Hisashi Sonehara, representative head director of the NPO "Egao Tsunagete" and a visiting associate professor of the University of Yamanashi After working as part-timer and musician, he worked as a business consultant. He grew concerned about the future of the Japanese economy during his time in management services for banks, and moved from Tokyo to a rural district in Yamanashi Prefecture to create an aid model. He developed NPO activities aiming at the realization of interaction between cities and agricultural villages based on the concept "create village, people, and era", and by working in forestry and agriculture. In addition, he is the managing executive of Kanto Tourism University, and president of the NPO Minamiarupusu Yamano Gakkou, which literally means "Mountain School in Southern Alps", and the Biomass Industrial Society Network.