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[Purpose] We evaluated the reliability of the measurement function of the Honda Walking Assist Device and investigated the effect of the device on walking improvements, and foot and ankle function, in hemiplegic stroke patients. [Participants and Methods] We recruited 16 hemiplegic stroke patients who performed 10-meter walk tests, twice without assistance and once with device assistance. Based on the rate of change of velocity, we divided the participants into two groups and compared the walking parameters, the toe grip strength, the cross tests, and the maximum step width. Two examiners assessed the 10-meter walk test results, and the authors calculated the intraclass correlation coefficients for walking speed, stride length, cadence, flexion, extension, and scissor angles. [Results] The intraclass correlation coefficients were greater than 0.70 for all the walking parameters we measured. The device increased hip joint movement but did not alter the maximum walking speed of the stroke patients. The patients in the group with a greater change in velocity displayed lower toe grip strength and decreased maximum step width and used orthoses more commonly. [Conclusion] The walking measurement function of the device was reliable. The immediate effect of the device in stroke patients may be influenced by the level of paralysis and the presence of an orthosis.

The Japanese Scoliosis Society MorbidityMortality Committee performed a longitudinal nationwide complication survey of spinal deformity surgery from 2012 to 2017. The present study aimed to analyze the survey results and report the complication trends of pediatric spinal deformity surgery in Japan.All Japanese Scoliosis Society members were invited to participate in the survey. Diagnoses were grouped into idiopathic scoliosis, congenital scoliosis, neuromuscular scoliosis, other types of scoliosis, and pediatric kyphosis. Complications were grouped into death, blindness, neurological deficits (motor/sensory), infection, massive bleeding, hematoma, pneumonia, cardiac failure, deep vein thrombosis/pulmonary embolism, gastrointestinal perforation, and instrumentation failure.The surveys were performed in 2012, 2014, and 2017. The overall complication rate decreased from 10.7% in 2012 to 8.1% in 2017. In particular, the complication rate in patients with idiopathic scoliosis decreased from 8.8% in 2012 to 4.0% in 2017. The complication rate of patients with neuromuscular scoliosis and kyphosis remained high. The rate of neurological deficits, especially in motor deficits, significantly decreased from 2.0% in 2012 to 0.7% in 2017, and tended to be highest in patients with kyphosis. The rate of massive bleeding was significantly decreased from 3.3% in 2012 to 0.8% in 2017, especially in patients with neuromuscular scoliosis (12.2-4.4%). However, patients with neuromuscular scoliosis had a high rate of postoperative pneumonia (3.7%, 2.6%, and 5.1%, respectively). The rate of instrumentation failure was also high (2.1%, 1.5%, and 2.2%, respectively), especially in patients with early onset idiopathic, congenital and other types of scoliosis.The overall surgical complication rates in pediatric patients decreased due to decreased rates of neurological deficits and massive bleeding, especially in patients with idiopathic scoliosis. However, the complication rates remain high in patients with neuromuscular scoliosis and kyphosis.

Introduction The Japanese Scoliosis Society (JSS) created a longitudinal complication survey of spinal deformity surgery and established the Morbidity and Mortality (M&M) Committee in 2012. The purpose of this study was to analyze the results of the complication survey in 2014 and to report the differences in the complication rates between the years 2012 and 2014. Methods A request to participate in this survey was mailed to all JSS members. The questionnaires were sent through e-mail to the members who took part in this survey, and the responses were returned through the same. Diagnosis was grouped into idiopathic scoliosis, congenital scoliosis, neuromuscular scoliosis, spondylolisthesis, pediatric kyphosis and adult spinal deformity. Complication was grouped into death, blindness, neurological deficit (motor or sensory deficit), infection, massive bleeding, hematoma, pneumonia, cardiac failure, DVT/PE, gastrointestinal perforation and instrumentation failure. Results A total of 2,012 patients were reported from 71 institutes. Overall, complications were observed in 326 patients, and the complication rate increased from 10.4% in 2012 to 15.3% in 2014. The complication rate decreased from 8.8% to 3.7% in idiopathic scoliosis, 21.9% to 15.8% in neuromuscular scoliosis and 26.8% to 0% in kyphosis. The complication rate increased from 6.6% to 14.4% in congenital scoliosis, 9.3% to 12.0% in other types of scoliosis, 3.5% to 14.3% in spondylolisthesis and 21.6% to 26.0% in adult spinal deformity. The rate of neurological deficit, especially in motor deficit, increased from 3.2% to 7.7% in older patients with adult spinal deformity. Instrumentation failure was also more common in patients with adult spinal deformity (5.2% to 5.8%), especially in patients aged 40-65 years (4.4% to 9.1%). Conclusions The major complication trends were an increasing rate of neurological deficit and instrumentation failure, especially in adult spinal deformity.

Introduction The Japanese Scoliosis Society (JSS) planned to make a longitudinal survey of the mortality and morbidity (M&M) of spinal deformity surgery and established the M&M Committee in 2012. We reported the analysis of the surgical complication (M&M) survey in 2012. Methods A request to participate in this survey was mailed to all JSS members. Questionnaires were sent by email to members who agreed to cooperate, and their answers were obtained. Diagnosis was grouped into idiopathic scoliosis, congenital scoliosis, neuromuscular scoliosis, spondylolisthesis, pediatric kyphosis, and adult spinal deformity. Complications were grouped into death, blindness, neurological deficit, infection, massive bleeding, hematoma, pneumonia, cardiac failure, DVT/PE, gastrointestinal perforation, and instrumentation failure. Results A total of 2,906 patients were reported from sixty-eight hospitals: idiopathic 488, congenital 91, neuromuscular 82, others 214, spondylolisthesis 1,241, pediatric kyphosis 41, and adult spinal deformity 749. Complications were death in 3, neurological deficit in 49, early infection in 37, late infection in 14, massive bleeding in 91, hematoma in 18, pneumonia in 6, cardiac failure in 1, DVT/PE in 9, gastrointestinal perforation in 2, and instrumentation failure in 73. The complication rate of having a neurological deficit, massive bleeding, and instrumentation failure was 4.88%, 7.32%, and 4.88% respectively in patients with pediatric kyphosis, and 3.07%, 8.01%, and 5.21% respectively in patients with an adult spinal deformity. The complication rate of early infection was 4.88% in the patients with pediatric kyphosis. Conclusions The complication rates of pediatric kyphosis and adult spinal deformity were high.

A 34-year-old male, who presented with mild upper back pain of recent onset was discovered to have a large intrathoracic mass, which was in continuity with tumour which had extensively destroyed the T5 and T6 vertebrae. Microscopy of an aspirated pleural effusion unexpectedly revealed many large multinucleated giant cells and the subsequent needle biopsy confirmed the diagnosis of a Giant Cell Tumour (GCT) of bone. In addition to being the first reported occasion when a GCT has been provisionally diagnosed by cytological examination of a pleural effusion, this case report also considers the unusual features and unpredictable behaviour of a tumour, which very rarely originates in the thoracic spine. The complex and prolonged surgical procedure adopted to extirpate tumour, which had permeated important mediastinal structures and to restore stability to the spinal column is outlined.

This article attempts to evaluate the effectiveness of the ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMW-PE) cable system in atlantoaxial transarticular screw fixation and posterior fusion through the clinical results of 10 postoperative patients with atlantoaxial subluxation secondary to rheumatoid arthritis. Among them, one patient with only one screw placed owing to an anomalous vertebral artery had the correction loss of the 3-mm atlas-dens interval after surgery. Another patient had a second operation to remove the screw and cable after 2 years 11 months because a unilateral transarticular screw had come to protrude through the lateral mass of the atlas ventrally. All patients had achieved C1-C2 osseous fusion without any complications associated with this cable system. The UHMW-PE cable is a very useful material as sublaminar wiring in atlantoaxial transarticular screw fixation and posterior fusion.

Traumatic hip dislocation in children has a relatively rare occurrence. There are some residual complications, such as avascular necrosis of the femoral head, growth disturbance caused by premature fusion, neurological injury, recurrent dislocation, and posttraumatic arthritis. There is no consensus in the literature about the period of non-weight bearing after reduction. A rare case of a 13-year-old boy of hip dislocation caused by trivial force for age is reported followed by review of the pediatric literatures with treatment recommendation.

A 57-year-old woman was hospitalized because of gait disturbance and dysuria. Close examination revealed a cauda equina tumor at the level of L2 and L3. Tumor resection was performed, with posterolateral fusion and spinal instrumentation. On the eleventh day after the surgery, she experienced dyspnea and chest pain during standing and walking exercise. Pulmonary thromboembolism was diagnosed, based on: (1) blood gas analysis findings of hypoxemia and (2) defective images in both of the upper lobes on urgent pulmonary blood flow scintigram. Her clinical status improved with urgent thrombolytic therapy (with tisokinase and urokinase) and anticoagulation therapy (with heparin and warfarin), and her life was saved. When pulmonary thromboembolism occurs, early diagnosis by pulmonary blood flow scintigram and early thrombolytic and anticoagulative therapies are necessary. Special attention should be paid to symptoms of pulmonary thromboembolism in patients after spinal surgery.

This article describes the case of a 40-year-old man with transient paralysis of both legs as the major symptom of an acute abdominal aortic aneurysm rupture presumably due to the occlusion of blood flow to the conus medullaris.

There are plural production markets in the traditional vegetables producing center of the northern part of Saitama Prefecture. In these markets recently, handling volume of vegetables is decreasing remarkably, reflecting the decline of productivity. The decrease of handling volume is same in both, the local Agricultural Cooperative Association and the other side of Tone River, in Gunma Prefecture as well. The great increase of cargo collectivity of “direct sale center from producing district” operated by the Livelihood Coopetative Association which started from 1973 is greatly influencing the production markets especially Johbu production market and its brokers.Under such circumstances, the brokers belonging to production markets have been differentiated from the type of shipment only into 3 patterns, “shipment”, “processing” and “processing and shipment” since 1970's, and more over from the margin merchant to the commission mercant, they are gradually strengthening the character. This is considered to mean internally the trend of superfluous brokers related to the decline of productivity, and the completion of oligopolistic System by leading influencial traders produced by the aforementioned trend. And externally it is conceivable to mean the development of transportation means and thec hange of distribution system.Finally, the brokers who could secure deversified collecting methods, who could obtain close-grained delivery spots avoiding the shipping network of the Agricultural Cooperative Association and who could establish distribution routes outside the market will continue to exist, but it is observed that those who failed will have to reduce its business or have to become a subcontractor of a leading trader. In a sense, among the brokers belonging to the production markets in the northern part of Saitama Prefecture, it can be said that the simultaneous advancement of strata defferentiation indication is going on with the trigger of the decline of vegetables productivity and the competition of cargo collection.

A case report of 62-year-old male who was treated with a pedicled greater omentum transfer for thoracolumbar spondylitis due to methicilinresistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is given. Omentum transfer has been used in many anatomic sites such as scalp, face, oral cavity, upper digestive and respiratory tracts, chest wall, lower trunk, and lower limb since 1963.

We present a 15-year-old boy with severe cervical kyphosis due to neurofibromatosis (NF), who underwent one-stage anterior fusion and posterior correction using pedicle screw fixation. The kyphosis was corrected from 72 degrees to 35 degrees. At the follow-up 16 months postoperatively, anterior fusion and posterior stabilization had been obtained without correction loss. Cervical pedicle screw fixation is a useful method for the correction of severe cervical kyphosis in patients with NF.

Recently, it has been suggested that neural stem cells and neural progenitor cells exist in the ependyma that forms the central canal of the spinal cord. In this study, we produced various degrees of thoracic cord injury in adult rats using an NYU-weight-drop device, assessed the degree of recovery of lower limb motor function based on a locomotor rating scale, and analyzed the kinetics of ependymal cell proliferation and differentiation by proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), nestin, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), or GAP-43 immunostaining. The results showed that the time course of the ependymal cell proliferation and differentiation reactions differed according to the severity of injury, and that the responses occurred not only in the neighborhood of the injury but in the entire spinal cord. An increase in the locomotor rating score was related to an increase in the number of PCNA-positive cells, and the differentiation of ependymal cells into reactive astrocytes was involved in injury repair. No apoptotic cells in the ependyma were detectable by the TUNEL method. These results indicate that the ependymal cells of the spinal central canal are themselves multipotent, can divide and proliferate according to the severity of injury, and differentiate into reactive astrocytes within the ependyma without undergoing apoptosis or cell death.

We describe a 37-year-old man complaining of right back pain and gait disturbance. He had a big soft tumor on his right back, hemihypertrophy of the right lower extremity, and right thoracic scoliosis. We diagnosed Klippel-Trenaunay-Weber syndrome based on the pathological findings of the soft tumor. Computed tomography (CT) scan revealed severe spinal stenosis due to a hypertrophic vertebral body and facet joint at T7. Treatment by decompression of hypertrophic bone led to complete neurological recovery. To our knowledge, no case has been reported of Klippel-Trenaunay-Weber syndrome with myelopathy which originated from thoracic scoliosis with a hypertrophic facet joint and vertebral body. We suggest that the cause of myelopathy in Klippel-Trenaunay-Weber syndrome originated not only from arteriovenous fistula, medullary angioma, and extradural hemangioma but also vertebral hypertrophy with scoliosis.

Spinal neurenteric cyst is an uncommon congenital cyst and is frequently found in the cervical region. Two additinal cases are reported and a review of the other 41 cases depicted in the Japanese literature is made, in comparison with the cases reported by Wilkins and Odom.14

In order to observe histological changes in the extruded and sequestrated intervertebral disc, we conducted pathological and immunological examinations of herniated disc materials taken at the time of discectomy. There were 49 disc materials (from 38 men and 10 women [aged 19 to 78 years; average, 36.6 years]). The herniation was classified into four types, based on the intraoperative observations: protrusion (P), subligamentous extrusion (SE), transligamentous extrusion (TE), and sequestration (S). There were 19 P type discs, 3 SE type, 10 TE type, and 17 S type. The surgical specimens were stained with hematoxylin-eosin, as well as immunohistological staining with the labelled streptavidin biotin method, using human T-cell, human B-cell, and human macrophage antibodies. Inflammatory-cell infiltration was observed at the border of the disc. These findings were present in 19 discs (70%) of the 27 discs of TE and S types (10 TE and 17 S types), but were not seen in the 22 discs of P and SE types (19 P and 3 SE types). Immunohistological staining of the area with inflammatory-cell infiltration revealed the presence of T cells and macrophages, which suggested that this cell infiltration originated from T cells and macrophages, and that the spontaneous resorption of the disc may have resulted from the phagocytic activities of these cells.

The lower Iwaki river area is known as a typical rice monoculture region, where the damp rice fields extend extensively and the seasonal labor emigration prevails.Since the latter half of 1960s the private capital investment in small or mediumsize farming machinery has developed gradually, and in 1970 the policy of rice product regulation began. These factors have accelerated the exodus of farm labors.In the second stage of the policy of rice product regulation after 1974, the portion of summer labor emigration has gradually increased. At the same time the farmers who had suspended farming began to release their farm lands to reduce or leave off farming. In this process some farmers with high capital equipment have the opportunities to obtain the released lands and enlarge their farming.In 1971, the project of promoting the rationalization of land tenure and that of proper farm land transfer service were started to adjust the relation between land supply and demand. As one of the most remarkable results of these projects in the Tsugaru Plains, it would be pointed out that about 10 percent of whole paddy fields in Nakazato machi have transferecd in 7 years.In this paper, the case of Nakazato machi is studied to analyze the factors that prescribe the spatial pattern of farm land transfer and characteristics of the farmers intending to enlarge their farming.The results are as follows.I. The farm land transfer by buying and selling generally prevails in Nakazato machi as well as the rest region of Tsugaru Plains. But in the former, the farm land transfer by lease has gradually increased. In these circumstances, the extension of farm land transfer is spatially limited within this district, and depends on social relations, especially kinship relation. This fact reveals that there exists very closed structure of land market.II. We can point out two factors prescribing the farm land transfer. One is the policy of rice product regulation and other is the increase of population who works away from home. With respect to the first, we can point out the fact that the farmers who had decided to work in non-agriculture in the first stage of the policy have never return to work in agriculture in the second stage of the policy. As to the second factor, the change of temporary labor emigration pattern, that is, the increase of the laborers who work away from home both in summer and winter, has put the farmers away from agriculture.III. As to the farmers intending to enlarge their farming, three common features are found out. 1) establishment of consistent medium-sized mechanization system. 2) concentration or accumulation of their own lands and tenancy lands. 3) expansion of farming scale by trusting of work. And the funds for farm land transfer might be raised from the institutional credit funds, but in many cases the income from the seasonal labor emigration or temporary employee or stable part-time jobs has been appropriated for that purpose. This fact would explain why the full-time farmers who had intended to enlarge their farming necessarily depend on non-agricultural income, whereas the stable part-time farmers who rarely depend on the agricultural income could enlarge their farming.

Since modern embankments were built along the main river in Shizuoka Prefecture, much of the river bed has risen higher than the neighbouring plain. But the post-war construction of dams has sharply decreased the drift supply to downstream. Moreover, the increasing demand for gravel as construction material has led to the removal of a great deal of gravel, resulting in the rapid lowering of the river beds in recent years. This lowering of river beds and underground water level have produced various changes in the water utilization and the land utilization of the river basin in line with geological features which are characteristic of an alluvial fan.The eel cultivating area of the Oi river's downstream is not an exception; namely, the eel cultivating operation which had been established in the disused paddy fields along the Oi River led to the management practice of cultivation by exchanging water, making use of the spring water and the sloping land. Later, after overcoming the water shortage and the problems of pollution, this area developed into the largest eel cultivating area in Japan.Thus, the influence of water supply on establishing productivity deteriorated in the downstream area of the Oi River. However, this change for the worse gave us an important opportunity to accellerate the establishment and development of eel cultivation. On the other hand, the increased demand for drinking and industrial water which kept pace with the increase of eel cultivating ponds brought about increased competition between them.Faced with the increased demand for drinking and industrial water, eel cultivators tried unsuccessfully to get water rights. Their lack of success may be due to the fact they were snarled in national and prefectural bureaucratic procedures as well as in the peculiar local problems relevant to water rights.In the eel cultivating area in the downstream of the Oi River, with Yoshida-cho on the right side of the river, and Oigawa-cho on the left side, we find an asymmetrical development of the geographical distribution of eel cultivating ponds and the significance of eel cultivation with respect to the industrial structure of these two towns.The differences between the two towns may be traceable to the differences of so-called historical conditions governing their formation as well as the differences of their geological features.Thus, these differences, which determined the extent of competitive utilization of underground water of both eel cultivating areas, and the consequent change in the attitude of eel cultivators of the local authorities, have become the main reason for the recent switchover to the use of ponds for eel cultivation.

In this study the author tried to examine the trends in vegetable markets and brokers in the producing districts and to clarify how these trends affected the formation of the vegetable growing areas during the agricultural depression. Comprehensive descriptions are made about (A) nature of market places at the villages on the right bank of the Tone River, and on the alluvial fan of the Arakawa River and that of the Kanna River and (B) formation of the vegetable producing areas on the right bank of the Tone River. A-1. During the agricultural depression, production of vegetables and fruits for cash income was promoted actively in the rural communities in the northern part of Saitama Prefecture to compensate the loss of cash income due to the low market prices of silk. A-2. As a result, the following two areas were formed, reflecting physical and chemical characteristics of the soil e (a) a winter-spring vegetable area on the right bank of the Tone River and (b) a fruit and summer-fall vegetable area on diluvial tablelands. A-3. As these two vegetable areas developed, their situations in the outer fringe of suburban farming region around the Tokyo metropolitan area promoted the formation of unique distribution systems, which were characterized by dense occurrence of market places and accumulation of brokers in the producing areas. These systems caused to increase the vegetable production of individual farms and to expand the producing areas. A-4. The development of the distribution systems reflected the geographical characteristics of these vegetable-producing areas. On the right bank of the Tone River, this system developed markets which resembled a cooperative association. On the diluvial tablelands, it markets which were a market-oriented type were developed even though they were located in the producing areas. B-l. In the rural areas on the right bank of the Tone River, the intensive growing areas were resulted from the general management type (sericulture and winter-spring vegetables) which was based on the establishment of sericulture and fertile soil as well as the simple composition of vegetables. B-2. Shipping of welsh onions under the guidance of village agricultural associations contributed to expand the markets and to increase the production at the end of the Taisho period. Later increase in the production stimulated the establishment of market places run by the agricultural associations. As a result, the joint shipment system of the village agricultural associations was converted to the systems of market-at-producing-area, which would be open to brokers. B 3. Seasonality of local market places (held in the off-seasons of sericulture in this case) and the participation of peasants that were produced by the Tone River improvement works in brokerage caused an interdependent relationship between the brokers and the farms that needed multiple utilization of limited land. They worked together to develop the production of vegetables. B-4. The establishment of the system of market-at-producing-area and the activities of the brokers became a rather effective factor in increasing the vegetable production of farms in the early Showa period, when shipping and traffic means was not developed and the markets in urban places in the vicinities were immature. At the same time, the increase in the production of winter-spring vegetable combined with mulberry farming contributed to the increase in the number of brokers and the areal expansion of their activities. B-5. The vegetable farming on the right bank of the Tone River established indispensable distribution systems which included organizations of market at producing-area accumulation of local brokers. Supported by the development of munition industry in Ohta, Koizumi, Ojima, Isesaki, and the expansion of agricultural markets in rapidly expanding Tokyo, this area was cropped throughout the year and diversified its production items.

The purpose of this paper is to delineate some characteristics of recent changes of agric-ulture in the Hirose section of Toyooka village and the Ryuchi section of Hamakita City, which are both in Shizuoka Prefecture. It should be noted that the physical location of these two areas are in the downstream region of the Tenryu River. An important given factor in this study is the central government's allotment quota of rice growing acreages. Constructions of two large scale dams, the one installed at Sakuma in 1956 and the other at Akiba in 1957, in the upperstream of the Tenryu reduced the supply of materials such as gravels, sands, and silts to the downstream, in comparison to the supply obtained prior to construction. One results was the lowering of the riverbed. Another conributing factor was the removal of existing river supplied materials for urban construction in recent years. The overall result consisted of lowering of the ground water and poorly preserved water condi-tions in the paddy fields of the nearby areas. To somewhat alleviate this problem, some local governments introduced a “Paddy Field Improvement Project”, which called for replacement of gravels immediately below the top soils by old alluvial soils, obtained from the slopes of hills nearby. Many factors have to be taken into account when considering actions taken by individual farmers and/or groups of farmers in relation to decisions made by the local governments. Some of these factors are; (1) the size of the area under cultivation ; (2) the incentive of the individual farmer; (3) urban influence. For example ; Ryuchi is closer to Hamamatsu than Hirose; and (4) degree of enthusiasm and capital investment in administrative pro-grams by local governments. In Hirose, the village administration originated and utilized to a large extent, the “Paddy Field Improvement Project”, which brought increased rice production per unit of land and previous unused land under cultivation. As one result of the above, it was assumed that number of owner-farmers (whose sole occupation is farming) would increase as opposed to the previous situation. Taking into consideration of political factors and administration enthusiasm, this village would be used as a model for other local governments. In Ryuchi, on the other hand, the “Paddy Field Improvement Project” fell behind the expectations of the local government, because of lack of cooperation between the local government and the farmers. The allotment quota in Ryuchi was easily achieved, be-cause unused acreage has increased in recent years. The lack of a choice of local impro-vement programs resulted in the diversification of agriculture by individual and groups of farmers. One problem, which confronted the agricultural development of Ryuchi, was the urban influence of nearby Hamamatsu City. Many job oppotunities resulted in the break-up of full-time farmers into part-time farmers. The administrative effort of the Toyooka village resulted only in a slight rise in income of farmers. In both areas, if we take full-time farmers, for example, we find that both followed the same process of occupational specialization, due to the overall Japanese economic syst-em. As a result of the above, it can be concluded that local government assistance is limited under the present agricultural system.

This paper is to consider the second aspect of the farmers' adaptation the farm management system. In sand dune areas, such as Kashima and Niigata, farmers take a new capitalintensive way of farming. In paddy areas, on the other hand, such as Tagonoura, Shinminato and so on, they almost failed to transform their farm management systems and are now in peril of a complete decline of agriculture, accompanying a serious outflow of labor from those areas. As a rule, the modern, industrial developments are different in character from other gen-eral industrialization, and agriculture is greatly influenced by the modern industrial develop-ments. The method of purchasing land for industrial use and the existence of an agricultural policy play decisive roles. It is now able to point out the following two factors which prescribe the regional peculi-arities of agricultural adaptations on the part of the farmers living in the areas of industrial developments such as Kashima. 1) Internal factors: individual condition of each area involved in industrial developments, especially, scale of land possession, natural condition and mode of use of land influenced by natural condition. 2) External factors: methods of purchasing land for industrial use, and administrative conditions such as agricultural policy.

What are the project of improvement of agricultural structures based on rice crop in Saitama Prefecture ? The main results came out of the project are as follows (so far as we consider them in the light of an administrative policy re-forming those areas):(1) Tney have given rise to the outflow of surplus labor.(2) They have somehow lowered land-productivity, but have generally enhanced laborproductivity.(3) The surplus labor has fled into non-agricultural works rather than into the work for the development of agriculture.(4) They have improved farmer's encomomy by means of securing agricultural income as well as enhancing income from their side-jobs.(5) Perhaps, these projects will not so much incur regional development of agriculture and encouragment of full-time farmers, as the differentiation of agricultural management in classes (or scales) and the disintegration of farmers themselves. Seen from the consequence, the improvement projects worked to develop suburban agriculture and to encourage part-time farmers, and countermeasures are considered to be in urgent need.The effects of these undertakings on the areas concerned are as follows:(1) In areas, where more crops for immediate sale or commerical crops are raised, the surplus labor has not flown out.(2) In areas where rice farmers increased in number, the surplus labor has flown out.(3) In areas where various sorts of crops are raised in the same way as before, the surplus labor has flown out.The factors stipluating the re-formation of these agricultural areas are as follows:(1) a mode of the use of land (a paddy field or a field artificially irrigated)(2) a historical condition (especially the period and contents of agricultural class differentiation)(3) a status quo of captial equipments (especially the spread of cultivators)(4) a regional condition (that of urbanization and traffic)

Production system in the developed lands in Saitama Prefecture has so far been characte-rized by homogeneity, which has been a gift of the uniform development policy. Later on this homogeneity inn production almost failed to exist, because the change of the demand structure of agricultural products and the progress of urbanization gave rise to the change of the method of cultivating lands and the out-flow of agricultural production factors. We are now surprised at finding a new method of cultivating lands; the general dry field farming-that of growing rice, wheat, and other grains-has now divided both into that of extensive agriculture saving more labor and that of intensive one using more advanced techniques. And also we are surprised at finding various, regionally specialized types of farm management. At the same time, however, we see that with all these better conditions of land basis they have not yet introduced large scale agricultural machines in order to systematize their productive activity. The land division and the land ownership of the developed lands are generally characte-rized by their adjusted divisions and the spatially limited relations between lands and their owners; moreover they are specifically characterized by the concentrated ownership of large scale field. These characteristics make it easier for a farmer to purchase a wide area of lands in one lot. Aided by these conditions, urbanization and industrialization of these developed lands are now in progress. In the relatively backward areas, industrial estates have been constructed under the leadership of the administrative authorities. Urbanization urges many farmers to exchange their ownership of lands among themselves, say, by moving into the newly developed lands or by purchasing a wider area of lands in one lot. These phenomena show us that the developed lands have had a strong effect on the urbanization.

The influences which the construction of the Tsukuba Academic City (The Tsukuba Research and University Town) has exerted upon the agriculture of the region in Ibaraki Prefecture may be summed up as the following two: 1) Despite the facts that the development of the city which is now proceeding has so far shown a poor capacity for the increase in employment and has not decreased the agricultural area significantly, the flow-out of the farmers from the region has recently becoming especially conspicuous. 2) As for the agricultural use of land, the farmers have been still continuing the relatively extensive farming closely dependent on the land aiming at improving the production means, whereas little efforts have been made for the more intensive management such as capital-intensive horticulture or stock raising. Of the factors which have regulated or specified the farmers' response, we can point out as the most important the change in the labor market centering on Tsuchiura City and the installation enterprises for improving the agricultural management in view of the responding policy of farming. Especially, the latter has given to the agriculture of the region the consolidation of the production means. It has had an effect not only on both land use and labrce, but also on the size of farmers. The Kashima Industrial Development Area on the stage just after the land purchase around 1968 has shown a specialization trend to a suburban truck farming area through the modernization of cultivation techniques in horticulture. These enterprises, especially irrigation establishments, were designed for the stabilization of agricultural management by dint of getting over the water shortage in the dunes. Again, the Academic City in Tsukuba is now promoting such enterprises as mentioned above with characteristic features for improving the means of farming production. This policy has been somewhat effective for promoting the flow-out of the farming force from the region without decreasing agricultural profit, and also for increasing the gross agricultural profit. This should be, however, regarded as a policy to foster part-time farmers, because it has only been converting the pure agricultural area with a high rate of full-time farmers into a suburban farming area.

The demand and supply of water for irrigation in the area along the Minuma Irrigation Canal in the basin of the Nakagawa has been influenced since 1960 by the following factors: (1) Completion of the Tone Grand Dam open to many canals (2) Carrying out of the rice crop control (3) Urbanization in progress (4) Progress of ground-making works (5) Increase in the number of irrigated lands (6) Spread of the earlier cultivation of rice and of the direct sowiag of rice. We were able to estimate in advance the surplus amount of irrigation water over the amount newly in demand. It turned out that surplus water had been brought forth by ruining rice fields because of urbanization and also by various administrative policies including the rice crop control. The way of water use, however, has not changed as much as that of the land use. This resulted from the following three factors: (1) It is not long since the way of water use came to be influenced by an administrative policy and by urbanization in progress accompanied by the change of the way of land use. (2) The demand for irrigation water necessary for groundrmaking works has increased all the more for a selfish irrigation plan the plan for more and more frequent use of water, so that the whole system of irrigation has not yet been re-organized. (3) The actual conditions of surplus water and the method of irrigation in the areas possessive of surplus water form technical and economical obstacles. Not thatt the way of water use has not changed at all as that land use has changed. Of course, it has changed not in the aspect of surplus water, but in the aspects of natural and historical characteristics of irrigation canals and of social characteristics of irrigation water for paddy fields. And also it has changed merely as a result of a shortage of water caused by the change of the agricultural use of land.