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Department of Political Science 's Professor Parki Seminar conducted on-site research on local government in Osaka Prefecture atHachioji Campus Campus.

On August 12th (Wed) and 13th (Thu), 2026, a seminar led by Associate Professor Akira Parki of the Department of Department of Political Science, Faculty Faculty of Law Teikyo University, conducted a field survey on local government in Osaka Prefecture. Third-year students from the seminar participated in the survey, visiting organizations and facilities where Associate Professor had worked during his time as a local government employee. This was the fourth consecutive year that the seminar has conducted a field survey in Osaka Prefecture. This year, in addition to the ongoing research on "collaboration" among local governments, the seminar also investigated the current state of disaster preparedness food supplies in preparation for the seminar exhibition "The Present and Future of Disaster Preparedness Food Supplies," which is scheduled to be held at the university's general museum in the second semester.

On the first day, we visited the Osaka Prefectural Mayors' Association, the Osaka Prefectural Town and Village Mayors' Association, and Masse OSAKA to learn about policy coordination through inter-municipal collaboration and the mechanisms for training and research for municipal employees. We also received an explanation about the status of securing disaster relief food supplies at facilities whose users are limited to municipal employees. On the second day, we visited the Yao City Cultural Hall Prism Hall to investigate the collaboration between the city and the Yao City Cultural Promotion Foundation, which utilizes the designated manager system, and the city's stockpiling system as a secondary evacuation center. Furthermore, at Yao Municipal Hospital, where the hospital and private businesses collaborate using a PFI (Private Finance Initiative) project, we learned about the role of a municipal hospital and hospital management, and deepened our understanding of stockpiling for hospital staff and private businesses, as well as the system for providing meals during disasters.

Over the two days, we interacted with local government officials and staff from various facilities, and were able to hear directly about their careers, the rewards of their work, and their approach to addressing regional issues. At Masse Osaka, we were also asked for our opinions on how the work of a local government official is perceived, in order to incorporate students' perspectives into case reports that are scheduled to be published in the research journal.

Riona Hata (3rd year, Faculty of Law), who led the visit in charge of public relations and external affairs, commented, "Through this visit, I learned the significance of local governments and private companies collaborating to address regional issues. I also had the opportunity to hear from people involved in various jobs about their reasons for choosing their work, their careers, the rewards and challenges they face, which will be invaluable in considering my future career path." The Parki Seminar will utilize the knowledge gained from this visit in their exhibitions and proposals at the seminar exhibition, and will continue to deepen their learning through field research and interaction with local communities as a seminar that learns in the field of local government.

Click here for information about Department of Political Science Faculty of Law
Click here for information about the Osaka Prefectural Municipalities Promotion Association.
Click here for information about Yao City Cultural Hall Prism.
Click here for information about Yao Municipal Hospital.

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