In August 2024, the Co-SPACE team spent eight days visiting academic collaborators in Japan to share study findings, work together in person, and strengthen existing and build new relationships with Japanese researchers.
This visit formed a part of our joint international project titled ‘Learning from the trajectories of mental health challenges for children, young people and parents over the course of the Covid-19 pandemic’ conducted with Dr Naho Morisaki and her team from the National Center for Child Health and Development, Tokyo. The main highlight of our visit included meeting the Japanese young people who have been working on the project as co-researchers. Together, we presented our findings to the Children and Families Agency, who are part of the Japanese Cabinet Office and are tasked with integrating and implementing policies concerning children’s health and wellbeing.
Our team also had the pleasure of delivering a number of lectures at the University of Tokyo, Doshisha University, and for the Japanese Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect. Between meetings and lectures we were extremely fortunate to try some delicious food and experience some of the country’s landmarks and traditions, including a monkey park (where the humans were in cages) and a local festival where locals honour their ancestors through dance and song.
A big ‘thank you’ (or ‘arigatou gozaimasu’) to our Japanese collaborators for making our visit so productive and enjoyable.
