Students from the Faculty of Economics and the Faculty of Business and Commerce Receive Second Prize in the "Small and Medium Enterprise Essay Contest"

In the 2025 Small and Medium Enterprise Essay Contest, students from the Faculty of Economics and the Faculty of Business and Commerce received the "Second Prize" in both the [Industrial Category] and [Financial Category].

The Small and Medium Enterprise Essay Contest is organized by the Japan Commerce and Industry Research Institute. It is a historic contest that has continued since 1987, widely soliciting and awarding papers on industry and finance related to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). For this 39th contest, 60 entries were received from a wide range of participants, including students and practitioners, across four set themes. Among these, three papers by students from our university were awarded the Second Prize.

Themes: "Human Resource Strategies for SMEs," "Regional Revitalization and SMEs"

"That's just AI's opinion, isn't it?

—The productivity reduction effect on middle management due to excessive use of generative AI—"  

　　Yusuke Takeuchi (3rd year, Faculty of Business and Commerce)

　　Yuga Otsuka (3rd year, Faculty of Business and Commerce)

　　Yuki Goto (3rd year, Faculty of Business and Commerce)

　　Rikuto Yamada (3rd year, Faculty of Business and Commerce)

　　and 1 student from another university

"The revitalization process of SMEs and local communities catalyzed by 'the young, the foolish, and the outsiders'

—An integrated analysis through interviews and multi-agent simulation—"

　　Joji Yamamoto (3rd year, Faculty of Business and Commerce)

　　Sai Kobayashi (3rd year, Faculty of Business and Commerce)

　　Rinya Nakatsugawa (3rd year, Faculty of Business and Commerce)

　　Shunsuke Inubushi (3rd year, Faculty of Business and Commerce)

　　Kiso Kurishima (3rd year, Faculty of Business and Commerce)

　　Karin Koriyama (3rd year, Faculty of Business and Commerce)  

Themes: "Business Succession Support by Financial Institutions," "Regional Revitalization and the Role of Regional Financial Institutions"

  "Business Succession M&A Support by Cooperative Financial Institutions

—Support forms utilizing mutual aid and non-profit nature—"  

　　Daigo Akatsuka (3rd year, Faculty of Economics)

　　Sota Takaichi (3rd year, Faculty of Economics)

　　Rina Usuda (3rd year, Faculty of Economics)

　　Kento Sekimoto (3rd year, Faculty of Economics)