Field Research in Okinawa Metropolitan Area
This is Takeshi Uemachi, a first-year master’s student.
As part of my ongoing research on Poverty and Transportation in Okinawa, which I have continued since my undergraduate thesis, I stayed in Okinawa again for about three weeks to conduct fieldwork.
During the survey, I visited officials in charge of urban and transportation planning as well as welfare support in each municipality, along with local social welfare councils, to hear about the realities faced by people experiencing financial hardship. In addition, unlike the previous survey, I had the opportunity to visit professors from other faculties at the University of the Ryukyus and local children’s cafeterias. These visits helped me deepen my understanding of the poverty issue itself and the broader challenges faced by various groups.
Based on the insights I gained this time, I intend to carefully analyze the relationship between car-dependent society and social exclusion from both qualitative and quantitative perspectives. My goal is to contribute to a better understanding of the situation and propose policies that can help improve it.
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Professor Kamiya, everyone in the lab, all those who kindly participated in the interviews despite this being a busy time of year, and especially to Professor Fukuda for providing me with this valuable opportunity.
[Uemachi]
