On 13 July 2025, Nippon Television featured a field visit by UNU-IAS experts to Kagaku no Sato (Science Village) in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. Kagaku no Sato is a project led by the science education programme "Tokoro-san no Megaten!" and the International Partnership for the Satoyama Initiative (IPSI), for which UNU-IAS serves as the secretariat. The collaborative project aims to restore ecosystems, transforming degraded land into vibrant satoyama (Japanese woodland villages) rich in biodiversity.
Through hands-on experiences and discussions with local practitioners, the episode highlights efforts to revitalize the landscape using organic agriculture, sustainable architecture and traditional knowledge.
The episode featured Rina Miyake (Programme Coordinator) introducing IPSI, as well as Suneetha Subramanian (Research Fellow and Academic Associate), Agung Prasetyo (Programme Associate), Juliano Houndonougbo (JSPS-UNU Postdoctoral Fellow) and Hanna Takemoto (Communications Associate) participating in on-site activities such as rice planting at Kagaku no Sato.
A recording of the programme (in Japanese) can be accessed below.
