Search

Abstract Establishing a decision-making scheme for multiple land use types in a shrinking society is an urgent and persistent task. In particular, residents and governments face the complexity of cross-sectoral visions over concerned landscapes. This study examined the preference of residents for future visions and the effects of group deliberation in a Japanese rural community to enhance the current understanding of decision and learning processes on cross-sectoral land use types (i.e., agricultural land, forest land, and boundary areas) across ages and groups. This study posed the following questions: (i) what types of interactions do residents find among options on cross-sectoral land uses? and (ii) how do group deliberation influence the individual preferences of residents for land use? In the survey, the residents disclosed their preferences for the prepared visions over three land use types. The survey also enabled the comparison of choices before and after group deliberation. Regarding question (i), the residents’ choice prior to the deliberation demonstrated thematic coherence through land use categories. Smart technology and potential productivity improvement were selected across agriculture and forests. However, regarding question (ii), thematic coherence decreased after the group deliberation. The residents could communicate disagreements during group deliberation and consider the issues relatively independently over land use types, which separately views agriculture lands and forests. The choice after group discussions became increasingly embedded and influenced by residential areas and land ownership of residents. These findings provide unique insights into the group discussion on how individual decisions are affected. In summary, the preferences of cross-sectoral land use types did not converge but tended to diverge.

In Master Plan for Parks and Open Spaces (or Midori-no-Kihonkeikaku), municipalities delineate their future visions, goals, and strategies for the conservation and promotion of green areas. Regular surveys are typically conducted, especially in densely populated urban areas, to assess and monitor these green areas. However, the data collection approaches are not standardized and left to the discretion of each municipality, considering factors such as cost, effort, desired accuracy, and comparability with historical data. Consequently, the data published by various municipalities lack uniformity, complicating comparisons and a comprehensive understanding of the situation. Furthermore, the rapid advancement in image analysis technology has placed municipal survey methods in a transitional phase. This study targeted 20 special status cities, called “ordinance designated cities” in Japan, to ascertain the current state of vegetation cover surveys method in each city. Interviews were conducted with ordinance designated city from 30th May to 2nd June. As of 2024, eight ordinance designated cities utilized aerial photography and nine used satellite imagery to measure vegetation cover, indicating a nearly equal distribution. Additionally, three cities did not measure vegetation cover. Most cities had not altered their survey methods, but those that did primarily cited cost as the driving factor, with many transitioning from aerial photography to satellite imagery. This shift raised concerns about the consistency of past and future data, underscoring the need to develop methods for integrating data with varying resolutions and coverage areas.

The commercialization of non-timber forest products beyond in-house consumption is a strategy for alleviating rural poverty and forest degradation. With the implementation of the ecological civilization program, the Chinese government has explored the value realization mechanism of sustainable ecological products, and many successful cases of agricultural product commercialization have emerged. Focusing on the matsutake of Shangri-La as an example, this study applies both qualitative and quantitative analysis of semi-structured interviews, participatory observation, secondary data collection, and statistical analysis for the dynamics of the matsutake commodity chain construction in the southwest plateau of China to obtain unique insights into contemporary rural China. Specifically, the interrelationships and functional logic of diverse participants in the core process of commodity management were analyzed. We found that the upstream and downstream participants in the matsutake commodity chain are subject to institutional constraints, such as land tenure and non-unified standards, and that markets are crucial to matsutake's trading in Shangri-La. Certain participants along the commodity chain have inefficient information sources, while middlemen have greater autonomy in the matsutake transaction process and a larger profit margin. Additionally, the involvement of the government and non-governmental organizations impacts the preservation of natural resources and the creation of a stable market order, but policies and funds tend to be short-lived. To improve the commodity chain sustainability of non-timber forest products in plateau areas, it is necessary to consider social and cultural factors, ensure the equity of different participants in the commodity chain, and protect traditional local knowledge related to natural resource management.

The substantial decline and aging of Japan's rural population have severely affected the maintenance of agriculture in these areas, resulting in the abandonment of agricultural land and its subsequent conversion to other land use types. This study quantified land use changes in Matsusaka City, Mie Prefecture, Japan, in order to analyze the factors that influence the substantial change in agricultural land area, which represents a generated trend. Most cities and villages experienced a decrease in agricultural land area, with the rate of change and potential contributing factors differing based on their geographical location. While most agricultural land in the plains was converted to residential land, agricultural land in mountainous areas was transformed into forest or wasteland areas at a significantly higher rate. Our results suggest that the management and maintenance of agricultural land in plains are more likely than in mountainous areas. The agricultural land in mountainous areas remained stable and unaltered at higher elevations, whereas it was diverted at lower elevations. Subsidies, such as the Direct Payment System for Hilly and Mountainous Areas, likely influenced this outcome. This suggests that agricultural land in mountainous areas eligible for subsidies under the direct payment system, such as highly mountainous areas, can be readily maintained. In contrast, agricultural land situated in mountainous boundary areas that lack subsidies is more amenable to conversion. This regional study elucidates land use change factors, particularly agricultural land change factors, and contributes to measures for other parts of Japan and other countries with depopulation and aging problems.

ObjectiveTo date, a comprehensive analysis of urban green space (UGS) visitors’ emotional remains largely unexplored. In this study, we focus on how UGS environmental preferences, restorativeness, other physical factors (sound, air, and thermal environments), and individual characteristics affecting visitor emotions. Such a comprehensive analysis would allow relevant practitioners to check the environmental quality of UGSs and improve certain conditions to promote visitor emotions.MethodsA total of 904 questionnaire responses with concurrently monitored physical factors were analyzed by independent sample t-tests, one-way ANOVA and path analysis.ResultsThe thermal evaluation had the largest impact on positive emotions (β = 0.474), followed by perceived restorativeness (β = 0.297), which had β values of −0.120 and −0.158, respectively, on negative emotions. Air evaluation was more effective for increasing positive emotions (β = 0.293) than reducing negative emotions (β = −0.115). Sound evaluation also had similar results (β = 0.330 vs. β = −0.080). Environmental preference significantly influenced only positive emotions (β = 0.181) but could still indirectly impact negative emotions. Moreover, objective physical factors can indirectly affect visitors’ emotions by enhancing their evaluations..ConclusionThe influence of different UGS environmental factors on visitors’ emotions vary, as does their impacts on positive versus negative emotions. Positive emotions were generally more affected than negative emotions by UGS. Visitor emotions were mainly influenced by physical and psychological factors. Corresponding suggestions are proposed for UGS design and management in this study.

AbstractTo facilitate forest management as part of climate change mitigation and adaptation, the Forest Environment Transfer Tax (FETT) was introduced in Japan in 2019, representing a form of payment for ecosystem services. In this study, we focused on the introduction of the tax and the status of its use based on an analysis covering Japan’s 47 prefectures. This involved reviewing policy processes related to FETT and conducting a survey among relevant prefectural officers to identify how FETT is being used, with a focus on plans, policies, and systems related to forest data development and exchanges. The proportions of both total and FETT budgets used for forest data development were significant. Several prefectures are improving forest-related data in a two-way manner by coordinating with municipalities. Correlation analysis revealed that prefectures with greater proportions of privately owned forests allocated more budget to forest data development, which is in line with the FETT’s intended purpose. This result suggests that the absolute size of such forestlands is less important, but that the proportion of privately owned forests carries political and social weight that could be a critical factor in budget allocation.

Seagrass canopies are important components of the world’s coastal environments providing critical ecological services. Nearshore hydrodynamics, i.e., waves and currents, are essential in controlling the ecological processes across coastal environments. Seagrass meadows can impose more complex hydrodynamics processes by attenuating sea-swell waves and decreasing the impact of nearshore mean water level rise due to wave setup and Infragravity (IG) waves. Consequently, the seagrasses dissipate waves and reduce flows allowing sediments to settle and accrete the shorelines. However, despite their significant roles, knowledge of hydrodynamics in the Indonesian seagrass ecosystems is relatively limited compared to other coastal ecosystems such as sandy beaches, mangroves, and coral reefs. This review highlights the dynamics of waves and currents, and their interaction with sediment transport and ecological processes, including biogeochemical and dispersal processes on the seagrass ecosystem contributing to the existing seagrass research in Indonesia. The associated literature is collected from scientific databases such as Scopus and Google Scholar that range between 1965 and 2021. The result showed that most of the research on hydrodynamic in seagrass ecosystems was carried out in temperate zones. Until recently, there have been limited publications discussing the interaction between the Indonesian (tropical) seagrass ecosystem and hydrodynamics parameters, even though the region has abundant seagrass species. Moreover, Indonesia is strongly influenced by various atmospheric-oceanic forcing, including the Asian monsoon affecting the dynamic of the coastal area with seagrass ecosystems. At a canopy scale, the correlation between the nearshore (tropical) hydrodynamics and ecological processes in the system is yet to be explored. Considering the potential benefit of seagrasses to coastal ecosystems, developing future research in hydrodynamics across the ecosystem is critical to overcoming the knowledge gaps in Indonesia. The knowledge gained could support the Indonesian seagrass ecosystem services and their resilience to potential hazards and climate change.

Novel foods include foods which are expected to be major sources of protein, such as cultured meat and insects. They can reduce environmental impacts due to production. However, producing such novel foods involves ethical considerations including social acceptance. The discourse related to novel foods is expanding; hence, this study analyzed them through news articles, comparing Japan and Singapore. The former uses spearheading technology to produce cultured meat, and the latter is in the early phase of cultured meat production while still using insects as a traditional source of protein for the diet. This study identified the characteristics of the discourse of novel foods using text analysis methods comparing Japan and Singapore. Specifically, contrasting characteristics were identified based on different sets of cultural and religious norms and backgrounds. Japan has a tradition of entomophagy, and a startup private company was highlighted in mass media. In Singapore, although the country is one of the leading countries producing novel foods, entomophagy itself is not popular; this is because major religions in Singapore do not recommend or prohibit eating insects. For the government policy, the specific standards of entomophagy and cultured meat are still in development in Japan and other majority of countries. We propose an integrated analysis of standards for novel foods, and social acceptance is needed to provide insights into the development of novel foods.

Urban beekeeping is gaining salience worldwide. Though beekeeping brings benefits to humanity, it has certain negative aspects. We conducted surveys in eight countries where urban beekeeping is practiced to understand the status of the governance of urban beekeeping. There were a wide variety of rules, ranging from detailed ones to the absence of any. The organizations creating regulations included regional governments, basic governments, and even NGOs. Regulatory items for urban beekeeping were biased toward safety, with few regulations of the other aspects, such as biodiversity conservation and apicultural production. We found a wide range of numerical provisions for this regulation type, with no scientific basis provided, and there is further need for improvements.

The application of the “Common But Differentiated Responsibilities (and Respective Capabilities)” (CBDR-RC) principle in the field of biodiversity received criticisms due to the lack of scientific evidence and/or outdated categories which in turn resulted in a knowledge gap in its applicability in policy-making. Reflecting on this research gap, we reviewed existing relevant publications by quantifying and evaluating the responsibility of different countries under various categories (i.e., low-, middle-, and high-income) for biodiversity loss. As concrete indicators, we used the five direct drivers of biodiversity loss by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) to examine and identify biodiversity-related footprints and challenges, whereby the applicability of the CBDR principle was considered. Data on the national impact and positive contributions to global biodiversity were also encompassed, considering all available data from older periods as possible. The results showed that low-, middle-, and high-income countries contributed to biodiversity loss, with high-income countries as the largest contributor, indicating relatively high responsibility by developed countries. Meanwhile, developing (middle- and low-income) countries contributed about 44% of biodiversity loss. The results further indicated that the shared responsibility was not clear enough to be sorted out by a simple dichotomy between developed and developing countries and immediately applying the CBDR principle. Besides, the impact of global trade should be fairly attributed to consumer countries (frequently developed countries) and producer countries (developing countries). Moreover, the upward move in the income category in many countries in the last decades has not been fully reflected in discussions under the Convention on Biological Diversity. This means that the respective capabilities have not been considered in a timely manner in policy-making. As such, we propose non-binary “Differentiated But Shared Responsibilities (and Updated Capabilities)” (DBSR-UC) as a new concept, highlighting the need for incentives and burdens based on scientific evidence.

Peri-urban Satoyama forests in Japan provide multiple or bundles of cultural ecosystem services (CES), yet, visitors’ perceptions of CES are not well established. There is a need to explore these perceptions in order to provide comprehensive information to forest managers. This study aims to address this knowledge gap by exploring the profiles of visitors of peri-urban Satoyama forests and their perceived importance of CES using a landscape value (LV) typology table. Nine LVs of Kaisho Forest in Aichi, Japan were assessed using face-to-face questionnaires on socio-demographic variables, forest use, and a photograph-based approach, which were analyzed using descriptive statistics, quantitative cross-tabulation, multiple response analyses, and geocoding. Results showed that the forest is visited mostly by married elderly people from Aichi Prefecture who were engaged in forest bathing or birdwatching. Forest use patterns, like frequency, duration of the visit, and group size, presented a significant relation to demographic variables, like marital status or gender. Furthermore, the study showed how visitors´ LV perceptions were weighted towards natural and aesthetic values. The socio-cultural Satoyama forest elements displayed a more detailed value perception where recreational, therapeutic, spiritual, cultural-historic, and educational values were also assigned. The LV perception enhances a comprehensive description of the perceived positive effects of visiting such forests. Hence, we concluded that visitors gain positive effects on mental and emotional health and spirituality as part of CES. Forest managers can reflect and accommodate diverse landscape value typology as a tool for monitoring visitors’ perceptions.

Abstract This study reviews the status of current organic sake and procurement strategies of organic rice by four brewers in Japan. Despite overall declining trends in shrinking domestic markets, sake categorized in the premium segment has been increasing in trading volumes and indicated resilience in prices. This study first reviewed and analyzed the overall status of sake, trends in premium segment, and challenges for organic sake. Unlike wine, organic sake occupies a minor position in the segment. This was followed by the comparative analysis of procurement strategies of organic rice for four sake breweries in Japan. The strategies were contrasting; three breweries indicated strong “local” bonding while one procured organic rice outside of the region, resulting in different product strategies. At its initiation, all four breweries showed the interests in local agriculture and gained rice locally. Then, availability and affordable price became a bottleneck. Implications of these challenges are further analyzed from exporting perspectives as well.

Abstract The ratio of organic farming in Japan stagnated in terms of area and involved farmers despite the richness in history symbolized in terms such as the Fukuoka methods or the more recent Teikei. This paper first reviews the historical development of Japan’s organic agriculture from the 1930s (first epoch), regarding Japanese ethnicity and its roots and relationships to nature. Based on this analysis, we critically evaluate policy development from the 1990s (second epoch). Here, we provide potential explanation for the low ratio of organic agriculture in Japan. By combing the conceptual analysis of ethnicity and organic movements, the underpinning factors that underlie the development of organic farming are analyzed both from historical and cultural contexts. Natural farming is a separate individual practice in Japan, with its own philosophical backgrounds. This initial 1930s terminology of “natural farming” or shizen nōhō (自然農法) was translated into yūki nōgyō (有機農業) in the 1970s. This review claims that the meaning of organic agriculture got too narrow to promote organic agriculture with the governmental intervention and standardization from the 1990s. The initial phase of yūki nōgyō also had such a problem as the concept became increasingly institutionalized through government standardization and policy from the 1990s. Currently, at the conceptual level, the linkage to nature, i.e., “shizen,” is confined into “non-use of chemical components” through formal institutionalization, and the ethnic elements or philosophical and historical roots are neglected. Similar phenomena of “commodification of organic farming” are widely known in matured markets in the USA and Europe, but the discrepancy of “nature” and “organic” agriculture is particularly also observed in contemporary Japan.

Abstract While neoliberalism has promoted free trade, market rule, and productivist agriculture in the food production system, farmers and their unions in developed countries partially managed to shun the forces of neoliberalism. What are the underpinning strength and factors of such resilience? Discussions have concentrated at national policy and organizational level and tacit resistance at community and farm levels remain unexplored, inter alia from their historical embeddedness perspective. This study explores the way Japanese farmers frame their contemporary political situation with neoliberalism of the late 2000s with a grounded approach of face-to-face interview at a community level. The farmers resist it mobilizing Scott’s anthropological notion of “Weapons of the Weak” through story-telling instead of hoes in ancient time (Scott JC, Weapons of the weak: everyday forms of peasant resistance, 1985). In concrete, the farmers resisted a neoliberal policy of Hinmoku Ōdanteki Keiei Antei Taisaku, or the Multi-Product Management Stabilization Plan (MPP), in the early 2000s, which promoted larger scale farming to pursue the efficiency of scale merits. The policy was first introduced in 2005 as a concept and dominated the agricultural policy scenes from 2007 to 2009, and then its influence disappeared toward 2010. The rise and fall of the concept and policy provide us with rare opportunity to examine the historical embeddedness of the farmers and their resistance to such neoliberal globalization. We conducted interviews with the leaders of cooperative farms and stakeholders in Daisen City, Akita Prefecture, Japan; the study found that farmers’ framing of neoliberalism was ambivalent causing partial adoption and resistance. The leaders of the cooperative farms could form the cooperative farms but thought further development difficult because members intended to keep their farming independent. Close frame and discourse analysis revealed that farmers in Japan could express their frustration on neoliberal discourse and policy through multiple tactics of “Weapons of the Weak” by complaining to the leaders, miscalculating the figures, or claiming family-based food sovereignty that “we produce what goes into our family mouths.” Such tactics procrastinated the process and eventually stopped the policy. The incident demonstrates how farmers in the network can slow the progress of neoliberal discourse and policy implementation. From the analysis, the notion of “Weapons of the Weak” can be applied as a part of the combination with farmers’ historical embeddedness, symbolism of foods, framing, and electoral resistance.

The Intergovernmental Science–Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) is an independent scientific body focused on assessing the state of the world’s ecosystem services and biodiversity. IPBES members agreed in 2017 that a review of the Platform’s first work programme should be undertaken by an independent panel examining all aspects of IPBES’ work – including implementation of the four functions of IPBES; policies, operating principles and procedures; governance structure and arrangements; communication, stakeholder engagement and partnerships; and funding mechanisms. The review found that for IPBES to have its anticipated transformative impact: All four functions of IPBES (i.e. assessment, knowledge generation, policy support, capacity building), with better communication, must be significantly strengthened, integrated and delivered together; The policy aspects of IPBES work need to be strengthened and greater emphasis needs to be placed on the co-design and co-production of assessments; A more strategic and collaborative approach to stakeholders is needed; and IPBES must develop a more sustainable financial base. Given those changes, IPBES, as an embryonic boundary organization, can become the key influencing organization in the global landscape of biodiversity and ecosystem services organizations, helping thus to catalyze transformative change in the relationship between people and the rest of nature.EDITED BY Patricia Balvanera

The development of societies, including spiritual development, is closely connected to forests. The larger interrelations among changing societies, transforming forest landscapes, and evolving spiritual values related to forests have yet to be extensively considered. Addressing this research gap is important to avoid the neglect of spiritual values in forest policy and management. Our exploratory study investigates spiritual values of forests from European and Asian perspectives, assessing 13 countries. Based on expert knowledge from 18 interdisciplinary experts, we first define forest spiritual values (forest spirituality). We then elaborate on the idea that forest spirituality evolves as societies and landscapes change, and propose a transition hypothesis for forest spirituality. We identify indicators and drivers and portray four stages of such a transition using country-specific examples. We find that during a first stage (“nature is powerful”), forest spirituality is omnipresent through the abundance of sacred natural sites and practices of people who often directly depend on forests for their livelihoods. An alternative form of spirituality is observed in the second stage (“taming of nature”). Connected to increasing transformation of forest landscapes and intensifying land-use practices, “modern” religions guide human–nature interrelations. In a third stage (“rational management of nature”), forest spirituality is overshadowed by planned rational forest management transforming forests into commodities for the economy, often focusing on provisioning ecosystem services. During a fourth stage (“reconnecting with nature”), a revival of forest spirituality (re-spiritualization) can be observed due to factors such as urbanization and individualizing spirituality. Our core contribution is in showing the connections among changing forest perceptions, changing land-use governance and practices, and changing forest spirituality. Increasing the understanding of this relationship holds promise for supporting forest policy-making and management in addressing trade-offs between spiritual values and other aspects of forests.

This research analyzed the status of visiting peri-urban forestlands and mountains during the first COVID-19 emergency period in Japan using a large-scale online questionnaire-based survey. We identified and examined the factors that correlated with visits to such areas, including respondents’ social-economic attributes, environmental conditions (such as the land use patterns of their residential areas), and awareness of the functions of forestlands. The results suggest that environmental conditions are a major factor encouraging residents to visit peri-urban forestlands and mountains during the pandemic. Peri-urban areas with forestlands have such environmental conditions, and residents who visited peri-urban forestlands and mountains tended to live in peri-urban areas. Residents’ expectations regarding forest functions were also strong factors influencing them to visit those places. Those who visited forests and mountains expected these areas to have mental health and educational functions. Especially, female respondents tended to be aware of forestlands as spaces for mental and physical relaxation, and respondents who have one or more children tended to be aware of the educational functions of forests. These findings imply that policy should consider the role of environmental conditions, awareness, and expectations about the function of forests and mountains, and prior interactions with nature in encouraging residents to visit such places for their health during the pandemic. These factors could also play a role in addressing the social and environmental disparities that exist between residents of different socio-economic statuses regarding access to nature. In future research, the detailed relationships between residents’ environmental conditions and expectations/awareness of the functions of peri-urban forestlands and mountains need to be explored.

Purpose of the research: To identify the gaps between the rhetoric and reality of the role of citizen participation and its role in maintenance and monitoring of heritages and resources (including biodiversity monitoring), we analyzed the discourse of Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS) at municipality level. Methods: As an analytical framework, text mining is applied to interviews of officers at the municipal level of GIAHS in Noto which was amongst the first sites in Japan. The identification of such gap is critical for sustainability and to prevent conflicts from tourism, agriculture or educations. Results: The results reveal that (1) there is a gap between the official goals of that designation at the international level and local needs, (2) role of citizens is emphasized in the applications and action plans at rhetorical level but remain rather limited in practice and that (3) municipalities composing the GIAHS often have different priorities, even within the very same GIAHS sites, some municipalities even calling themselves “just a transition point to other destination municipalities.” Conclusions: It is critical for municipal officers to collaborate with various stakeholders, especially citizens. As such, citizen science is a bottom-up approach to promote biodiversity conservation and facilitate GIAHS managements.

Policies in Japan are shifting focus on sustainable land-use management-related policies through consensus building, given the complex options for the community and the landowners. For instance, conversion of agricultural lands to renewable energy sites, which is an example of “land-use conversion for a newly found objective”, is rapidly progressing, and actions on “managing of croplands in a minimal (low labor demand) way” has been embodied in certain policies. Currently, there are political and scientific efforts to balance environmental conservation with production activities in agriculture and forestry sectors based on science and evidence. With policies catching up, it is possible to confirm what has been moved from the planning to the implementation stage of the proposed consensus-building system by summarizing and discussing the current progress of the project. More specifically, we highlighted the trends in reusing agricultural lands under the current national-level policies and management options for croplands, such as the “less maintenance way.” We also discussed and presented the preliminary results, insights, and prospects from the ongoing project, which then led to the discussion of future considerations in sustainable land-use management in Japan.

Background: The internal processes of geographical indications (GIs) by the applicants in rural specific regions primarily remain unexplored, although GIs can facilitate retention of long-term accumulated traditional knowledge in ethnic foods. This article sheds light on (1) analysis of phase-wise internal processes of GI registration and (2) examine relationships between the duration of application and perceived effects of GI registration in Northwestern Japan. GI in Japan is a comparatively a new system introduced in 2015. Methods: This article applied thematic analysis. The criteria for evaluating the gap of GI registration effects among the seven GI cases were descriptive and analytical with the information and data coming from official documents, questionnaire survey, and personal communications with key informants of the GI applicants. Qualitative information with quantitative data was also applied to visualize the complex internal GI registration processes and their effects. Results: This article identified that GI applicants who took a relatively long time to complete GI registration tended to perceive the relatively weak registration effects. Alternatively, GI applicants who took a relatively short time to complete their GI registration tended to evaluate the effects of the registration highly. For the preparation process, the most difficult phases for applications were drafting the application documents and long-term communication with a GI regulator. Conclusion: This article provides insights on the methods to uncover the complex, both ex-ante and ex-post, GI registration processes to reorganize current members of GI applicants and to fill the gaps and enhance the effects of GI registration. Keywords: Comparative analysis, Geographical indications, Governance, Northeastern Japan, Registration process

Intruduction: We assessed recent trends in children’s connection with nature over the period of 2000–2015, using indices of wildlife awareness that focus on changes in wildlife abundance and the level of apathy among children. We used data from a survey conducted in 63 junior high school districts in the city of Sendai in Japan. In these surveys, children were asked whether they had seen 12 species groups within the past year. To examine changes in children’s connection with nature, we used observed frequencies as an indicator of both the abundance of the species and children’s apathy toward it. Results and Discussions: Results indicated an increase in children’s apathy toward species that had low popularity regardless of residential environment. Our results suggest that regular exposure to wildlife would be effective in preventing the loss of children’s connection with nature, particularly by reducing children’s apathy toward less-popular species.

The nature and impacts of living in urban settings are gaining their saliences in developed and developing countries alike, particularly during the crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic. During the crisis, the wellbeing of urban society became intertwined with a so-called “new lifestyle”, which involved quarantine and working in a home environment. Facing such challenges, urban gardening is deemed as an alternative intervention to enhance residents’ wellbeing and the environmental sustainability of urban areas, including Indonesian cities. A preliminary study was conducted to monitor the wellbeing of urban gardening practitioners, as well as investigate the motivation and any association between gardening and wellbeing with the COVID-19 pandemic situation by analysing data from Indonesian metropolitan areas. The study utilized instruments of “satisfaction with life scale (SWLS)” and “scale of positive and negative experience (SPANE)” to investigate the subjective wellbeing of 67 respondents. Amongst others, we identified that urban gardening practitioners tend to be in positive moods and have better overall wellbeing; 52.24% of the respondents were highly satisfied with their life. Furthermore, we observed a variety of motivations to start gardening, with hobby and utilization of free space as prominent reasons, followed by other motivations such as environmental benefit and aesthetic. Integrating the environmental benefits of urban gardening and the implications for an individual’s wellbeing can be reflected for sustainable urban development and policies during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Conservation agriculture, also known as environment-friendly agriculture, is expected to contribute to global climate change mitigation and biodiversity conservation. To understand the effect of conservation agriculture on farmers and identify those factors, such as farmers’ income change, that might affect practices of conservation agriculture, perceptions, and output, this study examined farmers’ economic and behavioral factors, motivation, and satisfaction. We surveyed 51 farmers who are receiving subsidies to practice conservation agriculture in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. The survey is one of the first prefectural-scale studies that combines unique quantitative analysis of motivation and satisfaction levels (e.g., behaviors) in temporal sequence from the initial to current time to practice conservation agriculture. Our results showed that years of experience, trade with a retail shop, and the farmer’s age can affect income change. With regard to social factors, the satisfaction of their fellowship with other farmers practicing conservation agriculture was also significantly correlated with income change. Simultaneously, this category of satisfaction was difficult to attain compared to the other categories. Thus, greater effort is needed to enhance support networking among conservation farmers. Furthermore, the work presented here also provides the opportunity for future research on temporal and spatial questions surveying economic and behavioral effects with consideration of the heightened policy promotion and entrance of large retail industries.

Urban beekeeping has gained salience because of its significance in biodiversity conservation and community building. Despite this, beekeeping practices in urban areas have received negative perceptions from residents, which stem from public safety concerns. There is, therefore, a need to enhance and/or work on appropriate rules for maximizing the profits while minimizing the risks. Amongst the present regulations, the installation of barriers and setbacks is the most common rule for public safety. However, only a limited number of empirical studies have reported on their effective location and height. Thus, in this study, an experimental apiary was set up with different types of barriers installed with varying distances to observe and measure flyway patterns of honey bees. We used a 3D laser scanner, which obtained 8529 points of highly accurate flight location data in about five hours. Results showed that the heights (1.8 and 0.9 m) of the barriers installed were effective in increasing the flight altitudes. The distance of the fence, which was installed as close as 1 m from the hives, was effective as well. These findings, which showed that barriers and setbacks are effective, can have regulatory implications in designing apiaries in urban spaces, where location is often restricted.

Background: Ecosystem services of pollinators have been gaining importance, as mentioned in the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services thematic report on pollination in 2016. Apart from wild bees, human interventions including apiculture can contribute to management of ecosystem services. Ecological and local knowledge of management is transmitted through various processes, varying in content and quality. Methods: We analyzed the processes of knowledge transmission, beekeeping productivity, and their interactions with each other. The study was conducted in the Nagano Prefecture, Japan, where the largest quantity of bee honey is produced nationally. Beekeeping knowledge in Nagano is transmitted through different information channels, including families, friends, and books. We categorized the beekeepers based on their information channels. The relationship between productivity of beekeeping and information channels was also analyzed. Results: It was identified that beekeepers who obtained their knowledge from their parents had relatively large number of bee colonies. Furthermore, we observed by interviews with them that they tended to understand the importance of ecological conditions for sustainable beekeeping. Conclusion: The results implied a challenge to open the knowledge transmission channels beyond families, potentially transforming the knowledge from tacit knowledge among limited members to an explicit manualized knowledge in an aging society.

Background: Traditional vegetables are produced and consumed throughout Japan. Individual vegetables, including Kyo vegetables and Kaga vegetables, are individually defined with their own criteria for history and quality standards and are registered in their respective regions. Several traditional vegetables are utilized as symbols of regional revitalization. For example, Kaga vegetables are tourist attractions, and Noto vegetables are promoted in the Noto region and were registered under the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS). Methods: We will review the distribution, public standards, and definitions of dento-yasai, traditional Japanese vegetables. Quantitative analysis on the status of the branding of traditional vegetables will be conducted. Results: First, the ambiguity and distribution of traditional vegetables are demonstrated. Next, as a case study, the results of a quantitative analysis of Kaga vegetables and Noto vegetables are provided. Kaga vegetables have their own quality standards and definition, and producers have acknowledged the positive impact of the regional certification, GIAHS, on the amount sold. However, a social conflict has been caused by their standards and definition. On the other hand, Noto vegetables do not have a strict quality standard, and they were registered relatively recently. Because of their comparatively lax standard, producers could not acknowledge the positive impacts of GIAHS certification. Conclusion: Origins of traditional Japanese vegetables and relationships with their regions have innumerable ambiguous points. The results of the analysis of two types of traditional vegetables show that quality standards and definitions strongly influence branding and brand management.

This study investigates the intermediary functions and the farmers’ perspectives in the development and implementation of agri-environmental schemes in Shiga Prefecture of Japan by employing the innovation journey analysis and the statistical analysis. The innovation journey analysis demonstrates that the prefectural government served as an ‘innovation intermediary’ to: (1) provide a clear vision of sustainable agriculture for farmers and other actors, (2) create and reinforce both technological and market niches and (3) develop actor networks involving local actors. It also identifies the following roles of the Japan Agricultural Cooperatives (JAs) and the specialist wholesaler as innovation intermediaries to: (1) develop new farming materials such as fertilizers, (2) translate and deliver practical farming knowledge for farmers and (3) establish the market of environmental-friendly rice. Statistical analysis uncovers that farmers more appreciated the supports from the JAs than those from other intermediaries to participate in the schemes. Complemented by the innovation journey analysis, our findings suggest that the keys to increasing farmers’ participation in the schemes include a clear vision and economic incentives for farmers as well as the coordination among intermediaries who have different expertise.

In 2013, Japan and Korea celebrated their first food culture registrations with the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. This paper first reviews the overall situation regarding washoku. Then, the washoku concept is analyzed and we argue that the idea is ambiguous. The washoku concept is contested and not necessarily clearly defined, but certain characteristics exist. The “uniqueness” is emphasized in the UNESCO registration while the reasoning or storyline for applications, such as relationships to nature, traditional preparations, community cohesion are “common” with other applications. The context of registration is frequently misinterpreted, and washoku has certain elements that are responsive to changes, despite its authentic and unchanged popular image. The ambiguity has both positive and negative aspects. It functions as a framework to enable groups with different interests or interpretations to participate in the process.

Background: To reveal the level of recognition of regional and product certifications related to agriculture, an analysis of the official minutes of assemblies and the perceptions of tourists was conducted. This is one of the first attempts to combine analysis of residents and tourists at the product level (Geographical Indications, trademarks) and landscape level (registration under Food and Agricultural Organization [FAO] or United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization [UNESCO]-related certification systems). Methods: The research sites were Itoigawa and Sado, two municipalities in Niigata prefecture. The former is certified as a Global Geopark, and the latter as a National Geopark and Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS). The text-mining approach was conducted to analyze the official minutes of the municipal assemblies, and the questionnaire survey was conducted to identify the recognition of tourists on the certifications. Results: The results of the analysis of assemblies and tourists provide issues and possibilities of the certification systems. Tourists' recognition of the GIAHS and its weighting in the assemblies are relatively low. Residents and tourists have different expectations for regional certification. Residents expect education, while tourists expect tourism. Conclusion: It is necessary to evaluate the GIAHS's contribution to tourism and industry when municipalities and international organizations manage the GIAHS sites. Considering the gaps between residents and tourists and taking measures to resolve them can contribute to managing certificated areas by collaboration of stakeholders. Regarding products aimed at branding, consumers need to be informed about the GIAHS as a regional certification in addition to product certification to share the historical and environmental characteristics of agricultural products.

Background: Geographical indications (GIs) are collective intellectual property rights that protect food and other products uniquely linked to the production area, local geophysical conditions, and traditions, namely, with the terroir. Thus, GIs can contribute to the transmission and retention of culinary heritages and historical production practices. Methods: Based on an analysis of application documents, we compare the historical linkages of all the Japanese and Austrian GI products. Although more than half of the Japanese applications refer to historical roots in the 20th century, the median of the Austrian GI linkages is in the 17th century. To closely examine these GI linkages, and to better understand their relevance to current cultivation practices, we compared three Japanese cases with roots of diverging depth to the first Austrian GI regarding motivations, geographical and historical linkages, and current cultivation practices and governance. Results: The comparison found that all four products refer to the historical roots of the product name, the product varieties, or cultivation techniques. However, deeper roots did not automatically translate into higher priorities of protecting these historical linkages. The four in-depth case studies found that historic provenance and traditional production methods, although prominently highlighted in the official GI documents of all four GIs, were eclipsed by commercial motivations for GI protection and/or current production practices. In the cases analyzed, we found some potential mismatches between GI historical claims in registration documents and actual GI cultivation and GI management practices. Conclusions: We conclude that our four GI cases do not represent “museums of production” or overly fixed perceptions of history. However, the collective action of the producer group has resulted in dynamic local cultivation practices without restricting innovation. The GI status has rather resulted in the protection of local farmers' collective action and old varieties than in the protection of old production methods.

Background: The flavor of Japanese sake (frequently referred to as Seisyu in Japanese academic contexts) has improved in recent years and demand for sake is on the rise globally. Methods: Our analysis is based on a review of literature and secondary data examination of existing statistics. Results: Quality control is achieved through the use of acid from polished rice. One use for acid may be for rice flavors, which are regionally specific and therefore may lead to a reconsideration of geographical indications. Conclusion: The use of acid and collaboration with the local and regional community is observed in wine production. Similar processes are observed with Japanese sake, and this implies that wine and sake may have similar futures. Visits to sake breweries have potential in the spheres of tourism, regional branding, and destination management.

Background: In this paper, recognition of traditional agricultural products by the general public is presented and analyzed to explore the transgenerational aspects of traditional vegetables and their knowledge transfer. It is necessary to understand how the products are recognized by different generations and gender, in terms of retaining and branding the local products. Methods: A questionnaire survey with random sampling was conducted to identify the recognition of traditional vegetables including the Kaga and Noto vegetables in Komatsu City, Ishikawa Prefecture. By understanding the degree of recognition, elaborating strategic plans for retention of traditional agricultural products and effective promotion of the products can be implemented. Results: The results from 149 respondents indicate that there are differences of recognition depending on their gender or age. In particular, young people obtain information on traditional vegetables mainly from TV, whereas older people gain information from newspapers. Furthermore, more than half of the Kaga vegetables are better recognized among the older generation. Conclusion: The analysis of this paper serves as the basis to capture the cultural importance, or to develop branding strategy as the results clarify the degree of recognition of residents and tourists from various generations. As the population has been aging, transmitting knowledge about the products to young people who have less knowledge is the urgent issue.

Background: Bee honey is a main ingredient in traditional food culture in different regions of the world. Honey is widely utilized as an ethnic food item. Methods: This paper analyzes the historical and present status of beekeeping and honey production in Japan and South Korea based on the relevant literature and statistical data. Results: The findings reveal that Western honeybees are dominant in the two countries for economic and physical reasons. Honey production has declined and the amount of imported honey has increased in Japan and South Korea. The domestic and global honey markets closely influence reciprocally. Furthermore, urban beekeeping has emerged in these two countries as a hobby and an industry; it contributes to producing domestic honey and enhances the quality of the environment. Conclusion: To ensure sustainable forestry and conserve biodiversity, native beekeeping is necessary. This paper provides insight into beekeeping and honey production in Japan and South Korea.

Background: Under the influence of global trends, most regions are at risk of losing their local-food knowledge. In this context, analyzing the transmission of the knowledge, understanding the context of transmission, and implementing precise activities and policies are required. Noto is known for its unique ethnic fermented food products. Methods: Through our questionnaire survey and analysis of the Noto peninsula, we explore the relationships between the attributes of local food producers and the variety of foods they produce, attempting to identify the key attributes related to making diverse local foods and the transmission of local food knowledge. Results: Our analysis showed a correlation between the diversity of local foods made by residents and the number of years they had lived in the municipality. Conclusion: The results implied that adequate management of social networks by local residents, who depend on the local environment, is required in transmitting the knowledge of local foods.

Forest management approaches vary according to the needs of individual municipalities with unique geographic conditions and local social contexts. Accordingly, there are two types of subsidies: a unified national subsidy and a prefecture-level subsidy, mainly from forest environmental taxes. The latter is a local tax. Our focus is on examining forest management using these two types of taxes (i.e., central and prefecture-level) and their correlations with social and natural environmental factors. In this paper, we examine the spatial distribution of management areas using subsidies from the central government, the Forestry Agency of Japan, and prefectural forest environmental taxes in Ishikawa. In concrete terms, the spatial correlations of the management areas under two tax schemes are compared with the natural hazard areas (as a natural environmental factor) and areas with high aging rates (as a social factor). The results are tested to see whether the correlations of areas with the two factors are significant, to examine whether the taxes are used for areas with natural and social needs. From the result, positive correlations are identified between the distribution of management areas and natural hazard areas and between the distribution of management areas and areas with high aging rates.

We analyzed the discussions of Japanese municipalities in their process for obtaining certifications for the Geoparks by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB) by the UNESCO, and the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage systems (GIAHS) by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. The official records at the municipality diet were analyzed in a quantitative manner from 2011 to 2013. As the first step, we analyzed the eight municipalities of Noto and Sado for the GIAHS, the cities Itoigawa and Hakusan for the Geopark, and Katsuyama Yamanouchi village from Nagano for the MAB. As individual examples, we analyzed City of Suzu with GIAHS, Itoigawa (Geopark), and Yamanouchi town (MAB) with the text-mining approach. For the GIAHS, it was clear that the larger municipalities with city status tended to discuss certification issues more frequently than the smaller towns and villages. Terms such as conservation and certification tended to be used with GIAHS at the Suzu City. The term brand was used with GIAHS and MAB but not for the Geopark. The findings using quantitative methods are at initial stage for analysis of municipality strategies and require further future research.