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Could Anarchy Save Japanese Communities? — An Interview With Ko Hayakawa

Amélie Geeraert
Kokoro Media
Published in
12 min readMar 12, 2024

Ko Hayakawa is an associate professor of cultural anthropology and a researcher at Osaka International University. He currently mainly studies community development, an important topic for Japan, which must face new challenges as its population slowly disappears. He published a book introducing his idea of “anarchic community development.” As I was very intrigued by this surprising concept, I have decided to interview him about his job, the Japanese people, and his ideas regarding Japanese community development.

What Is Cultural Anthropology About?

To me, cultural anthropology is meaningful because we can re-understand what human beings are, as well as what we are personally.

When hearing “cultural anthropology,” I think the first image that comes to mind is a researcher that goes to some exotic country, lives among the local people, studies them, and comes back later to present the result of their studies. What does cultural anthropology really consist of?

This image is not wrong. Most of the cultural anthropologists go to other countries to study the local people: what they eat, their familial values, how they view gender, etc.

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Kokoro Media
Kokoro Media

Published in Kokoro Media

Exploring the heart of Japan through people, places, and experiences.

Amélie Geeraert
Amélie Geeraert

Written by Amélie Geeraert

Living in Japan since 2011. I love interviewing inspiring people.

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