In recent years, the need for personal information protection in social surveys has been gaining attention in Japan. This paper summarizes the challenges in personal information protection and new methods of data collection in social surveys brought about by recent changes in the exploratory environment of social surveys in Japan. We focus on 1) changes in legal systems (e.g., the Basic Resident Registration Act, Public Offices Election Act) as well as ethics in social research in terms of the collection/management of research data; and 2) the potential of data collection methods, such as survey responses available on the Internet or systems that allow users to access archived data for secondary analysis, to reduce the risk of compromising individuals' personal information.

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The expansion method based on the azimuthal angle was applied to social maps of the Tokyo metropolitan area to distinguish objectively the concentric structures and sectorial structures from the spatial patterns within them. The authors surmised that the causal power of socioeconomic status in relation to familial status has increased. The spatial units of analysis were municipalities (shi, ku, cho, son); the ratio of blue-collar workers and ratio of unmarried persons living with their parents among a group of men aged 30–34 years were used as indices of the socioeconomic status and familial status of the population. When mapped, the two indices revealed concentric patterns, and the metropolitan center exhibited the lowest values. The ratio of blue-collar workers at a distance from the center has increased since 1980. The trend of unmarried persons to live with their parents became conspicuous after 2000. Application of the expansion method revealed that the contribution of sectorial structures to explain the spatial patterns of the ratio of blue-collar workers has weakened, although sectorial displacements of value are discernible and have occurred in a consistent direction. Maps of the ratio of blue-collar workers before 2005 show only ambiguous sectorial structures, whereas the map of 2010 has a statistically significant sectorial structure. The enhancement of concentric circular segregation within the Tokyo metropolitan area reflects the restructuring of the configuration of the urban social structure under the power of the market mechanism of land price.

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The purpose of this study is to discern the characteristics of and changes in industrial clusters in the Greater Kanto area using mesh maps to analyze manufacturing statistics and discuss the meaning and challenges of the industrial cluster policy. By constructing maps that depict the density of industrial plants and employees in the area, we specify the main industrial clusters. Many of these industrial clusters pertain to fundamental technology as designated by the Act on Temporary Measures Concerning the Activation of Specific Regional Industrial Agglomerations. By analyzing the distribution maps and individual meshes, which vary drastically between the clusters, we determined three points. First, based on the distribution of the density of plants, the cores of the clusters can be identified, but meshes that indicate rapid growth are dispersed because of the locations of industrial estates and large plants. These two results contradict each other. Second, we determined similarities between various clusters in mesh composition ratios in terms of the density of plants and employees. Third, mesh growth is dependent on the change in location of large plants; consequently, the relocation of large firms must be considered when thinking about the future of industrial clusters.

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This paper examines the influence of vertical and horizontal intergovernmental relationships on industrial policy making by local governments in the course of decentralization. It focuses on the planning of new regional industrial policy under the Act on Formation and Development of Regional Industrial Clusters through Promotion of Establishment of New Business Facilities, etc. in the cities of Yokkaichi and Kitakami. In Japan, prefectures play a critical role in planning development. On the contrary, most municipalities have little relevance to regional economic policy-making processes and are not able to build partnerships with other municipalities belonging to the same planning region, although some pioneering municipalities have undertaken economic development planning. Schemes to encourage cooperation among municipalities are required to encourage economic policy making on a regional scale.

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The Japanese Ministry of Trade, Economy and Industry (METI) offered subsidies totaling 146.1 billion yen for the promotion of both low-carbon and job opportunity-creating industries over the 3 years from 2009 to 2011. Those significant subsidies were offered under an approximately 20-year METI program to revitalize the production plants of private companies. The subsidies had a major impact on industrial competitiveness and regional economies. The aim of this paper is to review the effects of the subsidies and to consider the future of similar programs.

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In this paper, I review the regional characteristics of the heritage of industrial modernization while considering their connections to the history of regional industrial structures. The focus is on the “total research of the heritage of modernization” as described by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, prefectural boards of education, Heritage Constellations of Industrial Modernization Project authorized by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), and by building a database that consolidates the research from all these sources. In addition, I compare the research from these sources and analyze the political implications of industrial heritages in Japan.
Research by the Agency for Cultural Affairs covers an exhaustive array of family lineages nationwide, and many cultural heritages, including industrial heritages and those of traffic, architecture, civil structures, and installations. In contrast, in METI's research, the “stories” of modern industrialization are narrated, cultural heritages are regarded as “groups,” and the economic value of industrial tourism receives greater emphasis. To conserve and utilize the heritage of industrial modernization efficiently, it is necessary to consider both the cultural and economic value of heritage and promote policies that facilitate cooperation among authorities.

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Three and one-half years have passed since the Great East Japan Earthquake. The purpose of this paper is to clarify the recovery process of manufacturing industries in the Tohoku region and organize information on the different industrial location policies for the reconstruction of the regional economy.
Raw material industries in the coastal area, such as iron and steel, oil refining, and cement, were seriously damaged by the tsunami after the earthquake and required a relatively long recovery period. On the other hand, machinery industries in the inland area, such as electronics and automobiles, were less affected and recovered quickly except for a few factories for which the damage spread throughout the supply chain among domestic and international corporations.
After the earthquake, various industrial location policies, such as the Restoration and Maintenance Subsidy Project for Facilities of Small and Medium Enterprise Groups, subsidies for domestic relocation, and Regional Innovation Strategy Support Program, have been implemented by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. It is necessary to encourage new investments in seriously damaged areas and strengthen regional resilience and coordination in Tohoku from a wide-ranging perspective.

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This paper analyzes the process of policy making of “Pôles de compétitivité”, how regions and industrial sectors are determined, and the distribution of poles. Seven “poles of global competitiveness” were selected, and the author discusses which inter-firm and inter-governmental relations reinforce global competitiveness. In France, the pole of competitiveness policy, which place importance on the role of big firms or universities, was started to fight the decline in global competitiveness by replacing industrial decentralization policies or small and medium enterprise support policies. Under this policy, 71 clusters are classified into three categories by their competitiveness, and existing agglomerations are mainly selected. The most heavily populated sector is traditional industries such as the aeronautic and automobile industries along with clusters in Paris or Lyon where economic activities are strong. To stimulate the potential of newly advancing industries such as information and communication technology or biotechnology, seven regions were chosen as global poles and they are concentrated in Paris. In the domains of supporting clusters, the role of regional congresses is important. Currently, however, collaborations between regions or networking with multinational companies in Paris and focused support by the central government are considered important to reinforce global competitiveness.

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This paper examines the cluster policy in Korea and innovative clusters using the Seoul Digital Industrial Complex and Pangyo Techno Valley in the capital region as examples. In spite of the various definitions and scales related to industrial clusters, cluster policies in Korea were promoted nationwide, mainly under the Industrial Complex Cluster Program with the progress of participatory government in the early 2000s. The objective of this policy is to upgrade previous industrial complexes from simple physical agglomerations of firms and factories to innovative clusters by improving R&D performance and networking activities.
The Seoul Digital Industrial Complex, as the first industrial complex in the capital region, played an important role in the economic development of Korea. From the late 1990s, it also evolved into a representative innovative cluster focusing on services during efforts for industrial restructuring. Pangyo Techno Valley is a newly emerging cluster in which major IT firms and institutes started to agglomerate from 2010. In Korea, continuous investment for upgrading industrial complexes to become innovative clusters was made from the early 2000s with the support of cluster policies. This shows the effects on the development of networking activities between actors. However, cluster policies must change to new developmental directions with the advent of the era of innovation with creativity.

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It is well known that the Taoyuan Irrigation Aqueduct and its attached reservoirs, which were developed in the Taoyuan tableland in northwestern Taiwan during the colonial period, improved its water and land use markedly. In this paper, the authors trace the process of this remarkable change in Guanyin Township by referring to materials published during the colonial period in addition to more recent statistics and topographic maps and obtained the following results.
Before the development of the irrigation facilities, paddy fields increased gradually in Guanyin Township. After the completion of the Taoyuan Irrigation Aqueduct in 1924, not only paddy fields but also cropping ratios increased considerably. Double cropping of rice was achieved in most paddy fields. The increase in yield per land unit began somewhat later because the quality of newly irrigated paddy fields was still poor at this stage. In spite of a lack of statistical data during the 1940s, it is clear that a rapid increase in rice production occurred before the beginning of the 1950s. Rotational irrigation introduced in the mid-1950s also contributed to improve productivity during the 1960s. However, the cropping ratio of rice declined rapidly after an acreage reduction policy was carried out in 1984 to cope with the decrease in rice consumption. In the beginning of the 2000s, massive diversions of agricultural water to domestic and industrial use were enforced by the national government due to deficits in rain-fall.
Although the application of GIS analysis to topographic maps can contribute complementary information to statistical data, the time intervals between images are too long to detect short-lived changes.

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Japan's food supply since the Meiji era is discussed from the viewpoint of grain importation, and the geographical studies on the topic are reviewed. The beginning of Japan's food dependence on foreign sources occurred during the mid-Meiji era and a significant amount of rice was imported until World War II. Geographers at that time studied this phenomenon and, although some studies conducted during the war had no scientific basis, they reflect the high level of interest taken in Japan's food supply. After the war, this interest gradually died down, and the research focus shifted to domestic agricultural production. However, since the current amount of food imported into Japan has reached the highest level in history, there is considerable value in reviewing previous studies conducted on geography and food importation.

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