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Students from 16 countries/regions use Sei-katsu-sha Insight to tackle a social issue in Beppu

Hakuhodo Institute of Life and Living (HILL), a think tank of Hakuhodo that studies sei-katsu-sha (our term for the holistic person), paired up with Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (APU), a center of higher learning with many international students whose mission is to nurture global leaders, to host a hands-on workshop based on Hakuhodo’s Sei-katsu-sha Insight philosophy. The workshop, conducted in English, was held in October (online) and November (face-to-face) 2025.

The program was arranged to provide opportunities for young people and future global leaders from Asia and beyond to learn hands on about Hakuhodo’s long-cherished Sei-katsu-sha Insight and marketing grounded in the philosophy. Another objective was to increase awareness of Hakuhodo and Sei-katsu-sha Insight. A total of 40 APU students hailing from 16 countries and regions, ranging from first year undergraduates to first year graduates, participated across the two sessions.

This report introduces the goals and structure of the program, and gives a look at the workshop on the day.

1.Program overview: Hands-on marketing that moves people’s hearts, something that cannot be learned in the classroom alone
2.Program details: Tackling a social issue using Sei-katsu-sha Insight
3.Participants’perspectives
4.Next steps: Expanding the partnership for co-creating the future

1. Program overview: Hands-on marketing that moves people’s hearts, something that cannot be learned in the classroom alone

Finding “good questions” for moving people’s hearts based on Sei-katsu-sha Insight

In an age where AI providing efficient “answers” is becoming the norm, it is more important than ever for human beings to come up with “good questions that lead to creative breakthroughs and solutions to problems.” Sei-katsu-sha Insight, one of Hakuhodo’s philosophies, is also a way of thinking that serves as a starting point for generating such good questions.

Through its two sessions—online and face-to-face—this program went beyond simply imparting knowledge, to lead a workshop where participating students carried out planning around the theme of a specific social challenge in a project-based learning (PBL) format. While experiencing Hakuhodo’s unique Sei-katsu-sha Insight philosophy and planning methods in a practical manner, participants gained deep insight into society and sei-katsu-sha, and learned the best part of marketing: generating ideas to solve problems.

The instructors were Yuko Ito, R&D Directorr at HILL, and Prompohn Supataravanich, Insight & Strategy Director at Hakuhodo International Thailand. Both members of Hakuhodo Institute of Life and Living ASEAN (HILL ASEAN) until 2025, the pair have for many years been involved in sei-katsu-sha research in ASEAN countries from their base in Thailand, as well as planning work. They have conducted numerous marketing training sessions and workshops for clients, students and in-house personnel.

2. Program details: Tackling a social issue using Sei-katsu-sha Insight

(1) Sei-katsu-sha Insight as the starting point of planning

In the session, Sei-katsu-sha Insight, one of Hakuhodo’s philosophies, was explained from three perspectives: What (definition and background), Why (why it is important), and How (how to think). The training content was the same as that taught to Hakuhodo employees in Japan and abroad in Japanese and various local languages.

During the session, data from Seikatsu Teiten, a survey that HILL has conducted for over 30 years, and sei-katsu-sha data from HILL ASEAN was used. A mini workshop was held using this data where participating students considered hypotheses to explain changes in time-series data and the characteristics of sei-katsu-sha made visible in nation-by-nation comparisons. This was followed by participants exchanging opinions amongst themselves.

(2) Formulating the “good questions” required in the AI age

It is said that successful leaders are elite questioners, and that innovation begins with one good question. In this session, participants learned approaches to formulating good questions that could encourage people to act on such social issues as Japan’s extreme hot weather and inbound tourism, while also becoming versed in practical tips like “turn challenges into opportunities” and “discover hidden value and resources.”

(3) Sharing global sei-katsu-sha insight

To learn how sei-katsu-sha research and the like deliver business, a presentation was also given based on HILL ASEAN’s research and analysis on the Emerging Affluent in ASEAN. The Emerging Affluent in ASEAN is a key segment that will lead the market in Asia going forward, and this presentation afforded the students the opportunity to experience the sei-katsu-sha insight and marketing proposals required at the cutting edge of global business.

(4) Tackling a real social challenge in Beppu

The topic of the group work was Beppu, where APU is located. The assignment was to generate business ideas that build win-win relationships between foreign tourists and Beppu residents, a regional challenge Beppu actually faces.

Based on an ethnographic approach favored by HILL to observe sei-katsu-sha in their entirety, participating students conducted pre-work in the form of fieldwork in Beppu city. Using their own eyes, hands and feet, they discovered and analyzed cultural gaps between local residents and visitors from the perspectives of both, as well as local strengths and weaknesses.

On the day of the workshop, participants shared their pre-work in groups and worked on uncovering sei-katsu-sha insight and generating ideas. From diverse backgrounds themselves, the students faced the difficulty of coming up with a perfect solution that took into consideration the differing perspectives of the two groups of sei-katsu-sha, but proactively shared their opinions and worked to bring together their ideas.

During presentations, the teams showed the ideas they came up with, answered questions from the instructors and received their feedback. The presentations were given in various formats, including as instructions given from the perspective of a service provider and expression through illustrations, but all tried to convey the information in ways that would be fun and easy for the other party to understand.

Many of the students proposed using AI to get close to sei-katsu-sha, with ideas such as the government using sei-katsu-sha data, using AI to plan tourist experiences, and matching tourists and local residents to enable them to connect presented.

Participating as a judge, Goro Hokari, Institute Director at HILL commented: “As Beppu faces a major turning point as to whether to strengthen its existing assets and brands or to give them a major revamp, all the ideas captured sei-katsu-sha from the unique perspectives of the APU students, and were highly convincing.”

3. Participants’ perspectives (from the post-workshop questionnaire)

“From a perspective of a student who is doing shuukatsu [job hunting], understanding the background of a company gives inspiration and helps think critically in our daily lives.”

“Diverse perspectives, team creation and development.”

“It was very mentally stimulating,and I loved getting new insights!!!”

Nationalities of participating students (in order of number of participants)

Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, India, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Japan, Pakistan, Ghana, Fiji, China, Morocco, Madagascar, France, Ethiopia, Egypt

4.Next steps: Expanding the partnership for co-creating the future

We will consider expanding this program further in partnership with Japanese universities that offer international programs, clients and local businesses.

We would like to invite universities and companies with an interest in nurturing global students, conducting planning based on Sei-katsu-sha Insight, and workshops and trainings conducted by Hakuhodo researchers and planners to contact Hakuhodo Institute of Life and Living.

 

Contact
Hakuhodo Institute of Life and Living: seikatsusoken.info@hakuhodo.co.jp

About Hakuhodo Institute of Life and Living (HILL)

Established in 1981, HILL is a world-renowned think tank that has been instrumental in advancing Hakuhodo’s Sei-katsu-sha Insight philosophy. HILL researches the attitudes and behaviors of people, from the perspective that they are multi-dimensional, flesh-and-blood individuals rather than faceless consumers.

HILL employs time-series surveys to trace changes in the values of sei-katsu-sha, adopts cutting-edge and experimental methods to uncover portents of the future and emerging trends, and goes far and wide to meet sei-katsu-sha where they live to discuss the issues relevant to them. Using these and other multi-dimensional and wholly original perspectives, HILL takes a birds-eye view that transverses market and industry boundaries.

In addition to HILL’s main facility at Hakuhodo headquarters in Tokyo, Hakuhodo Institute of Life and Living Shanghai was established in 2012 in Shanghai, China, and Hakuhodo Institute of Life and Living ASEAN established in 2014 in Bangkok, Thailand, expanding HILL’s research area beyond Japan.

https://seikatsusoken.jp/ english/

About Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University

Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (APU) is a private university founded in 2000 in Beppu City, Oita Prefecture, Japan, based on the core principles of “Freedom, Peace, and Humanity,” “International Mutual Understanding,” and “Shaping the Future of the Asia-Pacific Region.”

International students from 118 countries and regions (as of November 1, 2025) make up approximately half of all students.

In the Times Higher Education (THE) Japan University Rankings 2025, the university was ranked 2nd nationwide for “International Outlook” and 3rd nationwide for “Teaching Quality.”

Within a multicultural and multinational environment, the university provides collaborative learning and bilingual education in Japanese and English, playing a leading role in global education.

https://www.apu.ac.jp/