NEWS

ICU Students Win Kanto Regional Agricultural Administration Office Special Prize at the MIDOR Strategy Student Challenge Kanto Block Competition

Update: March 18, 2025

At the FY2024 MIDORI Strategy Student Challenge Kanto Block Competition, the ICU Environmental Team was awarded the Kanto Regional Agricultural Administration Office Special Prize.

The award-winning ICU Environmental Team consists of six members: Saaya Ochi (4th year, major in Business), Kyosuke Hiradori (4th year, double major in Environmental Studies and History), Hina Nakamura (4th year, major in Environmental Studies), Kanami Suzuki (3rd year, major in Environmental Studies), and Ai Sato (2nd year), all from the College of Liberal Arts, and Minori Saito (3rd year, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology). The awards ceremony and networking event held on March 4 were attended by three student representatives and Associate Professor Ryosuke Fujinuma, who serves as their advisor.

In 2021, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries formulated the MIDORI Strategy for Sustainable Food Systems to transform Japan's food, agriculture, forestry, and fisheries industries into environmentally sustainable sectors.
The MIDORI Strategy Student Challenge aims to support this initiative by recognizing and presenting outstanding projects by student groups--Japan's future core generation of 2050--engaged in activities that contribute to reducing environmental impact, thereby expanding the scope of efforts. The program was piloted in FY2023 within the jurisdiction of the Kanto Regional Agricultural Administration Office, and expanded nationwide in FY2024 as the "MIDORI Strategy Student Challenge (National Edition)," comprising nine regional block competitions and a national competition.

IThe ICU Environmental Team received the award for their initiative to promote sustainable farmland conservation through the terraced rice field owner system in the Kakizaki area of Joetsu City, Niigata Prefecture.

Comments from the awardees:

Saaya Ochi
Through this project, I gained firsthand experiences--joys, struggles, and happiness--that cannot be fully understood through knowledge alone. In addition to the local farmers in Kakizaki, we were able to connect with people from the city hall, inns, and sake breweries, building relationships that transcended regional and professional boundaries. I hope that hands-on learning opportunities like this project will help make agriculture more relatable for everyone and help people appreciate that the meals in front of them exist thanks to countless human connections. I would be thrilled if this helps raise awareness of Japan's food issues.

Kyosuke Hiradori
This project provided me with an opportunity to reexamine and articulate agricultural and regional efforts from multiple perspectives. Having grown up in a rural town myself, the landscapes of terraced rice fields and community-wide initiatives were familiar to me. However, working with teammates from completely different backgrounds and hearing from those in Niigata's Kakizaki area enabled me to reevaluate agriculture and regional revitalization from new viewpoints. Thinking together with various people, visiting actual sites, and taking action -- I realized that there are experiences and insights that can only be gained through this process.
I'm deeply grateful to the people of Kakizaki in Niigata, Professor Fujinuma, and all involved for their support over the past year.
And I'm truly grateful to all my team members. Thank you so much! I hope we can all visit our beloved Kakizaki together again someday.

Hina Nakamura
This initiative provided me with a hands-on experience of agriculture. While I had previously learned about issues like declining food self-sufficiency and aging workers in the primary sector through classroom study, actually working in agriculture gave me a clearer sense of the root challenges. I discovered that agriculture is not just about growing rice--it is interwoven with local customs and commerce, forming a complex system. I believe it is thanks to the support and encouragement of many people that we were able to carry out this project and receive this award. I would like to express my gratitude to everyone who was involved, and I sincerely hope that this initiative will continue into the future. I am deeply thankful for having been given such a valuable opportunity.

Kanami Suzuki
Although I could only participate in part of the project due to personal circumstances, the experience allowed me to link fieldwork with academic learning and deepen my understanding of terraced rice fields. Furthermore, interacting with fellow ICU students and students from other universities through the exchange event blessed me with the opportunity to explore the topic from diverse perspectives, including those of farmers, local residents, and public agencies--ideas I would not have come up with on my own--making it highly interesting. I am very grateful to have been partially involved in the project, and I hope that its insights and outcomes will contribute to the future spread of the terraced rice field owner system.

Ai Sato
Through this initiative, I learned a great deal, including how to approach long-term projects like the terraced rice field owner system and the importance of engaging others. In addition to gaining academic insights from literature on terraced fields, I was able to analyze participants' and stakeholders' perspectives to gain a deeper practical understanding. This kind of initiative, which integrates both theory and practice, is a rare and valuable opportunity, beyond what university lectures alone can offer. Personally, I hope to carry forward the lessons and experiences gained through this project. Lastly, I extend my heartfelt thanks to the people of Kakizaki, the ICU Environmental Team, Professor Fujinuma, and all others involved for making this invaluable experience possible.

Minori Saito
This project exposed me to perspectives and thoughts different from those I had encountered in my studies within the Faculty of Agriculture, making me realize how limited my own viewpoint had been. The terraced rice field owner system, which leverages the charm of agriculture and local communities, struck me as a promising initiative in contrast to my previous focus on agricultural challenges. Although I joined midway through the project, it was a valuable experience that showed me how such activities can transcend boundaries and grow. On a personal level, I intend to delve even deeper into the relationship between agriculture and local communities in my graduation thesis. In closing, I would like to express my gratitude to the people of Kakizaki, the ICU Environmental Team, Professor Fujinuma, and all others involved.