The field of my research is part of the qualitative theory of ordinary differential equations. In this research, we focus on the behavior of all solutions of nonautonomous ordinary differential equations. How does the variable coefficients of ODE influence the stability of the solutions? The main purpose of this research is to answer this question. In particular, we deal with the problem on the stability in the Lyapunov sense. For example, we treat asymptotic stability, uniform asymptotic stability and exponential stability. By understanding these essence, we aim to contribute to the development of ODE.

The final goal of our research is to converse with ants. Ants have long been thought to engage in detailed communication using chemical substances such as pheromones. However, our researchis revealing that acoustic signals are also important toos of communication.We conducte detailed analyses of organs such as “ears” and “sound-producing organs”. It will be able to control the behavior of ants like leaf-cutting ants, which are significant damage against human society.

We have been collaborating with various stakeholders such as the Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture, and the Ministry of the Environment to control invasive alien ant species such as the red imported fire ant, the yellow crazy ant, and Argentine ant. In Okayama Prefcture, there have been reported of the little fire ant (Wasmannia auropunctata) at Mizushima Port, and we will continue to control and manage these ants.

By using silk produced by silworms, which domesticated in China 6,000 years ago, and the silks spun by black Japanese weaver ant in Okinawa, we conduct research to create new fabric sheets. We hope that as this research progresses, the black Japanese weaver ant can be a symbolic relationship with humans as the fourth demesticated insect.

Mechanisms that allow humans to recognize and understand 2D drawings in 3D have long been actively studied in the fields of artificial intelligence and mechanical engineering. However, there is no real system until now. In our research, its automation methods have developed. Currently, the main themes are: (1) Sketches are often used to draw new ideas such as mechanical parts. We have developed a method to automatically convert them into 3D models. (2) In the civil engineering and construction industry, IT techniques are being promoted, but it is difficult until now. We have developed a system to automatically convert its 2D drawings into 3D models.

By taking advantage of pneumatic actuators that have features of higher force / mass ratio, lightweight and flexibility based on compressibility, we have developed low-cost wearable actuators and low-cost home-based rehabilitation devices that can be disposable after using it. Specifically, we developed a flexible pneumatic cylinder that can be used even if the cylinder bends. A spherical actuator that consists of two flexible pneumatic cylinders have been also developed as an application for portable rehabilitation device. We have also developed a low-cost wearable servo valve using buckled tubes, an artificial muscle with built-in displacement sensor and a pipe inspection robot using extension type flexible pneumatic actuators. In addition, aiming at globalization for students, all graduate students in our laboratory have presentation in international conferences.

This study is about sentences which express emotions in modern Japanese. Modern Japanese studies verse mainly on predicate sentences. Such sentences aim to convey information about “things”. As such, there are scarce studies about sentences which express emotions being treated as a kind of sentence of its own. These sentences do not aim to convey information of the “thing”. An example would be “Beautiful flower!”, which is uttered unconsciously upon being moved by the beauty of any given flower. This type of exclamatory sentences are uttered by speakers to express their emotions and they employ the structure of Noun Phrases. Other kinds of sentences which express emotions are Labeling Sentences like the insult “Bakayaro!”. Since systematic studies of sentences which express emotions are scarce, I would like to attempt to describe and classify them, considering Labeling and Exclamatory sentences as separate sub-groups.I am also attempting to grasp the structure of modern Japanese sentences, not leaning on the structure of predicate sentences.

In recent marketing research, the concept of value co-creation, in which different actors such as companies and customers collaborate to create value, has become mainstream. From the perspective of value co-creation, this laboratory studies how customers’ perceived experiences influence their well-being and how the experiences of frontline employees, who are service providers, influence customer experiences.
Recently, we have also been working on the interaction between service robots and customer experience, considering that service robots, such as catering robots, have been becoming an indispensable part of our lives and workplaces.

Now that Covid19 has settled down, the diversification of inbound customers will progress. Japan’s tourist areas will be required to be tourist areas that respond to diverse values such as religious diversity such as Halal, veganism, and LGBTQ. It means that each tourist area is required to select the value that is sought and to work on regional development that makes use of the strengths of the area.
Tourism has a broad base and a huge and growing market all over the world. In addition, it is an attractive industry that can realize tourism that benefits all people involved in tourism, including the industry, the business operators, and tourists.
I am interested in researching ways to help realize such a tourist area.

Satisfactory communication with others enables us to reduce interpersonal relationship stress and to enhance well-being.
Towards providing communication training that can help people communicate well, I have been studying verbal and nonverbal behavior of dyad, triad or small group in face-to-face and computer-mediated communication. For example, I examined what verbal and nonverbal channels were used by senders, and their channels had effectives on receivers in interpersonal persuasion.
I am currently studying communication behaviors and psychological safety during consensus building.

In response to the crisis of social, cultural, and economic sustainability in rural areas caused by declining birthrates and aging populations, the regional management movement, in which industry, academia, government, and the private sector collaborate to solve problems, has attracted attention.
In this laboratory, we support the construction of marketing databases for tourism marketing organizations that practice regional management, while analyzing the information obtained from these databases and examining effective regional management strategies.
There are two topics in this laboratory,
(1) Research on the relationships and roles among entities in effectively functioning regional management,
(2) Research on the construction of a marketing database that contributes to the formulation of regional management strategies and on evaluation indices for regional management.

In Japan, Eigyo is often confused with sales and treated as a subordinate concept of marketing. However, in reality, Eigyo in a company plays a broad role in “connecting” the company with its customers, each department within the company, each department within the customer’s company, partner companies, domestic and overseas, and even society. Our research focuses on Eigyo as a process of business transformation and social problem solving, rather than simply selling products and services, and as a value-creating entity.

Smooth muscle cells are major components of the organ walls of organs, such as artery, gastrointestinal tract, bladder and trachea. Smooth muscle cell motility is highly regulated by nerve and hormonal stimuli. Accumulating lines of evidence suggest that impaired smooth muscle motility is involved in a variety of diseases, such as hypertension, digestive dysfunction, asthma, and dysuria. To elucidate the molecular basis of smooth muscle diseases, and to develop their effective diagnostic and therapeutic strategies, we have been studying the mechanisms that regulate smooth muscle motor function. Meanwhile, we have discovered a protein that regulates smooth muscle contractile function and have elucidated the underlying mechanism by which the protein mediates regulation of smooth muscle motility. We now study the signals in smooth muscle disease.
In parallel with our research on smooth muscle disease, we are assisting in the development of devices and products to improve the quality of life of animals, including pets, and their owners through collaborative research.

I analyze influences of biogeographic phenomena such as evolution and migration of host animals on parasite distribution or population using molecular phylogenetic analyses. I’m also conducting research on the mechanisms of migration and pathology of helminths in their host.

To protect from viruses, animals including humans have acquired various innate immunity. However, viruses have also gotten the abilities to evade the host immune responses in order to efficiently propagate.
In the relation between viruses and host immune responses, I focus on the “programmed cell death”, which is the cell suicide to inhibit the infection to other cells, and “stress granule”, which is recently identified as the new host immune response. In the future, I’d like to investigate emerging infectious disease viruses to elucidate the viral survival-strategy against the host.

My research focus on practice of Capacity Development for student’s leadership development and professional development of Faculty and staff at university. I was organized leadership development program and system at “University Network for Global Leadership Development in West Japan” that grants by Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in JAPAN.
And I have collaborated project with many universities approach to administration and curriculum management by supervision and lecture.
In these days, I expand of my research fields on Management of company and Government. And I am carry out research Capacity Development organization members (student, Faculty, staff, officer and more) at empirical research methods that utilized university resources.

In this globalized world, English is crucial as international language. Students majoirng in science and engineering field expecially need to learn English related to their major and future career actively.
Therefore, I study and practice Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) class, which aims to let students visualize necessary English in their own major or future career, caltivate their cognitive skills, and raise their motivation. I also research effective Egnlish instruction that science and engineering students can learn English logically.

A semiconductor is the key material of the electronics. Most semiconductors are a substance suitable for one-electron approximation. However, in the strongly correlated electron systems,one-electron approximation can not be applied. These substances indicate the interesting characteristics that are not found in normal materials. Based on the study of strongly correlated electron systems, We aim to development of new material and new device with a focus on rare earth hydride semiconductor.