Since the 2000s, black tea production has been increasing in Japan, including in Okinawa, which is one of the most noted areas in Japan for excellent black tea quality. The authors highlight the production and supply chain structures of black tea producers, focusing on their management and technological adoption.

Tea farmers in the study area are classified two types: those who remain centered on green tea production; and those who have improved their technology so that their products can be classified as “premium” black tea. The former continue to adopt technologies shaped by green tea production experiences and utilize supply chains secondarily used for the sales of green tea. The latter, however, have developed cultivation and processing technologies tailored for black tea production, relying on refined skills instead of the introduction of labor-saving devices. In terms of sales, the latter have developed new supply chains to create appropriate brand images of their products. Given that market conditions for budget black tea have not yet been established in Japan, the former group of tea producers will likely make the transition to the production and supply chain management styles adopted by the latter group.

Original meteorological observations and analysis of wind and temperature were conducted on the midslope of Mt. Rokko, in Kobe, Japan, from July to November 2016 to investigate the cooling effect of cold air drainage. In the middle of the mountainside, stable northerly winds start to blow regularly after 15:00, and the temperature suddenly decreases sharply by 4–5°C. This northerly wind is a cold airflow, which continues from 15:00 to 07:00, with an average wind speed of about 1 to 2 m/s. It was clarified that cold air drainage occurs on the midslope of Mt. Rokko during the time when an extended sea breeze predominates in the greater Kobe area and that a local circulation pattern is formed which differs from the prevailing pattern in Kobe.

There is potentially 600–900 population of snow leopards living in Mongolia. Especially, a plenty of eyewitness, encounter, and livestock predatory has been reported in Khovd and Bayan-Ulgii Province. Such kind of “snow leopard accident” was dramatically increased from 2014. In contrast to this situation, some of retributive illegal killing are still happened against livestock predatory. To create well-being relationship between snow leopard and local nomadic herders, this research mainly focus of actual situation about “snow leopard accident” among the nomadic society. The fieldwork was carried on from 19^th July 2016 ～22^nd August 2016, with structured interview (hysteresis and retroactive research, documentation of oral history) to 117 informants living in vicinity of snow leopard's dwelling at Mt. Jargalant, Mt. Bonbut, and Mt. Munkh-Khairkhan. Herder's attitude for ecological conservation and animal grazing is also key issue to create sustainable co-existence with nomadic herders and snow leopards.

This study attempted to reconstruct a geographical fieldwork education curriculum for undergraduate teacher training programs specializing in social studies through an analysis of the lesson “Fieldwork Training in Geography in 2016”, at Mie University. The study results highlighted the following four challenges: 1) limited participation in Fieldwork Survey Training in Geography; 2) a lack of educational opportunities for enhancing geographical skill; 3) the need for intensification of communication with both physical and human geography divisions; and 4) systemization of the method for submitting reports of the study region. In 2017, the authors initiated steps to improve the following three points of geographical fieldwork education in line with the fieldwork training conducted in 2016: 1) reviving specific laboratory teachings that deal with the basic methods for geographical field surveys to create and enhance opportunities for geographical skill education; 2) building collaboration between physical and human geography in general surveys and cross-sectoral themes set in the Fieldwork Training in Geography in 2017; and 3) adopting an excursion experience for students majoring in social studies as well as geography as part of specific regular classroom lectures, such as introduction to physical or human geography. It would be desirable for geography teachers not only to acquire skills oin basic field survey methods but also cultivate a capacity for geographical thinking for understanding specific regional phenomena through fieldwork in a variety of regions. This study suggests a renewed focus on fulfilling laboratory teaching opportunities to increase the significance of geographical fieldwork for students in social studies.

This study clarifies the growth process of Singapore, which has become an international tourism hub, in terms of tourism development. The success of the tourism industry in Singapore is attributed to continued aggressive government initiatives to develop it, while exploiting the inherent geographic and linguistic advantages. Immediately after independence, tourism development was a means for acquiring foreign currency and creating jobs. After 2010, as seen in the development of the meetings, incentive travel, conventions, and exhibitions (MICE) subsector and the success of integrated resorts, the tourism industry also began to play an important role in strengthening the international competitiveness of Singapore. In particular, the development of large-scale, symbolic tourism and MICE facilities in the central area has greatly contributed to the improvement of functions as an international tourism hub.

This paper examines how the system from the production to distribution of bananas from Taiwan for the Japanese market has been established since the liberalization of banana exports, while focusing on the Japanese banana market and distribution system. It also analyzes the characteristics of Taiwan's banana industry for export to Japan since liberalization. After liberalization, in order to respond to the safety-conscious Japanese market, bananas in Taiwan have been produced and exported under the guidance of the Executive Yuan Council of Agriculture. The liberalization of banana exports allowed competition. Consequently, bananas for the Japanese market are traded at domestic Taiwanese market prices that are both high and unstable, making price control impossible. In the Japanese market, the quality of Taiwanese bananas has improved since liberalization. It also appears some importers of Taiwanese bananas sell them directly to retailers after applying ripening processes. However, most importers still go through the wholesale market with traditional transactions, and therefore the prices of bananas from Taiwan are driven by producers. On the other hand, the retail prices of bananas in the Japanese market are determined by retailer leadership. Therefore, Taiwanese banana price formation is not sufficiently flexible for the Japanese banana market. Banana exporters in Taiwan rent land from the Taiwan Sugar Corporation under the condition that they produce bananas only for export. However, the land rent soared, and the upper limit for the rented land was set throughout Taiwan to avoid competition with domestic farmers. Taiwan's banana industry has been working hard to expand exports by maintaining opportunities for domestic growers. Taiwan is now entering a new phase in which it must strengthen banana exports while protecting domestic banana growers in the age of globalization.

Although the working conditions of college-level part-time lecturers in Japan have been a topic of discussion since the 1990s, receiving significant nationwide attention in 2007, there has not been a marked improvement since then. When the Japanese government revised the Labor Contract Act in 2013, it was expected that more employees would be shifted from fixed-term to permanent employment. The actual result, however, was that employers restricted the length of employee contract terms. This paper examines responses to a questionnaire survey given to part-time geography lecturers at Japanese universities. With an average work experience of more than 15 years, the respondents (n=15) reported earning a monthly salary of less than 30,000 yen per course per week. Most were teaching at more than four different institutions. The survey results showed that those making a living with multiple part-time lecture positions were teaching an average of eight classes per week.