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Like many fields, visual literacy is enamoured with digital cameras. They are convenient for classrooms, can accelerate learning, and can facilitate research where verbal language cannot. However, exclusive use puts at risk the possibility of experiencing affordances of other photomedia. This paper argues for diversifying photomedia used in research. While it recognises that digital cameras have a role to play in developing visual skills, particularly when resources are limited, it posits that sole use of digital cameras obfuscate other possibilities for expression. Adopting autoethnographic description, affordances were considered of three photomedia as used during a rephotography project along Japan's north-eastern coast between 2019 and 2022. Setting out photomedia literacy as a competence that complements rather than competes with a range of other literacies (e.g. media literacy, digital literacy, information literacy), the paper concludes with challenges for any scholars thinking that digital cameras are convenient one-stop solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital foodscapes not only transform our everyday relationships with food but offer creative and entrepreneurial opportunities. This paper works to expand the Anglo-American focus of digital foodscapes scholarship in analysis of Japanese Instagram food influencers and their relationship to gendered social reproduction. Japan's most prominent influencers are mothers documenting the bentos (boxed lunches) they prepare for their children, a meal suffused with socio-cultural meaning about good food and good mothering. I develop the concept of precarious digital mothering to examine the hidden, gendered labor created and magnified through Instagram bento accounts. I argue that the creative and entrepreneurial opportunities offered to women though Instagram are inseparable from the cultural meaning of bento as a judgment on good mothering and create a bind where digital success cannot occur without taking on additional domestic food work. Precarity is created both for the mothers who take on unpaid and unrecognized labor in the pursuit of Instagram success, and those who consume their content and the problematic narratives of food and motherhood it normalizes in its idealized and mediated performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Precise charging time prediction can effectively mitigate the inconvenience to drivers induced by inevitable charging behavior throughout trips. Although the effectiveness of the machine learning (ML) algorithm in predicting future outcomes has been established in a variety of applications (transportation sector), the investigation into electric vehicle (EV) charging time prediction is almost new. This calls for the investigation of the ML algorithm to predict EV charging time. The study developed an EV charging time prediction model based on two years of charging event data collected from 500 EVs in Japan. To predict EV charging time, this paper employed three ML algorithms: extreme learning machine (ELM), feed-forward neural network (FFNN), and support vector regression (SVR). Furthermore, ML algorithms parameters are optimized by a metaheuristic techniques: the gray wolf optimizer (GWO), particle swarm optimizer (PSO), and genetic algorithm (GA) to achieve higher accuracy and robustness. The prediction results reveal that GWO-based ML models yielded better results compared to other models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper advocates using museum collections for archaeological research by offering a new approach to generate questions on the sociocultural lives of ancient people. I define "diaspora" collections as historical and archaeological artifacts excavated in a homeland site but currently stored in museums that are outside the homeland country. Of particular importance in this approach is the identification of artifacts' diagnostic traits, including material composition, morphology, and symbolic decoration, that are to be linked to the "original" data in their homeland. Diaspora collections-based research necessitates provenience studies, as well as direct observation of both the diaspora collection and its original data. It also takes advantage of the recent development of various digital and remote technologies. A case study to show this methodology comes from dedicatory lanterns currently stored outside Japan that were part of the shogun (Tokugawa) family's graveyards in modern Tokyo during the 18th and 19th centuries a.d. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With climate change, many cultural landscapes will be lost or permanently altered. One approach to managing this is through international designation, through UNESCO, and the focus that it provides. National designations such as National Park status also offer a set of strategies for managing and adapting. This paper explores landscape designations in Japan and the UK focusing on the UNESCO World Heritage List. It is suggested that the UK's dualistic governmental structures for landscapes prioritise some attributes over others. This is examined through the recent inscription of the Lake District as a World Heritage Property and counterpointed through looking at the recent Landscape Review also known as the Glover Report. A case study on a Japanese approach to landscape designation is explored to suggest alternative approaches. Both country's relationship with international designation is discussed. Methodologies and theoretical approaches are examined with the conclusion that landscape change and loss are dealt with in Japan differently and arguably more effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a vortex-induced vibration (VIV) reliability analysis method based on the maximum entropy (MaxEnt) principle in which constraints are specified in terms of fractional moments involving uncertain wind characteristics, structural properties, and bluff-body aerodynamics. The multiplicative dimensional reduction method (M-DRM) is used to calculate the fractional moments. A new threshold is obtained based on the stopping sight distance in the highway engineering technique standard, which is less strict than the China–Japan standard and the British code and thus better-suited to VIV reliability evaluation. A long-span cable-stayed bridge model is used to illustrate the accuracy and efficiency of the proposed method in comparison to Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) on three performance functions of VIV reliability. The results indicate that VIV maximum amplitude and wind speed failure probability are not sensitive to the selected performance function, but the effect of the wind attack angle on probability is significant. The M-DRM provides a workable alternative approach to analyzing the highly complex VIV reliability of long-span bridges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Residual next-day effects of sleep-promoting drugs are common and an important safety issue. Lemborexant is a dual orexin receptor antagonist approved in the United States and Japan for treatment of insomnia in adults. We evaluated the potential of lemborexant for residual morning and next-day effects, including somnolence, based on lemborexant clinical study findings. This paper reports findings from 9 lemborexant clinical studies that incorporated next-day assessments of residual drug effects, based on published findings and data on file. Results are reported for healthy subjects or subjects with insomnia disorder treated with lemborexant 5 mg/day or 10 mg/day, placebo, or active comparator before bedtime. Outcomes assessed included next-morning postural stability (body sway measured by ataxiameter), cognitive performance (Cognitive Performance Assessment Battery), impact on driving (standard deviation of lateral position during highway driving test), subjective sleepiness (sleep diary entries), and adverse events of somnolence. Change from baseline in postural stability the morning after lemborexant administration did not differ from placebo. Among 4 Cognitive Performance Assessment Battery measures, only power of attention declined significantly more with lemborexant treatment compared with placebo in 1 of 2 studies, whereas zolpidem differed from placebo on multiple measures. On the highway-driving test, lemborexant did not significantly impair driving performance versus placebo, however, zopiclone did differ. In large phase 3 trials, next-morning sleep diary ratings showed significantly greater alertness with lemborexant compared with placebo after up to 6 months of treatment. As expected, somnolence was the most common adverse event reported with lemborexant treatment. Somnolence was typically mild to moderate in severity and rarely caused discontinuation of study drug. Across 9 clinical studies, lemborexant did not substantially impair next-day functioning among healthy subjects and subjects with insomnia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ground-based high voltage electrical line inspection is one of the difficult and highly dangerous job as far as a manual worker is concerned. The transmission line inspection by robots avoids temporary interruption of power supply that affects the end user and transmission grid. Also, robot-based inspection reduces maintenance cost and hazards. The electrical line inspection is normally carried out using binoculars and rarely by helicopters in most of the countries because of the low cost. Wire traversing or aerial robots are being used in Japan, Canada, USA and Russia for inspecting and monitoring faults in transmission lines and towers. However, most of these robots require a lot of human effort for installation due to its weight and complex design. Cost of these robots is also very high. This paper presents the mechanical design, fabrication and testing of a novel, low cost, light weight and compact power transmission line inspection robot. This work also includes kinematic, static and dynamic analysis of various subsystems of robot. Proposed robot is capable of traversing on straight transmission line and jumper cables present in tension towers. The robot has 10 DoF dual arm for crossing operation and a base system to achieve the locomotion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents examples of collaboration between anime producers and the Japan Self-Defense Force. By situating the transitions within the context of the broader trends in collaboration between anime producers and locations (namely, the development of contents tourism), the key turning point in anime producer — JSDF collaboration is be identified and explained. Then, the reasons why in recent years JSDF has been actively collaborating with the production of pop culture contents in the realms of fantasy and fiction with an anime fanbase will be discussed. What is happening in Japan today is a fantasization (= contentsization) and consumption of the military, rather than a 'drift to the right' or resurgence of militarism. The pressures to produce military or 'moe military' anime are driven by the market rather than the military. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the complex relationship of sweets to changing gender identities in Japan. Drawing on ethnography and popular culture sources, it examines ways men negotiate their beliefs and activities concerning sweets within a context where being a sweet lover problematizes masculine identities. Sweets in Japan were traditionally regarded as the domain of women and children, while men were expected to prefer spicy foods/alcohol. Changes in food preferences have coincided with erosions in hegemonic forms of Japanese masculinity that emphasized vigor and drive. In popular culture Japan's economic malaise has been attributed to the replacement of the post-war "carnivorous men" with a generation of "grass-eating boys", whose interest in sweets is emblematic of their passivity and femininity. In real life, this link is treated rather paradoxically. Informants typically characterize it as a stereotype that no one really believes, or even that the stereotype doesn't exist, yet their actions and expression of sentiments display having internalized it. In exploring how a discourse can simultaneously be both deeply felt and dismissed as a trifling inanity, I consider the greater attention that ambiguity and uncertainty might be afforded in accounts of food specifically and human life more generally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses key issues and highlighted topics in thermal hydraulics in connection with Japan's current sodium-cooled fast reactor development efforts, with particular focus on design study and related research of the Japan Sodium-Cooled Fast Reactor (JSFR). Several innovative technologies, i.e., compact reactor vessel, two-loop system, full natural-circulation decay heat removal, and recriticality-free core, have been investigated to reduce construction cost and to achieve a high level of reactor safety. Preliminary evaluations of innovative technologies to be applied to JSFR are ongoing. In this paper, the progress of design study is reviewed, and key issues are discussed. Then, research and development activities on the thermal hydraulics are highlighted in connection with the phenomena taking place in natural-circulation decay heat removal and innovative design and enhanced safety features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Japanese Tower, commissioned by King Leopold II of Belgium in 1900 and designed by the French architect Alexandre Marcel, was finished and inaugurated in 1904. This building presents a remarkable variety of decorative techniques and materials, including Japanese lacquer executed using specific and complex decorative techniques. Preliminary research on the interior decorations allowed the rediscovery and highlighting of a large and unique collection of lacquerwork and architectural Japanese ornaments from the Edo and Meiji period, combined with European artefacts. This paper focuses on the study of the extensive use of Japanese lacquer found in the upper floors of the Tower. This focus was facilitated by collaboration with other specialists, which granted a better understanding of the secrets of this extraordinary piece of cultural heritage and the development of a preservation plan for the interior decoration. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Muslim travellers are increasing in volume and value, inciting the interest of the tourism industry worldwide. However, Islam calls for adherence to certain practices which impact tourist behaviour and create distinctive requirements. This paper is concerned with the phenomenon of Islamic tourism, encompassing the particular needs of Muslim tourists and industry responses. It reviews recent trends and underlying determinants, making specific reference to circumstances in Japan. The country has seen some success in attracting Muslim visitors, and its strengths and weaknesses as a destination for them are discussed alongside issues of tourist–resident relations. The market, overall, is shown to be growing and have good prospects, but realising potential is a challenge for service providers. Efforts must be made to understand the defining characteristics of Muslim tourists and take action to meet their expectations while also satisfying the demands of non-Muslims and avoiding possible conflicts with locals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of kyosei (‘co-living’) has long been known for its role in sustaining society and the environment in the East and it has had a significant impact on many aspects of Japanese life. Theoretically, some key notions of Shinto, animism, and Japanese Buddhism have increased awareness, and promoted the co-living concept to the Japanese people. Using an interpretive and ethnographic approach this paper explores how some prominent 20thcentury Japanese Buddhist thinkers developed a ‘co-living’ approach in order to vitalize the position of Japanese Buddhism in a fast changing Japan. Since the 1960s, many Japanese corporations have used kyosei to promote their brand consciousness. Kyosei has also been used as an inspirational source by several Japanese design practitioners to enrich their design solutions and stimulate social awareness. In examining the concept of kyosei from the Eastern philosophical standpoints and in a design context this research describes a holistic and co-living approach, which has the potential to enhance progress toward a more sustainable world. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Over the course of the past 150 years, since the first iron- and steel-based bridge was constructed in 1868, Japan has become one of the most advanced countries in the construction of steel structures. Various innovative and elegant steel structures were constructed in the past such as the world's longest suspension bridge called the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge. The advances of steel structures were attributed to a significant extent to the development of high-performance steels. Such materials developed in Japan were characterized by three types of versatilities: strength, functional, and sectional. Some examples of such materials include fairly high and low strength steels, high-bridge performance steel, seismic-resistant steel, fire-resistant steel, and size-flexible H-shaped beam. In Japan, these steel material innovations enabled the progress in steel structures to leap forward and in turn challenging new structures gave birth to further advancements in steel materials. In this paper, the advancements of steel structures and materials were reviewed, focusing largely on the steel materials and their contributions to the construction of steel structures. In addition, in light of recently developed innovative steels and their strength-increasing potential, the further advancements of steel materials were suggested for the future innovations of steel structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much has been written about the many Western experts, particularly engineers, who travelled to Japan and contributed to the country's modernization in the years following the Meiji Restoration (1868). In this paper it is argued that more emphasis could be placed on the contribution made, not only by experts in situ, but also by agents who remained in the West and sent out instructions and materials, enabling extraordinary changes under the new centralized Japanese government. The author traces the achievements of the Waters and Robinson families who, as agents, engineers, entrepreneurs and opportunists, combined to contribute to a decade of advancement now known to Japanese historians as the Waters era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the emergency response of the Onagawa nuclear power station (NPS) on March 11, 2011, and the primary factors that allowed the Onagawa NPS to reach a state of cold shutdown, even though it suffered the highest ground acceleration and tsunami, comparable to those at the Fukushima Daiichi NPS. There was no release of radioactive material to the environment despite damage to several pieces of equipment, such as the toppling of a heavy oil tank, short-circuiting of non-safety-related high-voltage metal-clad switchgear, and internal flooding of the reactor auxiliary building. While we conducted the plant control, people who lived in the neighborhood of the NPS, whose residences had been damaged by the tsunami, came to the plant seeking shelter and help with evacuation. We accommodated them in the on-site gymnasium and provided necessities such as food and blankets. Within several days, the number of evacuees increased and surpassed 360, and we lived with them for nearly 3 months. The key points for safe cold shutdown were first, the plant site grade was higher than the maximum tsunami height and, second, an emergency diesel generator for each unit and one of the off-site electrical power lines remained available. In addition to these factors, preparedness (such as seismic reinforcements for all units, updating of tsunami predictions where appropriate, and regular fire drills and simulator training for loss of off-site-power) contributed greatly. However, we must still achieve higher standards of safety. First, we must conduct a detailed evaluation of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami and take necessary actions based on this evaluation. Second, we have to take proper countermeasures against severe accidents. We have learned many lessons from the Fukushima Daiichi accident, and we will continue to make efforts in order to avoid a similar severe accident again. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study described in this paper was undertaken to investigate comfort temperatures and related behaviours in Japanese homes. In it temperatures were measured in the living rooms and a thermal comfort survey of residents and related window-opening behavioural survey was completed over a full year in the Gifu region of Japan. The residents were found to be highly satisfied with the thermal environment of their houses. Significant seasonal differences were found in their comfort temperatures. The results showed that comfort temperature changes varied with changes in both the indoor and outdoor climate. The strength of the relationship between indoor and outdoor temperatures justified the adoption of the adaptive model for both prediction and design of control strategies for the provision of indoor comfort. The window-opening behaviours were shown to be related to both the indoor or outdoor air temperatures. The deadband was narrower and constraints on the window opening in the houses investigated were both considerably lower than previously found in office building studies. The adaptive model is highly supported by this study of occupant perceptions and window-opening behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study on the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station spent-fuel pool (SFP) at Unit 4 (SFP4) is presented in this paper. We discuss the design characteristics of SFP4 and its decay heat load in detail and provide a model that we developed to estimate the SFP evaporation rate based on the SFP temperature. The SFP level of SFP4 following the March 11, 2011, accident is predicted based on the fundamental conservation laws of mass and energy. Our predicted SFP level and temperatures are in good agreement with measured data and are consistent with Tokyo Electric Power Company evaluation results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The extreme events that led to the prolonged electrical power outage and finally to sever damage of four units of the Fukushima nuclear plant have highlighted the importance of ensuring a technical means for stable, long-term cooling of the nuclear fuel and the containment following a complete station blackout. This paper presents an overview of the advanced passive safety systems designed for the NuScale nuclear power plant and their role in addressing extreme events. The NuScale plant may include up to 12 power modules, and each module incorporates a reactor pressure vessel (core, steam generator, and pressurizer) and a containment vessel that surrounds the reactor vessel. During normal operation, each containment vessel is fully immersed in a water-filled, stainless steel-lined concrete pool that resides underground. The pool, housed in a Seismic Category I building, is large enough to provide 30 days of core and containment cooling without adding water. After 30 days, the core decay heat generation is so small that the natural convection heat transfer to air at the outside surface of the containment, coupled with thermal radiation heat transfer, are completely sufficient to remove the core decay heat for an unlimited period. These passive safety systems can perform their function without requiring an external supply of water or electric power. Computational and experimental assessments of the NuScale passive safety systems are being performed at several institutions, including the one-third scale NuScale integral system test facility at Oregon State University. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a research paper which focuses on the construction of the portal frame bridge (PFB) in Japan. It is said that the use of PFBs as an alternative of the integral abutment bridge (lAB) in Japan began from 1995. In a PFB, the structural detailing of the girder-abutment connection is important and generally steel composite girders are used in PFBs.

The aim of this study is to explore how head nurses perceive staff stress and needs of support, and to identify the available support systems in Japanese palliative care units. As part of a larger study on the loss and grief experience of nurses working in palliative care settings in Japan, this paper reports on an investigation of head nurses' perceptions of the palliative care nurses' experience and current support systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the current status of the design study and the related research and development for an advanced loop-type fast reactor: the Japan sodium-cooled fast reactor (JSFR). First, the development targets and the major design requirements are established. Then, a cost-down approach in which developing innovative technologies is key to being competitive with another future energy source is discussed. Here, the development status of several innovative technologies such as a two-loop cooling system, reliable reactor system, simplified fuel-handling system, passive reactor shutdown system, mitigation measure against a core disruptive accident, and minor actinide-bearing oxide fuel core is described. Last, a review of JSFR development and the demonstration plan for the innovative technologies are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vernacular timber-framed houses in Britain and Japan share an open-hall tradition where the frame is exposed. This paper classifies the types of trusses recorded in 40 halls in each of the two countries and focuses on the arrangement of timbers used as an alternative to arcade posts to support the superstructure. This comparative analysis shows that British aisled, box-frame and cruck-frame types (including their derivatives) could be used with one another in open and closed trusses within a single building yet do not usually coexist within a single truss. By contrast, Japanese framing systems are essentially all definable as aisled frames and their derivatives. Structural and aesthetic complexity is created by the superimposition of various techniques within one truss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Japan Atomic Energy Agency has developed several Japanese voxel phantoms and performed simulations using the developed phantoms mainly for radiation protection purposes. In recent years, the techniques have been applied to other research fields including medical fields. This paper summarizes recent research results concerning the Japanese phantoms. The main conclusions of the results are as follows. First, according to comparison of organ doses in the Japanese voxel phantoms to those in Rex and Regina for external photon exposure, it was confirmed that on average, organ doses are slightly larger for Japanese phantoms because of the difference in body size; however, the difference is very small. Second, organ doses were found to be obviously different between standing and lying postures both in external and internal exposures because of the change in body structures; however, in terms of effective doses, the effect is limited. Third, the alpha version of a dose calculation system for remotely supporting X-ray therapy through the Internet was completed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A sodium-heated steam generator (SG) being studied in Japan for a future commercialized fast reactor is a double-wall straight tube type. The SG is large to reduce its manufacturing cost by economies of scale. This paper addresses the multidimensional distributions of the temperature and the flow in the SG. Large heat exchanger components are prone to have nonuniform flow and temperature distributions. These maldistributions cause tubes to have thermal expansion mismatch, which might lead to structural issues such as tube buckling or tube-to-tube-sheet junction failure in straight tube SGs. The temperature profiles in the SG are examined by numerical methods, and flow distribution control devices are optimized to prevent these issues. The calculation model of the SG consists of two parts: a sodium inlet distribution plenum (the inlet plenum) and a heat transfer tube bundle region (the bundle). The flow and temperature distributions in the inlet plenum and the bundle are evaluated by the three-dimensional code FLUENT and the two-dimensional code MSG, respectively. The thermal loads on the tubes are evaluated by the structural code FINAS based on the temperature distributions. These codes have revealed that the sodium flow is distributed uniformly by the flow distributors and that the thermal loads remain within the allowable range for the structural integrity of the tubes and the junctions. An inlet plenum water test and an SG experiment to examine thermal-hydraulic performance are planned. These tests will reveal the flow and temperature distributions in the SG and verify the computer calculation results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A research and development project to investigate thermal-hydraulic performance in the tight-lattice rod bundles of the Innovative Water Reactor for Flexible Fuel Cycle (FLWR) has been in progress at Japan Atomic Energy Agency in collaboration with power companies, reactor vendors, and universities since 2002. The FLWR can realize favorable characteristics such as effective utilization of uranium resources, multiple recycling of plutonium, high burnup, and long operation cycle, based on matured light water reactor technologies. Mixed-oxide fuel assemblies with tight lattice arrangement are used because they increase the conversion ratio by reducing the moderation of neutrons. Increasing the in-core void fraction also contributes to the reduction of neutron moderation. Information about the effects of the gap width and grid spacer configuration on the flow characteristics in the FLWR core is still insufficient. Thus, we are developing procedures for qualitative analysis of thermal-hydraulic performance of the FLWR core using an advanced numerical simulation technology. In this study, an advanced two-fluid model is developed to economize on the computing resources. In the model, interface structures larger than computational cells (such as liquid film) are simulated by the interface tracking method, and small bubbles and droplets are estimated by the two-fluid model. In this paper, we describe the outline of this model and the numerical simulations we performed to validate the model performance qualitatively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given that a post-modern perspective of tourism has introduced a new gaze of the destination as a construction of both visitor perception and supplier commodification, the language of cultural compression and place displacement has become commonplace. It has almost become a cliché to argue that tourism deconstructs history, fact and fantasy to re-assemble a hybrid that nonetheless can generate an experiential authenticity. Yet the tourism academic literature has been comparatively silent about the construction of theatre entertainment for visitors outside of a critique of indigenous peoples' cultural performance. This paper examines the ways in which a Japanese venture based upon Dutch architecture seeks to entertain an audience that is a mix of domestic and international visitors through an evening theatre entertainment titled An Eastern Odyssey. The nature of plot and presentation is examined in an effort to develop a set of reference points to illustrate how a cast comprising primarily non-Japanese performers develops a story with a mix of reference points as diverse as Gilbert and Sullivan to Star Wars via the Japanese tradition of Kabuki in order to overcome language differences and incomprehensibilities. It is argued that constructed reference points produce a show that communicates over cultural distances by reference to a hybrid of popular cultures. Yet, this hybrid is itself a package distanced from the cultures of its audiences by bridgeable nuances to develop a touristic dramatology of fantasy and spectacle. Within a trilogy of fantasies, production, the nature of Huis Ten Bosch and arguably a financial fantasy, An Eastern Odyssey becomes itself a metaphor for much post-modern tourism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The article aims to introduce emaki to art students in the U.S., and to present how Japanese art students live and study art at present. It is stated that the images of the emaki, which developed during the Heian Period of the Japanese history, may be drawn, painted or printed on long narrow paper that is rolled up and stored in a wooden box. According to the author, both Japanese and American students are benefited by learning emaki and the telling of picture stories does not make ancient Japanese different from others.

This paper describes the evaluation of the lighting policy that the National Museum of Ethnology in Leiden, Netherlands, developed for the display of its nineteenth-century Japanese woodblock prints. Colour measurements during one year on exhibition showed changes that exceeded the limit of one ‘just noticeable change’ in 50 years specified in the policy. In a series of experiments, members of a test panel were all able to perceive the magnitude of colour difference measured in the prints during exhibition when presented with patches of colour side by side, but only half the panel could distinguish the same change when it was seen in the context of a multicoloured image. The change measured in the prints was judged by the panel to represent an average ‘loss of value’ of 9%, and deemed to be acceptable over a period of 160 years. The outcome suggests exposure of the prints should be further limited for the benefit of future access. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper summarises the tests that have been performed on type B packages by CRIEPI in Japan to conditions different from the regulatory test standard for impact, fire and immersion. A drop test of a spent fuel package with transport frame was performed. The drop height was 7·8 m and the target was reinforced concrete floor. Drop tests of spent fuel packages without impact limiters were performed. The drop heights were 1·5, 5·0 and 17 m and the target was a reinforced concrete floor. Dynamic crash tests simulating accidental drop of heavy object onto a spent fuel transport/storage package without impact limiters were performed. The heavy object was a slab made of reinforced concrete. The drop heights were 5 to 17 m. A thermal test was performed using a spent fuel package specimen. During the thermal test in a furnace, the environmental temperature increased up to 1000°C. An immersion test under a head of water at 3000 m for one hour was performed. The specimens were packages of spent fuel and high level wastes. In all the cases, the integrity of the specimens was maintained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drama-in-Education is basically process-oriented, but which counts more in foreign language learning, process or performance? In the fall term of 2005, thirteen students in my fourth-year seminar attempted to build a play on the pioneering journey of a historical female figure in Japan who contributed to offering higher education to Japanese women. Her letters, journals and biographies became the sources, or pre texts, for creating the play, but the most challenging part for the class was to stage their script. In this paper I will examine the advantages and disadvantages of taking either of the two approaches in EFL classroom and will demonstrate an effective way of integrating those two in order to promote students' competences in language learning through aesthetic experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drama-in-Education is basically process-oriented, but which counts more in foreign language learning, process or performance? In the fall term of 2005, thirteen students in my fourth-year seminar attempted to build a play on the pioneering journey of a historical female figure in Japan who contributed to offering higher education to Japanese women. Her letters, journals and biographies became the sources, or pre-texts, for creating the play, but the most challenging part for the class was to stage their script. In this paper I will examine the advantages and disadvantages of taking either of the two approaches in EFL classroom and will demonstrate an effective way of integrating those two in order to promote students' competences in language learning through aesthetic experiences. This project was supported by a grant from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in the year 2005 entitled "Support Program for Distinctive University Education." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the concentration of multimedia and Internet businesses in Central Tokyo. The multimedia businesses producing various digitized materials and the other businesses related to the Internet can be identified as a business domain referred to as "the multimedia and Internet industry." Tokyo is the location of the largest concentration of multimedia and Internet businesses in Japan. Several industrial clusters of such businesses can be identified in Central Tokyo through the locational analysis of the firms utilizing GIS techniques. Among these clusters, Kanda, the largest one with its tradition of IT related technical and publishing/ printing businesses, contains a number of software design and application service firms. In contrast, Shibuya, the second largest cluster without any pre-existing industrial tradition, specializes in multimedia and Web content business. Shibuya, which is popularly called "Bit Valley," has grown rapidly correspondence with the expansion of the demand for multimedia and Web content products on the bases of its denser industrial relations compared to those in the other clusters and of few disadvantages in the competition for human resources for creative workers employment due to a distinct local labor market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the emergent nature of organizational knowledge, which has not been addressed sufficiently in the current Knowledge Management (KM) research. For the task, we reconsider the concept of knowledge by looking at four distinct discourses on knowledge; namely, knowledge as object, knowledge as interpretation, knowledge as process, and knowledge as relationship. Then the fundamental nature of the emergence of knowledge will be discussed where we will argue that human interaction is the source of knowledge emergence. Based on the theoretical discussions, we examine a case study of a fire crisis threatening the supply chain between Aisin Seiki and Toyota in Japan. It demonstrates significant self-organizing, emergent KM practices that effectively coordinated various human and physical resources and contextual information in this chaotic situation. Finally we discuss the implications for future KM practices, by considering in particularly the institutional aspects of information and communication technologies in KM practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid developments in the area of telecommunications and information technologies have brought about dramatic changes in the way organizations conduct business and have influenced the way organizations seek to gain competitive advantages in their industries. Among the most prominent of these developments is the World Wide Web (WWW or "web ") and its impact on how business--in this case, electronic commerce (EC)--is conducted. One question that arises is: "Is the web's impact on electronic commerce uniform around the world?" This paper reports on a research study that sought insight into this question by comparing the web-based business practices of both Japanese and the U.S. The results of content analysis and statistical data analysis provide support for country differences between Japan and the U.S. on several web site characteristics.

This paper examines the extensive use of English borrowings and graphic images that dominate the visual world of Japan. It argues that these English signs (both visual and linguistic) are not mere imitations of the West, nor are they a kind of language pollution. Instead, they represent a highly creative use of visible language, both as a linguistic and artistic form of communication. English and English orthography has become incorporated into the Japanese symbolic vocabulary, just as Chinese writing was brought in over a thousand years ago. English represents one more semiotic resource available to Japanese people, and the high degree of visual literacy and sophistication of the average Japanese is due no doubt, in large part, to this blending of several languages and orthographies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author discusses the experience of New York City middle school students and their art teachers as delegates of the Asia Society of New York and the TDK Corp. in Japan. Titled "Japan Trail '83" the itinerary aims to promote goodwill through art in the country. He also discusses the participation of the delegates in the art classes at the Shitaya Junior High School in Tokyo. He describes the art facilities of Japanese schools and compared their art curriculum with that of the Americans. He also presents his observations on the emphasis given to aesthetics, ethics and cleanliness in Japanese life, and the incorporation of art in cultural activities such as flower arrangement (ikebana), paper folding (origami) and the sensory activity of the Tea Ceremony.

This paper attempts to characterize aspects of the relationship between members of the parliament (Diet) and reporters in Japan. It focuses on the question of the degree of contact between the political elite and a particular mass medium, based on the results of a questionnaire that was distributed to Diet members. The findings show that most of the Diet members have a very great degree of contact with representatives of the printed media. Further, a correlation exists between frequency of meetings with local newspaper reporter-- as opposed to the national mass media (newspapers and television--and the number of times a politician has been elected to the Diet. This research is part of a broader study being conducted in Japan on the relationship between politicians and the press. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper attempts to characterize aspects of the relationship between members of parliament (Diet) and reporters in Japan. It focuses on the frequency of meetings between the political elite and the press, based on the results of a questionnaire that was distributed among Diet members. The findings show that there is a correlation between frequency of meetings and the number of times one has been elected to the Diet: frequency increases with parliamentary experience, but only up to a certain point. This research is part of a broader study being conducted in Japan on the relationship between politicians and the press. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]