Using a geo-relational framework, the paper has examined how the geography of Japanese banks’ globalization has been shaped by dynamics of regional relational geometries. In so doing, the paper analyzes Japanese banks’ global operations through their relational dynamics vis-à-vis non-Japanese banks in processing syndicated credit transactions rather than documenting office networks or counting international assets. The research findings suggest that Japanese banks had to internationalize their operations to the US and Western Europe due to lack of market opportunities in home/regional markets. However, in US and Western European markets Japanese banks suffered from liability of foreignness because of sustained or reinforced competitiveness of US and Western European banks. In short, Japanese banks’ globalization is conditioned by geo-positionality of Japanese banks that is largely shaped by the geographies of existing market opportunities, and syndicate network structures that have facilitated the dominance of US and Western European banks. As a result, Japanese banks have played the role of fund suppliers under the dominance of US and Western European market-markers.

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People and wild animals constantly compete for limited resources of the planet, and mitigating these conflicts to allow co-existence is key to the well being of the world. This research revealed a conflict between an agricultural community and wild elephants in the Central Province of Sri Lanka, in a protected area where people and elephants exist within the same boundary sharing the natural resources directly. The conflict negatively impacted on the lives of people as well as elephants as there were both elephant-induced damage and human-induced damage. The change in attitudes and increased intolerance of farmers towards elephants as a consequence of the new conservation rules and regulations in the area added to the intensity of the conflict. Community support and involvement in the conservation process and the value of traditional livelihood are important factors in mitigating the issue.

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We studied the relationship between slope processes and plant community structure on the northwestern side of Mt. Fuji. This slope has a stepped microtopography between 2700 and 2950 meters above sea level, with a particularly well-defined structure between 2800 and 2850 m. This stepped microtopography is almost certainly caused by periglacial process and acts as a foundation for the development of islands of plant communities. These communities are concentrated on riser sections of the steps, with virtually no growth on flat, terraced areas. Ground temperature monitoring and paint-line exposure experiments showed that the gravel is unstable on the terraces but stable on the risers. It is proposed that the vegetation distribution is determined by the stability of the surface materials. In addition, variation in snow depth by step component should have an effect on the vegetation distribution. The plant community composition is diverse on the upper slopes; Salix reinii is predominant and mosses are also prominent. The lower slopes are dominated by tree species, including Larix kaempferi and Betula ermanii. L. kaempferi had fewer annual rings with increasing slope elevation, suggesting that populations were established at different times at different altitudes. We predict that primary succession at the tree line has moved to progressively higher elevations on the northwestern slope of Mt. Fuji using the stepped microtopography as a foundation.

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This study aims to explore local participation in relation to benefits in community forest management (CFM) in Thua Thien Hue province, central Vietnam, and to clarify the potential and challenges of sustainable forest management. Focusing on structural perspectives, the actor’s perspective, benefit flows, and benefit sharing in communities, this study examines the factors that shape the possibilities and constraints of local participation and benefits under models of forest management by household groups and by village communities. The findings reveal a gap between participation and benefit policies and CFM practices. CFM is an initiative approach that includes secure and substantial property rights, and the advantage of developing local institutional arrangements. It has encouraged local people to participate in forest protection and management activities, as well as improved opportunities for communities to benefit from forest resources. Moreover, creating timber benefit-sharing mechanisms based on certain numbers of trees in each diameter class has advantages over a system based on timber reserves. However, the overall benefits of CFM are still not considered to be significant by local communities. Transparency, effective participation, and accountability in terms of good internal governance were found to be weak. Additionally, it is challenging to motivate villager participation in forest protection and development activities because of the poor quality of allocated forest areas and the high percentage of poor households in communities. Communities lacked assistance and support from relevant stakeholders and thus had little power to solve critical situations such as treating violators, covering the costs of forest management and protection activities, and building forest enrichment and livelihood models. Therefore, to achieve a sustainable CFM model, an integrated approach is needed that considers whether a community forest reflects community values and produces benefits.

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