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Counterurbanisation, a phenomenon signifying the urban exodus, primarily highlights certain aspects of rural mobility while often overlooking its diverse nature. With globalisation, a new wave of challenges has emerged in rural areas due to an increase in transnational mobility, complexities that have remained largely under-explored. This research paper addresses these gaps by examining the impact of rural mobility on Kutchan, Hokkaido, Japan, a rural town that has experienced significant social and spatial transformations due to an influx of domestic and transnational migrants, supplemented by increased investment. By analysing population data from 1959 to 2022, the study identifies the period when rural mobility emerged as the dominant demographic trend. Subsequently, it examines the impact of rural mobility on demographic changes, socio-economic shifts, and housing dynamics in both the ski and non-ski tourism areas of Kutchan during this period. The findings reveal that rural mobility has been the primary factor affecting Kutchan's demographic structure since 2000. From 2000 to 2010, highly educated foreign residents supplanted local Japanese residents with basic education, sparking a rise in housing prices and a transition from small entrepreneurs to large institutions in the ski tourism area. From 2015 to 2020, the influx of large institutions and capital associated with transnational migrants caused a significant rise in housing prices, thereby accelerating the displacement of Japanese residents throughout Kutchan. These social and spatial changes align with the patterns of gentrification. This empirical study contributes to existing scholarship by emphasising the significant temporal and spatial impact of rural mobility in Japan within the context of globalisation. • Rural mobility has become the dominant rural demographic since 2000 in Kutchan. • From 2000 to 2020, the subject of mobility shifted from domestic and transnational migrants to institutions. • This transition contributed to increased housing prices, the displacement of local Japanese residents, and a shift from small businesses to larger institutions, particularly from 2015 onwards. • These changes in Kutchan parallel gentrification patterns, spotlighting rural mobility's considerable impacts in a globalising Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The water chemistry of a stream reflects the biogeochemical processes occurring in upstream forests. Anthropogenic disturbances in forests, such as cutting trees, altering the nitrogen (N) cycle, and increase in N leaching from the soil to streams, potentially cause acidification or eutrophication downstream. In forests with dense understory vegetation, mechanical site preparation following tree cutting is commonly used to improve the early establishment of tree seedlings. In cool‐temperate forests in northern Hokkaido, Japan, dense understory vegetation (mainly comprising Sasa dwarf bamboo) inhibits forest regeneration after tree cutting. Soil scarification is a common site preparation technique for eliminating Sasa bamboo and improving forest regeneration. Long‐term data are useful for examining the temporal changes in stream water chemistry exposed to different specific forest management practices under changing environment (e.g., climate change and atmospheric N deposition). For 14 years (2003–2016), we observed the stream water chemistry in naturally forested watersheds and at one point after the confluence of all streams in Uryu Experimental Forest of Hokkaido University (North Hokkaido Experimental Forests Site of JaLTER) in northern Japan. We also monitored stream discharge, water level and stream water temperature in each watershed. Water samples were collected from the outlets of 10 watersheds. The forest management practice in each watershed includes clear‐cutting, soil scarification in sparse forest with dense understory Sasa, and clear‐cutting and soil scarification followed by soil replacement. Long‐term data in the six unmanaged watersheds are also valuable as a background information to analyze the effect of long‐term climate, environment and vegetation changes on stream water chemistry. The measured water quality data of 1,873 water samples include the ion concentrations (Cl−, NO3−, SO42−, Na+, NH4+, K+, Mg2+, and Ca2+), pH, and electrical conductivity (EC) in the stream water. The range of the concentrations of Cl−, NO3−, SO42−, Mg2+, and Ca2+ in the stream water across all the watersheds throughout the observed periods (minimum to maximum) were 3.35–23.67, 0.01–8.68, 0.83–4.01, 0.45–2.55 and 0.72–6.16 mg L−1, respectively. Similarly, the stream pH and EC ranged from 6.04 to 7.53 and 3.14 to 9.47 mS m−1, respectively. The complete data set for this abstract published in the Data Paper section of the journal is available in electronic format in MetaCat in JaLTER at http://db.cger.nies.go.jp/JaLTER/metacat/metacat/datapaper%202020‐04.1/jalter‐en. [Correction added on 7 September 2020, after first online publication: JaLTER URL has been updated.] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores how the aspirations of the retiring Japanese 'baby boomer' generation are being harnessed by depopulated rural areas as drivers for revival. Drawing upon case studies and key actor interviews undertaken in Hokkaido prefecture, the paper makes three points. Firstly that, as in the UK, the baby boomer generation in Japan is creating opportunities for the regeneration of rural areas. Secondly that proactive local authorities can act as facilitators in meeting both the aspirations of incomers and the growing needs of existing communities. Finally that, by blending the dreams of the rural idyll with the harsher realities of rural life, new, inclusive rural values can be framed that provide a positive strategy for the future survival, and indeed growth, of rural areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the colonisation of Hokkaido since the Meiji era, Western technologies were introduced to Japan, but the indigenous inhabitants'—the Ainu people's—ways of life were negatively affected because of the assimilation policy. Since the late 1950s, ethnic tourism in Ainu settlements has grown and Ainu hosts in traditional costumes were often seen in various tourist destinations in Hokkaido; Lake Akan was not exceptional. In this paper, the historic development of an Ainu settlement is explained, and the contested meanings of Ainu traditions and the social construction of Ainu culture in post-war Japanese society from the cultural-political perspectives is investigated. With the focus on the Ainu settlement at Lake Akan, the paper looks closely into the changing indigenous living environments and relevant activities held during the last several decades in order to discern how Ainu heritage has been preserved and promoted as well as the social transformation that Ainu people have undergone in the face of globalising Japanese society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Japan's Hokkaido region is popularly known as “Milkland,” underscoring the importance of the local dairy industry. Nevertheless, milk production costs in Japan are much higher than in surrounding nations and in order to bolster the domestic industry, for example justifying large subsidies, a constant “crisis state” has to be maintained by government and related agencies. In this paper I argue that the rhetoric of food security has a particular and lengthy history in Japan. It is generally communicated in terms of safety, risk, and self-sustainability, the need to protect Japan and Japanese from a series of ever-contingent threats both real and imagined. Concomitantly, there are essential misunderstandings between governmental agencies and dairy farmers rooted in the different identities and livelihoods that arise in “culturing” differing agricultures. As a result, official agencies claiming to protect the dairy industry in fact, through a mix of nationalist imagination and bio-scientific ignorance, work against it. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Japan’s northernmost island of Hokkaido is popularly viewed as a frontier space. This stems from a pre-modern conceptualization of the island as barbaric, its contemporary image as pastoral, and the downplaying of its colonization in between. In Hokkaido, dairying is an occupation that is profoundly influenced by negotiations with modernity, regional identity and the “West”. Thus, the image of the dairy industry is usually promoted through two tropes; dairy as foreign and dairy as a modern health benefit coalescing with conceptualizations of idealized foreign physical and political bodies. These perceptions link the contemporary industry to idyllic Euro-American pastoral images and imaginations. However, as in much of the northern world, Hokkaido dairy farming has rapidly industrialized. Until the 1980s Hokkaido dairy farms rarely exceeded 50 head. The norm was that members of a single farm family would intimately know their livestock through the embodied sharing of space and interaction; especially in relation to the twice daily process of milking. But, over the last generation a shift to rotary parlor milking systems has occurred. This high-tech and high-cost equipment enables the “automated” and simultaneous milking of up to 60 cattle at any given moment presided over by only four human staff whose work involves attaching suction devices and observing readouts. Such unskilled dairy workers are often not from farm families. Increasingly they are transient urban youth remaining on the job for less than a year, or international migrants with little interest in farming. This paper is based on 19 months of ethnographic and archival fieldwork and examines how the boundaries between animal, human, and technology have shifted and may further shift in Hokkaido. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper offers a fresh anarchist history of modern rural experience at the heart of Japan's modernization project in Hokkaido. The rationalization of agricultural methods and the establishment of big farms in Hokkaido worked by tenant farmers served the dual purpose of both colonizing and modernizing Japan's northern frontier. Against the idea of progress imbued in that colonial project, the anarchist and celebrity writer, Arishima Takeo, liberated his tenant farmers by dissolving his tenant farm in Niseko in 1922. The farmers were made the new cooperative owners. Members of the farm, made famous during widespread tenant-farmer disputes, believed they stood at the heart of progress. ‘Sōgo fujō’ (mutual aid) was viewed as an ethic for social transformation, democracy and elimination of hierarchy that linked the farmers with the wider world. It was the farmers’ consciousness of working in a new era, better than ever before, that made them modern. Their community offers us a case study of the imagination and experience of modern temporality amongst the most unlikely subjects of the modern, ordinary agricultural laborers in rural Asia in the early twentieth century. This anarchist history challenges the conceptual framework that has categorized rural Japan as the seat of conservative politics, nativism and traditionalism, and the antithesis of modernity. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In Itō Sei's (1905–69) “Yūki no machi” (Streets of ghosts, 1937), a narrator returns to his native town of Otaru, Hokkaido, where he experiences a hellish and hallucinatory encounter with people from his past. He is forced to confront shameful aspects of his youthful life that he had tried to repress. In this paper, I propose that a close examination of the story sheds useful light on the real fears, tensions and expectations surrounding colonialism that had become an integral part of Japanese culture and society during the late 1930s. Structures of colonialism, which speak of uneven power relationships between a dominant centre and a distant weaker locality, are spelt out, for example, through the railway network and racist ideology that appear in the story. I also explore the story's depiction of a colonial relationship between mainland Japanese culture centred round Tokyo and the peripheral outpost of Hokkaido. More generally, I suggest that the story illuminates a global power configuration between Japan and its colonies that was entering an increasingly aggressive and bellicose phase during the late 1930s. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Cet article offre une synthèse des paléoenvironnements japonais lors des derniers temps glaciaires, du point de vue de l'englacement, du permafrost et de la végétation. Les variations du niveau de la mer ont joué un rôle de premier plan sur l'englacement et sur la migration des humains vers les îles japonaises. L'englacement a été limité aux hautes montagnes et son extension a été bien plus grande pendant le premier stade glaciaire (SIM 3/4) que durant le maximum glaciaire global (SIM 2). Un pont terrestre entre l'île de Sakhaline et l'île d'Hokkaïdo a joué un rôle important pour la migration des populations paléolithiques depuis l'Asie septentrionale jusqu'au Japon. À Hokkaïdo, un permafrost discontinu avec une végétation de conifères de type forêt-toundra et taïga, a favorisé les chasseurs-cueilleurs paléolithiques, prédateurs de grand gibier et développant une culture de microlames. La fin de la dernière période glaciaire a causé un changement environnemental drastique, comme la dégradation des glaciers, du permafrost et du pont terrestre. Un changement rapide de végétation a diminué l'abondance du grand gibier et les populations ont modifié leur stratégie alimentaire, passant d'une chasse au grand gibier à la pêche et à la récolte de ressources végétales telles que les glands et les noix. Ce changement a créé une culture à poterie (Jômon) qui semble avoir été amenée par le Sud jusqu'à Hokkaïdo, vers 15 000 ∼ 14 000 ans cal BP. La rencontre, à Hokkaïdo, des peuplades paléolithiques et Jômon du Sud, a généré un nouveau groupe humain, les peuplades Jômon du Nord, qui peuvent être à l'origine des Aïnus, peuplade indigène du Japon, occupant plus spécialement Hokkaïdo. The paper summarizes the paleoenvironments of the last glacial time from a viewpoint of glaciation, permafrost and vegetation. Sea level changes played a critical role on glaciation and human migration to Japanese Islands. Glaciation was limited to the high mountains, and its expansion was much larger in the former stage (MIS 3/4) than in the global glacial maximum (MIS 2). A land bridge between Sakhalin and Hokkaido was important for the migration of paleolithic people from Northern Asia to Japan. Discontinuous permafrost environment with forest tundra and Taiga type conifer forest vegetation in Hokkaido supported the paleolithic hunter-gatherers of big games, developing a microblade culture. Termination of last glacial time caused a drastic environmental change such as a decay of glaciers, permafrost and land bridge. Rapid vegetation change decreased big games and the humans changed their food strategy from a big game hunting to a fishing and a gathering plant resources such as acorns and walnuts. This change created a pottery (Jômon) culture which seems to be brought in Hokkaido from the south between 15,000 ∼ 14,000 cal BP. The encounter of paleolithic and southern Jômon peoples in Hokkaido generated a new human group, the northern Jômon people, which might be a origin of the Aïnu, the indigenous people in Japan, especially in Hokkaido. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: While substantial progress has been achieved in hunter–gatherer research over the last century, it is still the case that the understanding of the cultural dynamism, variability, and resilience of Holocene hunter–gatherers remains rather impoverished. Emerging archaeological insights suggest that the prehistory of many forager societies included periods of sudden cultural transformation, marked by major shifts in subsistence strategies, settlement patterns and associated social life. Recent theoretical and methodological advances are enabling archaeologists to reconstruct the cultural dynamics of Holocene hunter–gatherers in an unprecedented degree of detail. This is especially true in regions that contain large prehistoric cemeteries, which can provide the base data for bioarchaeological reconstruction of individual life histories, shedding light on forager life-ways, their subsistence strategies and mobility patterns. Renewed attention is also being directed at the role of unstable environments and climate, which would have formed important contextual factors influencing how local cultural dynamics were played out. However, identifying explicit causal links between environmental instability and culture change remains empirically challenging. This paper investigates the major sequences of Holocene hunter–gatherer culture change in two regions of Northeast Asia and details how the new Baikal–Hokkaido Archaeology Project will be researching the causal factors driving these cultural processes, including the possible role of climate and environment. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Despite the decision of the Nibutani Dam Case that stated the Ainu, who have inhabited Hokkaido and its neighbouring islands since time immemorial, were entitled to have the right of enjoyment of culture as indigenous people, the Biratori Dam Project is underway in the heart of Ainu culture in Hokkaido. The legal system which includes the Environmental Impact Assessment and the Amended River Act allows the authorities to give priority to river development. In 1997 the Hokkaido Former Aborigines Protection Act, which represented the Japanese assimilation policy, was replaced by the New Ainu Law. However, Japan's current Ainu policy has yet to take firm steps toward the protection of Ainu indigenous rights. This paper looks at the legal system surrounding the Saru River Development Project in light of the conservation of both Ainu culture and the environment. Further, the current Ainu policy is discussed in its domestic and international contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper describes the enrichment of hydrothermally altered volcanic and sedimentary rocks with arsenic (As) and lead (Pb), and the effects of pyrite and calcite on the mobilities and release mechanisms of these toxic elements under oxic and anoxic conditions. Enrichment of the altered rock with As and Pb predominantly occurred in precipitated pyrite grains and not on the alumino-silicate minerals making up the matrix of the rock. Arsenic was incorporated in pyrite grains formed during alteration in both volcanic and sedimentary rocks, but Pb was only found in the pyrite grains of the volcanic rock samples. When in contact with water, altered volcanic rocks had acidic pH while altered sedimentary rocks had alkaline pH. The mobilities of both As and Pb from the altered rocks were enhanced at acidic and alkaline pH and a minimum was observed in the circumneutral pH under both oxic and anoxic conditions. The absence of O2 retarded the oxidation of pyrite most notably in the alkaline region but not in the acidic and circumneutral pH. The absence of CO2 increased the pH of samples with significant calcite content but did not affect those containing substantial amounts of pyrite. Increasing the CO2 also had insignificant effect on the concentrations of As and Pb in the leachate. The mechanisms controlling the mobilization of As and Pb from these rocks like dissolution of soluble secondary minerals, pyrite oxidation and adsorption were all related to pyrite while the pH of the rock when in contact with water was controlled by pyrite and calcite. Thus, excavated waste rocks that have been altered can be grouped based on the relative abundance of pyrite and calcite and their pH when in contact with water. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper describes the mobilization and speciation of As found in hydrothermally altered rock under oxic column conditions. The altered rock sample was obtained from a tunnel project located in the Nakakoshi area of Hokkaido, Japan, whose geology is represented by slate, shale and sandstone. This area has undergone silicification, pyritization and argillic alteration resulting in As-enrichment of the rock. Results of the column experiments show that the infiltration rate, bulk density and rock bed thickness affected the duration of water residence, which in turn influenced the pH of the rock–water system. Coexisting ions most notably Ca2+ at amounts greater than ca. 50mg/L retarded the mobilization of As. Mobilization of As from the rock with time occurred in two stages: stage 1 (weeks 1–20) with higher As leaching and stage 2 (weeks 20–76) characterized by nearly constant As release. In addition, pore water As concentrations revealed that the columns developed into two regions: the top half where most of the leaching occurred and the bottom part dominated by adsorption. Thus, the mechanism controlling the mobilization of As from the rock is a combination of one or more of the following processes: dissolution of soluble As-bearing fractions, pyrite oxidation and adsorption reactions. Arsenite (As[III]) was the dominant species in the effluent at the start of the experiment in columns with shorter water residence time and lower pH conditions (<8). On the other hand, arsenate (As[V]) was the major inorganic species released from the rock at higher pH (8–9.5) and when the system was close to equilibrium. Speciation of As with depth also indicated that As[III] disappeared around the bottom half of the columns, probably as a result of adsorption and/or oxidation. Arsenic speciation is partially controlled by the pH dependent adsorption of As species. The important adsorbent phases in the rock included Fe–Al oxides/oxyhydroxides, clay minerals and organic matter, which permitted the columns to attenuate additional As loadings including As[III]. Implications of these results on the design of a novel disposal method for these altered rocks include the enhancement of As adsorption through the addition of natural or artificial adsorbents and the utilization of a covering soil with low permeability to minimize rainwater infiltration into the rock. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

To validate the involvement of meiobenthos in cellulose breakdown in wetlands, meiobenthos were collected from sediments of Lake Furen and the Biwase River in Hokkaido Prefecture, the Kako River in Hyogo Prefecture, and the Chinai River in Shiga Prefecture. Cellulase activities of the meiobenthos were measured by cellulose zymographic analysis using sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) gels containing 0.5% carboxymethyl cellulose. The results showed that most of the Turbellaria, Nematoda, Harpacticoida, and Oligochaeta species exhibited cellulase activity. The molecular sizes of the cellulase-active bands of the sediments in Lake Furen, the Biwase River, and the Chinai River coincided with those of meiobenthos. The findings suggest that meiobenthos might play a major function in cellulose breakdown in these wetlands. This paper is the first to report cellulase activity in meiobenthos and that they are possibly involved in the breakdown of cellulose in wetlands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The construction of 3-D basin velocity structures is ongoing in many regions of Japan. The structure models are constructed mainly for the prediction of long-period ground motions from future large earthquakes. In this paper, we validate the 3-D velocity structure model of the Tokachi basin, a deep sedimentary basin located in eastern Hokkaido, Japan, based on 3-D simulation of long-period (2-20 s) ground motions from three nearby intermediate-depth earthquakes; this model was constructed by the National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Prevention (NIED). We make comparisons between the observed and synthetic long-period ground motions for the basin-induced surface waves as well as the direct S-wave. We also try to revise the 3-D velocity structure in the western part of the Tokachi basin based on 1-D velocity structures estimated using long-period S-wave modeling and the microtremor survey method. We then perform the 3-D simulation again to validate the revised model. Based on quantitative comparisons of the long-period ground motions from these simulations with those observed, we conclude that the NIED and revised velocity structure models are generally good at the central basin sites, but that both models require modification at the basin edges to explain the details of the observed basin-induced surface waves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a review of hydrothermal alteration and K-Ar age data from the Toyoha-Muine area (TMA), where the Toyoha polymetallic (Ag-Pb-Zn-Cu-In) deposit is located near the Pliocene andesitic volcano that formed Mt Muine. Systematic prospect-scale mapping, sampling, X-ray analysis and microscopic observation show that hydrothermal alteration is divided into two groups: acid-pH and neutral-pH alteration types. The former is further divided into mineral assemblages I, II and III, while the latter into mineral assemblages IV and V. Different mineralogical features in five mineral assemblages are summarized as follows: (I) Quartz (silicified rock); (II) Pyrophyllite or dickite; (III) Kaolinite or halloysite ± alunite; (IV) Sericite or K-feldspar; and (V) Interstratified minerals (illite/smectite and chlorite/smectite) and/or smectite. K-Ar radiometric ages determined on twenty-eight K-bearing samples (whole volcanic rocks and separated hydrothermal minerals) mainly fall into one of three periods: Early Miocene (24.6-21.4 Ma), Middle-Late Miocene (12.5-8.4 Ma) and Pliocene-Pleistocene (3.2-0 Ma). These three periods are characterized as follows. Early Miocene: A minor hydrothermal activity, which might be genetically related to the intermediate or felsic magmatic activities, formed mineral assemblage IV at 24.6 Ma in the northern part of the TMA. Middle to Late Miocene: The basaltic intrusion, andesitic eruption, and granodiorite intrusions induced hydrothermal activities between 12.5 and 8.4 Ma, resulting in the formation of a mineral assemblage IV with some base metal mineralization. Pliocene-Pleistocene: An andesitic eruption formed Mt Muine between 3.2 and 2.9 Ma. The andesitic activity was associated with acid-pH mineral assemblages I, II and III locally around the volcano. Latent magmatic intrusions subsequent to the andesitic eruption generated hydrothermal activities that formed mineral assemblages IV and V between 1.9 and 0 Ma in the southern and southeastern parts of Toyoha deposit at depth, overprinting the Middle to Late Miocene alteration. The hydrothermal activities also formed mineral assemblages I, II and III along the Yunosawa fault (east of the Toyoha deposit) and assemblage III in the south and southeast of the Toyoha deposit near the surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We studied an active forearc margin off eastern Hokkaido, northern Japan, to identify the main influences on stratigraphic development from the last glacial to the present highstand. This paper presents new data on the environment, texture, and sedimentation rates of forearc shelf–slope sediments, based on more than 300 samples of seafloor sediments and densely gridded sub-bottom profiling records. Lowstand sedimentary wedges developed upon the shelf margins in areas with a large sediment supply and without incising canyons. The transgressive and highstand deposits formed on the shelf in extensive, low-gradient, and topographically low areas. The narrow shelf is covered by sandy sediments, where winnowed fines are likely to have escaped to the slope via gravity-driven across-shelf transport or ocean-current-induced along-shelf transport. The slope has a mid-slope mud belt at water depths of 700–1600m. The sedimentation rates on the slope subsequent to 15ka (the late transgressive to highstand stage) were just 10–70% of the rates prior to this period. These changes in sedimentation rates are ascribed to spatially variable topography. High sedimentation rates were maintained at topographically low and gently sloping areas even during highstand periods, due to concentrations of nepheloid layers or deposition via sediment gravity flows. On the other hand, low sedimentation rates were recognized on topographic highs of interfluves on the upper slope or on axes of anticlines, where main flows or overspills of turbidity currents decreased as sealevel rose. These results suggest that sedimentologic and stratigraphic variations are tied to variations in the physical configuration of the shelf/slope system being influenced by the local topography in addition to the climatic and oceanographic processes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper a model for computing geomagnetically induced currents (GIC) from local geomagnetic field observations carried out in Hokkaido, Japan is constructed. The model is composed of system parameters mapping the horizontal geoelectric field to GIC and of 1D conductivity model. A rigorous model validation is used to show that the model reproduces the observed GIC with a very good accuracy. Statistical occurrence of GIC is computed using the constructed model and geomagnetic field recordings covering years 1986–2008. The modeled GIC is used to generate a list of 10 largest GIC events in Hokkaido, Japan. It is found that the 10 largest events between 1986 and 2008 were associated with various phases of coronal mass ejection driven major geomagnetic storms. It is also shown that although smaller GIC are fairly common, the largest possible GIC are likely limited to the amplitudes of the order of 10A. The constructed 1D ground conductivity model is interpreted in the context of the local geological setting and it is shown that the subduction zone dynamics likely play an important role in the observed GIC and geomagnetic field characteristics. Crustal conductor associated with the subduction zone is the cause for unusual direct relation between GIC and the local geomagnetic field rather than its time derivative and GIC. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This article underscores the desperation of two very different groups of people; the owners of Hokkaido dairy farms and the economic migrant workers, often young Chinese nationals, who labor for them. The central argument is that rural economic and social decline in Hokkaido is due in part to Japan's centralist political and economic policies; policies that, by and large, are based on a model of rice production and this practice's often perceived linkage with socio-cultural homogeneity. Such official policy is, however, viewed by many Hokkaido locals as a hindrance wherein the 'Otherness' of the region and of dairy work are not accounted for. What follows is based on the assumption that the reader is not a specialist in Japanese area studies but is interested in comparing and thinking philosophically about humans, agriculture, and policy. It begins with a brief explanation of how the topic was 'discovered' during ethnographic research. It then shifts to the history and image of Hokkaido and of dairy work as 'Other,' as a form of agriculture perceived to be on the periphery of normative Japanese domestic daily life-an irony given the official government status of dairy as the only essential food industry alongside rice production. It underscores why exploitative practices are deemed necessary by owners and acceptable by staff. This is followed by the thrust of the article, an ethnographic example detailing the experiences of one dairy owner and of two young workers from Outer Mongolia. It also contrasts the otherness of their dairy farm experience with Japanese employees; notably young Japanese 'furiita-' (non-permanent staff). Finally, the paper addresses the challenges that marginal agriculturalists face in their search for economic, social, and ontological security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Solar generation systems are one of the measures for reducing global warming. An installed capacity target of solar generation systems in our country will be set 4.82GW in 2010, while the total installed capacity is still 1.92GW in 2007. About 80% of the systems are mainly residential use and each is very small. Constructions of some large-scale solar generation systems will be expected and intensive development of related technologies are urgent. The New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) advertised for consignment research business “Verification of Grid Stabilization with Large-scale Photovoltaic (PV) Power Generation Systems” in 2006. The verification tests are carried out in two sites of Hokuto City, Yamanashi Prefecture and Wakkanai City, Hokkaido. The outlines and the developing targets and some of studying results of the Hokuto mega-solar project (HMSP) are introduced in this paper. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article discusses aspects of aquaculture relating to the pleuronectiform fish in the cold sea basins around eastern Hokkaido, Japan. The article focuses specifically on the barfin flounder, Verasper moseri. This research paper suggests that this species of flounder has a higher expression of melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH) mRNA in the brain, as well as increased stimulation of food intake, when reared in fish tanks with a white background compared to when reared in tanks with a black background.

In our previous regression model for estimating forest biomass, it was shown that non-Gaussian amplitude fluctuations in high-resolution polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data of coniferous forests can accurately be described by the K-distribution and that the order parameter of the K-distribution can be useful in estimating the tree biomass of coniferous forests from L-band cross-polarization amplitude images in a wider range than the conventional method using the radar cross section alone. The result was based on the analysis of the "ground-truth" biomass data of 19 forest stands and airborne polarimetric interferometric SAR L-band data over the Tomakomai forests in Hokkaido, Japan. From this relation, an empirical regression model was developed to estimate forest biomass from SAR data. In this paper, we report the results on further analyses of this regression model. The validity of the K-distribution is first reconfirmed using the Akaike information criterion, followed by the description on the accuracy of the model. To examine model accuracy, we carried out further field measurements on 22 forest stands in 2005, and the ground survey was made in 2006 to find out the causes of several anomalous data. Based on a comparison of the model-based biomass and the ground-truth data, the accuracy of the model was found to be approximately 86%. The regression model was then updated for practical application in estimating the biomass of the Hokkaido forests by including the ground-truth data of all 41 forest stands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2003 Tokachi-oki earthquake ruptured a large area of approximately 100 km2. The location of the largest asperity was estimated to be several dozen kilometres offshore of Hokkaido, Japan. The magnitude measured 8.0 on the Japan Meteorological Agency scale, and several studies used waveform inversion analysis to estimate the moment-magnitude as Mw 8.0–8.2. Several studies reported that there was a minor asperity at the northeastern edge of the fault plane, and that the rupture velocity towards the minor asperity was less than that towards the main asperity. One of them illustrated that the location and timing of the minor asperity were poorly constrained. In this paper, we introduce a procedure based on semblance analysis to image the location of the minor northeastern asperity with improved resolution. We group 15 strong-motion seismographs into three arrays, and we perform semblance analysis on impulsive waves that were possibly generated from the minor asperity and were conspicuously observed at stations in eastern Hokkaido. By projecting the semblance values onto the fault plane, we estimate the location of the minor asperity. We find it to be shallower and farther from the coast than the previous results indicated. The average rupture velocity towards the asperity is estimated to be 2.5 km s−1, which is slower than the 3.6 km s−1 obtained by waveform inversion analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Echinococcus multilocularis is a fatal zoonotic parasite in the Northern Hemisphere. Recently, it has become endemic in many countries in Asia, especially in the northern island of Hokkaido in Japan. The increasing threat of public health due to alveolar echinococcosis has compelled researches for sensitive diagnosis and effective control. This paper reviews on the epidemiology, diagnosis and control of echinococcosis specifically in Japan. International collaborative responses by researchers and government initiatives such as mandatory reporting system for veterinarians who diagnose echinococcosis in dogs are presented. Successful control measures in Japan using anthelmintic fortified baits for foxes are described. Assessment of prevalence rates during control campaigns is analyzed favoring the use of intravital diagnosis rather than the traditional necropsy method from hunting or trapping activities of wild foxes. The novel concept of “endogenous development” by local resident volunteers towards sustainable control of echinococcosis is stressed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A method which we developed for spatio-temporal data processing is employed to yield the source coordinates of the September 25, 2003 Hokkaido earthquake (magnitude 8.3), the switch-on time, and the propagation velocity of the earthquake-induced ionospheric disturbance. Distribution of total electron content (TEC) variations obtained from the GPS sites located in the near-field area of the earthquake epicenter is used for the data analysis. Parameters calculated in this paper are in good agreement with the real location of the earthquake epicenter, the real shock time (seismic data), and the results obtained earlier for ionospheric disturbances due to strong earthquakes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions, renewable energy technologies such as wind power and solar photovoltaic power systems have recently become more widespread. However, Japan as a nation faces high reliance on imported fossil fuels for electricity generation despite having great potential for further renewable energy development. The focus of this study examines untapped geographical locations in Japan's northern most prefecture, Hokkaido, that possess large wind power potential. The possibility of exploiting this potential for the purpose of producing green hydrogen is explored. In particular, its integration with a year-round conversion of Kraft lignin into bio-oil from nearby paper pulp mills through a near critical water depolymerization process is examined. The proposed bio-oil and aromatic chemical production, as well as the process' economics are calculated based upon the total available Kraft lignin in Hokkaido, including the magnitude of wind power capacity that would be required for producing the necessary hydrogen for such a large-scale process. Green hydrogen integration with other processes in Japan and in other regions is also discussed. Finally, the potential benefits and challenges are outlined from an energy policy point-of-view. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information on the scientific name of a delesseriacean red alga "Numehanori." "Numehanori" in Japanese is distributed in Hokkaido and northern Honshu and was first described by researcher W.H. Harvey from Hakodate as Delesseria serrulata. Later, the alga was renamed as Delesseria violacea by researcher J.G. Agardh and then combined with Apoglossum as A.violaceum by J. Agardh. Nomenclatural investigation of the papers concerned revealed that the correct name of "Numehanori" is Delesseria serrulata.

The Gutenberg-Richter Law describes the frequency-magnitude distribution of earthquakes. A number of studies have shown that the slope (b value) of the relationship between frequency and magnitude decreased before large earthquakes. In this paper, we investigate the temporal variation of the b value off the Pacific coast of Tokachi, Hokkaido, Japan, during 1990–2014. The magnitude of completeness (Mc) in the catalog is evaluated by combining the maximum curvature (MAXC) technique and the bootstrap approach. Then, the b value, and its uncertainty, is computed by using the maximum likelihood estimation. The Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) with the bootstrap approach is introduced to statistically assess the temporal variation of b values and quantify the significance level. The results show a decrease in trends of the b value prior to two large earthquakes (26 September 2003 (M8.0) and 11 September 2008 (M7.1)) in the analyzed area. In addition, the decrease of b values shows certain statistical significance three months before the 2003 Earthquake off the Pacific coast of Tokachi (M8.0). It is concluded that the b value with statistical assessment may contain potential information for future large earthquake preparation off the Pacific coast of Tokachi, Hokkaido, Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The Japan Atomic Energy Agency has been developing the Horonobe Underground Research Laboratory in sedimentary rock at Horonobe, on Hokkaido, Japan, as part of the research and development program on geological disposal of high-level radioactive waste. Fundamental parts of the geological and hydrogeological investigations in the project include BHTV and EMI logging, fluid logging, pressure build-up tests and hydraulic packer tests in eleven 470-m to 1020-m deep boreholes, supplemented by laboratory permeability tests on core samples from the sedimentary formations. The results show that hydraulic conductivity varies significantly and that fractures/faults have a close relationship to the heterogeneities in hydraulic conductivity. This paper discusses the heterogeneities in hydraulic conductivity from the perspective of scale effect, to characterize and model the hydrogeological environment. It was determined from the relationship between hydraulic conductivities and test interval lengths that the heterogeneity of hydraulic conductivity in the Wakkanai Formation decreased with increase of test interval length. Considering this observation, the following concept for hydrogeological modeling dependent on the scale is proposed; the Wakkanai Formation should be modeled as a fractured medium at scales ranging from 10-m to 200-m and as a homogeneous medium at scales over 200-m. The Koetoi Formation, the other formation of interest and the intact rock in both formations could be modeled as homogeneous media. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]