Outline

The world is being swept by major crises from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to the COVID-19 pandemic, which is now in its fourth year. Each of these crises is still taking many lives and has brought various disruptions and dangers to the everyday lives of people all over the world. The war in Ukraine even threatens to destroy the law-based global order built after the Second World War. The office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that more than 17 million refugees from the war in Ukraine were living in other countries as of January, 2023. The war has brought food and energy crises and inflation. People all over the world are anxious for their ways of life.

The continuing COVID-19 pandemic, which has continued now for over three years, had infected more than 660 million people globally as of January, 2023, according to research by Johns Hopkins University of the United States, and taken over 6.8 million lives.

These crises have made us think again about the importance of human life, and better ways to live. They present us with vital questions. How should the world fight infectious diseases? How can peace be restored? What can be done to alleviate the immediate economic consequences of such crises? What is the media’s role in supporting international refugees and promoting multi-cultural coexistence?

Amid this urgent need for closer international cooperation, the JAMCO International Symposium for the 2022 fiscal year welcomes reports from project managers, researchers and entrepreneurs. Looking at both the current situation and issues to be addressed, the wide-ranging topics include support for transforming a state-run broadcaster into a public broadcasting corporation, assistance for refugees provided in tandem with schools, and entrepreneurship for job creation in the developing world. What they all have in common is their respect for the sanctity of human life as a universal value.