This study verifies previous situation reports stating that urban park facilities, such as drinking fountains and toilets, were frequently used to meet the domestic water requirements of Sapporo City citizens during the large-scale blackouts resulting from the Hokkaido Eastern Iburi Earthquake. From the results obtained, the following points were clarified: 1. A total of 45 urban parks whose water usage after the earthquake increased significantly in comparison with the same period of the previous year were examined. 2. Spatial analysis conducted via the Geographic Information System (GIS) confirmed that the locations of urban parks whose water consumption had increased under the large-scale power outage following the earthquake were scattered over a wide area in Sapporo City. 3. Municipal water supplies were interrupted in some areas and drinking fountains and toilets in nearby urban parks were used as water sources for neighboring residents, thus indicating that urban parks have a crucial role to play by supplying water to area residents in the aftermath of a disaster.

To prepare for the frequent and increasingly severe disasters from heavy rains in recent years, productions of the flood hazard maps (hereinafter “FHM”) formulated by local residents are progressing as one of the regional disaster prevention improvements. In this study, I distributed questionnaire surveys to neighborhood associations in Shiga Prefecture and analyzed the cartographic information in order to clarify the status of FHM production by local residents and the factors that influence the cartographic information. The cluster analysis resulting from the questionnaire given to 292 neighborhood associations and 24 pages of the FHM cartographic data revealed the following statistics: i) Approximately 16.8% of neighborhood associations, which is relatively few, had created an FHM. This showed the low level of local residents' interest toward producing the map. ii) Some neighborhood associations where there were areas with high risks of floods had never produced an FHM. iii) Cartographic information was influenced by levels of the regions' flood damage risk and also levels of the residents' flood risk awareness, rather than by the methods of creating the maps.

To understand the impact of personal communication on environmental behavior, the present study compared the role of the mass media and personal communications in three countries: Japan, China and Germany. It is pointed out that information from the mass media is non-specific to individuals. Compared to the information from mass media, the target of communication is clear when communicated through personal channels. Therefore we predicted that personal communications would be more effective in inducing pro-environmental behaviors compared to mass media. Questionnaire survey was conducted with university students in Japan, China and Germany. The results of structural equation modeling showed that personal communication had stronger effects on the awareness of consequences and needs, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control (PBC) compared to information from mass media. The effects of personal communications were observed in both Asian and Western cultures. This result indicates that information through personal communication can be processed with higher attention, and this process is universal across cultures. The present study showed that mass media alone was not sufficient to motivate people to conduct pro-environmental behavior, which highlighted the need to promote communications among individuals on environmental issues.

This study focuses on modern postcards to identify the viewpoint areas of the Naruto Strait and the landscape features visible from these areas. Twelve viewpoint areas (A to L) were identified from the composition and viewpoint positions in 160 postcards dating from 1913 to 1939. In addition, landscape elements and landmarks captured in the postcards were sampled. Based on the results of the statistical analysis of the relationship between the samples and the viewpoint areas, the frequency of occurrence of coastal views—such as the islands of Hadakajima, Tobishima, and Aboshijima of Chidorigahama with its arrangement of rocks and black pines and of Choshinoguchi, appreciated for its swift-moving tides—was high in viewpoint areas A to G (118 postcards) in an area designated as a place of scenic beauty. Clearly, when Naruto Strait became a designated place of scenic beauty, it was found worthwhile to view these elements from various viewpoint areas. However, most of the viewpoint areas H to L (35 postcards) were seen from 1925 onward and were considered to have been discovered later, given the diverse modes of sightseeing available and preservation of places of scenic beauty. These areas included shipboard views of whirlpools and the natural monument of Neagarimatsu.

Recently, bonsai has been gaining in popularity both in Japan and overseas. While bonsai has long been established as a traditional hobby among older generations in Japan, an increasing number of younger people also enjoy bonsai trees today, with small bonsai seeing a boost in popularity in particular. From the various small bonsai trees, this paper focuses on kokedama (moss ball bonsai). Except for some consumer behavior surveys, research on kokedama is still very limited and a few surveys have elucidated how people evaluate kokedama psychologically. Of the various types of bonsai trees attracting increased attention around the world, kokedama are expected to gain special favor overseas because of their beautiful appearance and their ease of maintenance. This paper reports the preliminary findings of a psychological evaluation of kokedama conducted on visitors to kokedama exhibition/lesson booths at the Atsugi City Green Festival held in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. The survey results showed that kokedama were evaluated from the three psychological perspectives of “cheerfulness,” “peacefulness,” and “calmness.” Of the three perspectives, “cheerfulness” gained higher scores among older generations compared to younger generations. The highest gain of “cheerfulness” may be attributed to the petite, but significant unique appearance of kokedama.

Legitimacy is defined as the approvability of an individual’s or others’ rights in the context of public decision-making. The superior legitimization of the concerned parties reveals the tendency of people to approve of the concerned parties’ superior legitimacy in cases involving the “not in my backyard” (NIMBY) problem; induces concerned parties’ rejections of NIMBY facilities, such as a geological disposal facility of high-level radioactive waste (HLW) involving various costs for the local area (compared with enhancing public interest for the whole of society); and undermines total social benefits. The superior legitimization of the concerned parties accrues from a moral judgment process rather than from a rational process. This research hypothesized that the aspects of moral dilemma of a NIMBY problem stimulate moral judgments. A survey that focused on the legitimacy of local residents and the government agency around the location of the geological disposal facility of HLW suggested that moral foundations affect legitimacy judgments indirectly. The moral foundations of legitimacy judgments were also discussed theoretically.