This study investigates wild edible mushroom foraging practices in Tsukechi-cho, Nakatsugawa City, Gifu Prefecture, a region where subsistence-oriented mushroom foraging remains customary. It clarifies the characteristics of both the ecological environments in which mushrooms grow and the social contexts in which they are foraged, with particular attention to the strategies employed by foragers and the conditions under which these strategies emerge. Findings reveal that foragers’ perceptions of mushroom occurrence and habitat, their relationships with competing foragers, and their individual schedules and experiences all influence their behavioral strategies. These strategies are not static but adapt dynamically to changing environmental conditions. Rather than being driven by monetary gain, mushroom foraging in this context reflects a proactive engagement with uncertainty, an attitude that reveals diverse and situated relationships between humans and nature. The study suggests that such motivated, experiential resource use deserves closer attention, especially in discussions of Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) utilization and sustainable forest-human interactions.

This paper analyzes the status of SNS use for inbound tourism promotion and prefectural economic revitalization, focusing on the Chinese market. In recent years, SNS has played an important role as a means of disseminating information about tourist destinations, and its influence on the choice of tourist destinations by Chinese tourists is particularly significant. Taking Tottori Prefecture as an example, this study explores the strategy of using SNS such as Weibo and WeChat for tourism promotion. Although Tottori Prefecture has a smaller number of foreign tourists than other major tourist destinations in Japan, the prefecture has successfully established a brand using SNS. In addition, through the analysis of regional differences in the use of SNS, it was found that even in cities, the active use of SNS can have an important impact on tourism promotion.

This paper reports on disaster response support using geospatial information in Oita prefecture, Japan, in 2023 and 2024 and discusses the role of geospatial information and geography in disaster response support. In the 2023 disaster, one person was missing due to a landslide caused by heavy rainfall. In that situation, we visualized the distribution of the amount of sediment using high-resolution topographic data and proposed search locations. In the 2024 disaster, we created a provisional inundation depth map using images posted on SNS and aerial drone images of inundation damage caused by river flooding due to heavy rainfall. The disaster response support reported in this paper was based on a basic concept for those involved in geography, and the synthesis of geographical knowledge with expertise from other disciplines will lead to more rapid, safer disaster responses.

This study presents the awareness of civil servants from diverse departments in advanced local government of Kumagaya city of the general tendencies of cooling behavior policies toward other local governments and the degree of their interest in those policies. In general, it transpired that their degree of interest was high, whereas their knowledge possession was low. Their interest appeared to stem primarily from prior exposure to policy developments in other local governments. The extent of their prior knowledge of other local governments such as different maximum temperature records in Japan, policies and issues, depended on whether they had experience of political changes in their career. It will be necessary for each department to develop countermeasures in the next stage, after the framework of measures has been established in advanced local government. Therefore, in advanced local governments, cooperation based on their interests and progress of policy changes can contribute to enhancement their knowledge and interest. Furthermore, civil servants who have navigated political transitions are more aware of evolving duties and awareness. Their involvement may offer insights for designing long-term initiatives and servant development.

We investigated the vegetation in the wind-swept area on the northwest slope of the alpine-landscape-like Osado Mountains. The effects on plant segregation based on both the differences in ground temperature caused by the spatial non-uniformity of snow cover in winter, and the differences in soil moisture content in summer were examined. Summer soil moisture observations don’t show any significant spatiotemporal correlation with the snow cover heterogeneity; in this it is difficult to consider as a direct factor of the herbaceous and woody plants segregation. On the other hand, the winter ground temperature in grasslands remains below freezing for a longer period than in the dwarf shrub forests. This indicates that in grasslands, the snow cover period is short, and so, the period of exposure to cold seasonal winds is long, and the area is strongly affected by low temperatures and dryness, while in dwarf shrub forests, the snow cover tends to reduce those effects. All of these suggest a plant segregation mechanism.

In regions with a dispersed foreign resident population, awareness among local communities and administrative bodies tends to be low, and the formation of ethnic communities is often difficult. Consequently, foreign residents are more likely to become socially isolated, which may adversely affect the developmental environment of children with foreign roots. This case study examines City A, a municipality characterized by dispersed foreign residents. After identifying the demographic composition of City A, we conducted a qualitative analysis of the developmental environment of preschool-aged children and explored strategies for improvement. In City A, many residents are young individuals of Asian origin, and levels of social integration vary. Some children were found to experience daily life and health issues, such as imbalanced diets and delayed language acquisition. These problems can be attributed to the isolation of parents from the local community and the limited accessibility of support from specialized institutions. Such issues were particularly pronounced in households with low levels of social integration, especially where parents had limited Japanese language proficiency. To address these challenges, the development of peer supporters for parents and proactive outreach by educational and childcare institutions are considered effective measures.

On January 1, 2024, the Noto Peninsula Earthquake resulted in various disasters, such as structural collapses, fires, landslides and tsunamis. This study utilizes smartphone location data, recorded at intervals as short as one minute in nine municipalities of the Noto Peninsula, to elucidate the behavioral patterns of affected individuals at a micro-scale in time and space. The activity level of affected individuals increased sharply during the 4 p.m. hour, coinciding with a series of earthquakes, and subsequently declined gradually. Trip characteristics varied significantly across regions, and in particular, long-distance travel was rarely observed in the Oku-Noto area, where a large number of road blockages were present. The trips made by affected individuals in the Oku-Noto region were classified into five categories: evacuation to shelters and other safe locations, movement towards their residences or previous accommodations, encounters with road blockages, movement within the surrounding area, and refraining from going out. Under spatial constraints during the chaotic period immediately following the earthquakes, affected individuals evacuated and were engaged in varied activities.

This study examined 46 Japanese national universities that offered teacher-training programs as of FY2023. The geography-related courses required for the teaching license of Type I upper-secondary “Geography and History” and the faculty assigned them were examined. Information from university websites and published syllabus was used to classify each course as either physical geography, human geography, regional geography, or cartography/GIS. The number of courses, credit totals, and instructor employment status were then compiled. Only 35% of the universities employed two or more full-time faculty members who could teach physical geography, which reveals a significant staffing shortfall. Although legally mandated introductory courses are generally provided, advanced lectures, seminars, and practicums are disproportionately concentrated in human geography, thereby limiting practical learning opportunities in physical geography. Courses systematically addressing GIS and disaster-risk reduction, which are key components of the new upper-secondary “Geography” curriculum, are rare. Regional imbalances in faculty distribution have led to heavy reliance on part-time instructors, thereby increasing the workload of full-time staff. Accordingly, teacher-training programs should redesign their introductory courses to incorporate essential content, such as GIS and disaster education. To bridge the gap between pre-service and secondary-level geography education, universities must plan classes with a clear understanding of high school syllabus.

In this study, a questionnaire survey was conducted of accommodation facilities located within the designated tsunami inundation area in central part of Beppu City, Oita Prefecture, with a focus on their evacuation measures. The survey results were analyzed to explore the relationship between the facility characteristics and the evacuation measures in place. The findings revealed substantial variation in tsunami evacuation measures influenced by facility-specific characteristics such as facility size, staffing capacity, and guest demographics. The analysis indicated that enhancing the effectiveness of future evacuation measures will require the adoption of flexible strategies and the implementation of practical evacuation drills tailored to the individual specific conditions of each facility. Moreover, in light of the recent rise in foreign visitors, the need for the provision of multilingual support and the improvement of guidance methods during evacuation was also identified as a key issue that must be addressed requiring urgent attention.

In elementary school, teachers generally develop lessons to teach children about the local area and its uniqueness. However, the background to elementary school teachers’ lesson planning has not been clarified. Therefore, this study aimed to clarify the background to elementary school teachers’ lesson planning in social studies community learning. We conducted a series of interviews with five elementary school teachers and a qualitative analysis of the content. As a result, five to seven themes were identified for each teacher, indicating differences in their approach to lesson development. Regarding teachers’ aims and goals, the results were divided into two groups: (1) those emphasizing children’s understanding of the community, and (2) those prioritizing children’s involvement in the community. These findings offer valuable insights for prospective teachers and current educators that can guide them in planning community learning lessons.

In an era of accelerating globalization and rapidly shifting global affairs, it is essential for children to develop a global perspective and gain foundational understanding of the world at an early age to help build a sustainable future. Thus, it is crucial in elementary schools to increase opportunities for them to engage with the “world,” stimulate their interest and empathy, and acquire the fundamental knowledge alongside spatial awareness. This paper proposes curriculum improvements of world geography learning within elementary-level social studies. I will survey the historical changes and research trends in this area and clarify the problems with how world geography is currently handled in the present Course of Study. Based on this analysis, concrete suggestions for the next curriculum revision will be presented. Lastly, this paper explores structural challenges in geography education within social studies, offering a vision for foundational reform.