Paper short abstract:

Children Independent Mobility (CIM) can be defined as ‘the freedom of children to travel around their own neighborhood or city without adult supervision’. we focused on this concept and used the results of a questionnaire survey conducted throughout Japan to understand the CIM in Japan.

Paper long abstract:

Children Independent Mobility (CIM) can be defined as ‘the freedom of children to travel around their own neighborhood or city without adult supervision’. CIM is thought of an important factor in the health and physical, social and mental development of children. The first study focusing on CIM was conducted by the Policy Studies Institute (PSI) in the UK in 1971, followed by the UK and West Germany in 1990, and 16 countries including the UK, Germany, and Japan in 2010, with annual and international comparisons. These studies used the concept of six licenses. The six licenses were as a behavioral measure of road safety intended to indicate the degree to which children were being removed from exposure to danger. There are nine core questions used as the principal measures of independent mobility of the children studied – six from the adult questionnaire and three from the child questionnaire. These measures were termed ‘licenses’ of independent mobility in PSI’s previous work. However, PSI's 2010 survey of CIM was conducted in only four Japanese cities, and no study has captured CIM for the entire country.

In this study, we focused on this concept of "six licenses" from adults and used the results of a questionnaire survey conducted throughout Japan to understand the CIM in Japan. As a result, we were able to collect more than 90 samples per prefecture in the web-based questionnaire and analyze them by prefecture. We found that the CIM varies by prefecture. In addition, comparing the CIM of children with that of their parents when they were children, we found that the CIM of children has worsened. In all six licenses, children are less free to act on their own than when their parents were children. This result indicates that there are very serious issues.

Paper short abstract:

Based on the fieldwork in an urban area in Osaka, Japan, this presentation aims to explore ways of coexisting among the migrants and local people in “super-diversity,” and the difficulties and possibilities of crossing the boundary between “us” and “them.”

Paper long abstract:

“Super diversity” (Vertovec 2007) has been widely acknowledged to describe situations in which various difference among people and culture stand out and compose an urban place. In Japan too, with the rapid increase in the number of migrants, many areas in urban places have been attracting various migrants and ethnic minorities, which brings about the situation called “super-diversity.” While such an increase in diversity and complexity characterizes contemporary society, the boundary between “us” and “them” and even the hostility against “others” have been reinforced in many parts of the world (Anderson 2013).

It becomes all the more critical, however, to explore the realities of “super-diversity” and ways for people to live with/in such a setting. In this context, this presentation considers the daily experiences and contacts of various migrants and local people in a place by taking up the case of Ikuno-ward, Osaka in Japan. Osaka is the second largest city in Japan and has been a so-called “post-colonial” city because many of the descendants of migrants from the Korean Peninsula in the colonial period have been living there for a long time. Specifically, Ikuno-ward is well-known as having the highest percentage of Koreans living in Japan. In addition, recently, the number of other migrants such as Chinese and Vietnamese have also been increasing, which has led to changing the area into a situation of “super-diversity.”

Based on the ongoing fieldwork, including about thirty interviews with migrants and local people living or working in the area, this research particularly focuses on how people with different backgrounds perceive the area differently as well as how they encounter each other and negotiate in physical spaces. It argues that while their recognition of the place is different and sometimes even polarized, they can get along with one another. Through these considerations, it suggests ways of coexisting among the heterogeneous in “super-diversity,” and the difficulties and possibilities of crossing the boundary between “us” and “them.”

Paper short abstract:

“Kodomo Shokudo” is a children’s cafeteria or children’s dining room offering free food to the children of poor families. Its numbers have increased rapidly to 6014 in 2021. This study aims to clarify how “Kodomo Shokudo” contribute to community-based revitalization in non-metropolitan regions.

Paper long abstract:

One in six children in Japan lives below the poverty line as of 2020, which is the worst level among developed countries. The cause behind this is poverty in families raising children, especially in single-parent families dominated by mother-child households, and a poverty rate that remains high in Japan at 54%. In addition, the number of elementary and junior high school students receiving educational assistance has increased slightly since the late 1990s.

“Kodomo Shokudo” is a children’s cafeteria or children’s dining room offering free food to the children of poor families. It is said to have started around 2012 in Tokyo, and its numbers have increased and spread rapidly to 6014 in 2021. “Kodomo Shokudo” is a private-sector initiative in which local volunteers and others participate in the operation and provide free and cheap meals to poor families and children eating alone. Recently, “Kodomo Shokudo” have come to be operated by various entities. For example, some “Kodomo Shokudo” were opened in vacant stores in the shopping street and are expected to help in the revitalization of that district. People who run ”Kodomo Shokudo” in the area interact with each other, reduce the number of children who eat alone, and expect it to be a place for exchanges among generations of local residents. The various activities of the “Kodomo Shokudo” are not only to alleviate poverty but also to develop communal child-rearing, and through that achieve the revitalization of the local community.

We have already clarified that there are many“Kodomo Shokudo” mainly operated by local volunteers and restaurant managers in the Tokyo. This study aims to clarify how “Kodomo Shokudo” contribute to community-based revitalization in non-metropolitan regions. In the Chugoku region, there are many “Kodomo Shokudo” in Tottori and Yamaguchi prefectures, while there are few “Kodomo Shokudo” in Okayama and Shimane prefectures. Therefore, in this study, we try to clarify why such a difference occurred in Chugoku region. As a result of the interview survey, it was clarified that many “Kodomo Shokudo” also conduct activities that combine learning support activities and creating places for children.