This study aims to develop a teacher training program for disaster risk reduction (DRR) in high school geography, a compulsory course introduced in Japan in 2022. The expectations and stakes involved are high, as the new course takes an inquiry-based approach for the study of sustainability and natural disasters along with advancing skills using GIS. However, teachers’ capacity to teach DRR is limited due to insufficient training and the fact that many geography teachers are licensed to teach history as well. To address these concerns, the study developed a training program that specifically targets flooding and landslide disasters caused by heavy rains, considering the increasing climate change concerns in Japan. By examining the compulsory high school geography curriculum and through discussions with geographers and DRR researchers, a model training program with the three components of DRR knowledge, GIS skills, and an application workshop was created. While scientific evaluation is pending, the pilot training indicated that the time frame, content, and teachers’ outputs were in line with the program’s objectives.

This study revealed regional patterns of employment in the tourism industry in Japan. There are 36 prefectures in which more than half of the employed population is made up of female temporary workers earning less than 1,490,000 yen. The percentage of female temporary employees exceeds 70% in more than two-thirds of municipalities analyzed. Regular employees are mainly men. However, they are young, relatively low-paid high school graduates, and the number of men in temporary employment is increasing. The tourism industry employs people whose gender, age, and educational background make it difficult for them to earn high wages. This is due to the following factors: 1) the shift to a service economy, the impoverishment of the middle class, and the implementation of policies to increase the value of space in developed countries; 2) Japan’s tourism policy and pursuit of local economic revitalization through the tourism industry; and 3) the discourses on regional revitalization which subordinate injustices.

Aquaculture is gaining importance globally, including salmon farming in Hokkaido. To develop salmon aquaculture in Hokkaido, the distribution of aquaculture operations in 1991, when salmon aquaculture was at its peak, and that in 2019 were compared in terms of geologic formations. River water is more abundant than springwater, although the temperature of springwater is higher than that of river water in winter, making spring-based salmon aquaculture more suitable. Fish farms using both river water and springwater have survived. Hydrogeologic and geologic maps show that many fish farms are on the edge of highlands, terraces, and loamy alluvial fans where groundwater is abundant and easily pumped up. In addition, many fish farms in 2019 were located near volcanic fronts in the foothills, where it is easy to access springwater. Fish farms utilized water from only three rivers, the Ishikari River, upper Tokachi River, and upper Saru River. Many fish farms established at high elevations went out of business, indicating that locations where the air temperature in winter is extremely low and that are distant from city markets are not ideal for aquaculture operations.

In a rain-fed rice farming village located in central Laos, we clarified the relationship between long-term population growth exceeding 2% per year and changes in livelihoods and various activities of villagers by generation. From the first to the fourth generation in the village that was established in the late 1920s, the acquisition of rice paddies, which was the key to livelihoods, changed from opening paddies to inheritance and then to purchase along with the population growth. Migration to other rural villages increased from the third generation who did not acquire sufficient paddy fields due to population growth. In the fourth generation who experienced continued population growth, the shortage of paddy fields was alleviated by the emergence of circular migrant workers to Thailand. The responses to population growth in this village did not improve agricultural productivity or migration to urban areas instead of the acceleration of rural-to-rural migration against the background of the expansion of paddy fields in central Laos and the increase in number of migrant workers to Thailand. In recent years, the spread of family planning has contributed to the end of population growth, which will likely change the direction of rural livelihood transition in this region.

This study revealed the demographic characteristics of rural regions of Laos from the perspective of rural–rural migration of the population focusing both on immigration and emigration in the village of HB, Luang Prabang province. The results showed that both social changes associated with rural–rural migration, such as relocation policies and marriage migration, and natural changes after migration have a significant impact on population dynamics. In order to maximize the livelihood potential in destination villages, migrants consider the possibility of acquiring new farmland, the accessibility of farmland in their previous village, and the availability of kinship networks. The reason for active rural migration is that there is no significant change in livelihoods, mainly agriculture, before and after migration, and therefore migrants are able to continue supporting themselves. However, lowland rice paddies are limited. When it is difficult for relocated households to produce enough rice to sustain their families, they aim to earn cash by migrating to cities.

This study investigated changes in population dynamics and paddy holdings over three generations in two villages established by the Lao people in a basin in northern Laos. In the study area, government policy has promoted migration from highlands since the 1970s. However, there was limited land for new paddy reclamation in the basin, and therefore many residents who migrated from highlands, mainly Khmu people, had limited opportunities to engage in wet-rice cultivation in the basin villages where they resided and ultimately continued the subsistence swidden agriculture they had practiced in the highlands. The common method of acquiring new paddies in basin villages, where it is difficult to develop new paddies, is to purchase paddies from residents who have moved away from the villages. Many residents waited for such opportunities and worked in urban areas to make money to purchase paddies. Migrants from highlands in these basin villages are faced with the choice of staying in the basin, where paddy fields are scarce, or migrating to urban areas. We found that the basin villages functioned as intermediate points for migration between highlands and urban areas.

We conducted research on the seasonal diet and food-acquisition strategies of households in a village inhabited by an ethnic minority group (Mankon) in Xepon district, central Laos, who maintain a subsistence economy by engaging in swidden agriculture, fishery, animal feeding, hunting, and gathering. We adopted the food diary method in which we collected data on everyday side dish menus as well as data concerning who acquired the main ingredients of those menus. The results suggested that the production–expenditure balance in household food acquisition changed from minus to plus during the period when children were in their teens, and the contribution of children to household food acquisition was important.

The authors conducted three time-allocation surveys in a Mangkhong ethnic minority village in Central Laos, where swidden cultivation, fishing, hunting, and gathering are the main subsistence of the residents. In the surveys, three types of data were collected using the recall method to collect information on daily activities, a GPS logger and accelerometer to collect the spatial information, and energy consumption of daily activities. The results of the data analysis clarified the temporal-spatial pattern of daily activities, such as labor division between male and female adults in working-time allocation and activity space and it’s gender difference. Furthermore, from the balance of time allocation between various subsistence of swidden agriculturalists in Central Laos, where development is progressing at a rapid pace, the authors tried to provide important clues for understanding the changes in land use and subsistence in the target area.

This study revealed the characteristics of the remains of the waterworks constructed by the city of Kure in 1943, combining field surveys in Higashi-Hiroshima and Kure, Hiroshima Prefecture, and the national land register data from the Ministry of Justice. We also discussed the possibility of using national data. Based on field survey, we found that at least 192 remains are related to the former waterworks of Kure City. Using the national data, we confirmed that narrow lots ∼3 m wide still exist along the remains, extending for a length of ∼10.7 km. These lots were acquired by the city of Kure to construct a drinking water supply route from Higashi-Hiroshima to Kure. Since the former Japanese naval base established in Kure supported the water supply construction project, the remains revealed in this study are considered to be valuable cultural assets as war remains that convey the indirect effects of the war to the present. Using the national data has enabled more precise mapping and reduced the labor and expense of viewing them.

This study compares and analyzes the explanations of proponents and claims of opponents against the Hokkaido Sapporo 2030 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games bid utilizing the evaluation items for sports mega-events proposed by Müller and Gaffney (2018). Both proponents and opponents were not only originally organized in Sapporo but have also connected with national organizations centered in Tokyo and global organizations centered in Europe and North America, and have implemented their logic and action strategies in those multiple regions. For this reason, the explanations of the proponents and the claims of opponents are similar to those of past Olympic host and host candidate cities with regard to their bids. The proponents argue that the Olympics provide citizens with hopes and dreams, lead to urban redevelopment and revitalization of the local economy, and attract tourists. The opponents criticize the International Olympic Committee and the Olympics as a typical example of the celebration capitalism, and call for priority implementation of policies directly linked to the lives of citizens and the participation of residents in the candidature process.

This paper describes the 2020 Indonesian Population and Housing Census conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, based on government documents, media reports, and interviews with staff of Statistics Indonesia (Badan Pusat Statistik). The 2020 Indonesian Population and Housing Census faced various challenges due to the spread of COVID-19. The most severe impact was the cancellation of face-to-face surveys across nearly the entire area of Java Island and urban regions of the outer islands. As a result, data related to those regions were limited to basic information such as name, gender, and relationship. This was largely due to the fact that the government budget for 2020 was restructured during the COVID-19 pandemic, forcing Statistics Indonesia to drastically cut the budget for the 2020 Indonesian Population and Housing Census. Consequently, adequate measures could not be taken for the 2020 census. Given that the 2020 Indonesian Population and Housing Census could no longer maintain consistency with previous data, the policy on census survey methods in the future is expected to undergo significant changes.

European and US ships sailed in the vicinity of Japanese waters before the weather station network was established in Japan during the late Edo period in the 18th and 19th centuries. We focused on the ship log weather records on vessels sailing through Japanese waters during this period. The 18th-century weather records came mostly from expedition cruises in the vicinity of Japan. In the 19th century, weather records were found from US Navy and other ships that came to Japan to open the country to the wider world. We briefly introduce these old meteorological data based on the foreign ship logs in the vicinity of Japan and focus on three tropical cyclone (TC) events during the period from July 21 to 25, 1853 observed on six ships of Perry’s fleet by US Naval Japan Expedition, on September 23 and 24, 1856 observed by the Medusa of the Dutch Navy, and on August 15 and 16, 1863 during the bombardment of Kagoshima in southern Japan observed by 11 UK Navy ships. Tracks of TCs are analyzed based on those ship log weather records.

Since April 2022, geography has become a compulsory subject at high schools nationwide. Based on the course contents and method of evaluation, which have changed along with the place of geography in the curriculum, we considered the competencies that we would like to develop through geography. Students should be able to: 1) use maps and geographic information systems accurately and continue to use the map utilization skills acquired through learning; 2) walk set routes correctly and explain the characteristics of places based on geographic observations with accurate place names and numerical values; and 3) set themes and undertake activities to solve problems through collaborative learning.