HARA DESIGN INSTITUTE

Japan has no energy resources. Paradoxically, this might help Japan develop into an advanced country in terms of energy. Research is underway into ways to generate energy that don't depend on petroleum or nuclear power. Research is continually being carried out on biofuels that produce petroleum from algae, photosynthesis that generates energy from carbon dioxide, and waste power generation and renewable energy extending into multiple fields. Naturally there is concern over the balance between the speed of the development and consumption of energy, however, technological progress is likely to help dramatically improve the efficiency of energy consumption. Sensing and control technology will reduce energy waste in heating, cooling or lighting unoccupied areas. Also, the inefficiency of cars carrying only drivers, which causes serious congestion, may be gradually eliminated. Shifting from cars that are owned and driven by individuals to mobile, high-efficiency travel in which people share self-driving cars will result in a relative decrease in the number of cars. This will change the balance between the energy production and consumption.

The Japanese archipelago is rich in peninsulas. I have conceived a company, "Peninsular Airlines" designed to connect the tips of these peninsulas. This is not intercity movement as is achieved by passenger airlines and bullet trains. It's infrastructure for transporting people to the depths of Japan. In Japan, excellent amphibious aircraft are used as marine rescue boats. By encouraging the private sector to utilize these aircraft and allowing marine takeoff and landing, the sea will act as a runway. In short, the Japanese archipelago is surrounded by runways, and small fishing ports, remaining just as they are, become airports. Most Japanese national parks are situated along the sea. In the days of marine trade, the peninsulas functioned as antennae of economic culture. Many of these places retain traces of this history. However, at present, it takes an exorbitant amount of time to get to the tips of these peninsulas from inland cities. For instance, suppose Peninsular Airlines were to launch daily flights from Haneda Airport, one eastbound and one westbound. This alone would connect the Japanese archipelago in a lovely and inviting manner. Low-altitude flights traveling below the cloud layer would also be perfect for viewing the landscape. These wouldn't be cheap, but relatively expensive flights, but it would be worth the price. This low-volume Peninsular Airlines service, connecting beautiful points in the depths of the countryside, is a practical, concrete proposal for the liberation of Japan's potential value via the airways.

It's said that as the performance of unmanned vehicles improves, the probability of accidents drops dramatically for "mobile" cars vs "driven" cars. Perhaps humans, who are all fallible, are gradually inclined to feel that driving themselves is a reckless act. It's not hard to imagine a situation in which driven cars will not be able to go on "unmanned vehicle highways" on which they are operated at a speed of 200km/hour, and are instead relegated to low-speed "drive-ways". Or, cars may become important as means of communication or places to relax, rather than as a means of transportation. For example, they could move us as we sleep. If exceptional safety surpassing that of manually operated vehicles is guaranteed, people will sleep in cars.
Furthermore, cars may act as suppliers of energy and information to facilities remote from infrastructure, like villas in secluded havens. Houses will function via their connection to cars, sources of energy and information.
On the other hand, unmanned vehicles are not just for human transport; it is said that they will possibly effect revolutionary change in the distribution of goods. The evolved distribution system will contribute to supporting a society in which individuals and families live as autonomous, isolated units.

Because of the globalization of business, travel is an everyday practice, and resting or vacationing while working or working while vacationing is beginning to serve as an indicator of social status. Despite the development of online conferences, the opportunities for on-site inspection and review as well as for personal interactions continue to increase. There will also be a diversification of the values of airlines. Services that enhance the quality of eating, working and resting become more sophisticated through research on the "LIFE CORE" of the cabin. On the other hand, the "no-service class" into which one carries one's own food, devices and video content will become more popular. We can economize on food while upgrading to the level of first class by arranging to get our food at the airport deli, and we can enjoy streaming movies, news or communications on our own tablet, which we simply snap into a holder in front of our seats. It makes sense that we would also use our own headphones. It seems that the in-flight segment becomes time for valuable communication and concentration. Popularity is shifting from urban destinations that are easily reached to locales that are remote and uncommon. We are witnessing a rise in the value of remote hotels in extremely natural environments, and hotels on the edges of peninsulas. Even if you go to a secluded, natural location, it's essential that you're seamlessly connected to the world through the Internet, you're guaranteed a comfortable environment, including air conditioning, and the food is of high quality. For people who work actively, a secluded recess in Nature's bosom becomes a perfect place for relaxation and concentration.

Due to a worldwide boom in Japanese cuisine, umami, or savory taste, has begun to change the criteria of the palates of the world's gourmets. Thanks to the expansion of the range of delicate taste, elegant white wine made from grapes grown in Japan has begun to be highly valued in the wine world. Japanese sake, which is difficult to transport over long distances, is beginning to be produced close to the areas where it is consumed. Japanese restaurants overseas, where the presentation used to be somewhat theatrical, have now begun to establish the intrinsic values of Japanese cuisine in the global market. Gradually it's become clear that the sensibility that appreciates wabi and suki, tranquil simplicity and subtle elegance, is not something unique to the Japanese, but a sensibility that functions as one of the universal elements of comfort in human psychology.
As for ramen and udon, the required etiquette for consuming them and their quintessential flavors are recognized worldwide and gaining popularity. The popularity of sushi might wane, relatively speaking, due to the increase in low-level sushi restaurants and the steep rise in fish prices because of shrinking global hauls.
On the other hand, as the understanding of Japan's subtlety spreads, through its food, a certain proportion of people will appear who want to experience it in its place of origin. Inquisitive visitors from abroad will want to peek into the heart of Japan. When not only the cities and ancient capitals, but also remote areas thought of as second-class destinations overflow with tourists, perhaps they too will be imbued with the spirit of creating new value.

When the Pacific Rim countries open up their markets, our agriculture will suffer temporary damage, but I believe highly efficient or value-added agriculture will gradually appear. While agriculture utilizing high tech biotechnology factories will develop with large capital investments, at the same time, there may appear young proprietors who cultivate and attempt to brand value-added crystal-like produce called "art fruit" to be sold abroad at an astoundingly high price. As for rice farmers, there will be an organization that encourages them to seek high profits through strict brand management.
On one hand, agriculture is spreading into the realm of "hobby", and there will be more and more people using small-scale planting areas to grow the kinds of fruits and vegetables they like, and to harvest exquisite produce. It's possible that these kinds of people will cultivate and achieve high-value agricultural produce. Unlike American agriculture, in which large cultivated areas are under uniform management and control, the farmland will be divided into parcels on which it is easier to grow different kinds of agricultural products, leading to the emergence of high-variety, high value-added agriculture. There may arise a format of agriculture in which farms are jointly managed with high-end hotels or restaurants. The sixth industrialization of agriculture will be essential.
On the other hand, the possible emergence of biotechnological farming methods through which the cells of seed plants can directly develop into fruit without involving the generation process may cause controversy.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has begun to attain the level at which it can provide advanced service. Service that accurately analyzes and attends to the client's inclinations based on the effects of learning may bring about a reliance on AI in our daily lives. This is because people gradually put their trust in AI that can comprehend their likes and their moods better than any person can. Perhaps if we leave consideration and concern to AI, humans will be self centered and self absorbed, and start to behave selfishly. AI may begin to behave more subtly and boldly, and, as is depicted in so much science fiction, may begin to think for itself and eventually compete with the human intellect on equal terms. This is why it's pointed out that AI may bring on mankind's greatest crisis.
Under the circumstances in which we have sought forms of service using big data analysis and AI, what kind of service will bring us happiness? The results of technology are too complicated for us to comprehend, and we are no longer able to perceive them. In the end, for whom does AI exist?

Lately, the words "Education of Desire" have set my thoughts in motion. If objects are created in response to people's desires, the quality of their desire will affect that of the object. If in response to the demands of appetite, we loosen our belts to the next hole, slovenly fashion follows. People's "needs" are sometimes loose. Therefore, needs require education. Desire and education are both words that seem too direct, but I haven't found any better. The English word education is better than the Japanese word, kyoiku, because it communicates the nuance of causing potential to blossom by supplying a vision. Design must be a slow, quiet education that gradually exerts influence on the quality of need--the standard of the desire. The aesthetics instilled in a subtly designed and well-made product kindle a small awakening and the desire life swells like a bud swollen to bursting. Objects are thus produced according to the desire that swells. Objects come into being in concert with these swollen desires, and the soil of culture grows and matures because of those countless cycles and linkages. The essence of design is participation in the quality of the soil. [Naito-san, I spent some time researching commas and "therefore". If we want to emphasize the introductory word or phrase, which in this case is the word, "therefore", we put a comma after it. If we don't want to emphasize it by making the reader pause after it, we don't. I think in this case, you're right. Let's put a comma after "therefore"! Thanks for urging me to look into it. Grammar is sometimes loose, like needs!]

The number of disposal diapers for adults, particularly the aged, has surpassed that of those for babies in our country. In 40 years, more than 40% of the population will be over 65. It's a bleak story. But it's boring to just see this as the coming of an aged society.
Some ants work hard, some goof off. I've forgotten the ratio, but it seems that even if you collect only hardworking ants into a community, or only lazy ants into a community, you still end up with an equal proportion of hardworking and lazy ants. I think the same would be true of human society. Regardless of the population's age structure, the proportion of the active vs. the inactive might be very close to that of the ants. What we need to do is reorganize our sense of value based on maturity and sophistication, without equating active to young. Or to put it another way, there are adults who are calm and composed at 20 and energetic people over 60.
At Hara Design Institute, we are concerned with the sense of value that emphasizes a mature viewpoint and atmosphere, regardless of age, an approach we call "The Principles of Adults". We intend to conduct marketing based on elements like maturity and sophistication, things we've lost sight of in the din and bustle of youth culture and a rapidly growing economy.

This section is about not kennels but architecture designed for dogs. We humans are animals that have striven to recreate the external environment to our own advantage. Whether functions or environments, we've made them from a human-centered perspective. Some people even believe that being friendly to humans is equivalent to being friendly to nature.
In fact, even dogs were made by humans. Wolves are dogs' ancestors. Pocket Chihuahuas, Dachshunds, Toy Poodles, and Afghan Hounds: all breeds came into existence through crossbreeding, controlled by humans. Dogs would be perplexed if they were told to return to the wilderness. Dogs are destined to coexist with humans. So we are seriously considering how to make spaces and furniture to suit this coexistence.
The details of this plan begin with asking leading architects to design buildings for dogs based on detailed information about size and behavioral idiosyncrasies of the breed. The results will be shared on our website. The user will be able to access CG, drawings and animation showing how to fabricate the structure. We are thinking of selling full-size drawings of the proposed architecture, with the premise that users will build them. So the architecture should be designed simply for DIY construction.
We plan to present this project as an exhibition in Europe in 2012.