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At the beginning of 19th century Ino Tadataka surveyed almost whole coast lines of Japanese Islands and main roads, and made 214 sheet maps of 1:36000 and 8 sheet maps of 1:216000 in scale. This paper deals with his map compilation and scale-down. method. Almost every night, if possible. Ino measured elevation angles of 20 to 30 stars crossing meridian to determine latitude. The Y coordinates of the observation points were calculated from the latitudes using the ratio that one degree difference in latitude was 28.2 ri (or 101.52×36000 sun). Here ri and sun are Japanese old measures. Ino could not measure longitude astronomically because he had not chronometer. He corrected coordinates (x,y) obtained in surface survey "Dosen-Ho", a kind of open traverse method. The X coordinates of the observation points were estimated as x Y/y. In this way, he obtained coordinates (X,Y) on scale of 1:36000 concerning approximately 1220 astronomical observation points in whole Japanese Islands. For the first step, he prepared local maps of 1:36000 from local surface survey, then corrected them by using the coordinates of astronomical observation points. For second step. he compiled the wide area maps of 1:36000 from local maps to control reference to the coordinates of observation points. The maps of 1: 216000 were compiled from the maps of 1:36000 by using the reduced coordinate values of one six. In this process, the coordinates of the observation points were referred to keep precision of the maps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to discuss the implementation and importance about the multinomial logit model of Bayesian Age-Period-Cohort analysis. Since the design matrix of three factors does not become full rank due to the identification problem derived from linear dependency between age, period and cohort, few studies have used a complex model. In contrast, this paper presents the practical multinomial logit model with efficient sampling by reparameterization about the constraints of assuming a random walk for each effect. Furthermore, we compared the estimates of the logit model and the multidimensional model about political issues that should be considered from multiple perspectives. Using repeated cross-sectional survey in Japan from 1973 to 2013, the multinomial logit model was shown to be effective because it was able to obtain a trend that were not captured in the logit model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Japan, the increasing trend of delayed marriage and inclusion of infertility treatments into insurance coverage have led to a significant need to develop comprehensive treatment plans which incorporate dental interventions commencing prior to the initiation of infertility treatments. This study is aimed to highlight a holistic approach taking into account the various stages of pregnancy, childbirth, and childcare, and the evolving health status of patients while planning infertility treatment procedures, by establishing an effective interdisciplinary collaboration between medical and dental practitioners. We believe that our study makes a significant contribution to the literature because in the prevalence of the COVID-19 pandemic, individuals undergoing fertility treatments, pregnant and lactating women exhibit a notable propensity for heightened anxieties, including substantial concerns regarding oral health-related problems and dental procedures, which need to be addressed thoroughly. Further, we believe that this paper will be of interest to the readership of your journal because our study findings will benefit the patients and doctors alike in devising effective treatment protocols for successful outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cinusa nippon Nagasawa (Isopoda: Cymothoidae), a marine parasite infesting the buccal cavities of coastal puffers, is newly recorded from the Pacific coasts of central Japan. A pair consisting of a mature female and mature male, and six mancae and a juvenile, were collected from reared vermiculated puffer, Takifugu snyderi (Abe) (Tetraodontiformes: Tetraodontidae), in an aquarium and a museum, respectively. The present paper provides a description of the morphological characters of these cymothoids, including their immature stages, and molecular analysis using 16S rRNA for C. nippon and related species. In the maximum likelihood phylogenetic tree, C. nippon was included in the clade of Ceratothoa Dana and corresponds to Ceratothoa sp. 2 reported in another study. These suggest that the relationship between Cinusa Schioedte and Meinert and Ceratothoa needs to be re-examined. Furthermore, the morphological study showed that these cymothoid mancae are similar to Manca type 2 known from zoo-plankton, provided in one of our previous reports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transport processes in coastal oceans are important for understanding mass transport between land and ocean. Investigations of mixing processes are essential to reveal the transport processes. This paper presents mixing processes due to internal tides and the associated mass transport, on the basis of field observations and numerical simulations conducted by the author who is a recipient of Okada Prize from the Oceanographic Society of Japan, 2022. The Yoing Ocean Data Acquisition (YODA) Profiler, has been developed to observe small scale dynamics and mixing processes in coastal oceans. Results from the profiler revealed mixing in river plumes and breaking of nonlinear internal tides on a shallow slope. Breaking of internal tides results in strong turbulent mixing, sediment resuspension and generation of intermediate nepheloid layers in Otsuchi Bay, Japan. It was found that vertical mixing was enhanced by a collision of a receding internal tide and a subsequent run-up nonlinear internal bore on a gentle slope. In addition, numerical models were developed to investigate internal tides breaking. Large scale oceanic numerical models showed enhanced diurnal internal tides caused by a resonance of Kelvin waves around islands over the Izu-Ogasawara Ridge and strongly enhanced the internal tide energy flux toward the upstream of the Kuroshio owing to an interaction of the Kuroshio and tides. This study also applies methods established in oceanic studies to analysis of mixing processes in a lake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The status of 37 species of breeding seabirds in Japan has been reported by Hasegawa(1984). However, since then, no report has been made. The author was involved in the launch of seabird monitoring for the Monitoring site 1000 project by the Ministry of the Environment in 2004. In the over 15 years since then, population and habitat have been surveyed in 30 major breeding areas, including 80 islands and islets in Japan. In this paper, the previous studies including reports based on this project and the seabird colony database were reviewed. The populations of many species at various islands declined, possibly because of introduced predators and human disturbance. The nesting habitats of most of the seabird breeding areas had deteriorated. Therefore, the continuous monitoring of the change of the population and nesting habitat and quick operation of appropriate conservation measures, eradication of introduced predators and redacation of human disturbance)are required. In this paper, 1)distribution of seabirds, 2)monitoring seabird survey, 3)current status, 4)introduced predators, and 5)conservation activities are summarized. Further 1)necessity of long-term monitoring of seabirds, 2)extermination of introduced predators, 3)reduction of anthropogenic disturbances, and 4)issues of conservation measures are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ocean significantly influences the Earthʼs climate by exchanging heat, gas, and particles with the atmosphere. The radiation budget of the Earthʼs atmosphere is affected by physical, chemical, and biological processes in the atmospheric boundary layer over the ocean via cloud formation and CO2 absorption at the sea surface. This in turn influences the ocean through changes in temperature, precipitation, and solar radiation. The air‒sea boundary has a direct interaction with human life through the observation and prediction of extreme occurrences, such as typhoons and rogue surface waves, in addition to climate issues. Herein, this paper focuses on “the air‒sea boundary,” not limiting as “the air‒sea interface.” The air‒sea boundary encompasses a large vertical region, extending from the euphotic layer, where primary production occurs, to the troposphere. This paper also focuses on satellite observations relating to air‒sea boundary phenomena. Does the deposition of aerosols containing nitrogen, phosphorus, and iron contribute to primary production in terms of nutrient deposition from the atmosphere? What role does the sea surface microlayer play as an air‒sea interface, and what factors influence its physical properties? What information is required to calculate the amount of greenhouse gas and marine biogenic gas exchange? What types of marine aerosols influence cloud formation and the radiation budget? What approaches are required to comprehend the spatiotemporal distributions that affect the amount of matter and energy exchanged during wave processes? To answer these questions and help humans live in harmony with the natural environment, this paper presents a 10-year vision for necessary research and collaboration between the Oceanographic Society of Japan and neighboring societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the current trends in African linguistics in Japan. Based on the traditional focus on empirical description of individual languages, African linguistic studies in Japan are now developing into a new phase aiming to expand our knowledge on linguistic diversity and universals through crosslinguistic generalizations. This paper thus provides an overview of the three research fields representing the state-of-the-art in African linguistics in Japan, namely, 1) methodological innovation in African linguistics, 2) current development of intra-genetic typology of the Bantu languages, and 3) cutting-edge trends in the study of sign languages in Sub-Saharan Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper sheds light on the relationship between education and society from the perspective of sociology and critically reviews how African education studies in Japan have been conducted to date. In this paper the term ‘schooled knowledge’ is expediently used in order to refer to knowledge that is constructed in school. First, the paper explains global trends in aid in the education sector since the 1960s with the influential theories behind them. The paper then describes how the trend has influenced Japanese aid and further education studies in Africa. Next, the paper discusses theories that critically examine modern education systems and structures in relation to society at large. The paper then explains contemporary dual viewpoints of the schooled society and schooling in society. Finally, the paper critically reviews how African education studies in Japan have been conducted with little critical reflection of modern education systems in African contexts and suggests the necessity of examining them from the critical and wider viewpoints of how learning is taking place both within and outside school contexts in Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For this paper, a review of all of the literature both from Japan and other countries that had been published as of March 2018 on Snoezelen lessons for children with severe multiple disabilities at schools was performed to clarify future research subjects. Using five databases to search the literature produced approximately 900 hits, including a combination of both papers from Japan and other countries. However, based on a careful examination of their contents this was narrowed down to a total of 44 works, which were then analyzed. From the results, six points were raised as main research subjects for the future, including: Systematically arranging and indicating the significance of Snoezelen education as well as its purposes and method, verifying the need for Snoezelen education, research on how to use of the rooms and lesson methods, presenting evidence of the effects of lessons that include mini-Snoezelen (including the effects of skill acquisition), holding nationwide training seminars for teachers, and developing equipment and teaching materials in partnership with companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the 1918–1921 Japanese military mission to Central Asia, stationed in Urumchi, Ili (Gulja), Tarbagatay and Kashgar. Japanese General Staffs dispatched several officers to Xinjiang to support the Siberia Intervention. This paper reviews the mission’s activities and concerns on intelligence, economic interests and propaganda, especially those of the so-called ‘Japanese consul in Gulja’, Captain Nagamine. The Japanese mission had a keen interest in the developments of the Russian Civil War in the Semirech’e and Semipalatinsk Oblasts. In Ili, Nagamine built relationships with the White Russian consul, leaders of nomads and others. Japanese officers reported activities of White Russian Cossacks in detail. Meanwhile, the Governor Yang Zengxin, was suspicious about possible conspiracies among members of the Japanese mission, Russian consuls and the Cossacks. Yang reported to Beijing that Japanese officers had attempted to bring the Japanese army to Xinjiang on the pretext of a joint defence and to interfere in Ili by letting the Cossacks advance into Bolshevik’s Vernyi, which would pass through Xinjiang’s territory. In addition, a report from Kashgar hinted that the Japanese army supported the anti-Soviet guerrilla Basmachis in the Fergana Valley. In early 1920, the Cossacks were defeated by the Red Army and fled to Xinjiang. Nagamine witnessed the disarmament of Commander Annenkov, with whom the Japanese in Urumchi seemed to have maintained a relationship even after Nagamine’s departure from Ili. The Japanese mission also attempted to promote economic interests in Xinjiang. According to Etherton, the British consul-general in Kashgar, Japanese products flowed into Xinjiang in 1919, and Japan was considered a possible rival of Britain over the Xinjiang market. The Japanese mission tried to open a consulate in Xinjiang. In Urumchi, the Japanese entered into talks with ‘Russian’ merchants—who were in fact Muslim Turks—where they discussed Japanese naturalisation and Japanese protection. However, the talks failed. Despite his suspicion, Yang also relied on the Japanese for economic development. He consulted Major Narita in Urumchi about a large loan to construct a light railway and drill for oil. However, this offer was cancelled by order of Beijing. The Japanese General Staffs and Ministry of Foreign Affairs coldly refused Narita’s proposal. Moreover, the Japanese mission engaged in propaganda towards Muslim Turks for some obscure agenda related to Pan-Asianism, Pan-Islamism and Pan-Turkism. According to Etherton, the Japanese avoided any direct support or propaganda towards the Turks. Later, Nagamine stirred up accusations that Britain would occupy southern Xinjiang. He also had a relationship with Tatar Pan-Turkist, an ex-officer of the military organisation ‘Harbi Shura’. Kaneko and Otaki, stationed in Urumchi, frequently visited Ottoman activist Ahmet Kemal İlkul in jail, who had been sent to Xinjiang from Constantinople in 1914 and engaged in educational and Pan-Turkic activities. Thus, it was rather natural for the Japanese to pay attention to İlkul. Although not successful or long-lasting, the activities of the Japanese military mission to Xinjiang illustrate Japan’s interests in post-1917 Central Asia. Military intelligence about the Cossacks was their main object, but at the same time, they developed economic and propaganda interests that targeted Central Asian Turks, including Tatars. Certainly, such activities raised concerns with Yang and Etherton. In short, the Japanese mission to Xinjiang was one of the examples in which Japan tried to carve out a role in the Great Game of the early 20th century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Czech literature was first recognized in Japan in the 1920s and early 1930s. Among literary works published during this period, which were few in number and mostly second-hand translations from English or German, three books - one play and two novels - require special attention. Karel Čapek’s dystopian play R.U.R., originally written in 1920 and first staged in 1921, was translated into Japanese in 1923 and became the first major work of Czech literature ever introduced in Japan. Just like in other parts of the world, the play attracted attention of both critics and readers. Several other translations were published soon after and the play was also successfully staged in Tsukiji Shōgekijō Theatre in 1925. A few years later, in 1930, Japanese translations of two other essential works of the inter-war period Czech literature were published – Jaroslav Hašek’s acclaimed antimilitarist novel The Good Soldier Švejk and Ivan Olbracht’s socialist novel Anna The Proletarian, a book which is now almost completely forgotten. The main objective of this paper is to explore the relation between the literary concepts adopted and constantly argued by the critics and writers of the Proletarian Literature, predominant literary movement at that time, and the reception/interpretation of foreign literary works, in this case works of Czech literature. Based on the analysis of the newspaper advertisements, book reviews and other related texts this paper shows that the reception was determined by the concepts and notions the Proletarian critics valued and that the leftist literary critics tended to emphasize those elements of these literary works they considered to be conveying the Proletarian ideals. On the other hand, Olbracht’s Anna The Proletarian, a novel praised by its translator Ichiko Kamichika as a must-read for every proletarian woman, was targeted by Japanese censorship for its radical political thoughts and was eventually published with large parts of the text censored. Consequently, this paper concludes that Czech literature introduced and translated in the inter-war period was interpreted in different ways and valued for different reasons than it was originally in Czechoslovakia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay sheds light on Soviet and Russian Foreign Policy through use of the “critical geopolitical” concept of the “geo-code.” A state’s “geo-code” refers to the construction of narratives regarding its own space and history over time. Borrowing from Klaus Dodd’s ideal-type categories, which he uses to explain geo-coded narratives of British policy (“little England,” “cosmopolitan,” “European” and “American”), this paper proposes to utilize combinations of four ideal-type categories, “Atlantic/European,” “ethnic Russian,” “Eurasian” and “super power,” in order to analyze and explain Soviet and Russian foreign policy. The first section applies the metaphor of a photograph to the memoirs of several foreign policy leaders: Andrei Gromyko and Eduard Shevardnadze in the Soviet-era; and Andrei Kozyrev, Evgenii Primakov and Serghei Ivanov in contemporary Russia. The paper shows how the composite image of Russia held by these individuals shaped the state’s foreign policy. It also stresses that different concepts of sovereignty have been sustained or reconstructed within Soviet/Russian international law theories in dialogue with changes in images held by the foreign policy leader. The latter half of the paper further develops this theory in order to apply it to Putin’s current Russian foreign policy perception of Northeast Asia, and particularly of China and Japan. From the late Soviet period under Gorbachev to the early Russian period of Yeltsin, Japan was considered as one of the “rising” powers able to aid Russia’s political and economic transition, and it was widely recognized that the relationship would be facilitated by a peace treaty resolving the territorial issue between the two countries. However, following reconciliation between Russia and China, China became the more important partner for Russia, not only in Northeast Asia but also throughout Eurasia. Following its disengagement with the West after the Ukraine crisis in 2014, Russia’s image of itself as close to “Europe” slipped, while that of the state as “ethnic Russian” and “Eurasian” that must become a “great power” to oppose the US was emphasized. This has meant that Japan is no longer an essential partner from the viewpoint of Russia’s dominant foreign policy images. In turn, the significance of China has increased and developed for Russia beyond the two countries historical “love-hate” relationship. Not only policy makers but also ordinary people look to China as Russia’s “No.1” partner, while the United States is its indefatigable “enemy.” There is no room for Japan in this picture while Japan remains so dependent on the US for security matters. In the conclusion, the paper debunks the myths associated with “classical geopolitics,” which associate foreign policy solely with perceptions of state power and geography. It shows that a “geo-politics” which links the positivist and constructive approaches, and which seeks to account for various analytical scales—from micro to macro, below/beyond the state—can analyze foreign policy change more effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Japan’s super-aged society, many dental patients have underlying systemic diseases of the circulatory, respiratory, and endocrine systems. Acute exacerbations of these underlying diseases are often observed before, during, or after dental treatment. Even young people with no systemic diseases may develop vasovagal reflex and hyperventilation syndrome as a result of the stress, anxiety, and pain associated with dental treatment. Dentists are required to appropriately treat these medical emergencies. Although in some instances the problem may be relieved by changing the patient’s position or monitoring vital signs, some cases require treatment with emergency drugs. However, there are no standard guidelines in Japan regarding medical emergencies in dentistry and emergency drugs. In contrast, the British Dental Association has created a poster that summarizes the symptoms of medical emergencies, initial treatments, and emergency drugs. The American Dental Association also publishes a response guide to medical emergencies in the dental office. In this paper, referring to these two sources, the authors have reconsidered which emergency drugs are needed for dental clinics in Japan. Daily training in the correct use of drugs in cases of emergency is essential. The authors manage a study group called “AneStem” to respond to sudden changes in the condition of patients at the dental clinic, and we also run educational activities including simulation training for medical emergencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human agriculture is a universal subject of study across all disciplines of the natural, humanities and social sciences. Since the Renaissance, however, “agricultural science” has mainly focused on European agriculture, and it is only relatively recently that indigenous African agriculture has been fairly treated as an object of modern science. In this paper, the brief history of studies on African agriculture in Europe and Japan and outline the main issues and trends in the field in recent years. Since the 2000s, studies on African agriculture in Japan has been vigorously pursued with a generally impartial and objective attitude in the fields of agricultural origins and history, anthropology of farming and pastoralism, crop science and breeding, soil and environment, crop protection, animal husbandry and veterinary science, agricultural economics and rural sociology. Modern agriculture faces fundamental problems how it produces more food and how it produces food sustainably while conserving biodiversity. Overcoming these conflicting problems is the ultimate challenge in African agricultural studies, and further development of research by various methods in various fields is expected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Japan, manufacturers are required to dispose of their electronic products properly after use, which means in accordance with the Home Appliance Recycling Law. As a case study, a mathematical model for optimizing the operation plan of a factory that recycles used home appliances is constructed. The company makes a profit by selling the resources that are produced after dismantling the home appliances. However, the processing capacity is insufficient to dispose of the total amount of collected products, so the company has been outsourcing the storage of the excess beyond its warehouse capacity. As a method for improving this situation, this paper proposes an integer programming model that outputs an operation plan considering the entire disassembly process of the factory, and then shows the effectiveness of the model through numerical experiments and sensitivity analysis. The experimental results show that the proposed model can reduce the total cost, especially the contributions of transportation and inventory, without making major changes. The sensitivity analysis shows that, not only an appropriate increase in the number of employees, but also flexible personnel allocation leads to a decrease in the total cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Production line design is one of the important research topics for constructing smart factories. Many research papers have been published concerning smart factories; however, most of them are focus on subjects such as automation, IoT (Internet of Things), AI (Artificial Intelligence) and other new technologies that are introduced to increase the efficiency of existing manufacturing lines based on the so-called philosophy of“status-quo improvement”. In this research, we consider a design problem for a new production line taking into consideration investment cost, operation cost, synchronization penalty and flexibility penalty. We emphasize synchronization and flexibility as new key performance indices to evaluate the level of intelligenced to the smart factory, in which a multiple number of equipment in two production processes can provide the proper number of combinations to satisfy the external demand remove. Based on a real case involving a major player in the dairy product processing industry in Japan, we focus on two core production processes in a processed cheese manufacturing line; melting process and filling process. We design the process to include investing in a multiple number of machines with different capacities, while minimizing the total cost giving consideration to investment, operations, synchronization and flexibility. Two types of decision variables are introduced representing investment and operation. Through numerical experiments and the case study, we show that the proper number of equipment and capacity can be obtained applying the proposed model. The proposed model can also be applied to those companies considering further investment in factory or production line. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hometown tax allows taxpayers to donate to any municipality of their choices. In return, the taxpayer receives local gifts from the municipality to which the donation was made (i.e., except for the municipality where the taxpayer resides) and tax breaks. In recent years, the competition among local governments to attract donations has become increasingly fierce. In this paper, the efficiencies of all effective municipalities in Japan, local collaborative manufacturers and local gifts in K City are analyzed by data envelopment analysis (DEA). Based on the efficiencies and improvement values, we will answer two questions that concern K City: (1) What is the strength of K City to attract the payment of hometown tax? (2) How can the lineup of gifts be modified to enhance the city's competitiveness? We first compare the efficiencies, input, and output values of other municipalities with K City to find its strength, weakness, and reference set. Then modification proposals regarding the gift lineup are made by cross analysis on the efficiencies of local collaborative manufacturers and local gifts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

“The Colloquium on Oceanography” was initiated by a chief scientist, Michitaka Uda, of the Imperial Fisheries Institute, in April, 1932, to introduce papers, present oneʼs study results, and promote information exchange between members. Bi-monthly meetings, which were held on Thursdays at the Imperial Fisheries Institute, eventually led to 172 meetings and 506 lectures by 80 members until February, 1942. The cooperation between members and fervor for oceanography resulted in the proposal to create “the Oceanographic Society of Japan” in 1936. However, the proposal of “Kaiyo-Gakkai,” which had been previously presented at the Imperial Marine Observatory in Kobe, failed in the first half of 1937. The mutual consultation between “Kaiyo-Gakkai” and “the Colloquium on Oceanography” succeeded in building a committee on “Standard Sea Water” in December, 1939, and subsequently, “the Oceanographic Society of Japan” was established on January 28, 1941. In this study, the authors describe the examination of the proposal, contents, and details that led of the foundation of “the Oceanographic Society of Japan,” including participation by some scientists [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

“The Colloquium on Oceanography” was initiated by a chief scientist, Michitaka Uda, of the Imperial Fisheries Institute, in April, 1932, to introduce papers, present one?s study results, and promote information exchange between members. Bi-monthly meetings, which were held on Thursdays at the Imperial Fisheries Institute, eventually led to 172 meetings and 506 lec¬tures by 80 members until February, 1942. The cooperation between members and fervor for oceanography resulted in the proposal to create “the Oceanographic Society of Japan” in 1936. However, the proposal of “Kaiyo-Gakkai,” which had been previously presented at the Imperi¬al Marine Observatory in Kobe, failed in the first half of 1937. The mutual consultation be¬tween “Kaiyo-Gakkai” and “the Colloquium on Oceanography” succeeded in building a com¬mittee on “Standard Sea Water” in December, 1939, and subsequently, “the Oceanographic Society of Japan” was established on January 28, 1941. In this study, the authors describe the examination of the proposal, contents, and details that led of the foundation of “the Oceano-graphic Society of Japan,” including participation by some scientists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, from the perspective of economic exchange between Japan and Central Asia (Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan), the current situation and challenge, as well as future prospects, will be described through the work of promoting trade and investment. One of the characteristics of economic exchange between Japan and Central Asia is that the forms and fields of business developed by the target countries differ significantly, and one is that the public and private sectors are working together unexpectedly. One can point out that neither Japan nor the target countries can be decisively important economic partners, and as a result, exchanges remain at a low level. The lack of information is at the top of the challenge in developing economic exchanges between Japan and Central Asia. Also the difficulty of logistics, the vulnerable foreign exchange circumstances and the compliance problem are major bottleneck for commercial activities for Japanese companies. Although rosy expectations for future economic exchanges are forbidden, there are several directions for efforts that can contribute to building win-win relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

“The Colloquium on Oceanography” was initiated by a chief scientist, Michitaka Uda, of the Imperial Fisheries Institute, in April, 1932, to introduce papers, present oneʼs study results, and promote information exchange between members. Bi-monthly meetings, which were held on Thursdays at the Imperial Fisheries Institute, eventually led to 172 meetings and 506 lectures by 80 members until February, 1942. The cooperation between members and fervor for oceanography resulted in the proposal to create “the Oceanographic Society of Japan” in 1936. However, the proposal of “Kaiyo-Gakkai,” which had been previously presented at the Imperial Marine Observatory in Kobe, failed in the first half of 1937. The mutual consultation between “Kaiyo-Gakkai” and “the Colloquium on Oceanography” succeeded in building a committee on “Standard Sea Water” in December, 1939, and subsequently, “the Oceanographic Society of Japan” was established on January 28, 1941. In this study, the authors describe the examination of the proposal, contents, and details that led of the foundation of “the Oceanographic Society of Japan,” including participation by some scientists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A faunal survey on spionid polychaetes was carried out in Rishiri Island, Hokkaido, northern Japan during July 28 to August 2, 2017. Annelid worms of the family Spionidae were collected from intertidal and shallow subtidal (< 5 m in depth) zones in six sampling sites (Motodomari, Oshidomari, Shinminato, Oniwaki, Numaura, and Senhoshi). Totally, 11 spionid species belonging to eight genera were collected: Polydora onagawaensis, Boccardiella hamata, Boccardia proboscidea, Pseudopolydora paucibranchiata, Spio arndti, Sp. borealis, Sp. kurilensis, Sp. unidentata, Rhynchospio glutaea complex sp., Scolelepis kudenovi, and Aonides oxycephala. All 11 species were recorded for the first time from Rishiri Island. Spio arndti, Sp. kurilensis, and Sp. unidentata were newly recorded from Japan. New Japanese names for Sp. kurilensis and Sp. unidentata were proposed in the present paper. Voucher specimens were deposited in the Rishiri Town Museum (RTM), Rishiri Island, Hokkaido, Japan, under the museum registration numbers RTMANL002- RTMANL034. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both general and academic attention toward animal welfare has been increasing and the importance of scientific investigation into welfare states of captive animals is being recognized. One of the big questions in scientific studies of animal welfare is how we can assess animal welfare in an objective manner, and this is an intensively debated topic. In this paper, I reviewed the studies on captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) in order to discuss the methodologies used to assess welfare states and introduce studies that have investigated how social environments affect chimpanzee welfare by combining behavioral and hair cortisol (HC) measurements. Recently, cortisol accumulated in the hair of animals has been considered as an indicator of the long-term hypothalamus-pituitaryadrenal (HPA) axis. From a welfare perspective, long-term stress is more problematic than acute stress as it is challenging for animals to experience distress over a long period and long-term activation of the HPA axis can result in overall health deterioration. A series of studies on captive chimpanzees show that HC is useful for monitoring the long-term stress levels in captive chimpanzees. Furthermore, using the novel measure of long-term stress, I found that the stress level of male chimpanzees is affected by social variables and that male chimpanzees use social play as a means to reduce social tension. Although scientific investigation of animal welfare is still not a prevalent practice in Japan, it is a promising area of study both for improving animal welfare and deepening our understanding about animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose a method to determine future facility locations in consideration of maintaining present accessibility and reducing reconstruction costs by extending the previous method. In the previous method, the effectiveness was confirmed by applying the method to a fire station in the city of Iwaki, Japan. In this paper, firstly, 1) we extend the scope of application and confirm the effectiveness by applying the method to a junior high school in the city of Takayama, Japan. The population distribution in Takayama is different from that in Iwaki, and the junior high school is a facility where there is demand from a specific population. In the previous method, it was possible to determine the facility location while maintaining present accessibility. However, the possibility that all facilities have to be reallocated and/or rebuilt is high. One is easily reminded that reallocation and rebuilding are costly. Therefore, 2) we propose a method of determining future facility location in consideration of maintaining present accessibility and reducing reconstruction costs by considering substitution in existing facilities. Our proposed method 2) is similarly applied to the junior high school in Takayama. We evaluate the total floor area for rebuilding and increase/decrease construction in case of 1) reallocation of all facilities and 2) considering substitution in existing facilities. Our proposed method 2) was also applied for the fire station in Iwaki. As a result, it was determined that the total floor space can be reduced while maintaining the present accessibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper summarizes the overall status and issues regarding support for the poor in adulthood and old age. It also offers proposals for solutions, and reviews the literature to propose issues to study relevant to the future support the poor. Using the CiNii database, and by combining by "and" logic the keywords of "youth," "old age," "disability," "working," "self-reliant," and "support," with the keywords of "poverty," "social relief," "low income," "homeless," "sleeping outdoors," "in the street," and "destitute," searches were made of the literature published between from 2002 to 2011. Papers were extracted with each combination of keywords, and the contents of the 88 extracted papers concerning support for the poor in adulthood and old age were classified and reviewed using the categories of "the actual status and support of the poor from the viewpoint of life stages," "actions toward support of self-reliance," and "support for social inclusion." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the effects of poverty according to our current knowledge about human development. The discussion is based in part on a study of "Poverty and Children" which was conducted by an interdisciplinary research group at the Faculty of Education of Hokkaido University, and on other findings from historical thesis and non-fiction sources. Specifically, the investigations were concerned with how poverty affects child development in their living environment, at each stage of development from the fetal period through middle childhood. Most past developmental psychology studies in Japan have excluded children and parents in "absolute poverty." However, considering Japan's growing numbers of poor households, researchers may have already come across children and parents in "relative poverty" in their experiments or observations, without being aware of this poverty. This paper suggests that researchers should become more conscious of poverty and social exclusion, and proposes redefinitions of the concepts of "relative poverty" and "absolute poverty" from a developmental point of view adapted from the social sciences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examined the current circumstances of eating from an ecological perspective, and discussed poverty and overabundance of eating. At the macro level, it discussed poverty and obesity by describing global levels of poverty and hunger, and the over-abundance of food and obesity resulting from the dominance of food production and supply by multi-national organizations. A micro level discussion was concerned with a psychological perspective of poor Japanese eating habits and poor interactions among Japanese family members. Finally, this paper defined affluence of eating from macro and micro levels. The macro level described the democratization of food producers and consumers, the ability of consumers to select food while understanding the mechanisms of the food production system, and the creation of a new food culture. The micro level described not only children being able to eat with family or friends as an intimate member of the group, but also their experience of the delight of cooking to produce their own food. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper will discuss rhetoric in advertising that is particular to Japan. Advertising is a paid communications activity intended to alter the attitudes people have towards consumption behavior, etc. through persuasion. While there are several conceivable approaches to researching persuasion, this paper will focus on rhetoric that has been researched in the West since the times of ancient Greece. Over time, advertising expression was perceived to exist within the talent and inspiration of individual creators, and as such was thought to be limitless in direction. However, according to research on rhetoric, effective patterns of advertising expression are in fact limited. Moreover, advertising expression in Japan incorporates distinctive rhetoric that differs from that employed in the West. This paper will seek to clarify the characteristics of such Japanese-style rhetoric through comparing advertising award-winning works from Japan and the United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of experiments conducted by Hilobumi Sakaki shows that a small discrepancy in opinions between recipients and persuaders will cause boomerang effects, whereas a large discrepancy will produce attitude changes in the advocated direction. Sakaki constructed the Yin and Yan Theory of Cognition to explain these results. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the further development of a series of studies on the Yin and Yan Theory of Cognition by reviewing the relevant studies to date and by presenting additional examples on the theory. Examples of social phenomena in Japan and foreign countries such as the U.S.A., Spain, and Vietnam indicate that this Yin and Yang Theory of Cognition provides a possible explanation for changes in attitudes or opinions of people. Previous studies can be divided into two main categories: (1) Laboratory experimental studies on the effect of persuasive communication, where quantitative and qualitative analysis is conducted and indicates attitude changes including the boomerang effect. (2) Analytical studies on real-world phenomena, also where quantitative and qualitative analysis is conducted and indicates attitude changes including the boomerang effect. In this paper, the authors analyze 10 real-world social examples where people have shown the boomerang effect using the latter approach, instead of the former approach mainly used by the author in the past. The analysis reveals that the observed phenomena, for example, the problems concerning American public's recognition of global warming, ineffective election campaign in Japan, and the citizens' protest against official government view associated with a subway fare hike in Madrid and other social phenomena, can be explained in terms of the Yin and Yang Theory of Cognition. From these 10 phenomena, it becomes clear that the boomerang effect is generated among people in many social problems or campaigns and that the Yin and Yang Theory of Cognition may offer a precise explanation for such effect. Moreover, this theory may provide a solution to the social problems taking place in the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: In the preservation of library materials, paper has always been a focal topic, and various efforts for preservation have been based on paper. Recently, however, a new approach to condition survey has been adopted, which takes the binding into account; nevertheless, there has not been sufficient consideration of the condition of adhesive bound books and the adhesive itself. Condition survey is indispensable for drawing up a strategic preservation plan. The present survey aims to reveal (1) the proportion of adhesive bound books in a university library collection, which mainly consists of academic works; (2) various aspects of their condition; and (3) reasons for deterioration. Methods: A checklist was drawn up based on a previous survey by the National Diet Library with modifications. The survey was conducted at the Mita Media Center (Keio University Library), a large, open-stack library. Samples were selected from Japanese books including Chinese and Korean books and Western books acquired after 1962. From every ten years from the 1960s to the 2000s, 400 books were selected by Drott's random sampling method: 4,000 samples in total. Six investigators examined them according to the checklist. Results: The results reveal that the proportion of adhesive bound books has consistently increased in both Japanese and Western books, regardless of whether they are hardback or paperback. In the case of Western books adhesive binding started to be used earlier, but the ratio of use has risen more gently. The current ratio is higher in Japanese books: 75.3% of all books and 94.8% of paperbacks. Deterioration of the spine, which is typical of adhesive binding, is more commonly found in Japanese books, but both Japanese and Western books published in the 2000s show such deterioration. Analysis shows that the frequency of circulation is the main factor in the deterioration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: In Japan, 1,968 municipalities have merged between 1999 and 2005. It seems that this large-scale merging of cities, towns and villages had a great influence on the public libraries. The purpose of this paper is to examine the issues discussed at the time of the merger and to define the future issues of libraries in such merged municipalities. Methods: Questionnaires were sent out to main libraries of 483 municipalities that had merged into a single one respectively. Among them, 321 (66.5%) libraries responded the questionnaires, which are analysed in this paper. Results: The problem discussed most frequently at the time of merging is how the level of services can be adjusted between individual libraries after merging, e.g., adjustment of opening hours or library regulations for lending books. On the other hand, the issue of unifying library policies was not considered so much. These results show that the libraries have to give priority to issues on services that directly affect the users, because library staff didn't have enough time for discussion on them before the merger. The most common issue after the merger is to obtain enough budgets for purchasing library materials. Reorganization of the library is a future issue, too. Moreover, the libraries must consider how the service should be provided in geographic areas increased newly by the merger in a situation of severe fiscal limitations. To study more detailed library policies and organization in post merger of municipalities are also further research projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper describes the current state of electronic journal usage among Japanese medical researchers, and discusses the subsequent effect on users' decision whether to read articles on paper or on screen; from what types of full text source they obtain the articles. Methods: The names of 2,033 medical researchers affiliated with 80 medical schools in Japan were extracted and the researchers were surveyed. The questionnaire included questions on: 1) demographic features; 2) whether or not the researcher read the paper from print journals or electronic journals, and the search method used to obtain the most recently read articles; 3) the types of methods used to search for articles; 4) awareness and use of "open access" sites. Results: We received 651 responses (32.3%) between February and March 2007 and analyzed them. The major findings were: 1) 70% of the most recently read articles were electronic journal articles; 2) 80% of the electronic journal articles were provided by academic libraries, while 60% of print journal articles were from private subscription journals; 3) search engines were not used, but PubMed was used primarily to search either print or electronic journal articles; 4) in general, open access methods were not recognized by researchers as one possible route for obtaining the articles although PubMed Central constituted about 10% of the most recently read electronic journal articles; 5) no significant differences relating to article usage patterns were observed among age groups, however, large differences were found among fields of research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to examine the prospects for library services actively adopting the trend of administrative reform. Initially the paper takes a general view of the argument concerning "Decentralization" at the national level and "New Public Management" at the regional level in order to clarify the existence of a citizens' sector as one of the principal points at issue in both reforms. The second section gives an account of the fact that in administrative reforms after 1990s citizens are regarded not only as beneficiaries of public services, but also as suppliers. This section also explains the concept of "Governance" which explains the aforementioned fact. Where the concept of "Governance" was applied to provision of public service, various social actors including citizens' sector would be placed on an equal footing with administrations when providing public services. In conclusion, the author advocates that to apply the concept of "Governance" as one of the best options for thinking about the provision of library services, under a framework which regards the directionality of administrative reform as "from Government to Governance." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bibliobattle is a social book review game spreading in Japan recently. A presentation time limit for a Bibliobattle session is fixed at five minutes. This time limit was determined based on experiences of the founders who developed Bibliobattle. They said that the time limit is neither too short nor too long. However, the time limit has not been empirically investigated by comparing different time limits. In this paper, we investigate what kind of influence different time limits have on a presenter's speech in a Bibliobattle session. We conducted an experiment. For each experimental condition, we changed the time limit of the presenter's speech. We compared the book presenter's speech using a discourse analysis technique. It is proved that the ratio of utterance category is stable in different time limits. Additionally, we asked the presenters and audiences to answer several questionnaires to investigate the effects of different time limits. Most of all the questionnaries showed that the 3-, 5- and 7-minute time limits are not significantly different from each other. In contrast, there's a significant difference between 1 and 10 minutes. It was also revealed that a presenter and audiences have different feelings for the temporal differences in the presentation time limits of a Bibliobattle session. Audiences are more sensitive to the difference of time limit than presenters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In vitro antifungal susceptibility of pathogenic fungi is important information for physicians when selecting an appropriate antifungal drug, deciding the route of drug administration, surveying resistant strains, and so on. Although both the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and the minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) are well known endpoints of antifungal susceptibility, the MIC is by far the more highly referred in clinical laboratories. In fact, while methods for determining the MIC have been standardized in Japan and the West to ensure accuracy and reproducibility of the results, by contrast, scant attention has been paid to standardizing methods for determining the MFC. The same preference for MIC topical antifungal drugs for dermatophytes are concerned. In 1999, the Japanese Society of Medical Mycology published a new, standardized method of testing the MIC for dermatophytes and this has since been widely adopted. Nonetheless, the fact remains that the MFC is still determined using methods derived from antifungal pharmacology. Recently in Japan, however, the MFC of topical antifungal drugs has begun attracting more attention due to the development of new antifungal agents with fungicidal activity. These new developments call for improving our understanding of both the MIC and MFC as endpoints of antifungal susceptibility, and for standardizing methods for determining the MFC. The present paper has two objectives: first, to overview the MIC and MFC for topical drugs as endpoints of antifungal susceptibility; and second, to describe a novel test based on the standardized broth microdilution method combined with the trans-well system and neutral red, which we recently developed in our laboratory for directly measuring the MFC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study proposes eight transaction patterns aiming to reduce exceptions causing the executor's "decline" of the initiator's "request" (order). In business organizations, quite a few of these exceptions occur, and quite a lot of time and energy are wasted in coping with such exceptions. Sometimes, the exceptions may also cause a decrease in customer satisfaction due to the deference of the clerks who cope with them. Nonetheless, there seem to have been few useful solution patterns suggested by those working on business process modeling to avoid such exceptions. Hence in this paper, we make an attempt to create transaction patterns to reduce the number of such exceptions. Specifically, eight transaction patterns for avoiding the "decline" of the executor against the "request" (order) of the initiator are theoretically derived from the viewpoint of the relationship between actors who join a transaction, which depends upon the "language action perspective." Moreover, these eight transaction patterns derived are practically verified through application to a certain service company in Japan. The results show that these eight transaction patterns derived are verified by the existence of all eight patterns in the company. Therefore, this also suggests that the "language action perspective" can be used as a solution to solve the defect of business process flexibility, which is too complicated to understand when described in the context of comprehensive business processes in an enterprise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises have played an important role in developing Japan's manufacturing industry. However, Japanese small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises are currently faced with various difficulties in their business environment and are seeking ways to resolve the deadlock. In response, Mitsubishi Research Institute, Inc. has proposed a new methodology called "the management strategy on expert skills," which regards expert skills as important management resources that bring benefits to each company in terms of not only production but also sales. This paper aims to verify the validity of "the management strategy on expert skills" in small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises through an analysis of the results of our questionnaire survey of these enterprises. The composition of the factors extracted using factor analysis is consistent with the theoretical procedure of "the management strategy on expert skills," which was proposed previously. Moreover, the comparative analysis between companies whose sales are increasing and those whose sales are decreasing shows the validity of "the management strategy on expert skills" and clarifies important management actions such as "the appeal of skills accumulated in the company," "recognition of training and effective use of the skills as a management issue" and "intensive investment in core skills." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, various networks have come to exist in our surroundings. This not only includes examples such as the internet and airline routes that can be thought of as networks; protein interactions are also networks. A network is defined as an arrangement of nodes (points) and links (lines). An "economic network design problem" can be discussed by assuming that a vertex is an economic player and that a link represents some connection between economic players. An economic player can mean an individual, an association, a city, a nation and so forth. A connection between economic players signifies items such as a transport link, a telecommunication net or an economic regional alliance. In this paper, an "economic network design problem" is modeled based on Jackson and Wolinsky's connections model, and the utility function of the network is defined. In the field of economics, generally, the game theory approach is adopted for analysis of network formation. However, we encounter difficulties when a network has many heterogeneous nodes. Therefore, we suggest that the optimization of an "economic network design problem" can be solved using evolutionary computation. As an example of an "economic network design problem," we consider an optimization problem of a network between regions in West Japan. In addition, the priority of the network maintenance is clarified via the optimum network obtained in the simulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children are born immature as human beings and need support in order to establish self-care. They learn skills, knowledge and attitudes through the imitation of and identification with their caregivers. Children thrive as members of their family and community if they are given high quality care and education. Poverty influences children's health and development negatively, but "being poor" is different from "being impoverished." Therefore, early identification of and intervention for children at risk are important to prevent children from "becoming impoverished." The author discusses a dynamic relationship between children and the environment of their community, based on long-term longitudinal studies in three different regions in Japan, from a developmental-ecological standpoint. The paper focusses on the following: (1) theories about the building of an effective environment of community; (2) definition of an environment of community; (3) developmental studies in three different regions in Japan; and (4) characteristics of health and behavioral problems of children in the different regions. In conclusion, a new concept of "Community-based Child Development (CCD)" is proposed from the developmental-ecological perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relative poverty rate of children in Japan stands at 16%, indicating that one child out of six is growing up in poverty. However, the concept of relative poverty is not well known even among researchers, policy makers and the general public, and the consequences of growing up poor in an affluent society are not understood. This paper discusses how the notion of poverty is strongly affected by the Japanese public's anti-materialistic sentiment, which inhibits consideration of relative poverty as an issue. It also discusses how relative poverty leads to the social exclusion of children, and how it affects children through parental stress, isolation and time constraints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Complaints are regarded as customers' self-assertion containing emotional factors as a means of expressing their dissatisfaction. In addition, complaints shall not be addressed extemporaneously; rather, handling process of such complaints must be pointed to the achievement of customer satisfaction (CS). That is the reason why complaints-handling needs psychological approach considering customers' emotion. This paper discusses effective complaints-handling approaches developed from practical experiences. In order to carry on effective complaints-handling process aimed at the solution, the following five approach methods using psychology and counseling methods are necessary: 1. To listen carefully to what customers have to say; that is, to hear and find out what kind of situation they are facing, their emotion toward such situation, and what they are expecting, etc. 2. To focus on customers' emotion behind their complaints; in other words, to respond to the significance of complaints for the customers and their emotion instead of focusing only on the underlying facts. 3. To firstly accept customers' views or assumptions without rejection, at the same time leading them to reframe their views. 4. To focus on the "vision of solution" rather than the "cause" of complaints; that is, to flesh out the problems and what complainants are trying to solve. 5. To "visit" instead of just "waiting"; in other words, to visit complainants on another occasion and build face-to-face communication with them. By using these methods depending on the situation, the quality of complaints-handling process may be improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is intended to make clear to weighing the factors related to the emergence of product innovation in small and medium-sized enterprises. Companies 5300 survey is composed of "collaboration with external resources" "attitude to work of the employee" management style "top management" "The strength of the company", as the factors considered and therefore, to be related to product innovation implemented, Inc. 891 valid responses were obtained. From regression analysis with survey data that, significantly, such as "collaboration with public research organizations" "Commitment to new business initiative of management" "research and development capabilities," technology as factors related to the emergence of innovation for SMEs coefficient paths were observed. Also, in order to validate the structure of the underlying factors in the organization of technology and research and development capabilities, analysis by structural equation model was carried out. As a result, t is the source of this "voluntary efforts to utilize the past experience of the employee" will support the technology and R & D capability has been markedly. In addition, the factors that support its status, it is the practice of active communication and management style in order to raise the morale of the employees has been estimated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enumeration of small numbers of items can be performed by "subitizing," an instantaneous apprehension of the numerosity of a group, instead of one-by-one counting. Subitizing is thought to be an almost non-linguistic type of processing, although it has been shown that subitizing and linguistic processing interfere with each other. This paper examined relations between subitizing and linguistic processing. Irrelevant language streams, assumed to impede linguistic processing by subitizing, were supplied auditorily. Participants were 24 five-year-old children in Experiment 1 and 16 adults in Experiment 2. In addition, we used stimuli composed of meaningless and meaningful figures as objects for subitizing, and compared both to explore the process of subitizing and linguistic coding interference. The results showed that for children there was interference between subitizing and either (a)linguistic processing of irrelevant language streams or (b) meaningful stimuli. On the other hand, both of these were needed for interference to occur for adults. The findings suggest that (1) we concurrently handle subitizing, processing of irrelevant language streams, and coding, (2) there are limits in capacity for subitizing, and (3) adults have a larger capacity than 5-year-old children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper seeks to clarify the research trend of library and information science (US) in Japan from 1970 to 2009. Methods: Of all the articles published from 1970 to 2009 in Library and Information Science and Journal of Japan Society of Library and Information Science, 826 research articles were examined. For each article, (1) authors, (2) topics, (3) research methods, and (4) the use of theories were analyzed. For (1), the number of authors of each article and the first author's affiliation and occupation were examined. Topics were classified into 14 US topics and these topics were further classified into "library science" and "information science". Empirical research methods were further divided into "data collection method" and "data analysis method". The number of research articles and the transition of the number of pages were also investigated. Results: Our findings indicate that in the US field over the last 40 years in Japan, (1) the number of authors whose affiliation is "university" has increased, (2) the number of "information science" articles has gradually decreased, and the majority of articles are now about "library science", and (3) the proportion of empirical research methods has increased. There were no major changes or distinctive trends in the topics discussed by articles. Due to the adoption of a strict peer-review system in both journals, the number of research articles decreased from the 1990s to 2000s; however, the number of articles has increased in recent years due to the increase in the number of graduate students and the enhancement of research grants in the US field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to analyze structures and contents of authority data on Japanese personal and corporate names, which were made in Japan, and to clarify the degree to which such data are consistent with Functional Requirements for Authority Data (FRAD). Methods: Consistency was measured based on three conditions: (1) the data should have mandatory and highly recommended elements prescribed in Mandatory Data Elements for Internationally Shared Resource Authority Records (MLAR), which provides the basic data elements to be included for international sharing of authority data; (2) the data should contain elements adopted by UNIMARC Manual Authorities Format (UNIMARC/A) or MARC21 Format for Authority Data (MARC21/A), which have already been modified in accordance with FRAD; (3) the data should have fields or subfields allowing the incorporation of elements by UNIMARC/A and MARC21/A. If these conditions are satisfied, then the Japanese data may be sufficiently consistent with FRAD. This paper clarifies empirically whether the Japanese authority data fulfill the three conditions or not, by examining carefully authority formats and manuals obtained from six institutions producing such data in Japan. Results: The results show that Japanese name authority data satisfy condition (1) but not conditions (2) and (3). In order to match the Japanese name authority data with FRAD, the data should be augmented by adding some attributes of entries "Person" and "Corporate body", relationships between different entities and types of relationships. Also, fields for keeping these elements should be made available in the data. Furthermore, the examination revealed unique elements in Japan which are not included in UNIMARC/A and MARC21/A. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we report two incidents of ciguatera fish poisoning (CFP) that occurred in 2008 on Kakeroma Island in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. A family consisting of father (42 y.o.), mother (39 y.o.), daughter (11 y.o.) and son (6 y.o.), as well as a friend of the family (male, 78 y.o.) consumed sliced flesh (sashimi) and developed typical symptoms of CPF 4-5 h later: diarrhea, vomiting, and paresthesia of the extremities. Additionally, the two male adults (42 and 78 y.o.) developed mild hypotention (84/48 and 94/40 mmHg, respectively) and bradycardia (36 and 50 bpm, respectively) and were rushed to the ER of the nearest hospital, located on an adjacent island. The implicated fish were caught together off the west coast of the island and were identified as Variola louti and Lutjanus monostigma based on analysis of 16S rRNA gene coded on mtDNA. Remnants of the implicated fish and other fish caught on the same occasion were examined by the official mouse bioassay method (MBA), which defines the minimum amount of CFP toxin needed to kill a male mouse of ddY strain of 20 g body weight within 24 h as one mouse unit (MU). A significantly high toxicity was detected in the V. louti (0.2 MU/g) eaten by the family and the L. monostigma (0.8 MU/g) eaten by the elderly man. Other specimens of Lethrinus nebulosus, Variola albimarginata, Lutjanus gibbus (2 specimens), Aphareus rutilans, and Sphyraena forsteri (2 specimens) were found to be nontoxic (< 0.025 MU/g). The medical records regarding island inhabitants (ca. 1,500) kept at Kakeroma Tokushukai Clinic, the only medical facility on the Island, and also at Setouchi Tokushukai Hospital, a nearest hospital on an adjacent island (Amami) revealed 6 CFP outbreaks involving 13 cases between 2005 and 2008. The estimated frequency of CFP was 10.0 incidents/10,000 persons/year and the morbidity rate was 21.7 cases/10,000 persons/year. The symptoms and signs observed in the patients and the implicated fish species, L. monostigma and V. louti, were typical of CFP in this region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although onychomycoses are caused by dermatophytes, yeasts or non-dermatophyte molds, tinea unguium describes chronic fungal infections by dermatophytes only. Tinea unguium is a common fungal infection of the nail plate or nail bed with increasing prevalence worldwide. It is not self-limited and shows a higher frequency among the elderly population. In Japan, approximately 10% of the entire population is estimated to have tinea unguium. During the period when only griseofulvin was available for treatment, it was a very difficult disease to treat. Since in the 1990's, however, the introduction of new oral antifungals, itraconazole and terbinafine, initiated a new era in the treatment of tinea unguium. Many excellent textbooks, review articles, and original articles have already been published. This paper considers the circumstances in Japan, epidemiology, causative agents including non-dermatophyte molds, differential diagnosis, diagnostic techniques, the quality of life of the patients with tinea unguium, and then the treatment options are reviewed again. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has proposed the introduction of "kansei value" in addition to the existing concept of value based on functionality, reliability and price. "Kansei value" is the value of a product or service that appeals to a consumer's kansei. The Japanese word "kansei" implies the capacity for yin-yang interaction to create things. This paper proposes that the value of a product or service depends on a consumer's kansei in such an Eastern sense. The author attempts to show that the consumer mind has a yin-yang theoretical character by illustrating cases in which a boomerang effect is seen in consumer behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Despite the rise of the Internet, both television and newspapers still play major roles as news, media. This paper clarifies the differences between television and newspapers as news media during the period of a general election campaign in Japan. Methods: News stories reporting on the election of The House of Representatives of Japan were analyzed using episodic or thematic news frames (Iyengar 1991). News was categorized according to the type of news and the type of frame. Results: News programs on television (NHK and five commercial broadcast stations) broadcast 172 news sto- ries during the 2009 election campaign (from 18 August 2009 to 1 September 2009). There were 386 news items in the Asahi Shimbun newspaper related to the election during the same period. The amount of coverage was large at both the beginning and the end of the election campaign. Television and newspapers showed similar tendencies. Moreover, no changes were observed between 2005 and 2009. Television news was composed of equal amounts of general news and featured news, while featured news accounted for about 80% of the news in the newspaper. On television, there were many episodic frames mainly portraying individuals involved in the election campaign. A large majority of newspaper coverage, however, dealt with theme frames. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]