Transcultural Learning and Live-Action Role-Play in Japan

This extended abstract, presented at DiGRA 2019, explores whether live-action role-play (larp) can foster transcultural learning and empathy toward absent or stereotyped "others" in Japan. The author frames larp as a hybrid of improvisational theatre and game-based challenge, in which participants take on characters, collaboratively build a narrative around a conflict, and then reflect on the emotions and insights the experience produced. The central motivation is that direct encounters with marginalized groups, which help dispel stereotypes, are often impractical, so mediated experiential encounters may offer an alternative route to understanding difference as non-threatening.

The project's main subject is the design of a larp about the perceptions and life-worlds of people diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, presented as an example of a stereotyped and socially excluded group. The stated goal is to determine whether larp can produce sustainable learning effects in Japanese school and civic education, a context where the form remains only nascent. The design approach draws on principles for empathy-inducing games, including transparency about goals in pre-workshop briefings, tasks that encourage empathic play, and the portrayal of diverse ASD experiences informed by qualitative interviews and ongoing feedback. Players embody rather than observe these figures, experiencing challenges such as shifting social rules and sensory overload that people with ASD commonly report.

The author emphasizes that debriefing is essential, and anticipates that briefing and debriefing will take longer than the play itself. The abstract is a work-in-progress report: it outlines design challenges and expected outcomes rather than presenting empirical results from playtesting. Its evidence base is therefore conceptual and literature-driven, drawing on scholarship in transcultural studies, games for empathy, and simulation facilitation.