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Visits to the palace of the sea god are a recurring theme in premodern Japanese narratives, and comparing these stories across time periods reveals shifting perceptions of the supernatural world. The earliest sources for narratives of travel to the palace of the sea god in Japan date from the eighth century, most notably in the stories of Luck of the Mountain and Urashima Tarō. In these stories, the descriptions of the sea god's palace, the relationship of the sea god to the natural world, and even the location of the palace were tied to eighth-century understandings of kingship, weather, and geography. Later adaptations of these stories incorporate features of Buddhist geography, Chinese architecture, Buddhist narrative motifs, and even an alternative vision of supernatural time. These alterations occurred because the eighth-century narratives required adaptation to fit a new political, social, and religious reality. This comparison demonstrates that our vision of the supernatural world is inextricably tied to our understanding of the natural. When our fundamental grasp of the nature of reality changes, our imagination of the supernatural transforms in turn. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phytophthora colocasiae is an important pathogen that causes great economic losses in taro production in tropical and subtropical regions, especially in Japan. Understanding the genetic variations in P. colocasiae populations and their transmission patterns in Japan is essential for effective disease control. Here, the genetic diversity of 358 P. colocasiae isolates, including 348 from Japan, 7 from China, and 3 from Indonesia, was assessed using 11 simple sequence repeat (SSR) primer pairs with high polymorphism. The phylogenetic tree of the SSR locus showed that the isolates from Japan could be divided into 14 groups, with group A being the dominant group. Among foreign isolates, only six from mainland China were similar to those from Japan and clustered in groups B and E. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA), principal components analysis (PCA), and cluster analysis (K = 3) results revealed a moderate level of genetic diversity, mainly within individuals. Populations showed high heterozygosity, a lack of regional differentiation, and frequent gene flow. Analysis of mating types and ploidy levels revealed that A2 and self-fertile (SF) A2 types and tetraploids were dominant across populations. Explanations and hypotheses for the results can provide more effective strategies for disease management of taro leaf blight. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2018 and 2019, taro (Colocasia esculenta) plants presenting symptoms including a reddish-brown dry rot of the corms and wilting of the leaves were found in several fields in Kagoshima, Japan. Fusarium solani, F. proliferatum and F. oxysporum were isolated and identified based on morphological and molecular characteristics. Among the three fungal species F. solani was the most frequently found. We inoculated taro cv. Dotare corms with representative isolates of each species, and all three isolates reproduced the original symptoms. This is the first report of F. proliferatum as a causal agent of taro dry rot in Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As part of the NPI Economic Security Project, a special seminar on "Economic Security and Japan-US Relations" was held on November 14, 2022 with The Honorable Rahm Emanuel, Ambassador of the United States to Japan. In the keynote speech, NPI Chairman Aso Taro reviewed the history of relations between Japan, the US, and China and noted the importance of Japan's consideration of countermeasures against economic coercion by China, as well as the need for enhanced coordination and cooperation between Japan and the US. The following is a summary of Chairman Aso's keynote speech. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tarō is one of many small fishing communities on the northeastern coast of Iwate Prefecture which was decimated by Japan's catastrophic tsunami on 11 March 2011. Historically, in most parts of the world, including Japan, post-disaster sightseeing has often been portrayed as a form of Dark Tourism emphasizing death, loss and devastation. However, in Tarō, community-led tourism post-2011 has become the catalyst for a positive, fortifying, identity-building economic development strategy infused by hope for the future referred to locally as Bōsai (Disaster Prevention) Tourism. Using an ethnographic approach, this paper argues that, unlike many post-disaster tourism sites, Bōsai Tourism in Tarō builds around place-based practices and traditional community knowledge to provide a positive, satisfying touristic experience for visitors, and gives local residents unprecedented yet tangible social, economic, and political goals to strive for as they embrace the future, designed to transform local tragedy into a local triumph. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Japan, Phytophthoracolocasiae causes leaf blight of taro, resulting in huge losses. To effectively diagnose this pathogen in the field, we developed rapid and reliable methods based on loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) using LAMP primers designed from the Ypt1 gene that are highly specific with a sensitivity of 100 fg. Among these methods, we concluded that the plant-LAMP method with a heat treatment is simple and dependable for detecting P.Colocasiae in taro cultivation fields and that the plant culture-LAMP is a simple and reliable for identifying P.Colocasiae that has been cultured on media for extended periods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This single case study examined the effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for "Taro," a chronically depressed Japanese man in his thirties. After his baseline functioning was recorded, 9 one-hour weekly sessions, 3 biweekly one-hour booster sessions (bibliotherapy using ACT self-help reading materials), and then 4 monthly follow-up sessions, were conducted. The study examines the outcome of each of the treatment components, which were introduced in a step-by-step manner. In addition, the effects of interventions directed at each core process were also tested. As a result, the effectiveness of ACT was demonstrated with a chronically depressed Japanese client. The effectiveness of interventions was remarkably high during weekly therapy until the booster sessions; in the follow-up stage previous gains were first maintained, but then showed some regression as the client's job situation deteriorated. Future directions include the identification of factors that maintain an increase in the effectiveness of ACT interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mineral composition of frozen food of taro [ Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott] was analyzed to categorize the geographical production place of taro. The concentrations of Co and HPO were found to be useful to separate the producing place between Japan and China. The analysis was performed by instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) and ion chromatography (IC). In the case of INAA, the samples were dried and sealed in a vinyl bag and irradiated with thermal neutrons from JRR3M, installed at Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA). The activated samples were cooled down for a few weeks and the elements (Co, Cr, Fe, Rb, Zn) were determined. Cobalt concentration of frozen taro from China was higher than that from Japan. The tendency was the same in the fresh sample of taro. When concentration of HPO of frozen sample was measured, taro from Japanese product was higher than that of Chinese one, contrary to fresh sample. This result might be caused by the leakage of HPO during freezing process, indicating that we should be careful to apply the discrimination indicators. In addition to Co, there was a significant difference of Rb and Fe concentrations between frozen taro from Japan and China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]