Inaugural Issue Features Dialogue with Professor Tsunehiro Ishiyama of Hosei University Graduate School: Exploring the Essence of 'Mutual Reliance Culture' and Organizational Transformation

The Career Break Research Institute (headquartered in Kobe City, Hyogo Prefecture; Representative Director: Koudai Kitano; hereinafter 'the Institute'), a nonprofit organization researching and promoting the concept of 'career break'—a period of temporary leave or withdrawal from work to reflect on life and society—has today launched the 'Career Break Journal,' a web journal dedicated to continuously disseminating insights on the philosophy, realities, and social design surrounding career breaks.

As part of its launch celebration, one of the first articles released is a dialogue with Professor Tsunehiro Ishiyama of the Graduate School of Policy Creation at Hosei University, a leading expert in organizational behavior and cross-boundary learning. Centered on the question, 'Does stopping weaken a company?', the article argues that career breaks are not merely personal time off, but a fundamental issue touching the core of corporate culture.

As a case study from a local government, the journal features a report on a regional program in Maniwa City, Okayama Prefecture, which has welcomed individuals on career breaks. Through the journey of 14 people from 'Mushoku University,' a community for those on career breaks, who achieved long-term stays or even relocation, the article presents a new perspective: it is not 'regional charm' but 'connections with people in transition' that generate relational population.

Background of the Launch: 'Beyond Concepts—Delivering Practical Information'

Since its establishment in 2022, the Institute has conducted research and outreach to establish 'career break'—a period of temporary leave or withdrawal to reflect on life and society, estimated to be experienced annually by around 1.5 million people—as a cultural norm in Japanese society.

The Institute has also advanced joint research with Professor Tsunehiro Ishiyama of Hosei University and Professor Akiko Kataoka (at the time, Waseda University), publishing 'Career Break: Letting Go Is Not a Gap' through Senkakushobo in 2024. In 2025, it plans to release the 'Career Break White Paper 2025' based on a survey of 300 individuals. These studies have revealed the impact of such reflective periods on personal self-efficacy and other aspects.

From these activities, a key insight emerged: there is a need to accumulate 'practical information' for companies and local governments seeking to adopt career breaks. The journal is launched as a media platform to systematically disseminate questions surrounding pausing and stopping—from philosophical, organizational, and societal perspectives.

Overview of Inaugural Articles ①

Title: 'Does Stopping Make a Company Weaker?'

Dialogue Partner: Tsunehiro Ishiyama (Professor, Graduate School of Policy Creation, Hosei University; Vice President, Japan Society for Career Design)

Author: Koyoko Urabe (Director, Career Break Research Institute)

URL: https://careerbreak-lab.com/journal/vlvxqaxaqg7o/

The dialogue with Professor Ishiyama begins with a question to business leaders who claim to 'care about employee happiness': 'Why do you think only running with you is happiness?' This question challenges the postwar Japanese corporate model that assumed 'happiness means running together with the company' as a given.

In the article, Professor Ishiyama points out that future bankruptcies will stem not from 'products not selling' but from 'inability to attract people.' He suggests that companies unable to understand career breaks will face increasing difficulties in recruitment and retention.

From the perspective that the issue of 'companies where no one can take a break' lies not in lack of systems but in work structure, the article also introduces concrete initiatives by companies that have adopted 'mutual support culture' as a hiring principle. It argues that career breaks are not merely about leave policies, but about how an entire organization collectively embraces the idea that 'life includes periods of stopping.'

Main points discussed in the article:

Re-examining the model that 'running continuously for the company equals happiness'

The need to understand diverse values in an era of 'bankruptcy due to inability to attract talent'

The problem of 'unbreakable companies' lies in work structure before systems

Concrete examples of organizational design that prioritize 'mutual support culture' in hiring

The mechanism of 'being cross-boundary learned' that transforms managers

An organizational theory perspective that positions career breaks at the 'core of culture'

Overview of Inaugural Articles ②

Title: 'Turning “Gap Periods” into Regional Strength: 11 People on Career Break Stayed in Maniwa, Okayama for Over a Month'

Interviewee: Takamitsu Mori (Program Director, Local Career Maniwa; Representative, Goshuku 1764)

Author: Nobufumi Higashi (Director, Career Break Research Institute)

URL: https://careerbreak-lab.com/journal/7j5748_87/

The online community 'Mushoku University,' where people on career breaks gather, has nearly 3,000 members. Through this community, 14 people have reached Maniwa City, Okayama Prefecture. Of these, 11 stayed for over a month, and some have even transitioned to permanent relocation.

The bridge was Mr. Mori of Local Career Maniwa. The case is gaining attention as a practical example showing the affinity between 'people on career breaks' and 'regions.' Instead of attracting people through 'regional charm,' the article explores what happens when 'people in transition' meet 'the power of place,' offering a new perspective within the context of regional revitalization.

Main points discussed in the article:

14 people reached Maniwa City through collaboration with the career break community

A recruitment strategy that directly reaches out to places where 'people we want' and 'people who can come' overlap

The accumulation of dialogues within Mushoku University determines the quality and depth of regional stays and personal transformation

Changing one's environment accelerates self-transformation—the reason a one-month stay leads to relocation

Designing integration into the region as 'living,' not tourism, and the role of regional mentors

Creating relational population by making 'people in transition' the entry point, not 'regional charm'

About the Career Break Journal

The Career Break Journal is a web journal that systematically disseminates the meaning of 'stopping' from three axes: culture, enterprise, and regions. It will continuously publish dialogues with academic researchers, practitioners, and stakeholders.

Three thematic axes:

Career Break and Culture (thought, history, philosophy)

Career Break and Enterprise (organizations, HR, management)

Career Break and Regions (migration, relational population, regional revitalization)

Editor-in-Chief:

Koyoko Urabe (Director, Career Break Research Institute)

Website URL:

https://careerbreak-lab.com/journal/

About the Career Break Research Institute

Organization Name: Career Break Research Institute, General Incorporated Association

Headquarters: 4-10-11 Shioya-cho, Tarumi-ku, Kobe City, Hyogo Prefecture

Established: October 2022

Representative Director: Koudai Kitano

Number of Employees: 3

Business Activities: Content creation related to career breaks, corporate training, etc.

Website: https://careerbreak-lab.com/

Contact: https://tayori.com/form/a0744cfbeb27167b2b9f8f0b108d5f09f9788925/