consisted of presentations from Hokkaido University Emeritus Professor Tsuyoshi Yamamoto and Arteria Networks Director, CCO Daisuke Arita as well as discussion moderated by Hokkaido University Associate Professor Juha Saunavaara.

Due to the last-minute change, Professor Yamamoto could not join the event in person. However, his recorded talk introduced the past and ongoing relations between the different Arctic submarine data cable projects and Hokkaido/Japan.

Besides focusing on the ongoing Far North Fiber project, in which Arteria Networks is contributing as the Japanese partner, Director Arita’s speech elaborated the reasons why the Arctic Ocean is attracting unforeseen interest within the submarine cable industry.

The opening words on behalf of the moderator and the discussion that followed the presentations touched upon issues such as the relationship between cable industry and governments, and collaboration between various companies involved in large-scale multinational projects. Furthermore, the impacts of the recent international turbulence on submarine fiber-optic cable industry and the importance of connectivity and access to broadband even in remote Arctic areas were discussed.

The post Report on the 9th ArCS II International Relations Seminar “Political economy of the Arctic submarine fiber-optic cables” first appeared on The Arctic Challenge for Sustainability II (ArCS II).

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The post Lecture Videos of International Seminar “United States Policy in the Arctic and Antarctic and the Future of International Governance in the Polar Regions” first appeared on The Arctic Challenge for Sustainability II (ArCS II).

On March 15, 2023, the ArCS II International Relations convened the 7th ArCS II International Relations Seminar on “the war in Ukraine, European and Arctic security, and implications for Japan”.

This seminar took the form of a panel discussion. The first panelist, Professor Magnus Petersson, Head of the Department of Economic History and International Relations at Stockholm University, discussed the implications of Putin’s war in Ukraine for European security, touching on such issues as Finland’s and Sweden’s decisions to join NATO. Paal Sigurd Hilde, Associate Professor at the Norwegian Defense Research Institute, examined the implications of the war for Arctic security and governance. He also discussed the impact of the war on world politics, arguing that the composition of the new Cold War between democracies and authoritarian states is becoming clearer. The final panelist, Associate Professor Fujio Ohnishi, discussed the strategic implications of the war for Japan and its Arctic policy. After each of the panelists made initial remarks, a lively and free discussion ensued, moderated by Ohnishi.

The post Report on the 7th ArCS II International Politics Seminar “the war in Ukraine, European and Arctic security, and implications for Japan－A panel discussion” first appeared on The Arctic Challenge for Sustainability II (ArCS II).

On February 6, 2023, Professor Pami Aalto from the University of Tampere, gave a lecture on the politics of knowledge in black carbon mitigation: policy entrepreneurship by Finland in the Euro-Arctic context and the CCAC in the Asian context at the 5th ArCS II International Politics Seminar.

The problem of black carbon, which means particulate carbon made of combustion processes and is a contributor to global warming, is a major environmental issue in the Arctic region including Finland.

The lecture introduced the results of a content analysis regarding the issue framing of the black carbon mitigation adopted by the Finnish government, the Finnish research and development cluster, and CCAC (Climate Clean Air Coalition: an international policy framework on air pollution and climate change).

The analysis revealed that compared to the other two, CCAC had the tendency to utilize wide frames of the problem in order to appeal to diverse actors including the governments of Asian nations.

In the discussion part, based on the insights drawn from the Finnish case, Prof. Aalto provided his views on what type of issue framing would be effective for further promoting decarbonization in Japan.

The post Report on the 5th ArCS II International Politics Seminar “The politics of knowledge in black carbon mitigation” first appeared on The Arctic Challenge for Sustainability II (ArCS II).

The annual international symposium “Above the Permafrost: How Climate Change and Resource Development are Changing Local Life in the Arctic” was held at Slavic-Eurasian Research Center (SRC) of Hokkaido University from the 14th to the 16th of December 2022. This symposium was sponsored by the research program “Human Security, Energy and Food in the Arctic under Climate Change” in the Arctic Challenge for Sustainability II (ArCS II) and its International Research Exchange Program “East Asia in the Arctic,” and Center for Northeast Asian Studies (CNEAS) of Tohoku University, as well as by the Platform for Explorations in Survival Strategies at SRC.

Eleven speakers from overseas countries, including Finland, USA, Russia, Norway, and Canada, and 16 speakers and moderators from Japan participated in the international symposium, which was conducted only in person for the first time in three years. More than 58 people including the audience gathered to discuss the common theme.

Reflecting the direction of interdisciplinary research promoted in ArCS II, many researchers of natural sciences attended at the symposium unlike usual international symposia at SRC. Keynote speeches on the themes of the relation between resource development in the Arctic and climate change were followed by five sessions, in which were discussed topics such as permafrost degradation, livelihood and other economic activities of indigenous people including the Sakha, their culture and identity, and the perspective of sustainable development. Ten out of the 19 presentations were concerned with the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), as many results of the research program are based on field research conducted in the Republic. The discussions in person stimulated the participants who have not been able to communicate on a face-to-face basis in recent years due to COVID-19. This symposium brought fruitful results, promising the future expansion of cross-border research cooperation.

• Information: International Symposium “Above the Permafrost: How Climate Change and Resource Development Are Changing Local Life in the Arctic”

The post International Symposium “Above the Permafrost: How Climate Change and Resource Development Are Changing Local Life in the Arctic” was held first appeared on The Arctic Challenge for Sustainability II (ArCS II).

]]> https://www.nipr.ac.jp/arcs2/e/project-report/2022-07-11-1/ Tue, 12 Jul 2022 00:57:59 +0000 https://www.nipr.ac.jp/arcs2/e/?post_type=project_report&p=2829 Reported by Hiroya Noguchi (Hokkaido Museum of Northern Peoples) Related Research Program：Human Society The exhibition, “Photographic history of Alaskan studies by Japanese 2”, co-sponsored by ArCS II, was held at Hokkaido Museum of Northern Peoples (in Abashiri City) from May 21 to June 19, 2022. Exhibition Hall The exhibition consists of about 50 photographs selected from a total of 20,000 photographs taken by Hiroaki Okada and Atsuko Okada during their survey, which have been later digitalized under the Research Program on Human Society of ArCS II from FY2020 to FY 2021. Mr. and Mrs. Okada are known as Japanese pioneers in the field of anthropological and archeological studies of Alaska. […]

The post Report of Lobby Exhibition “Photographic history of Alaskan studies by Japanese 2” first appeared on The Arctic Challenge for Sustainability II (ArCS II).

]]> Reported by Hiroya Noguchi (Hokkaido Museum of Northern Peoples)
Related Research Program：Human Society

The exhibition, “Photographic history of Alaskan studies by Japanese 2”, co-sponsored by ArCS II, was held at Hokkaido Museum of Northern Peoples (in Abashiri City) from May 21 to June 19, 2022.

The exhibition consists of about 50 photographs selected from a total of 20,000 photographs taken by Hiroaki Okada and Atsuko Okada during their survey, which have been later digitalized under the Research Program on Human Society of ArCS II from FY2020 to FY 2021. Mr. and Mrs. Okada are known as Japanese pioneers in the field of anthropological and archeological studies of Alaska. They conducted continuous fieldwork and excavation in Alaska from 1960 to 1999. Their research covered a wide range of areas, from the tundra along the coast of the Arctic Ocean and Bering Sea to the forest of the southeast. These photographs are academically important materials that provide us with insight into the culture of Alaskan indigenous peoples and its changes, as well as the natural environment of that period.

The exhibition focused on the photographs of Southeast Alaska taken during their survey from 1987 to 1999, and introduced their archaeological research result from Heceta and Prince of Wales Islands and anthropological fieldwork in the Metlakatla community in Anette Island. Atsuko Okada wrote a commentary for each photo to help visitors understand the background and results of the research and the culture of the Alaskan indigenous people.

A lot of visitors took their time to view each photograph one by one. We are sure that the exhibition provided them with a good opportunity to deepen their knowledge of the cultures of Alaskan indigenous peoples as well as the history of Japanese anthropological and archeological studies on Alaska.

Information：Lobby Exhibition “Photographic history of Alaskan studies by Japanese 2”

The post Report of Lobby Exhibition “Photographic history of Alaskan studies by Japanese 2” first appeared on The Arctic Challenge for Sustainability II (ArCS II).

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