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Paper City (2021), directed by Adrian Francis, is a documentary film that highlights the 70th anniversary of the firebombing of Tokyo on March 10, 1945. The film presents three elderly survivors' oral accounts of the firebombing and observes their work as memory activists in a long campaign to compel the Japanese government to publicly memorialize the event in a way commensurate with its enormous devastation. Reflecting on issues of memory and forgetting, Francis intends the film as a way of passing survivors' experiences to audiences, who can help to transfer memory to others and to generations beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines consumer factors of paper recycling in Japan. The study specifically focuses on toilet paper as a paper product and attempts to reveal how individuals evaluate recycled toilet paper, howthe evaluation relates to toilet paper consumption, and why people use or do not use recycled toilet paper. The study also examines what factors influence collection recycling behavior, and what people believe as necessary to achieve a society with better recycling. Responses were obtained from 1242 respondents in Japan. Four results were found. (1) People cannot judge the raw material of virgin toilet papers correctly, while people can correctly judge the raw material of recycled toilet paper. The quality and appearance of recycled toilet paperwas not high enough to compete with virgin toilet paper. Furthermore, the image of recycled toilet paper also had negative impact on the willingness to use recycled toilet paper. (2) The primary criterion for purchasing recycled toilet paper was pro-environmental attitude. For the virgin toilet paper, it was brand. As expected, recycled toilet paper users had a positive evaluation and image of recycled toilet paper, while virgin toilet paper users had a negative evaluation and image of it. (3) Actual recycling behavior might not relate directly to consumption behavior of recycled paper. Rather, it was determined by the knowledge of waste collection system and payment system. (4) Most people have not realized that without the consumption of recycledproducts, the recycling system is not completed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Paper passes through many hands. In the present paper, key parts of this cycle in Japan were examined, using questionnaire surveys of households and paper makers. The study aimed to examine the paper makers' strategy for paper production and their attitude to recycling, in comparison with those of the consumers. The study especially focused on toilet paper because consumers have a lot of freedom in purchasing toilet paper. A total of 1242 consumers and 60 paper makers responded. The major findings were as follows. First, we compared the criteriaof consumers for purchasing toilet paper with the conjectures of paper makers. Brand, advertisements and the appearance of shopping displays received 60% support from paper makers, but less than 12% of consumers selected these criteria even if we exclude those who do not buytoilet paper or do not have any particular criteria. On the other hand, multiple plies and benefit to the earth were selected by moderatenumbers (between 20 and 25%) of consumers, while only 16.77 and 5.69%, respectively of paper makers marked these criteria. Paper makers strongly believe that many retailers sell toilet paper as a loss-leader. By comparing those matters considered important for recycling by consumers with those considered important by makers, it was shown thatmany makers have a clear awareness of the particular problem, the lack of used paper consumption, in the current paper recycling situation in Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Industrialized countries have increasingly used skill-based selective migration policies to reduce labor and skill shortages. But are these policies effective? This paper uses Japan and the United Kingdom to illustrate how immigration policy and employment, training and labor practices influence labor and skill supply. Until recently, these two countries had different migration policies and labor practices. Yet data shows similar patterns of labor and skill shortage profiles in both countries. This paper draws on empirical research to argue that such outcomes suggest that immigration policies will not alleviate labor and skill shortages unless accompanied by the transformation of employment and training practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper compares the recycling attitudes of consumers in Germany and Japan, based on our nationwide questionnaires. We analyzed consumption behavior as well as recycling behavior in narrow sense, becauseit is important to study the former to see how the supply of recycled materials is balanced with the demand, particularly in Japan which exports little recycled materials. Toilet paper was adopted as a specific good for study, because consumers have options of buying virgin products and recycled products. It was found that German households pay for waste collection specifically and have higher recycling rates than Japanese households. On the other hand, similar figures in German and Japanese consumers were observed with regard to consumption of recycled products. Their purchasing criteria and preference on virginand recycled products of toilet paper were examined by self-report and blind test with 2x 2 experimental design for toilet paper (German versus Japanese, virgin versus recycled). Blind test showed that people prefer domestic and virgin products in both countries. Half of respondents rating virgin products guessed that the products contained recycled material. For Japanese, the material of the sample toilet paper, made from virgin pulp, seems to be a more determining factor thanthe nationality of products, i.e. made in Japan. On the other hand, for Germans, the domestic nature seems to be a more dominant factor than the material, i.e. made from virgin material. Canonical discriminant analysis in conjunction with logistic regression based on self-reporting data detected the characters `multiplied', `appearance' and `brand' as major factors making the difference in preference between the two countries. The possible reasons causing the similarity and dissimilarity between the two countries are discussed with reference to the background history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Facilitated by technological advances in cameras, printing methods and equipment, photojournalism blossomed throughout the world during the interwar period. It offered readers insights into the contemporary world, providing access to diverse peoples and remote locations through a combination of photographs and text. Japan was no exception. However, unlike Europe or North America, where the primary medium for disseminating knowledge through images was photo magazines or newspapers, in interwar Japan it was mass-market women's magazines that popularised the practice of using images to convey information within society. This paper specifically examines representations seen in a particular photo-article genre known as the "life pictorial", published in the best-selling women's magazine Shufu no tomo ("Housewife's Friend"). The analysis of these articles demonstrates how they contributed to the circulation of an imagined geography in 1930s Japanese society by presenting an image of a utopian multicultural Japanese empire that covertly intimated a distinct social, ethnic and racial hierarchy. Furthermore, this analysis explores how the magazine guided and shaped its readers' visual literacy by training them in how to "read" these photo articles, in a time before state censorship became fully entrenched. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the integration processes of international marriage migrants in Japan and South Korea and identifies the steps and conditions required for integration. It contributes to the wider discussion of obstacles that migrants face during the integration process. Despite Japan and South Korea's reluctance toward the influx of large numbers of international migrants, their stance is more positive toward (female) marriage migrants. The qualitative data used for the analysis were collected by authors during the period between 2007 and 2022 on women from former Soviet Union countries, married to South Korean (54) or Japanese (50) men. The analysis of women's experiences identifies four major steps leading to receiving society integration: Pre-migration, arrival, early years and long-term settlement. The findings show that early language acquisition and receiving family support resulted in relatively smooth integration. However, human capital appears to be both a driver and an obstacle to integration. Furthermore, mismatched gender role expectations, limited social networks and employment opportunities increased difficulties in the integration process. Additionally, stronger ties with the receiving family and weaker ties with the home countries influenced women's decision to settle in the country. The largest differences between Japan and South Korea were the higher employment opportunities for marriage migrants in South Korea, especially for those with professional skills and Korean language knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COVID-19 has dramatically transformed Japan's linguistic landscape. This paper determines the types of COVID-19 store signs in Tokyo and Kanagawa and the extent to which they cater to the growing number of non-Japanese residents living in this highly populated urban region. Analysis of 293 COVID-19 signs shows that many are text-andimage monolingual Japanese signs that display multiple messages related to customer and staff policies. Although the stores predominantly prepare these signs, they are influenced by government policy, particularly those related to social distancing. Only a quarter of these signs is multilingual, and many contain Japanese and English only. Consequently, the majority of the foreign population from non-English-speaking countries who cannot read either language well may need to rely on the images contained in COVID-19 signs and the signs' positioning to decipher the meaning. However, this paper demonstrates that neither images nor the positioning of Japanese monolingual signs is an adequate substitute for the greater use of multilingual signs. The prevalence of monolingual Japanese COVID-19 signs suggests that non-Japanese residents in Japan potentially face a linguistic disadvantage in navigating a linguistic landscape altered by COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COVID-19 has dramatically transformed Japan's linguistic landscape. This paper determines the types of COVID-19 store signs in Tokyo and Kanagawa and the extent to which they cater to the growing number of non-Japanese residents living in this highly populated urban region. Analysis of 293 COVID-19 signs shows that many are text-andimage monolingual Japanese signs that display multiple messages related to customer and staff policies. Although the stores predominantly prepare these signs, they are influenced by government policy, particularly those related to social distancing. Only a quarter of these signs is multilingual, and many contain Japanese and English only. Consequently, the majority of the foreign population from non-English-speaking countries who cannot read either language well may need to rely on the images contained in COVID-19 signs and the signs' positioning to decipher the meaning. However, this paper demonstrates that neither images nor the positioning of Japanese monolingual signs is an adequate substitute for the greater use of multilingual signs. The prevalence of monolingual Japanese COVID-19 signs suggests that non-Japanese residents in Japan potentially face a linguistic disadvantage in navigating a linguistic landscape altered by COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Cahiers Elisabethains: A Biannual Journal of English Renaissance Studies is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Japan welcomes highly educated migrants, but do these migrants stay on in Japan? Drawing on a web survey of 600 immigrant employees working in Japan, this paper evaluates different factors influencing migrants' stay and leave intentions. The results indicate that economic and employment-related reasons have limited impact on migrants' stay intentions. Nationalities also predict migrants' varied willingness to stay in Japan, indicating the blurring boundary between economic and cultural logics of migration. Among all factors, marrying locals provides the strongest incentive to stay, demonstrating again that affective and social ties exercise the most power in anchoring the migrants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the recent years the world has experienced a shift towards complex relations being formed in the growing interlacing between geoeconomics and geopolitics. This paper aims at bringing geoeconomics and geopolitics on the macroeconomic level together with the potential implications for Japanese firms operating in Europe and more specifically within the EU Single Market. The paper grounds the analysis within international political economy, international business and economic geography. This broad, eclectic theoretical foundation enables the analysis to contribute to a deeper understanding of how firms respond to and potentially drive the political development of trade and investment relations. Hence, the paper strives to examine how geopolitics alter the flows of trade and investments, but also to map a new configuration taking place in parallel on the firm level of industrial dynamics and economic geographical footprint. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to summarize the historical and current situation of Medieval European Art History studies in Japan. I start from the dawn of European Studies in Japan at the end of the 19th century, and follow the long path taken by Medieval Art historians in Japan, through Japan's defeat in World War II and later economic growth. Finally, I briefly comment on the general situation of the Humanities and some aspects of Medieval Art History in present day Japan, when the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic are still being felt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is no nationwide necropsy database of animals in Japan, and most of the records are available from the postwar period. To clarify the chronological transition of animal necropsy cases in Tokyo, Japan, the records accumulated in The University of Tokyo from 1902 were investigated. Of necropsy records on paper or electronic from 1902 to 2021 kept at the Laboratory of Veterinary Pathology, The University of Tokyo, totally 3,137 cases including 572 in 1903-1914 (the Meiji-Taisho period), 1,258 in 1956-1969 (the Showa period) and 1,307 in 2006-2020 (the Heisei-Reiwa period), respectively, were examined for species, breed, age and pathological diagnosis. Dogs (44.6%) and horses (34.8%) in the Meiji-Taisho period, dogs (62.9%) and cats (17.3%) in the Showa period, and dogs (46.0%), cats (26.1%) and exotic animals (20.5%) in the Heisei-Reiwa period were the most necropsied animal species. With the passage of time, the number of animal species increased, and the breeds of dogs and cats came to be more various. The median ages of death were 2 years, 3 years and 10 years old in dogs in the Meiji-Taisho, Showa and Heisei-Reiwa periods, respectively, and 2 years and 10 years old in cats in the Showa and Heisei-Reiwa periods, respectively. Viral, bacterial and parasitic infections were decreased, and inversely tumor cases increased due to the prolonged lifespan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of a case study conducted within the Ministry of Education and Research (MEC) from Romania, with focus on identifying the level of knowledge and use of the methods and instruments of Total Quality Management in the institution, using the Japanese model of TQM as a point of reference. In the first part, the paper briefly discusses the peculiarities of the unique style in which the Japanese use Total quality management specific tools, such as Statistical Quality Control (SQC), Quality Circles (QC), Continuous Improvement (kaizen), or Deming’s cycle called P-DC- A. Next, the paper aims to identify the way in which TQM is understood and used by the human resource of the Ministry of Education and Research in Romania, the eff orts directed towards the implementation of a quality management system, the degree of implementation of internal management control standards (SCIM), which are specific to public administration at central level and last but not least, the perception and vision that civil servants in the Ministry of Education have in relation to the techniques and methods of implementing TQM, as identified in the first part of this study. Therefore, in the last part, we present the analysis, as well as the interpretation of the data obtained following the application of a quantitative survey administered among Ministry staff . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Japan's handling of border control measures during the COVID-19 pandemic has become known as sakoku -approach. Sakoku literally means "closed country" and generally refers to a historic period when the Tokugawa Shogunate (1603–1868) kept Japan's borders shut because international contacts were feared to cause public upheaval and political instability. While these times have long passed, contemporary Japan, too, is known for its tight management of immigration avenues. In the light of the COVID-19 pandemic, most of these avenues were cut off, and despite much criticism, have remained largely inaccessible for two years now. In this paper, we build on concepts from authoritarian populism and the performance of crisis to analyze how and why Japan revived its isolationist strategy. We decipher the discursive framings that Prime Minister Abe applied to illustrate the disruptive influence that open borders would have on Japan's public health, social stability and by extension, on the national body itself. We argue that from the onset of the pandemic on, the ethnic others were portrayed as a risk mainly for two intertwined reasons: Firstly, Japan's pandemic management relies on self-constraint rather than rules and sanctions, and the ethnic others' compliance was not fully trusted. Secondly, this exclusionary strategy fed into populist discourses and was presumed to result in favorable support rates for the administration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Local food is often explained by drawing on fixed ideas of scale or value, but such fixed notions of local food inevitably oversimplify the diversity of situated local food mosaics. This paper develops the application of scalar politics to strengthen analysis of the situated initiatives, institutions, discourses, and practices that shape scalar impacts and aspects of local food. I develop this approach through a case study of jidori chicken, a prominent symbol of local food in Japan. Through archival research and semi-structured interviews with key actors, I analyze the emergence of jidori as a category of artisan chicken linked to notions of local food. The national government introduced a standard that set minimum levels for the commercial use of jidori and made jidori legible to industrial and corporate approaches. Even though I trace the material and discursive construction of jidori from a municipality in Akita prefecture to jidori's recognition in international haute cuisine, I argue that the mosaic of local food initiatives linked through jidori defies simple hierarchical relationships. This case study of jidori from a non-Western context helps to destabilize common assumptions of local food's scale and political orientation in the Anglophone literature. This article has two main contributions. First, the application of scalar politics to local food better recognizes the mosaic-like spatial entanglements of local food. Second, in moving beyond fixed notions of scale or values, this paper encourages a broader exploration of local food in non-Western contexts. • Develops the application of scalar politics to local food to advance theoretical approaches to local food beyond fixed notions of scales or values. • Analyzes the emergence of jidori as a category of artisan chicken linked to notions of local food through archival research and semi-structured interviews with key actors. • Encourages a broader exploration of local food in non-Western contexts. • The application of scalar politics to local food better recognizes the mosaic-like spatial entanglements of local food. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the controversy surrounding J. Mark Ramseyer's paper on "Contracting for Sex in the Pacific War," which challenges the existence of "comfort women" in imperial Japan. Despite criticism from scholars and historians, the paper has not been retracted but has received an expression of concern. Ramseyer's work has been criticized for lacking scientific rigor and distorting evidence, with scholars pointing out incorrect citations and distortions. Ramseyer and his allies have used right-wing media outlets to promote his work and attack his critics. The authors argue for the retraction of the paper to prevent its continued use as legitimate scholarship and stress the importance of combating the misuse of evidence in academia. [Extracted from the article]

The paper deals with two collections in the Náprstek Museum, the collection of M. R. Štefánik, a Slovak politician, soldier and astronomer, who visited Japan in 1919, and the collection of Bedřich Feuerstein, Czech architect, who lived in Japan in 1926--1930. These collections, similar in size and in the time of creation, reflect different reasons for obtaining the objects. Both collections are only a small part of the objects originally belonging to Štefánik and Feuerstein, and had been unpublished for long time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article studies urban–rural mobilities in contemporary Japan using several island communities in the Setouchi region of the Seto Inland Sea as a case study. It seeks to examine the phenomenon of den-en kaiki (rural return) with a focus on young Japanese urbanites moving to depopulated regions outside large cities. Based on a 15-month ethnographic study, the paper draws on original in-depth qualitative interviews with 35 individuals in their 20s–40s. The findings show that while some may be more traditional "lifestyle migrants," many are adopting rural living as a temporary escape from the city and are not necessarily committed to staying long term. The narratives reveal diverse mobilities as a reflection of the changing attitudes of young Japanese attempting to find meaning and satisfaction while sustaining a livelihood in post-growth Japan. The growing importance of the "relationship population," referring to urbanites who spend extended time in rural communities but do not live there, is discussed to broaden existing conceptions of rural mobilities from the Japanese context. The messiness of rural mobilities in contemporary Japan highlights the need for an expanded understanding of concepts such as counter-urbanization to include various forms of exchange and consider how they can contribute to the future sustainability of rural spaces. • Fluid urban-rural mobilities are reflective of new values amongst young Japanese. • I-turners displayed varying levels of commitment to rural living while U-turners are more likely to settle. • Ethnographic data reveal a desire to explore alternatives to traditional lifelong employment. • Urban-rural migrants struggle to balance financial security with lifestyle aspirations. • More study on the 'relationship population' as a growing influence on the future of rural Japan is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purposes and implementation of adults’ lifelong education (LLE) has been shaped by two imperatives: i) neoliberal reforms and ii) focuses on employability and economic outcomes. This has led to LLE taking similar pathways across many countries, i.e., away from a focus on personal and cultural betterment, to one associated with promoting individual employability. However, policies and practices in Japan offers a nuanced contrast to the general trend. That is, the overall focus on LLE, particularly for older Japanese is premised on social engagement, personal enrichment and often captured in ‘social education’. There is also a focus on sustaining the adult employability, including the re-employment of retirees, in structured ways and tailored to meet their needs and enacted at the local level. This paper reviews the manifestations of LLE in Japan to examine how its goals and educational provisions are being developed, enacted, engaged with and evaluated. Overall, it is suggested that Japan has not wholly embraced the tight economic focus on promoting and supporting LLE associated with employability imperatives. Perhaps through the electoral power of the aged population, the provision of educational experiences is focused on longevity, cultural betterment, further education and reducing the social isolation of older Japanese. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nepali student migration to Japan is a relatively new phenomenon, but one that has accelerated in recent years. The number of Nepali students increased from fewer than 1,000 in 2008 to over 29,000 in 2019, making them the third largest foreign student community in Japan. They migrate despite the exorbitant cost, with each student migrant usually paying 1.4 million Nepali rupees (USD 14,000) to a Japanese language institute (JLI) in Japan through an international educational consultancy (IEC) in Nepal to enter Japan on a student visa. Based on my ethnographic fieldwork in Japan and Nepal conducted from 2013 to 2019, this article examines the role of JLIs in Japan and IECs in Nepal in channeling students from Nepal to Japan. The paper shows the relationship among JLIs, IECs, student migrants and both states, and displays how push and pull factors operate between Japan and Nepal. The article shows the interconnection between the JLIs' and IECs' migration businesses and Japan's side door policy for bringing in unskilled labor. The different actors do not compete with one another but are mutual beneficiaries, a reality that challenges the existing literature on the relationship between the states and the migration industry in both countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The five functions of government-market dynamics are critical to SG deployment. • China and Japan differ in the ways that government actors engage market actors. • China's approach is hierarchical; Japan's approach is more systemic. • National contextual differences can explain the variety of dynamics and outcomes. • Optimising government-making dynamics is vital to realising SG potentials. Smart grids (SGs) have been increasingly regarded as an enabling technology for post-Fukushima energy transitions. SGs require new policies and market infrastructures to deliver their potential, but the roles of governments in increasingly market based energy systems have not been well conceptualised. Advancing the socio-technical energy transitions literature, this paper proposes five functions of government-market dynamics in an integrated framework, and applies the framework in the field of smart grid developments in two Asian countries, China and Japan. Based on interviews with 38 key stakeholders, this study has three main findings. First, both countries have in common that the five functions of government-market dynamics are critical in developing, diffusing and utilising SG technologies. Second, China and Japan exhibit distinctive characteristics in the ways that government actors engage market actors. While the Chinese approach is more hierarchical, fragmented and homogenous led by two monopolised grid companies, the Japanese approach is a relatively systemic, bottom-up, and heterogeneous system mainly operated through four large-scale SG demonstration projects. Third, national contextual differences, most notably the advancement of electricity market reforms, explain the variety of the dynamics and outcomes. This paper concludes that consideration of optimising government-market dynamics is vital to create conductive conditions for realising the potential that SGs can offer in energy transitions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on multi-year fieldwork in two wine regions in two emerging wine producing counties, namely Erlin in Taiwan and the Kofu Basin in Japan, this paper discusses key institutional arrangements contributing the development processes of wine sector in the New-New World. Unlike existing studies on the catch-up experiences of wine industries in the New World with emphases on the capability-enhancing mechanisms embedded in the state- or MNC-initiated trans-local networks, this paper finds that the development of Taiwanese and Japanese wine sectors in these two regions has been driven mainly by local actors' active exploration of competence residing in their regional networks. This article employs the Triple Helix (TH) and Innovation systems (IS) as principal frameworks to narrow the research focus on the industry-government-university interaction, and examine the development process and nature of critical institutions supporting the interactive learning and collaboration among the TH actors. Through studying the cases of Taiwanese and Japanese wine industries, this paper goes beyond stating "institutions matter" as in existing IS and TH literature, by illuminating on how to develop institutions to allow actors' interaction to occur and be boosted especially when their local TH are still in the early phase of formation. • This article explains key mechanisms influencing the development of two newly-emerged wine-producing countries. • It provides cases demonstrating the effectiveness of the Triple Helix and Innovation systems as principal frameworks. • It illuminates how to develop institutions to allow enhanced interaction between actors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Review of International & Area Studies is the property of Seoul National University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Review of International Affairs (04866096) is the property of Institute of International Politics & Economics and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In contrast to many high-income countries, there is no clear positive relationship between maternal education and employment in Japan. However, recent policy, normative, and labor market changes are expected to have encouraged highly educated women to continue working, especially in regular employment, resulting in an increasing positive educational gradient. Despite this expectation, little is known about the changes in the educational gradient in recent cohorts. This paper examines the changes in the educational gradient in women's employment around their first and second births using nationally representative panel survey data of women born in the 1960–1989 cohorts in Japan. The results show a significant increase in the positive educational gradient in employment rates around the first and second births in the 1980s cohort. Highly educated women are more likely to be in regular employment and less likely to leave employment, which contributes to their higher employment continuity. Conversely, the employment rates of women with lower levels of education have not increased to the same extent across the cohorts, and they have become more likely to be in nonstandard employment. These findings suggest that the weak relationship between maternal education and employment is changing in Japan, which may contribute to greater inequality in the labor market, household, and offspring outcomes in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Ager: Journal of Depopulation & Rural Development Studies / Revista de Estudios sobre Despoblación y Desarrollo Rural is the property of Rolde de Estudios Aragoneses and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper proposes a vector error correction model to investigate the relationship between polluting emissions and GDP levels in Japan, in the period 1970-2014, and tests the validity of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis driven by tourist arrivals. Our results validate the existence of two different causality channels among the selected variables. In particular, we find that a trade-off might exist between increasing the number of tourists, which drives economic growth, and the pattern of a sustainable development, due to the increase of polluting emissions. The analysis allows us to propose appropriate policy strategies to promote a robust and sustainable long run economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When judging a population's health to determine disability-adjusted life years, disability weight is a tool for measuring the severity of disability caused by a disease. However, previous studies have pointed out that surveys targeting ordinary citizens produce unclear disability weight values. Therefore, in an attempt to obtain clearer estimations, we conduct a paper-based questionnaire survey of medical professionals – nurses with over ten years of experience – believed to have extensive knowledge of diseases and experience in patient care. We find that disability weight estimations based on the survey of medical professionals presents higher values than those based on a survey of ordinary citizens using the same estimation approach, especially for non-terminal-stage diseases. This suggests that medical-professionals-based surveys may correct the underestimated disability weights of non-terminal diseases (e.g., early stage of cancers and mellitus) found through ordinary-citizens-based surveys. Moreover, we illustrate that depressive disorder and early-stage cancers have almost the same health loss since their disability weights are similar. [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]

An improved understanding of the cascading structure of recycling isimportant for increasing resource productivity. The cascading theory, developed to analyze resource cascading, has two major dimensions; resource quality and resource lifetime. The latter is the only dimension for which a quantitative evaluation has been carried out in the previous research. In this study, we propose new tools to quantify both dimensions. These tools enable statistical estimation of the times of utilization of the material cascaded. The pre-circulation index (pre-CI) counts how many times the material has been utilized before consumption. For material in which quality deterioration is measurable largely on the basis of the number of utilization times, pre-CI can be an index of resource quality. The post-circulation index (post-CI) counts how many times the material will be utilized after consumption. The higher the number of utilization times, the longer the lifetimeof the material. Thus, post-CI can be an index of resource lifetime.Total-circulation index (TCI) is the sum of pre- and post-CIs. This can be an overall index of resource productivity. We apply the methodpresented herein to an analysis of the paper recycling system in Japan. Some important features of the CIs are demonstrated by the results; certain potential remains for further improvements in paper recycling in Japan. In the case that two products have the same utilizationrates, their pre-CIs can still differ according to the positions they occupy in the cascade. In the case that two recycling policies achieve the same size of primary raw material reduction, they can still differ in their impact to the whole cascade. By the method described herein, the CIs can represent the structure of a material cascade quantitatively and offer important knowledge by which to increase resource productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research paper focuses on public-private collaboration for disaster risk management in coastal destinations, particularly between the hotel industry and local government. To guide its research, this paper applies collaborative planning theory in developing a research framework to discover gaps between stakeholders attitudes towards collaboration, its outcomes, and obstacles preventing the adoption of specific hotel-based disaster management actions. A case study is used on Matsushima, Japan, a popular coastal destination in the Tohoku Region, which was devastated by the 2011 tsunami. Through surveys and interviews, this study found that hotels can play a key role in working together with the local government towards disaster risk management of coastal destinations. However collaboration gaps between the stakeholders limited the extent of the adoption of hotel-based disaster risk management initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines comprehensive and foundational insight into the long-term relationship between a firm's corporate social responsibility (CSR)-related announcements, CSR visibility, and firm value in Japan. I employed an OLS regression analysis of Tobin's q as a proxy of firm value with the original news dataset I collected from newspapers for CSR-related news announcements and CSR visibility. The regression results suggest, firstly, the positive relationship between a positive news announcement and firm value in the long-term, whereas the impact was found to be explained by CSR visibility in the longer-term. Secondly, the study showed that annual CSR visibility has a positive impact on the firm's value, which supports the idea that firms can attract more long-term investors, financial capital, and political supports by strengthening CSR visibility. Managers and public relations officers may want to be aware that both a positive CSR-related news announcement and CSR visibility have a positive impact on firm value basically, whereas the impact is gradually occupied by CSR visibility, not the announcement. Accordingly, managers are also advised to emphasize not only on "what they do" but also "how to show" their CSR activities in their long-term strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At a cursory glance, much of Japan's new economic security policy resonates with US-Biden policy language of building resilient supply chains and strengthening strategic partnerships. Mainstream scholarship has been quick to interpret this as a new form of economic statecraft and the strengthening of the US-Japan partnership. However, little has been discussed about how the adoption of economic security policy has entailed state restructuring and reconnected different social forces. There has been a shift in the functions of state institutions which are, to some extent, becoming fused. Security institutions are drawn into economic domains while economic institutions increasingly adapt to discourses on military issues. This fusion has been facilitating the reconnection of industrial capital, military capital, and state elites who attempt to leverage the interlocking components of US-led policies and economic security, that in turn reproduces the developmental form of the Japanese state. This paper offers a theoretically-informed way of understanding new geopolitical lines underpinning state transformation in Japan and sheds light on the constitutive elements we currently see as 'networked security architecture' such as the Quad or 'friendshoring' industrial policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Muslim migrants in Japan suffer from the lack of access to burial grounds when 99.9% of the nation is cremated. Muslims are usually met with opposition from the local community where cemetery construction is planned. Using ethnographic data, the study shows how Muslim associations inadvertently fail to respect the codes of Japanese rurality when seeking a cemetery in a community to which they do not have membership, leading to a conflict. This paper closes with policy prescriptions for the central government in ensuring the cultural rights of immigrant minorities in Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, I look into the lesser-known history of "comfort women" in the Philippines. I engage with the following questions: how did the trafficking and sexual exploitation of Filipino women emerge as part of state policy in the Japanese Empire? How was it dealt with in the aftermath of the war, especially in the face of shifting post-war alliances and the changing place of Japan in the geo-politics of the Cold War? How did events in the international arena, in turn, affect diplomatic relations between the Philippines and Japan, specifically with respect to aid and trade? Finally, how did the market forces at play affect state policy in the Philippines? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the problems of local industrial displacement by new apartment buildings in a high-density mixed residential and factory zone. Conceptually, we develop a model that underscores the contextual actors and variables shaping the governance of this type of land-use conflict. Empirically, we focus on the Takaida industrial district, Higashi Osaka, Japan. We argue that while there were similarities between our case study and the problems of industrial displacement and land-use and zoning conflicts found in major Western cities, the concerns and planning processes in Takaida reflected a particular Japanese situation. Most notably, decision rules to manage land-use conflicts between residential apartments and factories was overseen initially by a community planning group set up by the Higashi Osaka mayor. Based on field work, we record the twenty-year process to achieve consensus support for formal and informal rules designed to realize juko kyosei , the co-existence of residents and industrial businesses. The community planning group's proposals were eventually adopted, in large part, by Higashi Osaka city. They were then implemented through a new process of monozukuri planning that combined technological support for local factory upgrading as well as protecting industrial districts from displacement by residential incursion. • Industrial displacement of factories from traditional manufacturing districts due to land-use competition with residential apartments is an important policy issue in many cities. • An industrial policy mix framework helps understand the dynamics of this type of land-use conflict in particular jurisdictions. • Industrial displacement in Higashi Osaka, Japan, has been distinctive due to the problems of ambiguous zoning category (semi-industrial zone) and inflexible local land-use zoning for both factories and residential apartment buildings. • Management of this land-use conflict in the Takaida factory district involved machizukuri community planning. • Higashi Osaka municipality adopted monozukuri planning approaches to support factory operations together with policies that encouraged the co-existence of residents and industrial businesses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the politics of Asia-Pacific War memory and memorialization in Southeast Asia, evident in the production context and visual semiotic resources of Thailand's Victory Monument, a generic memorial to Thai war heroes, and the Philippines' Shrine of Valor, a historical shrine complex dedicated to Filipino and US soldiers of the Asia-Pacific War. These heritage structures represent two divergent memorialization practices that demonstrate how the commemoration or suppression of war memory is influenced by politics, agendas, and the benefits it brings to the state. In Thailand, the inward justification and outward restraint stem from the difficult choices the state had to make during the war. In the Philippines, while war memorialization was pronounced and served state aims, it was initially undermined by President Ferdinand Marcos, who wanted to bolster his fraudulent war heroism claims. The cases illustrate how diverging national memorial practices surrounding the war's contested past achieved similar aims and how memorial sites become repositories of meaning potentials through which we could make sense of the nation and its international entanglements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coastal social-ecological systems (SES) are essential for the wellbeing of coastal communities and the wider society. However, in many parts of the world coastal SES face rapid change, and ultimately degradation. In this paper we unravel the mechanisms and implications of change in coastal SESmobilising multiple sources of knowledge, including scientific, expert-based and traditional and local knowledge (TLK). We focus on the rapidly changing Nakatsu mudflat in Japan, and combine primary and secondary data elicited through a mixed-method participatory approach that mobilised local stakeholders with different types of engagement with (and knowledge of) the mudflat. Through 4 expert interviews and 40 questionnaire surveys we identified the main ecosystem services provided by the mudflat that are perceived to be essential to the wellbeing of the local community. Although practically all respondents identified food provision as an important mudflat ecosystem services, many also pointed to the importance of some cultural (e.g. aesthetic beauty, spirituality, education and knowledge) and supporting services (e.g. habitat provision, sediment formation/retention). Through 8 Focus Group Discussions (FGD) and concept mapping we identified and systematized the underlying direct and indirect drivers of ecosystem change in the Nakatsu mudflat. These include population ageing and shrinking, economic diversification, and technological change that have collectively eroded TLK practices associated with the sustainable use of the mudflat. We also identified the mechanisms mediating these drivers and how they unfold in reality. Our study demonstrates that participatory processes engaging multiple stakeholders with different types of knowledge can provide rich and useful information on coastal SES change, which might not be readily obvious from simple headline indicators such as the change in the extent of the SES. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]