PASCAL welcomes Iida [1] (Nagano Prefecture, Japan) to the PASCAL International Exchanges (PIE) project. This is the first Japanese city included in PIE. The paper by Professor Atsushi Makino [2] of Tokyo University [3] has particular value in discussing shifts in Japanese policy for lifelong learning in response to socio-economic changes in Japan over the past forty years. Developments in Iida are used to illustrate “the formation of a self-reliant community” by “self-reliant individuals” linked with a “sustainable society”.
Ways in which local autonomy and the “quiet dynamism of local communities” are being fostered make the Iida story an instructive one. PASCAL has recognised the particular value of papers such as this in developing understanding of shifts in policy for lifelong learning in response to socio-economic changes in society by adding the new category in the Themes section of PIE titled Special Country Papers [4]. Professor Makino’s paper is the initial paper in this section: "Quiet Dynamism of Local Communities - Restructuring of Grassroots Municipalities and Lifelong Learning in Japan" [5]. It is hoped that similar special country papers will follow. Anyone interested in the preparation of such a paper should contact Peter Kearns [6], PIE project co-ordinator.