Footprints of 566 young adult Japanese males were examined for nine measurements, two indices and three shape characteristics (the longest toe, the development of the plantar arch, the floating toe). Information on the distribution of these variables was provided for use in ergonomic and forensic applications. Intra-observer measurement errors of the footprint measurements were about the same with those of manual foot measurements. The subjects were born in the early 1970s and the mean age at the time of measurement was 19.3 years. The validity of the present data as a reference data was examined using existing data. Mean body size and mean foot size of the present subjects were about the same with those of the same generation measured at the similar age. No age-related changes were observed in foot length and foot circumference after 18 years of age. Secular change was not observed for the foot circumference in the generation born in and after the 1930s, and that in the foot length was minimal in the generations born in and after 1980. These results suggest the usefulness of the present data as the reference data at present and in the near future.

The “Ushikawa man” fossils (humeral shaft fragment and femoral head) from central Japan were proposed by H. Suzuki and F. Takai in the late 1950s and early 1960s, and since then have been considered to represent rare examples of Late Pleistocene human remains from the Honshu Island. However, doubt as to its human identity have been voiced, especially since the 1990s, albeit without formal reevaluations. We here report results of an in depth morphological examination of the two Ushikawa fossils, based on a comparative analysis with 24 specimens of Ursus arctos and U. thibetanus. Our results indicate that the two Ushikawa “human” fossils are radial shaft and femoral head fragments of Ursus, and, from aspects of both morphology and faunal assemblage considerations, most likely represent U. arctos. We also offer brief reflections on the historical background and significance of the “Ushikawa man” fossils to the development of paleoanthropology in Japan.

One of the causes of poor posture in humans is the mismatch between chair height and body dimensions. Traditionally, body height and lower leg length have been used to determine the appropriate chair seat height. A previous study examining changes in the body proportions of modern Japanese adolescents using the chart method reported that the current proportions show an elongation of the torso (increase in sitting height and decrease in lower leg length) for both men and women. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between height and lower leg length in healthy adult subjects and provide basic data for determining chair seat height. The study included a total of 196 healthy adults (85 males and 111 females; mean age: 59.0 ± 14.2 years) living in Tokyo and its suburbs. Height was measured using a stadiometer, and lower leg length (height of the upper edge of the tibia) was measured using the Martin method with an anthropometer. Males showed a strong positive correlation (r = 0.795, p < 0.001) between height and tibia length. Females showed a moderate positive correlation (r = 0.664, p < 0.001) between height and tibia length. The positive correlation between height and lower leg length for both males and females suggest that these measurements can serve as criteria for selecting an appropriate chair for each individual.