The professor and researcher María Pilar Alguacil Mar, from the Universitat de València, has successfully completed a research stay in Japan focused on a comparative analysis of the tax system and legal framework governing cooperatives.

This initiative is part of a research project funded by the Valencian Regional Government, which aims to compare European social economy models with the experiences of Asian powers such as Japan and South Korea.

A Journey through the Japanese Academic Avant-Garde

During their stay, from January 9 to 19, The researcher carried out a busy schedule of work at the country’s leading academic and institutional centers:

Kyoto: A working session was held at Kyoto University with Professor Tetsuya Yamashita, an expert in tax law, to analyze the structural differences between the Japanese and Spanish tax systems as they pertain to cooperatives.

Nagoya: The researcher visited the headquarters of CIRIEC-Japan, where she met with Professor Akihiro Ito (Nagoya University) to explore future avenues for scientific cooperation in the study of social economy entities.

Tokyo: In the capital, the focus was on the Japan Co-operative Alliance (JCA). Alguacil participated in an academic workshop coordinated by Professor Akira Kurimoto (Hosei University), where she presented the current state of cooperativism in Spain to international experts.

Results and international protection

The mission concludes that with highly valuable results. Of particular note is the formal invitation extended to the researcher to participate in an international collaborative project in partnership with the Japan Co-operative Alliance.

In addition to obtaining direct technical information on the Japanese tax system, the meeting provided an opportunity to strengthen institutional ties with JCA executives. This has reinforced the University of Valencia’s international academic network in an area of growing economic and legal significance.

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