Sakamoto Lab

AboutAbout the lab

Water is right here, so the question is how to put it to good use

Sakamoto Lab (Resource and Environmental Management) studies resources, the environment, and development, with a focus on human behavior and social institutions.
Using resources effectively is essential for sustainable development, but it is not easily achieved when people act only on individual rationality.
For example, in villages in developing countries without piped water, the water in a pond is often too polluted to drink, and building a system to bring water from a distant river would solve the shortage of drinking water.
But the water is right there in front of them. Could people not cooperate to clean the pond and make good use of it? The lab explores questions like this through case studies in developing countries.

ResearchResearch themes

The lab studies resources, the environment, and development, with particular attention to human behavior and social institutions. It asks how resources can be used effectively, something that is hard to achieve through individual rationality alone.

*Illustrative image

Development and the Mechanisms of Human Activity↗

Through case studies in developing countries, the lab studies how development affecting resources and the environment, such as water and forests, influences people's lives and health. It also explores ways to use resources and the environment effectively through institutions and the mechanisms of human activity, rather than through technology.

VoicesStudent voices

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Students who take part in an interview may receive a thank-you gift worth ¥1,000, regardless of what they say.