Research and Consultancy (English)

Research and Consultancy (English) 2019-03-18T13:00:21+09:00

Litera Japan provides expertise and venues to help conduct risk communication and stakeholder involvement. Our coporate broschures gives an overview of our activities since 2016 [PDF File].  For further inofrmation, click Corporate Profile LJ 2016 0522  [PDF]for a short introduction to the company.

This section presents more detailed activities in research and consultancy. For a publication list in English, click here for download.

■ International

Dr Nishizawa has served to a team of international consultants providing advice to the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) of the United Nations on public communication for radiological emergency (Incident and Emergency Center, IEC) and  stakeholder enagement in environmental remediation waste management (Division of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology, Department of Nuclear Energy) since 2016.

 

 Nishizawa gave a plenary talk at International Conference on Human and Organizational Aspects of Assuring Nuclear Safety – Exploring 30 Years of Safety Culture by  IAEA, Vienna, Austria, 2016. Click here for the programmme.

A chapter by  Nishizawa published in a Springer book on public communication in Fukushima after the nuclear accident can be  downloaded free – an open access book (published in 2018).

IAEA’s draft document derived from work at IEC, Safety Guide (IAEA DS475), Arrangements for Public Communication in Preparedness and Response for a Nuclear or Radiological Emergency, is currently under review and can be viewed, click here for PDF.

 

Previously,  Dr Nishizawa has involved a range of international projects on risk communication, such as OECD’s systemic risk project (2001-2003). She was one of the contributors to the OECD publication (available online, click here for PDF).

Other activities included “Risk Governance of Maritime Global Critical Infrastructure Report” by the International Risk Governance Council (2011).

 

Outside Japan, Dr Nishizawa is also often invited to international conferences to deliver a talk on risk communication in other Asian countries such as China and Korea. Recent talks include a invited talk at a food conference in Taiwan (2014,2015, 2016) supported by Taiwanese FDA.

She is also active in delivering speeches at international workshops and conferences such as SRA Europe conference in Istanbul (2014).

■ Europe

ドイツ

Litera Japan collaborates with the University of Stuttgart,  Dialogik gGmbH (Stuttgart, Germany),  and the scientific group at the IASS(Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (Potzdam, Germany)  led by Professor Ortwin Renn. She serves as an extenal partner at Dialogik.

 

 

Dr Nishizawa went to Germany as a DAAD scholarship holder and a visiting scientist at the Akademie fuer Technikfolgenabschaetzung Baden-Wuertemberg (TA-Akademie) whilst carrying out her PhD. After completion of her PhD in 2002, she then worked as a postdoctoral scholar of Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, then as an independent project leader at the University of Stuttgart until 2005.

 

 

【 Radiological emergencies】

Litera Japan has worked with Dialogik on a EU-funded Euratom research and training programme 2014-2018 on public communication and radiological protection (2018).

【Wind energy】

Litera Japan worked on  project in 2008 on risk communicatinon about wind energy generation in collaboration with the University of Tokyo and the University of Stuttgart. This project ended in early 2011 funded by JSPS. An international symposium was held in 2008.

風力発電

【Food safety】

 She has involved in an European Food Safety Authority’s Safe Food Project(2004) of EFSA(European Food Safety Agency)  jointedly funded JST of Japan.

【Mobile phone】

An international seminar about risks from mobile phone by Germany’s BfS (German Federal Office for Radiation Protection) and Japan Science and Technology Council (2005).

In 2015 and 2016, Litera Japan organised a risk seminar in Geneve, Switzerland to discuss the risks from mobile phone with interested parties such as WHO, national regulatory authorities from Germany and Switzerland and the press.

 

 

■ Asia

A talk on food safety at a symposium hosted by the City of Taichu in 2017 (photo above).

 

 

Litera Japan regulary gives invited speeches on risk communication for the subjects such as EMF/ELF, asbestos and food safety in Seoul/Taipei/Taichu.

A talk on asbesto at Hanyang University in Seul in 2010 please click the follwing link: http://literajapan.com/20100927

A talk on food and risk communication at Taipei Medical University, 2014 invited by Taiwanese FDA: http://literajapan.com/20130310

 

Recently, Dr Nishizawa teaches at the IAEA-Japan joint communication training programme at Wakasawan Energy Centre/Fukui for nuclear energy officials from Middle East and Asian countries.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

■ Japan

Dr Nishizawa has  so far published three single-authored books in Japanese on risk communication.  A number of journal-, web-, magazine-articles have been written on a range of risk-related topics from food safety, pandemics, radiological safety and the environment.
 
  [Food safety] 

A Handbook for risk literacy.

This projected was funded by Toyota Foundation in 2011. It is available on line (in Japanese クリック).

Study on risk perception about food safety

Study on a correlation between risk-related information and people’s risk perception (in Japanese for  paper written from the project ( click here「安全・安心を得るための食のリスクコミュニケーションの研究」)

Risk perception of food safety

Collaborated with Japanese Coop on a survey on GM foods and other food-related concerns →http://jccu.coop/info/pressrelease/2006/11/news11.html

[Pandemics and  public communication] 

Dr Nishizawa is a regular contributor to popular business magazines and broadsheet papers. On the outbreak of new pandemics such as Avian Flu (H5N1) in 2004, Litera Japan organised a study session inviting officials from the Ministry of Health and contributed to Nikkei Business Online.

As an assosiated member of Japan’s Science Council, she has contributed to the organisation of a symposium on Swine (Hog) Cholera in December, 2018 (PDF).

 

 

[Science/risk communication experiments] 

 Scientists explain science

Funded by Toyota Foundation in 2005/partly by Sumitomo Foundation and JST, Dr Nishizawa organised a series of social science-based experiments “Scientists talk science” in which scientists with different backgrounds explained the safety of specific issues such as genetically modified foods and dioxin to laypersons. This project assessed elements that decided the trustworthiness towards science.

 

 

[Mobile phone]

Global research on communicating risks about mobile phones

Funded by BfS, Bundesamt fuer Strahlenschutz, A German-Japanese Forum on Risk Management and Communication about Mobile EMF was organised in Stuttgart, 2005.

 

[Health]

 Global research on the management of chemicals / nano-particiles

Rearch project by AIST  →http://www.aist-riss.jp/projects/nanorisknetpanel/

Nishizawa acted as a facilitator at an AIST symposium on precautional principle  on nano particles in 2007: report in Japanese こちら  . Further report in Japanese 報告書(49P)はリンクが切れてしまっているので、このサイトでアップします。→報告書はこちら

 

Use of dietary suppliments and health concerns

Litera Japan has organised roundtables with interested parties on the use of dietary suppliments and their health effects since 2017. Photos from a roundtable and a media briefing tour.

Research in the field of psychiatry

Collaboration with Prfessor Akira Iwanami of Showa Medical University since 2007 on social implications of suicide and psychiatry-related issues.

 

Risk communication on X-ray

Funded by the Ministry of Health. Web-information booklet was created in collaboration with Dr Ichiro Yamaguchi of National Institutte for Public Health  →http://trustrad.sixcore.jp/medical

 

Risk communication for post 3.11 accident in Fukushima

Dr Nishizawa is Advisor for risk communication in Iitate Village, Fukushima between  2011 and 2012.
She was involved in drafting a resolution paper on reconstruction of the village life, and conducts  a range of risk communication practices for local residents.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Litera Japan organises stakeholder meetings and roundtable in local areas where nuclear generators are located such as in Kakegawa/Shizuoka and Tokaimura since 2015.



■ Publication in English

 For a publication list in English, click here for download.

  • A recent contribution by Nishizawa is on Germany’s BASF’s booklet, Creating Chemistry, click  URL as of April2019.

  • A Springer book on risk communication (published in 2018) is an open access book for free-download. Nishizawa has contributed to a chapter on Fukushima Nuclear Accident and communication issues. Click → HERE (for URL and document download)

    【Scientific paper: Publication before 2018】

  • Nishizawa, M. and Renn, O. (2006) ‘Responding public demand for assurance of genetically modified crops: Case from Japan’, Journal of Risk Research, 9(1), 41-56.

  • Nishizawa, M. (2005) ‘Citizen deliberation on science and technology and their social environments: case study on the Japanese consensus conference on GM crops’, Science and Public Policy, 32 (6), December, 479-489. (日本での遺伝子組み換え作物コンセンサス会議の考察)

  • Nishizawa, M. (2004) ‘The current state and legal framework of preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) in Japan’, Journal of International Biomedical Law (Walter de Gruyter, Berlin), 1(3), 105-110. (日本での着床前診断をめぐる法整備の現状報告)

 

 

For an overview of Litera Japan’s activities, please return to the English page.