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Japan and South Korea are experiencing drastic declines in marriage rates. One of the main factors explaining these declines is deteriorating youth employment. This study examined the effects of youth employment on marriage timing and the moderating effects of social contexts in both countries using longitudinal data and discrete-time logit analysis. The results indicated that unmarried people, particularly men, who were not regular employees with low annual income delayed marriage; this association was moderated by educational background and family structure (parents living together, primogeniture). Comparing the two countries, Japan experiences a stronger influence on marriage from the traditional family system, and South Korea has a stronger influence from economic disadvantages. This reflects differences in the strength of the traditional family system and the degree of deterioration of youth employment in the two countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using 1930s panel data from Osaka City, we estimate the production function in the metal and machinery sectors in Japan to identify the factors that influence the establishment of mass‐production methods. Subcontracting income per total revenue had a positive correlation with metal and machinery output. While material‐intensive technology was used, scale‐economy‐type technology was not observed in this sector. The greater return on capital for smaller plants was attributed to efficient capital stock utilisation and subsistence wages. The division of labour between firms, through which materials and parts were traded, contributed to output expansions in the 1930s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cancer was ranked as the second leading cause of global mortality in 2019, with an increasing incidence. An adequate workforce of healthcare professionals with special skills and knowledge in cancer care is vital for addressing the disparities in cancer prognosis. This study aimed to elucidate the trends in the advanced practice nursing workforce (APNW) in cancer care, which included certified nurse specialists (CNSs) and certified nurses (CNs) in each prefecture of Japan from the system's inception to the present. Further, it sought to analyze the regional disparities and compare these trends with other healthcare resources to identify contributing factors associated with the APNW in cancer care in each prefecture. Methods: We performed a panel data analysis using publicly available data on the APNW in cancer care in each prefecture of Japan from 1996 to 2022. Gini coefficients were calculated to examine the trends in geographic equality. Univariate and multivariable fixed effect panel data regression models were used to examine regional factors associated with an APNW in cancer care. Results: From 1996 to 2012, the APNW in cancer care increased from four to 6982 staff, while their Gini coefficients decreased from 0.79 to 0.43. However, from 2012 to 2022, the Gini coefficients decreased slightly from 0.43 to 0.41. The coefficient value was comparable to that for the disparity between hospital doctors (0.43) but more pronounced compared to those for other medical resources, such as hospitals (0.34), hospital nurses (0.37), and designated cancer care hospitals (0.29). The APNW in cancer care in each prefecture was significantly associated with a higher number of designed cancer care hospitals in the previous year (see first quartile, the coefficient for second quartile: 0.31, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.21–0.40), and a fewer number of hospital doctors (− 1.89, 95%CI − 2.70 to − 1.09). Conclusions: The size of the APNW in cancer care has increased since the system was established in 1996 up till 2022. With the increase in numbers, geographic inequality narrowed until 2012 and has since then remained stagnant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 vaccine reduces infection risk; even if one contracts COVID-19, the probability of complications such as death or hospitalisation is lower. However, vaccination may prompt people to decrease preventive behaviours, such as staying home, washing hands, and wearing a mask. Therefore, if vaccinated people pursue only self-interest, the vaccine's effect may be lower than expected. However, if vaccinated people are pro-social (motivated toward benefits for the whole society), they might maintain preventive behaviours to reduce the spread of infection. We conducted 26 surveys almost once a month from March 2020 (the early stage of COVID-19) to September 2022 in Japan. By corresponding with identical individuals, we independently constructed the original panel data (N = 70,908). Based on the data, we identified the timing of the second vaccine shot and compared preventive behaviours before and after vaccination. We investigated whether second-shot vaccination correlated with changes in preventive behaviours. Furthermore, we explored whether the vaccination effect differed between the older and younger groups. We then investigated the effect of pro-social motivation on preventive behaviours. Major findings are as follows: (1) Being vaccinated led people to increase preventive behaviours, such as mask-wearing by 1.04 (95% confidence intervals [Cis]: 0.96–1.11) points, and hand hygiene by 0.34 (95% CIs: 0.30–0.38) points on a 5-point scale. (2) Vaccinated people under 65 are less likely to stay home. (3) People with pro-social motivation to be vaccinated are more likely to maintain prevention than those not so motivated; on a 5-point scale, the difference is 0.08 (95% CIs: 0.01–0.15) points for mask-wearing and 0.05 (95% CIs: 0.001–0.10) points for hand hygiene. After vaccination, the opportunity cost of staying home outweighs its benefits, and people are less inclined to stay at home. This effect is lower in older people who are at a higher risk of serious illness. The opportunity cost of wearing masks and hand hygiene is lower than that of staying home, and the benefit persists after vaccination if people are motivated to maintain these behaviours for others' well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study analyzed long-term changes in Japanese crime rates and their relationship with policing and labor market conditions, focusing on the increase in crime rates around 2000. The study used yearly prefectural panel data from 1978 to 2018 and estimated econometric models to explore the factors related to the crime rate. Fixed effects models were used to control for unobservable heterogeneity across prefectures. We addressed the endogeneity problem in the number of police officers with the instrumental variable approach, employing the number of traffic fatalities and the number of firefighters as instruments. Instrumental variable estimation revealed that increasing the number of police officers reduced the crime rate. We also confirmed that crime decreased when the labor market was tight and that increasing minimum wages reduced crime. The model's variables largely explain crime rate declines since 2002 but do not account for increased crime up to 2002. Policing and labor market conditions do matter in crime rates. In Japan, the number of local police officers increased against the explosion of crime around 2000. Such policing significantly reduced crime after 2002. At the same time, increasing job opportunities and income from legal work also contributed to the decline. In contrast, crime expansion until 2002 was not attributed to the model's variables, so we need further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose/Background: City-specific temporal analysis has been commonly used to investigate the impact of COVID-19-related behavioural regulation policies on crime. However, these previous studies fail to consider differences in the intensity of intervention among cities and the impact of these behavioural regulation policies on crime trends nationwide. This study performs panel data analyses to examine how the declaration of a state of emergency (SoE) affected ambient population and crime in Japan, taking advantage of the fact that the SoE was implemented at different times in different prefectures. Methods: The current study uses two sets of panel data of 47 prefectures for 22 weeks from February to July 2020: (1) the data on ambient population in five types of locations provided by the Google Mobility Reports, and (2) official crime data of six types of crime: residential burglary, commercial burglary, theft of/from vehicle, bicycle theft, sexual assault, and violence and injury. Firstly, an ordinary least squares regression analysis was performed to examine the impact of the SoE on the ambient population. Then a negative binomial model with fixed effects was adopted to examine the effect of the ambient population on the crime trends. Findings: The SoE declaration was found to increase the ambient population in 'residential', and decrease that in other settings including 'workplaces', 'transit stations', and 'retail and recreation' in targeted prefectures. Spill-over effects of the SoE were observed on the ambient population of non-SoE prefectures. The ambient population have impacted five out of the six types of crime examined, except for sexual assault. After controlling for the ambient population, we observed an increase in commercial burglary and theft of/from the vehicle in all prefectures during the SoE weeks, compared to the weeks when the SoE was not declared. Conclusions: The declaration of the SoE during the COVID-19 pandemic changed the ambient population in the SoE-prefectures, resulting the changes in crime levels as well. In addition, the implementation of the SoE in specific prefectures was found to have a contextual impact on national-level crime trends. Furthermore, the implementation of the SoE caused changes in some crime types that could not be explained by the changes in the ambient population, suggesting that the implementation of the SoE affected offenders' decision-making. It is also worth noting that the changes in ambient population and crime trends during the pandemic were observed in Japan where the behavioural regulation policy without law enforcement was introduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Vibegron, a novel, potent ß3 agonist, has been approved for clinical use in overactive bladder (OAB) treatment in Japan and the Unites States. We performed a bridging study to investigate the efficacy and safety of a daily 50-mg vibegron (code name JLP-2002) dose in Korean patients with OAB. Methods: A multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study was conducted from September 2020 to August 2021. Adult patients with OAB with a symptom duration of more than 6 months entered a 2-week placebo run-in phase. Eligibility was assessed at the end of this phase and selected patients entered a double-blind treatment phase after 1:1 randomization to either the placebo or vibegron (50 mg) group. The study drug was administered once daily for 12 weeks and follow-up visits were scheduled at weeks 4, 8, and 12. The primary endpoint was the change in mean daily micturition at the end of treatment. The secondary endpoints included changes in OAB symptoms (daily micturition, nocturia, urgency, urgency incontinence, and incontinence episodes, and mean voided volume per micturition) and safety. A constrained longitudinal data model was used for statistical analysis. Results: Patients who took daily vibegron had significant improvements over the placebo group in both primary and secondary endpoints, except for daily nocturia episodes. The proportions of patients with normalized micturition and resolution of urgency incontinence and incontinence episodes were significantly higher in vibegron group than in the placebo. Vibegron also improved the patients' quality of life with higher satisfaction rates. The incidence of adverse events in the vibegron and placebo groups was similar with no serious, unexpected adverse drug reactions. No abnormality in electrocardiographs was observed as well as no significant increase in postvoid residual volume. Conclusions: Once daily vibegron (50 mg) for 12 weeks was effective, safe, and well-tolerated in Korean patients with OAB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the magnitude and trends in personal payments from pharmaceutical companies to urologists in Japan. Methods: This cross-sectional study examined the personal payments made to urologists by the major pharmaceutical companies in Japan between 2016 and 2019. Descriptive analyses were performed on the payment data. All urologists board-certified by the Japanese Urological Association as of March 2022 were included in this study. Trends in personal payments were assessed using the population-averaged generalized estimating equations with panel data of per-physician personal payments. Results: Among 7016 active board-certified urologists, 4962 (70.7%) accepted 53,070 payments totaling $36,424,239 for reimbursement of lecturing, writing, and consulting compensations from 66 pharmaceutical companies between 2016 and 2019. The median payments per urologist receiving payments were $1714 [interquartile range(IQR): $700–$4583] in payment amounts and 4.0 (IQR: 2.0–10.0) in the number of payments. Only 1%, 5%, 10%, and 25% of top-paid urologists accepted 36.2%, 64.8%, 75.8%, and 90.1% of overall payments respectively. The payments per urologist and the number of payment contracts had annually increased over this period by 4.1% (95% CI: 2.3%–6.0%, p < 0.001) and 2.4% (95% CI: 1.2%–3.7%, p < 0.001), but there was no significant change in the number of urologists receiving payments, with a relative average annual change of 0.7% (95% CI: -0.15%–1.6%, p = 0.10) between 2016 and 2019. Conclusion: Most urologists received personal payments for lecturing, consulting, and writing compensations from pharmaceutical companies in Japan. The payments from pharmaceutical companies had been increasing over the 4-year period. These payments were substantially concentrated on a small number of urologists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims/Introduction: We aimed to clarify the effectiveness of the Diabetic Nephropathy Aggravation Prevention Program in Japan by comparing the diabetes-related medical visit behavior of individuals under the municipal national health insurance according to insurers' effort levels. Materials and Methods: We assessed changes in medical visit behavior according to insurers' effort levels, "Full Efforts," "Some Efforts" and "No Effort," using longitudinal data from the National Database of Health Insurance Claims and Specific Health Checkups before 2015 and after 2018 regarding the national health insurance programs in Japan. We analyzed the effect of the Diabetic Nephropathy Aggravation Prevention Program using a generalized linear mixed model for 208,388 participants with diabetes. Results: The additive effect on medical visit behavior was significantly higher for insurers with "Full Efforts" than for those with "No Effort;" the coefficient (log odds ratio) was 0.159 (95% confidence interval 0.063-0.256). The additive effects on medical visit behavior sizes for the people with hemoglobin A1c =7.0%, positive urinary protein and systolic blood pressure =140 mmHg were 0.508, 0.402 and 0.232, respectively, which were larger than the overall effect size (0.159) for insurers with "Full Efforts.". Conclusions: Our findings showed that insurer efforts had an additive effect on the increase in the number of medical visits, suggesting that this national program could reduce the number of end-stage renal failures or dialysis in Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine is key to reducing the probability of contracting COVID-19. The vaccine is generally known to prevent severe illness, death, and hospitalization as a result of the disease and for considerably reduce COVID-19 infection risk. Accordingly, this might significantly change an individual's perceived risk of altering everyday behaviors. For instance, the proliferation of vaccination is anticipated to reduce preventive behaviors such as staying at home, handwashing, and wearing a mask. We corresponded with the same individuals monthly for 18 months from March 2020 (early stage of COVID-19) to September 2021 in Japan to independently construct large sample panel data (N = 54,007), with a participation rate of 54.7%. We used a fixed effects model, controlling for key confounders, to determine whether vaccination was associated with a change in preventive behaviors. The major findings are as follows. Contrary to the prediction, (1) based on the whole sample, being vaccinated against COVID-19 led people to stay at home; however, it did not change the habit of handwashing and wearing a mask. Especially after the second shot, respondents were likelier to stay at home by 0.107 (95% CIs: 0.059–0.154) points on a 5-point scale compared to before the vaccination. Dividing the entire sample into young and old, (2) those aged ≤ 40 years were more likely to go out after being vaccinated, and (3) people over 40 years of age were more likely to stay at home (similar to the first result). Preventive behaviors impact all individuals during the current pandemic. Informal social norms motivate people to increase or maintain preventive behaviors even after being vaccinated in societies where these behaviors are not enforced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims/Introduction: To investigate the genetic background of Japanese patients with suspected maturity‐onset diabetes of the young (MODY). Materials and Methods: On 340 proband patients referred from across Japan, genomic variants were analyzed using a targeted multigene panel analysis combined with the multiplex ligation probe amplification (MLPA) analysis, mitochondrial m.3243A > G analysis and methylation‐specific polymerase chain reaction of the imprinted 6q24 locus. Pathogenic/likely pathogenic variants were listed according to the 2015 American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics and the Association for Molecular Pathology criteria. Additionally, variants with a population frequency <0.001 and Combined Annotation Dependent Depletion score >20 (CS >20) were listed as rare variants of uncertain significance‐CS >20. Results: A total of 157 pathogenic/likely pathogenic variants and 44 rare variants of uncertain significance‐CS >20 were identified. In the pathogenic/likely pathogenic variants, alterations in the GCK gene were the most common (82, 52.2%) followed by HNF1A (29, 18.5%), HNF4A (13, 8.3%) and HNF1B (13, 8.3%). One patient was a 29.5% mosaic with a truncating INSR variant. In the rare variants of uncertain significance‐CS >20, 20 (45.5%) were in the genes coding for the adenosine triphosphate‐sensitive potassium channel, KCNJ11 or ABCC8, and four were in the genes of the insulin‐signaling pathway, INSR and PIK3R1. Four variants in ABCC8 were previously reported in patients with congenital hyperinsulinism, suggesting the inactivating nature of these variants, and at least two of our patients had a history of congenital hyperinsulinism evolving into diabetes. In two patients with INSR or PIK3R1 variants, insulin resistance was evident at diagnosis. Conclusions: Causative genomic variants could be identified in at least 46.2% of clinically suspected MODY patients. ABCC8‐MODY with inactivating variants could represent a distinct category of MODY. Genes of insulin resistance should be included in the sequencing panel for MODY. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on acute-care local public hospitals in Japan and evaluates differences in hospital technology, as reflected in the productivity of labor specialties, physical capital and medicines, and in the impact of teaching activities and other hospital characteristics on hospital output. We use panel data quantile regressions with fixed effects to model a range of technologies for the multi-product output function of hospitals. The analysis reveals technological heterogeneity across high-output and low-output hospitals. We discover inexpedient labor/capital and labor/medicines mix, and vast opportunities for cost savings. The results contribute to scant empirical literature on variation in the hospital production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both South Korea and Japan attach significant importance to women′s marriage and their role in the family. Based on this fact, the present study analyzed gender wage penalty in parenthood in both the countries and compared the size and characteristics. We used conditional quantile regression models with counterfactual decomposition, and panel data from South Korea and Japan for 2007–2014. Results suggest that the gender wage penalty in parenthood of Japan was greater than in South Korea, indicating that discrimination against mother‐workers in Japan is more serious than in South Korea. Analysis by wage distribution showed that the gender wage penalty in parenthood was high in the low‐wage group in South Korea, whereas it was high for the high‐wage group in Japan. This finding indicates that South Korea needs to give fair treatment to the low‐wage group and mother‐workers of small and medium enterprises, while Japan needs to alleviate discrimination against high‐wage mother‐workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Genetic factors are recognized as the major reason for patients with periodic paralysis. The goal of this study was to determine the genetic causes of periodic paralysis in Japan. Methods: We obtained a Japanese nationwide case series of 119 index patients (108 men and 11 women) clinically suspected of periodic paralysis, and a gene panel analysis, targeting CACNA1S, SCN4A, and KCNJ2 genes, was conducted. Results: From 34 cases, 25 pathogenic/likely pathogenic/unknown significance variants were detected in CACNA1S (nine cases), SCN4A (19 cases), or KCNJ2 (six cases), generating a molecular diagnostic rate of 28.6%. In total, seven variants have yet been found linked to periodic paralysis previously. The diagnostic yield of patients with hypokalemic and hyperkalemic periodic paralyzes was 26.2 (17/65) and 32.7% (17/52), respectively. A considerably higher yield was procured from patients with than without positive family history (18/25 vs. 16/94), onset age ≤20 years (24/57 vs. 9/59), or recurrent paralytic attacks (31/94 vs. 3/25). Discussion: The low molecular diagnostic rate and specific genetic proportion of the present study highlight the etiological complexity of patients with periodic paralysis in Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyzes the altruistic and selfish motivations that underlie the payment made toward Japan's Hometown Tax Donation system by the citizens, whereby they can pay the tax to municipalities other than the ones in which they reside and receive reciprocal gifts. Using the local government level panel data for 2008–2015, we find that the Great East Japan Earthquake led to an increase in payments through the system to municipalities in which disaster victims lived, thus reflecting an altruistic motive among the citizens. However, a 1% increase in expenditure toward gifts for donors led to only a 0.61% increase in payments, thus suggesting a selfish motive. Gifting thus dramatically reduces altruistic payments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cyclic vomiting syndrome (CVS) is a gastrointestinal disorder that is characterized by recurrent episodes of vomiting. Previous studies have provided reliable data on the prevalence of CVS among children in Japan; however, neither prevalence data nor incidence of CVS is available for adults. Hence, we obtained detailed prevalence and incidence data for CVS and estimated the total number of CVS cases in Japan. This retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted using the JMDC (JMDC, Inc.; formerly known as Japan Medical Data Center Co., Ltd.,) database, which is a de-identified Japanese claims database. Individuals enrolled between January 2017 and December 2017 were included in this study. Longitudinal data for eligible populations were used to identify patients who displayed CVS symptoms throughout the follow-up period. Due to the lack of a specific diagnosis code for CVS in 2017, the Rome IV criteria were applied to identify CVS cases in the pediatric and adult populations. The prevalence was standardized to the 2017 Japanese census and extrapolated to estimate the number of CVS cases. A total of 2,093 patients with CVS were identified from 3,506,144 individuals. The overall age-and-sex-standardized prevalence was 0.32 per 1,000 population (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.30–0.34), projected to approximately 49,000 patients with CVS across Japan. The pediatric age-and-sex-standardized prevalence was 2.10 per 1,000 population (95% CI: 2.01–2.19), and the adult prevalence was 0.05 per 1,000 population (95% CI: 0.04–0.06). Marked sex differences were observed before and after 12 years of age. Thus our study provides the first large-population-based estimates of CVS prevalence and incidence in Japan, and currently, the only estimates for adult CVS in Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Increasing the number of physicians per population may improve the quality of medical services, but there are few reports on this aspect in the field of surgery. This study aimed to examine whether the number of physicians is associated with the number of nighttime emergency surgeries, which may be one of the indicators of the quality of medical services in the field of surgery. Methods: This was a prefecture-based ecological study utilizing open data from Japanese government surveys conducted between 2015 and 2019. The relationship between the number of physicians and the number of nighttime emergency surgeries in 47 prefectures of Japan was evaluated by correlation analysis and panel data regression analysis. The correlation analysis was conducted between the number of physicians per 100,000 population and the number of nighttime emergency surgeries per 100,000 population per year in each prefecture in Japan. In the panel data regression analysis, panel data of the prefectures in Japan from 2015 to 2019 were created. We evaluated whether the number of physicians was related to the number of nighttime emergency surgeries, independent of the number of acute care beds per 100,000 population, population density, and the elderly population ratio. Results: From the correlation analysis, the correlation coefficient between the number of physicians per 100,000 population and the number of nighttime emergency surgeries per 100,000 population was 0.533 (P < 0.001). In the panel data regression analysis, there was a significant association between the number of physicians per 100,000 population and the number of nighttime emergency surgeries per 100,000 population (P < 0.001). The regression coefficient (95% confidence interval) for the number of physicians per 100,000 population was 0.246 (0.113–0.378). Conclusion: The number of physicians is associated with the number of nighttime emergency surgeries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anemia is a common complication of chronic kidney disease (CKD). The aim of this study was to evaluate hemoglobin levels at the initiation of erythropoiesis stimulating agent (ESA) therapy in patients with non-dialysis-dependent CKD (NDD-CKD) and anemia using a large-scale administrative database in Japan. The longitudinal data of adult patients who initiated ESA therapy between April 2008 and December 2018 were extracted from a hospital-based administrative database. The primary outcome was hemoglobin level at the initiation of ESA therapy, whereas the exploratory outcome was hemoglobin level recorded 6 months after the onset of the ESA therapy. A total of 4939 patients were included in the primary analysis. The mean hemoglobin level at the initiation of ESA therapy was 9.1 g/dL, which was lower than the level (11 g/dL) recommended for the initiation of treatment by the current Japanese treatment guidelines. Moreover, 42.1% and 15.0% of the patients had hemoglobin levels <9.0 and <8.0 g/dL, respectively, at the initiation of ESA therapy. In 2964 patients for whom hemoglobin levels at 6 months after the initiation of ESA therapy were available, the mean hemoglobin level increased to 10.3 g/dL, and 61.9% and 31.1% of these patients had hemoglobin levels ≥10.0 and ≥11.0 g/dL, respectively. This real-world database study revealed that hemoglobin levels at the initiation of ESA therapy in new users of ESA were lower than those recommended by treatment guidelines in Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Disposable plastics are drawing considerable attention as a source of environmental risk despite their benefits in daily life. Banning the use of disposable plastics could increase other types of risks, which may damage the public good in the long run. Considering the trade-off of the risks and benefits, one way to improve social welfare is to conduct proper recycling and to continue using plastics but limit them to essential use, avoiding an unnecessary ban. A potential barrier to such a policy might be risk-averse attitudes toward actions that are perceived to threaten future generations, which is a well-known phenomenon. We previously designed a framework for information provision using messages that remind individuals about familial support, which had significant effects in multiple countries on increasing positive attitudes toward air pollution caused by industrialization. We hypothesized that this information provision could also be effective for disposable plastic use. Thus, we conducted a randomized controlled trial via online surveys in Japan, Canada, and the US to identify the effects of our designed messages about recycling on increasing positive attitudes toward disposable plastics. The intervention effects were measured by the difference-in-difference method and panel analysis based on linear regression models using the respondents' attributes and personality traits. The effects were consistently correlated with a sense of familial support, with the effect sizes varying according to country (US > Japan > Canada). Attributes that positively contributed to the message being more effective were higher agreeableness, lower Machiavellianism, lower psychopathy, and being a woman. Although personal fear about COVID-19 moderated the message effects, concern about the threats to relatives and family boosted the effects. Although the effect sizes were influenced by external factors, the results suggested that our proposed framework for information provision has the potential to be applied to a wider variety of risk-related topics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What regional factors determine the size of the immigrant population in a region? Previous studies have identified the immigrant network in a region as a main determinant of immigrants' location choices. However, these studies have not answered the question of how the first groups of immigrants decided where to live in the absence of pre‐existing networks in the destination country. Using Japanese historical data from 1899 to 1938, I test how jobs, quality of life, and gateway areas attracted immigrants to settle. The results of the analysis with regional panel data show that higher income, more employment opportunities in transportation industries, and sunshine increase the size of the immigrant population in a region. Economic opportunities in other growing industries (i.e., silk and cotton industries and commercial sectors) are rather deterrents for immigrants. I discuss the reasons for these findings and the implications for future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study seeks to analyze the non-linear relationship between a firm's debt structure and performance based on evidence from Japan through the use of a panel data fixed effects model for a sample of 1,670 listed firms. This is the first study that looks at the effect of the short-term debt threshold on corporate performance, as well as the influence of the 2008 global financial crisis (GFC) on the nonlinear effect of debt structure on corporate performance. Moreover, it represents an initial endeavor that uses cross-industry comparisons to scrutinize the nonlinear effect of debt structure on the performance of Japanese companies. This study's findings reveal the presence of a nonlinear impact of debt with short-term maturity on corporate performance. In addition, there is a U-shaped relationship between firm performance and short-term debt, suggesting that a firm's profit decreases at lower levels of short-term debt (below 45.2%) and increases at higher levels of debt with short-term maturity. Moreover, this short-term debt threshold was affected significantly by the financial crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated: (a) the effect of emotion regulation (cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression) on psychological distress and well‐being of couples in long‐term marriages, using longitudinal data; and (b) the influence of spouses' emotion regulation on psychological outcomes in the actor–partner interdependence model. In this longitudinal study, we conducted a baseline survey and a 1‐year follow‐up to analyze data of 66 couples (N = 132; duration of marriage, M = 36.82 years, SD = 6.83 years; husband's age, M = 64.50 years, SD = 4.05 years; and wife's age, M = 61.39 years, SD = 4.82 years) living in Japan. Emotion regulation, psychological well‐being, psychological distress, and various control variables (age, education level, duration of the marriage, and household income) were assessed. Hierarchical linear modeling with distinguishable dyads was used to determine actor–partner interdependence in the effect of emotion regulation on mental health. The actor effect was observed in both husbands and wives when baseline cognitive reappraisal was predicted to positively influence psychological well‐being in the follow‐up. However, this effect was not observed for expression suppression. Additionally, regarding psychological distress, there were no actor or partner effects in either reappraisal or suppression. Possible reasons for these findings, including cultural differences, are discussed in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Achieving high vaccination rates is important for overcoming an epidemic. This study investigates the association between religious faith and intentions to become vaccinated against COVID-19 in Israel and Japan. Most of Israel's population is monotheistic, whereas most Japanese are unaffiliated with any religion. Therefore, our findings might be applicable to various countries that differ in their religions and levels of religiosity. We conducted almost identical large-scale surveys four times in Israel and five times in Japan from March to June 2020 to obtain panel data. We found that intentions of getting vaccinated depend on people's level of religiosity in a non-linear way. Those who have strong religious beliefs are less likely to become vaccinated than those who say they are less religious. Two other factors that play a role in this relationship are religious denomination in Israel and identifying with a religion in Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are inconclusive findings on the causal effect of land reform and its crucial channels in the development economics literature. One challenge is to separate the channels, through which land rights operate. This study examines the impact of redistributive land reform in post–World War II Japan on agricultural productivity and investments. This reform imposed a ceiling on landholdings, redistributed above‐ceiling farmland from landlords to tenants, and severely restricted the transferability of redistributed farmland. Thus, we can focus on the tenure security effect (not the tradability and pledgeability effects) as one probable channel. Using rice‐farm panel data before and after the reform (i.e., 1947 and 1948), we exploit the variation in the reform implementation across tenants. The land reform had little effect on total factor productivity and investment in the subsequent season. Our results suggest that the security dimension of land rights alone does not increase short‐run agricultural productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Impacts of high-speed rail (HSR) on knowledge economy were analyzed in Japan. • The study used difference-in-differences specification with multiple timeframes. • HSR development had a significant positive effect on regional innovation. • Propensity score matching and instrumental variable analysis results are robust. • The innovation effect of HSR is larger in small town/villages than in large cities. This study investigates the impact of high-speed rail (HSR) on regional innovation through an empirical analysis that uses municipal-level panel data covering all 1,741 municipalities in Japan, and spanning the period from 1976 to 2016. The study assumes that the number of patent applications serves as a proxy for regional innovation and follows a negative binomial distribution. A difference-in-differences specification with multiple timeframes is employed for the empirical analysis. The results reveal that HSR development has had a significant positive effect on regional innovation, supporting the companion innovation hypothesis. Robustness checks, such as through combining propensity score matching and the instrumental variable methods with difference-in-differences analysis, are also conducted. The results suggest that the effect of HSR on regional innovation in small towns and villages is larger than that in large cities. This implies that inter-regional communication opportunities for employees could play a key role in fostering innovation in small rural areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Facing hazards and migration from disasters, many cities might benefit from redistributive policies to aid vulnerable residents, requiring changes to 'urban regimes' - the powerbrokers and networks governing local politics. However, to date, changes in urban regimes have been difficult to detect systematically. I introduce a method for Large-N municipality samples, using relative spending over time to measure municipalities' propensities towards each of 4 common urban regime types, including (1) developmental, (2) middle-class, (3) social welfare, and (4) caretaker regimes, developing 3 indices that approximate a municipality's regime type. Using the case of Japan, an industrialized democracy and the 3rd largest economy in the world, I evaluate change in urban regimes over time, using a sample of 1471 Japanese municipalities from 2000 to 2018. Using mapping, visualization, and panel models over time, this study finds that some municipalities' governing coalitions are spending more on redistributive policies than others; these social welfare regimes increased in prevalence by 17 % from 2000 to 2018. Controlling for sociodemographic and political factors, models show that social welfare regimes increased much more consistently than alternative regime types, and bridging social capital was closely linked to regime outcomes. • This study builds urban regime indices for all Japanese municipalities 2000–2018. • Indices for developmental, middle class, and social welfare regimes were developed. • Social welfare regimes increased in prevalence by 17 % from 2000 to 2018. • Panel data models evaluated variation in urban regime indices over time. • Greater bridging social capital was associated with more social welfare spending. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we investigated whether the risk preference systematically changed during the spread of COVID-19 in Japan. Traditionally, risk preference is assumed to be stable over one's life, though it differs among individuals. While recent studies have reported that it changes with a large event like natural disasters and financial crisis, they have not reached a consensus on its direction, risk aversion, or tolerance. We collected panel data of Japanese individuals in five waves from March to June 2020, which covered the period of the first cycle when COVID-19 spread rapidly and then dwindled. We measured risk preference through questions on the willingness to pay for insurance. The main results are as follows: First, people became more risk tolerant throughout the period; and second, people were more averse to mega risk than moderate risk, with the former correlating more strongly with the individual's perception of COVID-19. The first result may be interpreted as "habituation" to repeated stress, as is understood in neuroscience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The infection dynamics of COVID-19 show frequent phases in which the infection spreads rapidly, resembling explosive infection. However, despite the repeated increases and decreases, there is a process of convergence even within a relatively short period of time. While it is obvious that the growth rate of the cumulative number of infected people slows down as it increases, considering the infectious disease process, we also observe a slowdown in the growth rate of the net number of infected people. Moreover, there exists a special type of convergence whereby areas with initially many infected people exhibit low rates of increase in the numbers of infected people subsequently. This paper uses prefectural panel data from Japan through March 2021 to confirm the convergence process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the interaction effect of having children and a wife's employment status on happiness using the Japanese panel data; it answers two research questions (RQs). RQ1: Who is happier, housewives or working wives? RQ2: What is the relative size of happiness of housewives without children, housewives with children, working wives without children, and working wives with children? Additionally, do these relationships change when considering the wife's employment status (full-time, part-time, and self-employed) and having different work–life responsibilities? The study results have revealed three findings: (1) Housewives were happier than working wives, though unobserved fixed effects were considered; (2) housewives without children were the happiest, followed by working wives without children, housewives with children, and working wives with children, thereby suggesting that not all housewives are happier than working wives; and (3) full-time working wives without children were happier than housewives with children. These results revealed that children's negative effects on wives' happiness outweighed the impact of wives' employment status. Moreover, these results are likely to be influenced by Japan's current situation wherein the gender-based division of labor is robust, and the burden of housework and childcare relies on women alone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyzes the changes in Japanese consumers' psychological intentions toward the use of e-commerce and the corresponding reasons before and after the COVID-19 outbreak using panel data. Several insights emerge on changes in consumers' fundamental behaviors. First, the share of e-commerce use differs across the types of goods. Grocery goods showed a significant increase immediately after the COVID-19 outbreak. In contrast, machinery/PC applications and book/DVD/software showed only a slight increase immediately after the outbreak. However, only a slight decrease was observed during the third survey. Overall, consumers recognized the importance of e-commerce immediately after the pandemic, with no subsequent significant decline. Second, there may be a positive relationship between the time spent at home and the importance of e-commerce One reason is that an increase in stay-at-home duration decreases the opportunity to shop at retail stores. Consequently, trips to stores decreased during the initial spread of COVID-19. The modes of transportation for shopping and in the living area (infection status) were not significant factors of e-commerce usage. Finally, if consumers recognize its usefulness, they continued to consider e-commerce as important. However, their attitudes toward e-commerce improved after the COVID-19 outbreak because they wanted to avoid infection risks and follow social distancing and safety protocols. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Despite improvements in diagnosis and therapeutic advances in treatment, congenital hyperinsulinism (CHI) remains a severe disease with high patient impairment. We aimed to review the literature on Health-related Quality of Life in children and adolescents with congenital hyperinsulinism and summarize the findings. Materials and Methods: For this scoping review, a literature search was conducted in PubMed and Web of Science in May 2021. Inclusion and exclusion criteria for the selection of articles were defined a priori. Results: Two hundred and forty-five (245) articles were identified through the search and screened on the basis of title and abstract. The full texts of forty articles were then assessed. Finally, four articles (published 2012-2020) describing Health-related Quality of Life in children and adolescents with congenital hyperinsulinism were included. The study designs were heterogeneous and included cross-sectional observational studies (n=2), clinical trials (n =1), and case reports (n=1) with different sample sizes. Three studies were conducted in European countries and one in Japan. The results for Health-related Quality of Life revealed inconsistencies. Conclusion: There are only a few studies looking at Health-related Quality of Life in children and adolescents with congenital hyperinsulinism. To gain a comprehensive understanding of the impact of congenital hyperinsulinism on Health-related Quality of Life in children and adolescents, it is necessary to use both generic and condition-specific instruments to measure Health-related Quality of Life of young patients in larger samples, to collect longitudinal data, and to consider qualitative research approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective This study aimed to examine the association between job dissatisfaction (JD) and health outcomes among middle-aged workers. Methods This study used longitudinal data comprising 156 823 observations of 24 056 workers (13 177 men and 10 879 women) collected from a 14-wave nationwide population-based survey in Japan that began in 2005, involving individuals aged 50-59 years. Mixed models were estimated to examine the association between JD and the risk of psychological distress (PD), poor self-rated health (SRH), and health-related resignation (HRR). Results Across all waves, 20.9-32.5% of participants were dissatisfied with their jobs for at least one year before each wave. Mixed model results showed that this JD experience was associated with higher risks of PD, poor SRH, and HRR, with odds ratios (OR) of 1.96 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.75-2.20], 1.33 (95% CI 1.26 -1.40), and 1.57 (95% CI 1.40 -1.75), respectively. A longer JD duration was associated with a higher risk of poor health. No substantial differences between genders were found regarding the association between JD and health outcomes. A separate analysis showed reverse causation from poor health to JD; poor health was significant in predicting later JD even when it was controlled for. Conclusions The results confirm that JD was predictive of poor health among middle-aged workers. Therefore, policymakers and managers should monitor the JD of their employees and improve their work environments to enhance their occupational health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Specialized guidelines are required for the health behaviors of vulnerable populations such as children. This is especially true during the COVID-19 pandemic, wherein major lifestyle changes have occurred, especially among young children. The present study aims to use longitudinal data to understand changes in the physical activity, screen time, sleep, and mental health of preschoolers in Japan during the COVID-19 pandemic, compared to pre-pandemic period. Subjective and objective measures were used to assess the variables of interest longitudinally. It was found that physical activity, adherence to WHO-recommended screen time, and prosocial behaviors decreased significantly. On the other hand, sedentary time and hyperactivity increased. Our results are consistent with findings from other countries. The implications with respect to outdoor playtime, screen-time in the context of online learning during the pandemic, and the effects of parents' mental health on preschool-aged children are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to the Economic Complexity Index, Japan was the number 1 most complex economy in the world. In addition to complexity, Japan pledges to reduce emissions by boosting cleaner energy sources. This study simulates two policies to highlight a path for Japan in achieving this ambitious energy and environmental target. The novel dynamic autoregressive distribution lag (ARDL) model and Kernel-based regularized least squares (KRLS) are adopted over panel data from 1970 to 2018. Empirical evidence from the ARDL and dynamic ARDL models shows that CO2 emissions have a significant long-term relationship with GDP per capita, renewable energy, and economic complexity index while air transport is significant in the short run. Putting it more elaborately, a unit increase in GDP per capita increase the emission by 0.84%–0.96% in the long run and 0.46%–0.48% in the short run. As regards renewable energy, a unit increase in it decrease the carbon emission by 0.07% and 0.04% in the long-run and short-run respectively. Also, an increase in the economic index diminished the emission by 0.81% in the long run. Moreover, economic complexity moderates the role of GDP in environmental degradation as it also has a significant impact on carbon emission. • A -26% policy simulation of clean or unclean energy sources can both abate emissions. • Economic Complexity moderates the impact of economic growth on CO2 emissions. • A template for energy policy design is presented. • CO2 emissions have a significant long-term relationship with GDP per capita, renewable energy and ECI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adoption was an important strategy for early-modern Japanese families to function and continue. This study is the first to systematically examine whether survival chances differ between adopted and non-adopted children and how gender moderates the survival differentials in historical Japan. We take advantage of individual-level panel data drawn from local household registers in northeast villages and towns between 1716 and 1870 consisting of 71,677 annual observations of 10,587 children aged 1–14, of whom 384 were adopted. Our event-history analysis takes a rich set of household characteristics and local economic context into account. We also apply matching and within-family comparison approaches to account for the unequal sex and age distribution of records between adopted and non-adopted children and unobserved systematic differences between households. We find substantial survival differentials between adopted and non-adopted children, which further vary by sex. Compared with non-adopted children of the same gender, adopted boys enjoyed survival advantages, while adopted girls suffered from elevated mortality risks. Moreover, the gendered survival differentials of adopted children were particularly apparent among those aged 5–9 rather than at older ages. In line with the patriarchal norms, these findings imply potentially different familial expectations for boy and girl adoptions in shaping child survival differentials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study tests whether expenditures on social interactions and ceremonies worked as signals reflecting social status in the rural society of pre-war Japan. For this, we use household panel data collected between 1931 and 1941. Cross-sectional estimations find higher social expenses for households in a higher social position proxied by residential land size. Using rainfall as an instrument for household income, our IV regressions show constant spending on social events regardless of income fluctuations and social positions. Thus, regular spending was necessary for the upkeep of status in closely-knit communities in pre-war Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper quantitatively analyzes the trade-off between job losses and the spread of COVID-19 in Japan. We derive an empirical specification from the social planner's resource constraint under the susceptible, infected, recovered, and deaths (SIRD) model and estimate how job losses and the case growth rate are related to people's mobility using the Japanese prefecture-level panel data on confirmed cases, involuntary job losses, people's mobility, and teleworkability. Our findings are summarized as follows. First, we find that a decrease in mobility driven by containment policies is associated with an increase in involuntary job separations, but the high teleworkability mitigates the negative effect of decreased mobility on job losses. Second, estimating how the case growth is related to people's mobility and past cases, we find that the case growth rate is positively related to an increase in people's mobility but negatively associated with past confirmed cases. Third, using these estimates, we provide a quantitative analysis of the trade-off between job losses and the number of confirmed cases. Taking Tokyo in July 2020 as a benchmark, we find that the cost of saving 1 job per month is 2.3 more confirmed cases per month in the short run of 1 month. When we consider a trade-off for 3 months from July to September of 2020, protecting 1 job per month requires 6.6 more confirmed cases per month. Therefore, the trade-off becomes worse substantially in the longer run of 3 months, reflecting the exponential case growth when the people's mobility is high. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dissociation has been reported to be associated with emotive‐relational and behavioral difficulties; however, the temporal relationship between dissociation and these difficulties is unclear. Accordingly, this study investigated whether dissociation predicts difficulties (including emotional symptoms, conduct problems, hyperactivity, and peer problems) in adolescents. A two‐wave cross‐lagged panel study (Time 1: September–November 2016, Time 2: February–March 2017) was conducted among 1,773 Japanese junior high and high school students at two private schools (995 boys and 778 girls; Mage = 14.79 years at Time 1 and 15.09 years at Time 2). Dissociation was assessed using the Japanese version of the Adolescent Dissociative Experiences Scale and perceived difficulties were assessed via the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. A cross‐lagged effects model analysis indicated that high dissociation scores at Time 1 predicted high difficulties scores at Time 2. These findings suggest that dissociation could effectively predict difficulties in junior high and high school students. This study expands the field's understanding of the temporal relationship between behavioral problems and dissociation, which could help prevent problem behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A direct payment (DP) scheme for hilly and mountfainous areas has been in place in Japan since 2000. This scheme's objective is to fill the gap in production costs between these less favourable areas and other agricultural locations and prevent abandoned farmland from increasing. Eligible rural communities decide whether to receive DPs, and half of the DP allocation in communities with DPs is distributed for collaborative community activities, with the remaining half allocated directly to farmers. We apply a difference‐in‐differences approach to examine the effect of these payments on farmland use. Using a large farm‐level panel data set from before and after the payments were initiated, we employ a causal framework of analysis with a treatment group and two alternative control groups. We find that the payments led to a slowdown in the increase of abandoned farmland among surviving farms. Moreover, the payments have a marginal positive effect on the operated farm size of surviving farmers. The results imply that direct payment schemes in less‐favoured areas play a key role in maintaining farmland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Does increasing immigration affect natives' attitudes towards immigrants? A significant volume of research has been conducted in Western contexts to explore this question. However, we know little about whether findings observed in Western societies translate to non-Western contexts. At the same time, there is a paucity of research into whether increasing immigration exerts differential-effects among different groups of individuals. Using Japanese and British longitudinal data, this study firstly compares and contrasts how immigrant-share in an environment affects anti-immigrant sentiment in Japan and Great Britain. Secondly, it explores two potential drivers of heterogeneity in the impact of immigration across individuals: (a) perceived financial situation, and (b) views towards the role government should play in issues of support for the vulnerable. Applying fixed-effects panel data modelling, the results show increasing immigration harms attitudes towards immigrants. Furthermore, these negative effects are stronger for those who perceive their financial situation is worse, and among those who lean further to the left on the role of government. Interestingly, these results are highly similar in Japan and the UK. Thus, these findings support similar mechanisms of the group-threat theory operating among natives in two distinct contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policymakers worldwide focus on the implementation of policies to improve the work-life balance of senior workers considering long-term family care. We examine the relationship between parental caregiving and labor force participation, as well as work hours, for senior workers in Japan, where elderly care remains a crucial policy issue. We use large-scale government panel data for the years between 2007 and 2014. We consider the status of living with a parent and endogenous problems concerning the decisions of caring for parents while keep working. We also consider the time-invariant heterogeneities using fixed effects regressions, and the time-variant heterogeneities using fixed effects with instrumental variable regressions. We find that caregiving has a smaller impact on labor force participation than in previous studies, for both senior female workers living without a parent and male workers regardless of the living-with-parent status. Females workers living with a parent show a significant reduction of labor force participation, even after considering the time-variant heterogeneities. Caregiving has no significant effect on the reduction of work hours. We suggest that policies to encourage the transition to reduced work hours, while continuing to work utilizing flexible working arrangements should be actively implemented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Study Design: A longitudinal panel study.Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the occurrence of low back pain (LBP), especially the association of previous LBP with further episodes of LBP, in survivors of the Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE) during the course of 5 years.Summary Of Background Data: LBP is common among survivors of natural disasters, but its long-term course is not clear.Methods: A 5-year longitudinal study was conducted among survivors of the GEJE (n = 1821). The presence of LBP was assessed using a self-reported questionnaire at 2, 4, and 7 years after the disaster (termed the first, second, and third time points, respectively). Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to assess a potential association between LBP at the first and second time points with LBP at the third time point, and the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated.Results: The prevalence of LBP was 25.3%, 27.3%, and 27.2% at the first, second, and third time points, respectively. The occurrence of LBP at the first time point was significantly associated with LBP at the third time point, and the adjusted odds ratio (OR) (95% confidence interval [CI]) was 5.47 (4.28-6.98). Furthermore, LBP at the first and second time points was significantly associated with LBP at the third time point. Compared to no LBP at the first and second time points, the adjusted OR (95% CIs) for LBP at the third time point was 4.12 (3.14-5.41) in the case of LBP at either of the first or second time points and 10.73 (7.80-14.76) for LBP at both time points (P for trend < 0.001).Conclusion: Previous LBP was associated with LBP 5 years later among survivors of the GEJE. Furthermore, the effect on subsequent LBP was stronger with a higher frequency of previous LBP episodes.Level of Evidence: 3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine the impacts of the minimum wage on employment using the minimum-wage hike induced by the introduction of indexation of the local minimum wage to the local cost of living. The revision of the Minimum Wage Act in 2007 of Japan essentially required the government to set the minimum wage indexed to the local cost of living, with a five-year moratorium period. The government subsequently increased the minimum wage in areas where the cost of living was high relative to the local minimum wage. Allowing for different trends in labor-market outcomes across regions in the pre-treatment period, we find that the minimum-wage hike raised the wages of low-wage workers, but reduced the employment of less-educated young men. A panel analysis based on matched Labor Force Survey data indicates that the minimum-wage hike decreased the job flows of prime-age men and women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on the issues of nationality and cross-cultural differences in relation to compensation levels in the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) league. Panel data for 1,520 players during the period from 2009 to 2017 were collected, and the two-stage double fixed-effects model was employed to investigate the impact of nationality discrimination and cultural distance on salary. The main finding indicated that, on average, foreign players are paid 0.74–0.95% more than domestic players ceteris paribus. Moreover, foreign players with higher cultural (0.19%) and special (0.053%) distances fare better relative to those where such distance is lower. Evidence is found of nationality-based salary discrimination and the effects of cultural distance on salary. We also find strong support for the senior-junior system that pervades the culture in the Japanese labor market and the different body mass index (BMI) requirements for pitchers and hitters in NPB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COVID-19 has led to the closure of various schools in Japan to cope with the pandemic. This study explores how school closure influences parents' work style based on short panel data for the period of school closure from mid-March to mid-April 2020. Specifically, we analyze how the presence of their children influences parents' work at home and examine how the effect differs by the parent's gender. After controlling for various factors, we find that in cases where parents are full-time employees and the children are: (1) in primary school, mothers are more likely to work remotely, while fathers are less likely to do so and (2) in junior high school, the parents' work styles are hardly affected. This shows that mothers shoulder the burden of working remotely and caring for small children at home, while fathers tend to work in the office and spend less time with their childcare at home. Inevitably, COVID-19 has increased the inequality in the burden of child care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The association of socioeconomic status and lifestyle behaviours on mental health appears well-established in the literature, as several studies report that better socioeconomic status such as higher levels of disposable income and employment as well as practising healthy lifestyles can enhance mental well-being. However, the reliance on cross-sectional correlations and lack of adequate statistical controls are possible limitations. This study aims to add the evidence of longitudinal association to the literature by using Japanese representative longitudinal household panel data. We employed panel data analytical techniques such as the random-effects conditional logistic regression (RE-CLR) and the fixed-effects conditional logistic regression (FE-CLR) models with possible time variant confounders being controlled. Our sample was comprised of 14,717 observations of 3,501 individuals aged 22–59 years for five waves of the Japanese Household Panel Survey. We confirmed many of the factors associated with mental health reported in existing studies by analysing cross-sectional data. These significant associations are also longitudinal (within) associations estimated by the FE-CLR models. Such factors include unemployment, low household income, short nightly sleeping duration, and lack of exercise. However, we also found that several factors such as disposable income, living alone, and drinking habits are not significantly associated with mental health in the FE-CRL models. The results imply the reverse causality that poor mental health conditions cause lower disposal income, possibly due to the inability to exhibit higher productivity, but an increase in disposal income would not necessarily improve mental health conditions. In this case, aggressive policy interventions to increase the disposal income of people of lower socioeconomic backgrounds would not necessarily be effective to minimize health inequalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This empirical study examines the changes in life insurance buying behavior caused by the Spanish influenza pandemic in Japan. We use panel data from the 47 Japanese prefectures during the years 1914-1922 to perform a regression analysis. By employing dummy variables, we demonstrate, that the Spanish influenza outbreak prompted life insurance buying behavior in 1919. In addition, a separate regression analysis using differences in mortality rates provides a glimpse at how social stability is the foundation of the life insurance business. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study revisits the nexus between foreign direct investment (FDI) and international trade in the dynamic perspective, focusing on intermediate goods imports of affiliates of Japanese firms operating in China. To examine the effect of the formation of the agglomeration and the recent FDI made by small firms, both of which have been overlooked in the literature, we construct a unique parentaffiliate matched panel data set of trade in intermediate goods, and estimate a discrete-time hazard model over the 2000-06 period. We found that affiliates owned by firms in agglomerated regions in Japan have a shorter duration of trade in intermediate goods compared with affiliates owned by smaller Japanese firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]