• Forum 2018 Report (PDF)
• Booklet (PDF)

On July 7, 2018, the Honda Foundation held its Y-E-S- Forum on the theme "Driving Towards Sustainability with Eco-Transportation" at the University of Tokyo. The Forum was organized by awardees of the Y-E-S Award that the Honda Foundation promotes in Vietnam, India, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar to engage young scientists and engineers of Asia, including Japan in discussions regarding their awareness of issues in the region, the role played by science and technology in resolving these issues and the growth of human networks in the area through cooperation between countries involved in the program.

This year, the program consisted of presentations by Y-E-S Awardees, guest speech from industrial sector and keynote speeches by guest speakers in the field of next-generation mobility in Japan, followed by a panel discussion. A research poster contest was also held, featuring presentations by applicants, and an award ceremony.

◎Presentations by Y-E-S Awardees

Presentations were given by Y-E-S Awardees from five countries on the current state of mobility issues and solutions in their respective countries. The awardee from Vietnam spoke on the nation's long- and short-term policy on introducing Eco-Transportation. The representative from India presented observations on the development of freight transportation via rivers. The Cambodian awardee gave a presentation on problems and solutions in the country's public bus transportation service. The representative from Laos introduced an eco transportation concept adapted to developing countries. The awardee from Myanmar focused his presentation on upgrading the circular rail network in Yangon, the country's capital. The audience responded actively with many questions directed to the speakers.

◎Industrial Sector Presentations

This year, Honda R&D Co., Ltd. participated in a poster display and presentation as a representative of the industrial sector. Mr. Takashi Moriya, Senior Chief Engineer at the Automobile R&D Center, was guest speaker. His presentation featured development of Honda's fuel cell vehicle (FCV) based on the concept of "generate, use and get connected" and activities directed toward the creation of a hydrogen society. The audience listened enthusiastically to his description of Honda's latest FCV, the Honda Clarity Fuel Cell, and presented a direction for resolving mobility-related environmental issues.

◎Keynote Speeches

Keynote speeches were made by Dr. Yoshihiro Suda, Professor (Dynamic Systems and Control) at the Advanced Mobility Research Center at the Institute of Industrial Science, the University of Tokyo, and Dr. Takayuki Morikawa, Professor (transportation planning, urban planning and consumer behavior theory) at the Institutes of Innovation for Future Society at Nagoya University and research leader of Nagoya University’s COI Mobility Innovation Center. Dr. Suda spoke on the automated driving system development and evaluation project in which he was involved, placing importance on the business ecosystem essential in creating and assuring the sustainability of advanced transport systems. He also spoke on the issues and prospects in human-machine interface (HMI) technology needed to gain social acceptance for automated driving systems. Dr. Morikawa spoke on the theme of advanced traffic management with the connected car (network-connected vehicle) and introduced the "dynamic map" technology that serves as the infrastructural foundation through real-time data storage of vehicle and pedestrian locations in the road network. He also spoke on the parking deposit system (PDS) and the road user charge (RUC) schemes that he proposes as a means to assure elimination of congestion in the future and secure financial resources for road maintenance. The two keynote speeches presented an invaluable opportunity for the audience to capture a glimpse of Japan's technological resources and future prospects in introducing eco transportation.

◎Panel Discussion

Following the keynote speeches, the panel discussion was arranged after a short break. The five Y-E-S Awardees and the keynote speakers, Dr. Suda and Dr. Morikawa, appeared in the panel discussion, moderated by Dr. Atsushi Sunami, Professor and Vice President of the National Graduate Institute of Policy Studies, who is also an executive director of the Honda Foundation.

The discussion proceeded in the form of reflections on the presentations made by the Y-E-S Awardees, followed by Dr. Suda and Dr. Morikawa offering their opinions on the direction for eco transportation adapted to the scale of systems and cultural conditions in each country.
Dr. Suda commented that "wonderful ideas have been presented but are inclined to focus on policy deliberations." Dr. Morikawa said that he "understands the approach in thinking but would like to see more in-depth exploration of the effectiveness of the content of the presentation." Lively exchanges of opinion took place under the moderation of Dr. Sunami.

◎Research Poster Contest

Concurrent with the Forum, a research poster contest was held on the theme of eco transportation. It was organized to create opportunities for networking among the participants and for the improvement and sharing of their research projects. It featured posters from 17 teams, and presentations were held by the 10 shortlisted posters. The top three posters were selected by the Selection Committee which constituted of the directors of the Honda Foundation, the keynote speakers Dr. Suda and Dr. Morikawa, Mr. Moriya of Honda R&D Co., Ltd., the 2017 Honda Prize Laureate and Dr. Hiroyuki Matsunami. The Audience Award was selected by votes from the Forum participants. By having an overlapping time with lunch break, the poster viewing and discussion were lively taking place between the poster contestants and Forum participants.

◎Member of the Honda Y-E-S Forum 2018 Preparation Committee