Proceedings of the General Meeting of the Association of Japanese Geographers

This paper addresses how should be regarded Art and cultural place in the urban area, examining the case of the former border area in the post- Wall city Berlin. The case study of “Mediaspree” development project and the protest movement against it, held by the artists house and civil initiatives, shows us not only the dynamical structural change of the former border area with the lost of cultural places, but also the emergence of the new type of Gentrification.

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Tourism in natural areas continues to grow. Especially, protected areas have been very attractive settings and resources for tourism. The development of this segment of tourism is often associated with its potential contributions to economic and social developments as well as to conservation of nature and management of protected areas. However, it is important that tourism in protected area be sustainable due to the sensitive and fragile nature of the resources.
Sustainable tourism requires prevention of detrimental impacts on natural environment, host communities while maintaining high levels of visitor satisfaction. In many cases, especially in developing countries, main focus is given on the quick economical benefits from tourism and the consequences on the natural environment have been neglected.
This study revealed characteristics and sustainability issues associated with tourism in protected areas in Sri Lanka by using a case study of a famous national park called Udawalawe National Park in Sri Lanka. A literature review of tourism policy and protected area management in Sri Lanka, interviews with relevant conservation authorities, visitor survey and direct observations of visitor behavior and tourism activities were conducted for data collection.
The analysis of the current park management system, visitor characteristics and their behavior showed that tourism disturbance, overcrowding and poor guide and interpretation systems as major issues associated with tourism in the park.

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Fukushima people used to say, if the name "Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear power plant" would have been other name, like "Futaba-Ookuma nuclear power plant", the agricultural products in Fukushima prefecture must have avoided the geographical bad rumor. The presenter would consider the place name “Fukushima” according to set theory with geographical scale concept, especially the politics of space. Fukushima is the place name of the prefecture and the city, and the name of the exploded nuclear power plant also. Therefore, Fukushima Daiichi tend to connect with Fukushima prefecture in particular. But the place name Fukushima should be extended to several geographical scales.

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Wasp larvae are valued as food in several countries throughout Southeast Asia, but Japan may be the only country in which social wasps are ‘kept’ in hives for this purpose. In this presentation I aim to clarify the nature of contemporary wasp husbandry in central Japan, and to place this in recent historical perspective. To this purpose I present the results of a questionnaire survey (N=220) conducted in 2013, combined with data gathered from secondary sources. The first record of keeping wasps in hives dates from 1916. This practice means that wasp colonies are managed by humans for 6 months of the year, and in areas where this is common, wasps occupy an important place in local culture. In 1994, a wasp-keeping enthusiast in Central Japan discovered a means of managing the hibernation of queen wasps over the winter months, meaning that the wasp-human relationship could last for a total of 11 months. This had a significant effect on the wasp-keeping community in the region, inspiring the direct initiation of at least five independent interest groups, a ‘nationwide summit’, and at least 3 national and 3 international TV programmes. This in turn led to the founding of further interest groups. 22 interest groups are presently active, and wasp husbandry continues to thrive in Central Japan. However, recent survey data suggests that a lack of interest among younger generations may threaten the future of Japanese wasp husbandry. The average age of contemporary wasp keepers is 64.7 years (N=73) and few young people experience wasp-related activities. Overall, wasp-related tradition has undergone several transitions in recent history, and has now reached a potentially significant turning point. This turning point may be symptomatic of a greater cultural shift away from interactions with the natural world, and thus could have significant implications for society as a whole.

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