Journal of Rural Problems
Online ISSN : 2185-9973
Print ISSN : 0388-8525
ISSN-L : 0388-8525
Volume 48, Issue 3
Displaying 1-5 of 5 articles from this issue
Special Issue
  • Yoko Niiyama
    2012Volume 48Issue 3 Pages 345-354
    Published: December 25, 2012
    Released on J-STAGE: March 14, 2014
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Damage caused by the earthquake is now widespread,having been compounded two-, and then three-fold, by additional events. The health effects of radioactive materials released in the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant disaster and consumed through food have become one of the biggest social issues to arise from the disaster. Using the risk communication paradigm, we will assess the researcher’s role for the public in confronting sociallydevastating circumstances, as well as consider how scientific information and opinions can be exchanged to attain an public understanding of the situation.
    Firstly, we provide a description of the public psychological state confronting the effects of radiation contamination of food on health. Next, we will discuss the current state of risk communication and propose a interactive model. Then we will outline the public knowledge and risk perception for effects of radiation contamination of food on health at pre-/post- communication, and validate the evidence of the situations in the focus group communication, especially scrutiny process in discussions of scientific information presented.
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  • Tomohiro Okada
    2012Volume 48Issue 3 Pages 355-364
    Published: December 25, 2012
    Released on J-STAGE: March 14, 2014
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    The objective of this paper is to show the prospects and issues on rebuilding affected local societies based on the concept of intraregional economic circulation after elucidating the social structure of damages caused by the Eastern Japan Earthquake and Tsunami.
    To do this, 1) this paper criticizes the discourse that limits the scope of disaster-hit areas to the Tohoku region by showing the heterogeneity and regionality of the social structure of damages in the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami; 2) from the context of capitalist development towards the contemporary phase of economic globalization, the paper analyzes the socioeconomic factors within the disaster-hit areas and the political economic factors behind the policy conflicts concerning local revitalization;and 3) by examining the policy issues concerning the restoration of disaster-hit local societies and the reestablishment of victims’ lives, this paper shows the importance in restoring the intraregional reinvestment capability and intraregional economic circulation of the affected local societies.
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  • —A case study on Vegetable Farm and Regional Agriculture in Miyagi Prefecture
    Masaki Umemoto
    2012Volume 48Issue 3 Pages 365-373
    Published: December 25, 2012
    Released on J-STAGE: March 14, 2014
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Vegetable farm and paddy field farm on coastal area at Miyagi prefecture got serious damage from the Great East Japan Earthquake. We confirmed the present condition of damaged area and farm management. Also we studied the impact of farm income and farm financing from the damage of Tsunami.
    Our conclusions were summarized as follows.
    Rice crop areas of 2 city and 2 town (Natori, Iwanuma,Watari, Yamamoto) was declined 35% of areas before earthquake, and in 2012 rice crop area of these areas reached about 70%. The other side strawberry crop area of Watari town and Yamamoto town decrease only 20% of area at 2010, and even in 2012, it estimated that those strawberry crop areas remain about 33% of 2010. Especially in Yamamoto town, more than half of farm couldn’t reopen the farm business.
    A case of tomato crop farm in Miyagi prefecture damaged by earthquake, and its farm’s income declined about 40 million yen (40% of farm income of 2010), and profit was minus 13.9 million yen in 2011. But because of subsidize from government and insurance of green house,farmer could weathered the difficult situation of financing.
    A case of strawberry crop farm in Yamamoto town was damaged by Tsunami. He loosed the green house constructed 1.3 years before, but another green house remained, so he continued strawberry production. Farm income declined about 10 million yen. Considering the loss of inventory (strawberry) and asset (green house),his agricultural income decreased to minus 10 million yen.
    It is important to survey the present condition and carry out the fact finding for damaged area and farm management from the impact from Great East Japan Earthquake and the accident of Tokyo Electric Power Company’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station continuously. Also we need to throw the problems to be solved from the view points of agricultural economics.
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Research Articles
  • Shenshen Gui, Ryoji Ito, Hitoshi Aoyagi
    2012Volume 48Issue 3 Pages 374-385
    Published: December 25, 2012
    Released on J-STAGE: March 14, 2014
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    This study on the outside dining patterns of urban citizens of various age groups in Beijing has clarified the following points. First, among menu choices when dining out, there is a preference for traditional Chinese foods,particularly among the middle-aged and elderly. On the other hand, the younger generation exhibits a marked preference for fast food and rice bowls. Second, individuals in their 20s and 30s utilize a wide range of outside dining establishments, from fast food restaurants aimed at the general public to upscale hotel restaurants and restaurants serving international cuisine. Also, the younger generation tends to have a sense of “gluttony” regarding outside dining expenditures, and many intend to dine out less often in the future. Third, different types of companions tend to accompany diners to different venues. For instance, diners utilize workplace cafeterias because of user-friendly attributes such as low cost and proximity, and the ordinary usage pattern involves employees eating lunch with their coworkers on weekdays. On the other hand, among individuals in their 20s, fast food establishments and ordinary restaurants are utilized primarily as venues for deepening relationships with friends and relatives over lunch or dinner on days off. Additionally,among individuals in their 30s and 40s, saturday and sunday lunch and dinner outings are generally enjoyed together with children. Thus, forms of outside dining expenditures are strongly influenced by the life cycles of urban citizens.
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  • Zhenkui Zhan, Ryoji Ito, Hitoshi Aoyagi
    2012Volume 48Issue 3 Pages 386-397
    Published: December 25, 2012
    Released on J-STAGE: March 14, 2014
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    This work has clarified some recent problems at dairy agricultural cooperatives as well as the effects of mergers upon operations. First, mergers between dairy agricultural cooperatives primarily occur when the cooperatives are unable to leverage their various business functions due to a reduction in the scale of operations caused by a lower number of milk-producing households and a drop-off in business. Also, reducing the number of employees, closing branch offices, and scaling back certain projects subsequent to mergers produces a temporary improvement in operational balance of payments. However, the subsequent reduction in the number of milk-producing households and in business activity cancels out the effects of mergers. This creates the need for further mergers. Also, financial operations at dairy agricultural cooperatives have the following special characteristics. First, with regard to operational balance of payments, the cooperative’s primary business activities run a deficit, and the current profitability of the cooperative depends largely upon non-business earnings such as land rental fees, mutual insurance fees,miscellaneous interest, investment dividends received,and so on. With regard to balance of payments, dairy agricultural cooperatives resemble multi-purpose agricultural cooperatives, which make up for the deficits incurred by the agricultural business with earnings from credit and mutual insurance businesses.
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