Warm season precipitation in most parts of Japan comprises early summer (Baiu) and autumn (Shūrin) rainy periods with a relatively dry mid-summer. We aimed to determine details on the features of the seasonal progress of precipitation during the warm season in Japan. We assessed the timing of maximum and minimum precipitation based on daily records of Japanese dense local Kunai observations and AMeDAS networks collected at 522 stations for 95 years from 1926 to 2020. The maximum precipitation during Baiu has a northward delay, with a transition zone from the end of June to around July 10 at about 37°N, whereas Shūrin has three precipitation peaks corresponding to late August, mid-September, and early October over a wide area of Japan. The timing and intensity of the precipitation maximum varies according to the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phase, but the northward delay of the Baiu peak and multiple Shūrin peaks are found both in El Niño and La Niña years. Toward the past 30 years, the Baiu has lengthened, the mid-summer minimum is earlier, and the main peak of Shūrin precipitation has become less distinct.

This study aims to analyze the results of Vietnam’s land consolidation program of 2006 and to explore why it remains incomplete through a case study of Binh Dao Commune, a typical coastal plain commune in the country’s central region. Using a geographic information system, combined with secondary data and in-depth interviews with stakeholders, we created digital maps of the spatial structure of farmland parcels and rural infrastructure before and after the land consolidation program to determine the changes therein. In parallel, a clearer picture of the land consolidation program’s implementation mechanism is presented. The findings show that the land consolidation program in Binh Dao Commune contributed to a decrease in the average number of plots per household from 7.9 to 4.2; however, the change in the average farm size was not significant, with a mean increase of only 16.4 m² per household, from 2,071.2 m² to 2,087.6 m². The agricultural road and irrigation systems in Binh Dao Commune were also significantly improved as a by-product of land consolidation. However, the fragmented classification system of agricultural land stemming from the principle of equality redistribution by the socialist agricultural revolution led to the program’s incomplete results.