This paper targeted the flood-prone Calumpit municipality, Bulacan province, in the Pampanga River basin, Republic of the Philippines, and prepared a resource map, inundation map, inundation probability map, and inundation chart for time-series flood contingency planning by flood simulation using the rainfall-runoff-inundation model and GIS mapping. For preparing these materials to support local evacuations, GIS data such as high-resolution digital elevation models and accumulated flood records are required. In addition, to show local inundation vulnerability, understanding landform development based on the geographical point of view as well as flood simulation is important. Simultaneously, continuous support for local people to improve their skills in thinking and acting by themselves at the time of floods will help mitigate damage

This paper describes recent characteristics of net migration among Japanese and foreigners at the municipal level and examines the demogeographic features of municipalities by type of net migration. Data based on the Basic Resident Registration reveal that among a total of 1,895 municipalities in the analysis, the net migration loss of Japanese was quantitatively offset completely by the net migration gain of foreigners in 7% of the municipalities in 2014. These municipalities are more likely to be observed in the Northern Kanto and Nagoya regions but less likely in Hokkaido and Tohoku. Basic demographic indicators suggest that these municipalities are characterized by a comparatively high level of foreigners' international inmigration, along with such features as larger municipal populations, lower ratio of the aged among Japanese, and a higher percentage of foreigners. The present results suggest that foreigners' net inmigration does not generally have a sufficient quantitative effect on net outmigration of the total population, especially among municipalities with small populations.

Many social studies teachers have difficulty in setting the main question when they design lessons for dynamic regional geography learning. Previous studies found that teachers generally first show a core element of a region and ask students why such an element is present. In that case, teachers have positioned a core element as a result and then designed a lesson. However, the course of study approved in 2008 stipulates that the natural environment and historical background of a region, which are not positioned as results, are also core elements. Therefore, teachers need to design lessons in either way: to ask students to study the cause of a core element, which is positioned as a result; or to ask students to study a result of a core element, which is positioned as a cause. This method of designing lessons makes it easier to set the main question.

In this research, I focused on a gymnasium in Lower Saxony, Germany, and analyzed the geography curriculum, Kerncurriculum für das Gymnasium Schuljahrgänge 5–10 Erdkunde, and the geography textbook, TERRA Erdkunde, in order to clarify their structure and characteristics in relation to Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). The results of the analysis showed that 1) sustainability or sustainable development is repeatedly taught through different processes of learning; and 2) the value of sustainability or sustainable development is not taken as given in lessons. Further, based on this analysis, the contributions to Japanese geographical education are as follows: 1) there is a need to design a geography curriculum that would enable students to study ESD through different processes of learning; and 2) students should be provided the opportunity to study the origin or concepts of sustainability or sustainable development in the Japanese context.

In this paper, the significance and viewpoint of using literary works such as stories and novels in geographical learning are discussed. Literatures containing regional environments and cultures as the basis of stories have great potential as educational materials to stimulate the geographical imagination and convey rich images and a deep understanding of regions to students. In particular, literary works are useful for teaching the geography of different regions worldwide. Stimulation of the geographical imagination is one method by which geography education should encourage students. In the present day, when fragmented, transient information and knowledge are flooding society via electronic media, it is expected to be helpful for students to foster their geographical imaginations through the use of literature.

One of the greatest problems of contemporary agriculture in Japan is how to maintain and develop food production. This paper discusses strategies for sustaining and developing agriculture in the Hokuriku district. There are two main types of successful farm successors: large-scale tenant farms and community farms. The three examples of large-scale tenant farms in Niigata and Ishikawa prefectures have sought profitable farm businesses and played an important role in sustaining farmland, farming, and rural communities. Large-scale tenant farms generally increase their scales of operation, develop multiple operations, and integrate production, processing, and marketing. On the other hand, community farms mostly focus on maintaining farming and the community in each locality. Our field studies suggest that both types of farms are expected to become dominant successors in the Hokuriku district.

In the mid-1990s, the importation of vegetables to Japan increased rapidly and, in parallel, Japanese consumers began to doubt the safety of vegetables from abroad. In response to those doubts, farmers within the research area established farm produce shops that complied with the demands of local Japanese consumers. Agriculture in the research area at the end of the 1980s was mainly rice farming and sericulture. Because the Japanese government had greatly reduced the price levels of silk by the end of the 1980s, many sericulture farmers converted their production to vegetables. As a result, the amount of farmland under vegetable production increased dramatically and regional agricultural output was maintained. However, farmers who had established farm produce shops became senior citizens. Because the agriculture in this area is small scale, there are only a few farming successors. A regional social system to teach methods for farm production and the management of farm produce shops to new farmers is necessary to maintain agriculture in this area.

This research focused on the restructuring and development mechanism of urban farming and describes the local impacts of the commodification of rural space using the Sunagawa area in Tachikawa city as an example. Urban farming fulfills not only productive functions but has increasingly been expected to have a range of various functions, providing green space and amenities for a better living environment, or evacuation space in the case of disasters. However, there has been no change in the fundamental function of small-scale urban agriculture, which provides diverse, safe farm produce to urban residents. Such small-scale food production systems cannot compete with the cheaper products of large-scale farms, and these systems cannot satisfy the demand of large-scale urban markets. As a consequence, most products of urban farming are either directly marketed or find their way to local markets. This research focused on the direct marketing of farm products by farm produce shops. Their types in an area are considered to reflect the development process, restructuring of urban farming, and degree of the commodification of rural space. In response to continuous urban expansion and diversification of urban residents' needs, there has been a shift from the traditional type of farm produce shop toward more complex types like the diversified product, agriprocessing-commercialization, and experiential-collaborative types. This evolution reflects the development process and mechanism of urban farming with the commodification of rural space in the Sunagawa area.

This study examines the case of the Tachinoyama area of the Mino district in the city of Miyoshi, Tokushima prefecture, to define the potential for projects using closed schools which intend to preserve communities in underpopulated areas. It also examines the effects of such projects on local residents. In Tachinoyama, a social enterprise from outside the area oversaw this project, which utilizes closed school buildings. The buildings house community businesses centered on developing community-based daycare and preventive nursing services as part of a community-support project under Japan's nursing-care insurance system. The results include increased activity and better health for users and improvements in Tachinoyama residents' sense of community preservation. In this way, these initiatives are not only an example of community building through a “new public” involving a public–private partnership, but also contribute to current research as an example of “neo-endogenous development theory” that critically engages with the circumstances of underpopulated locales.

Among the four municipalities where the Fukushima No. 1 and 2 nuclear power stations (F1 and F2) are located, only the town of Naraha had its evacuation order lifted on September 5, 2015. Nevertheless, one year later, the ratio of returnees to Naraha remained at less than 10%. The main reasons for this are not only that evacuees have established new homes at places of refuge during the lengthy term of the evacuation, but also that their hometown is no longer what it was before the accident. This paper analyzes what happened during the four and one-half years the evacuation order was in place and how it affected the current status of and efforts to reconstruct this town.

The authors planned and conducted an onsite visit for the Taoyaka Leading Program, a multidisciplinary program conducted at Hiroshima University. All three authors majored in geography. We indicate how the viewpoints and research methods learned while studying geography can contribute to the planning of onsite visits in multidisciplinary education and discuss challenges based on a review of that onsite visit. It was concluded that geographic thinking and methods are effective because they help students understand regions comprehensively and analyze issues related to several different factors in the context of a region. Additionally, the methods encourage students to generalize their findings and propose solutions to regional challenges that have not been considered adequately in geographic research. In the future, students should be provided with opportunities to become more deeply involved in and develop a profound understanding of the regions they study.

This research was undertaken to increase the use of GIS in Japanese geography education. The author developed courseware using tablet computers, called a “digital atlas.” It is introduced in this report in the context of studies in preparation for a school trip to Okinawa. The atlas included digital maps and articles from local newspapers. A GIS is easier to use on tablets than on desktop computers, and students can use it reliably even without Internet access. With the use of maps and newspapers, students can understand local history and town changes. In addition, this method is important for embedding GIS use in geography education. The author plans to continue developing the digital atlas.

Following the Great East Japan Earthquake, the contribution of geography was discussed from the viewpoint of delivering relief supplies after widespread disasters. Possible emergencies, obstacles, and counterplans were analyzed with the Nankai megathrust earthquake in mind. The Pacific coast of southeastern Japan, especially the Kii Peninsula, southern Shikoku, and eastern Kyushu, was an area significantly affected by the earthquake. The area was characterized by an aging population, little public transport, and poor transportation infrastructure. In addition, with the declining self-sufficiency of rural life, many commodities, including foodstuffs, consumed by rural residents are supplied from urban areas. In this current situation in Japan, delays and bottlenecks in the delivery of supplies to disaster-hit areas could cause major disruptions in relief activities. Therefore, rapid, effective relief transport systems and emergency stock systems are needed to reduce the damage. However, comprehensive approaches to these aspects lag behind in comparison with disaster-prevention measures and disaster-recovery assistance.