The North Pacific Arctic Research Community Meeting 2023 (NPARC2023) was held on August 28-29, 2023, at the multi-purpose hall of the Hokkaido University International Center for Food and Medical Innovation, hosted by the Arctic Research Center. It was co-hosted by the Research Center for Cold Harbors and Airports Technology and the Sasakawa Peace Foundation. There were 11 in-person participants and 2 online participants from China, and 11 in-person participants, 1 online presenter, and 1 substitute reader of messages from Korea. From Japan, there were 19 local participants and 2 online presentations. In addition, all of the Arctic ambassadors from Japan, China, and Korea gathered to deliver keynote speeches.
NPARC is a community of research institutes and researchers in Japan, Korea, and China who are conducting research related to the Arctic, and has held annual meetings to exchange information on the results of research in and around the Arctic Ocean on a rotating basis. China is represented by the Shanghai Institute of International Studies, South Korea by the Korea Maritime Research Institute, and Japan by the Arctic Research Center, Hokkaido University. The 2021 meeting was held online due to the Corona pandemic, and the 22nd meeting was not held; NPARC 2023 was the first in-person meeting in three years.
What was unique about this year’s meeting was that all of the Arctic ambassadors from Japan, China, and Korea gathered to give keynote speeches, and a Youth Session was held. We had an official excursion of visiting Upopoy in Shiraoi town on the second day of the meeting. Since there are many indigenous people in the Arctic, as well as in China and Korea, we have learned the common characteristics and inter-relations with Ainu people.
On the second day, the group visited Upopoy, a symbolic space for ethnic coexistence, to learn about the history and environment of the Ainu, the indigenous people of Japan, and the commonality of past and present problems of the many indigenous people in the Arctic Circle.
The program of the meeting is here.
