Editorial Staff

PWRI Web Magazine Editorial Staff
P.R. Managerial Meeting
<Tsukuba>
General Manager: Dr.Kazunori Wada, Representative managers: Mr. Eiji Aoki, Ms. Harumi Moriki, Mr. Toshio Yarimizo, Mr. Masuo Kondo, Mr. Minoru Kikuchi, Managers: Mr. Yoshiaki Sato, Mr. Takahiro Yamanashi, Mr. Akira Kamakura, Mr. Takayuki Ayabe, Ms. Yuko Nagaya, Mr. Takaya Higuchi, Mr. Junji Kato, Dr. Masatoshi Denda, Mr. Hiroki Sakamoto, Mr. Takeshi Shimizu, Mr. Nobuharu Isago, Mr. Yoshikazu Shimizu, Mr. Yasushi Josen
<CERI>
General Manager: Dr. Atsushi Yoshii, Managers: Mr. Hiroshi Ota, Mr. Satoshi Mori, Mr.Yoshio Ninomiya, Mr.Morito Takahashi, Mr. Hiroyasu Kyoshi, Dr. Motoki Asano, Dr. Yoshiaki Hideshima, Mr. Yukinori Outi



Editor’s Note

In January of this year, Mt. Shinmoe in Miyazaki Prefecture erupted. Responding to a request from the Kyushu Regional Development Bureau, MLIT, PWRI dispached researchers to the site, where they gave various interviews to the mass media. On the other hand, it is reported that when Cyclone Yasi struck Australia, local state police advised local people to evacuate on Facebook. The Facebook story has been made into a movie. And although use of Facebook has yet to become very widespread in Japan, it is influencing politics in the Middle East. What does the networking of people who show their faces and give their real names mean for society?

The Strategy of Conflict by 2005 Nobel economics prize winner Thomas C. Schelling gave a new perspective when looking at the behavior of people and nations. This is because I learned that the application of “game theory” can rationally explain various national and individual behaviors - from diplomatic relations to personal relationships. When people litter the streets or do not follow the rules, their behavior is often seen as a moral issue. However, if such behavior is seen in terms of game theory, then it becomes a strategic issue. If we change our systems and situations, it is possible that people will modify their behavior by making strategic changes. Social problems are unlike technologcal problems in that, even if solutions are known, the actual means of implementing them can be problematic.

Playing repeated games in which the objective is to cooperate or not cooperate, it is found that some people decide not to cooperate because they have a short-term perspective, even if cooperative strategy will achieve a social optimal equilibrium, and some also cooperate if everyone else does. However, care is required if almost everyone decides not to cooperate, as an individual who cooperates based on feelings of friendship for the others will only end up being used by them. Here, there is research that suggests that if, rather than an individual, a team with a “tit-for-tat strategy” joins the game, it will influence opportunists and form an alliance with them. This reminds me of the movie Exorcist II (1977), where Kokumo develops “a good locust” that is not influenced by an evil locust, and conducts research to tame grasshoppers by multiplying its offspring.

At 24rd CERI lecture meeting held in Sapporo in November of last year, Dr. Norihito Tambo, president of the Hokkaido Research Organization, spoke on the “modern age.” Once I learned that, from the standpoints of philosophy and sociology, “modern age” is defined as “release” of individuals from religious and class systems (i.e., individualism). Because people have dignity as individuals, their morals as individuals cannot be tread upon. Although locusts become networked by rubbing their wings together, human society has yet to become networked. However, research on measures toward tackling various issues is already moving forward. And if individuals who became isolated in modern times can become connected through Facebook and other networks in the postmodern age, the day when various international and social problems can be solved may not be so far away.

(Yoshiaki Sato)