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About the author
Ryuzo Furukawa is a professor in the Faculty of Environmental Studies, Tokyo City University. He received a BS in 1996 and an MS in 1998 from the University of Tokyo. From 1998 to 2005, he served as a researcher in the Mitsubishi Research Institute, Inc., during which time he got interested in innovation research. He received a PhD in innovation research from the Department of Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, University of Tokyo, in 2005. From then on, he has been at the Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Tohoku University, and developing new methodologies such as lifestyle design by backcasting, nature technology, lifestyle analysis by using ontology engineering, and solution creation methods. He has interviewed more than 500 90-year-old people to research old lifestyles and find sustainable ones and is dedicated to finding a framework of lifestyle innovation that makes possible a sustainable society living in harmony with nature. He is also the founder of "Mirai no Kurashi Sozo Juku," an association for learning about social innovation. It is running several projects with the local government (Toyooka City, Akita City, Kitakami City, Yuzawa City, Shima City, Okinoerabu Island, Suginami-ku in Tokyo, etc.) and companies. Prof. Furukawa has authored or coauthored more than 48 academic papers and 17 books and won 9 awards.
