As the world’s largest producer and consumer of coal, understanding the relationship between Chinese domestic coal and international energy prices is important for China to formulate policies to stabilize the domestic coal price. Therefore, the dynamic relationship between Chinese domestic coal and international fossil fuel markets during 2000–2020 is analyzed in this study. We found that the relationship between Chinese coal price and international coal, natural gas, and crude oil prices have different trends before and after 2008. We also found that the Chinese domestic coal price is only cointegrated with the prices of international natural gas prices after 2018. These results indicate that the dynamic relationships between Chinese domestic coal and international fossil fuel markets are changing within the investigated period. Natural gas is one of the major energy sources following the 13th Five-Year Plan of China. The stakeholders and policymakers of the Chinese coal market must consider the impact of international natural gas prices for identifying Chinese coal price movements in order to generate more accurate expectations.

Given the use of regional natural and human resources, renewable power plants are expected to deliver a substantial regional economic effect. This study quantifies the influence of renewable power generation in stimulating local economies using the regional input–output table data of each of the 47 prefectures in Japan. The results reveal, among other findings, that the construction and operation of unused wood biomass power plants of the same scale elicit nearly fourfold difference in regional economic effects between Hokkaido and Tokyo. Varying results are a reflection of the industrial structure in a region and the rate of self-sufficiency of related industries. In addition, when comparing the effect of regional economic revitalization by introducing renewable energy per kWh by energy source, the results are in the order of small hydro, unused wood biomass, industrial solar, and onshore wind. It was determined that the economic effect of the introduction of four types of renewable energy is sufficiently large enough in comparison to the value of electricity.

The installation of new geothermal power sources in Japan appears to face difficulty even after the FIT (Feed-in Tariffs) scheme started in 2012. This study clarifies the reasons and the recent circumstance of disputes regarding new geothermal developments all over Japan from 2011 to 2020. To identify each dispute, all articles of national newspapers were investigated by using search words of “geothermal power” and “opposition” both during that term. Through testing the average of two groups where geothermal-related disputes observed and not, among resource potential, installation targets and difference between target and existing capacity of each prefecture, the difference was thought to be mostly affected to disputes situation. So, to make consensus about new geothermal power installation, more citizen's understanding about existing geothermal power plants should be needed.

The first aim of this study is to show the simple method for analyzing the thermal comfort. We calculated wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) and universal thermal climate index (UTCI) from meteorological data of AMeDAS. Globe temperature (𝑇_𝑔) and was calculated and natural wet-bulb temperature was used in the WBGT calculation. The second aim of this study is to analyze the effect of the relocation of the venue of marathon and race walking from Tokyo to Sapporo and to compare the thermal condition. In Sapporo, WBGT was about 4.4 ℃ lower, and UTCI was about 6.3 ℃lower than in Tokyo on average. The total days that exceeded 28 ℃ of WBGT was 37 days that exceeded 38 ℃ of UTCI was 25 days in Sapporo. The heat stress of marathon and race walking in Sapporo was considered to be lower.

This study explores the psychological determinants of the adoption of expensive energy-efficient facilities in households. Demographic factors, such as household yearly income and type of dwelling, have been considered the primary factors that account for the variance in adoption. However, this study demonstrates that psychological variables are more relevant than demographics to the adoption of expensive energy-saving facilities by employing a self-regulated stage model of behavioral change (SSBC; Bamberg, 2013a, b). The SSBC assumes an implementation intention between behavioral intention and behavior. We administered a web survey in Hokkaido, Japan (n = 312). A quota sampling method was used, and we obtained 312 valid responses. The results revealed that a) the implementation intention was the strongest predictor of adopting energy-saving facilities, b) behavioral intentions did not predict adoption directly but did so indirectly through the mediation of implementation intentions, and c) demographic factors such as type of dwelling and presence of homemakers also predicted the adoption of energy-saving facilities, while household yearly income had no effect. These results suggest that the SSBC model, which was initially developed for habit change, is applicable to and useful for adopting expensive energy-saving facilities.

Special gardens refer to gardens built in urban or country areas with special functions. Special gardens were first officially introduced by Manchukuo government in 1940. This study aims to explore the phase characteristics of them in that period. 25 research objects are selected. Special garden type, surrounding land type, spatial form are selected as research elements. According to the urban planning and construction process of Manchukuo period, characteristics of research elements of research object, main historical events; the development process of special garden is divided into three phases: 1932-1937, 1938-1941, 1942-1945. In Phase 1, civic playgrounds located in urban living lands came to dominate. This reflects that special gardens at the time mainly served the function of providing space in which people could rest or organize activities, and their construction was concentrated in urban areas. As the focus of planning and construction shifted from urban to countryside, allotment gardens located in countryside became the most important special gardens in Phase 2. This signaled a shift in the function of special gardens, from mainly providing leisurely spaces, to serving productive purposes. In Phase 3, affected by cultural commemorative activities, commemorative nurseries, with both plant cultivation and commemorative functions, came to dominate.

As the most intense "land battlefield" between "nationalization" and "collective ownership", the approach of urban village renewal has been tugging at the social housing issues, the passivity of urban planning policies, and the interest conflict under the urban-rural dual system. This study aims to investigate the changes in the recent renewal model under the policy of comprehensive renovation (zonghezhengzhi). Based on the reviewing of urban village evolution history, we investigated two renewal projects as representatives of state-led and private sector-led pioneeringly turn urban villages into rental public housing by renovation, which is different from the demolition-reconstruction method in the past. While focusing on the new communal facilities that are characteristic of the new renewal model, the status of building renovation and the mode of operation were set as evaluation items. The results show that, firstly, the flexibility of converting land ownership relationships, as long-term lease contracts for village buildings between developers and village collectives, is fundamental to the pattern shift in redevelopment. Secondly, whether state-led or private sector-led, the implementation of these projects has significantly improved the quality of the built and living environment in urban villages. Thirdly, the government's subsidized support for rental public housing in urban village redevelopment projects suggests that the latest urban renewal policies under the land regime show efforts to resolve urban housing conflicts in the face of high housing prices.

The comparative disadvantage of agriculture in Japan, combined with the shortage of agricultural laborers due to socioeconomic factors such as a declining and aging population, is accelerating farmland abandonment. This increase in abandoned farmland puts food security in times of emergency at risk and causes additional problems, such as the loss of agricultural multifunctionality. Although many studies have been conducted on the causes of farmland abandonment in Japan, only a few have examined this mechanism using community-based data and spatial econometric models. In this study, we aim to precisely measure the impact of socioeconomic and policy factors on farmland abandonment while considering the spatial dependency of this phenomenon. The results of the analysis showed that the spatial econometric model improved the accuracy of the estimation. It was also found that the policy effects of the direct payment for hilly and mountainous areas are identified, and the current structural reform policies for creating large-scale farmers promoted by the Japanese government contribute to the reduction of abandoned farmland.

In this study, we used the thermal stress index (THI) to clarify the relationship between temperature and utilization rate (length of stay) in domestic female Japanese Saanen hybrid goats (Capra aegagrus hircus), assessing changes across three temperature ranges: high temperature, optimal temperature, and low temperature. We also analyzed the effects of meteorological changes on utilization. We found that, under high temperatures, the indoor utilization rate was 61.8% and that animals spent more time indoors than outdoors, despite higher heat stress indoors. Based on this result, we performed a correlation analysis between meteorological factors and utilization rate, but no significant relationship between solar radiation or wind speed and utilization rate was found in the high-temperature environment. It was concluded that the reason for the high indoor utilization rate is that the outdoor foraging behavior decreased and the resting behavior increased because the heat production and physical fitness consumption by the ruminant were suppressed.