Geographical review of Japan series A
Online ISSN : 2185-1751
Print ISSN : 1883-4388
ISSN-L : 1883-4388
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Displaying 1-13 of 13 articles from this issue
ORIGINAL ARTICLES
  • Shuto Suzuki
    2023 Volume 96 Issue 1 Pages 1-32
    Published: January 01, 2023
    Released on J-STAGE: March 16, 2024
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS

    This study examined the characteristics of contemporary amenity migration by analyzing the relationship between the values, lifestyles, and migratory behavior of working-age migrants to the town of Karuizawa and the surrounding new vacation home area. Karuizawa has experienced an increase in the number of migrants from the Tokyo area since the opening of Karuizawa Station on the Hokuriku Shinkansen line. The population growth is particularly significant in the Oiwake district, a newly developed villa district in the western part of the town. Working-age migrants to the Oiwake district were surveyed by the author through snowball sampling and were engaged in white-collar jobs, with some commuting by Shinkansen and some teleworking. They moved out of the Tokyo area due to doubts about the child-rearing and educational environment as well as their work and lifestyle preferences. They chose Karuizawa and the surrounding area as a destination due to convenient transport links and good living environment. They also chose the Oiwake district as their place of residence because of its attractive natural environment, proximity to schools and train stations, low land prices, and convenience of living. Their quality of life improved after migration to Karuizawa through the skillful utilization of the various amenities in Karuizawa and the surrounding area.

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  • Shigeru Kobayashi
    2023 Volume 96 Issue 1 Pages 33-56
    Published: January 01, 2023
    Released on J-STAGE: March 16, 2024
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS

    In 1873, an international exchange of meteorological data in East Asia was proposed by Robert Hart, Inspector-General of China’s Imperial Maritime Customs. His plan was to consolidate observation data using telegraphy, which had been extending its service to this area including Japan, based on data from Chinese Maritime Customs. However, the Japanese government was unable to respond because it did not have a public office in charge of meteorological observations. Meanwhile, Anton Geerts, a Dutch chemist at Nagasaki Medical School, who had started meteorological observations privately in 1871, accepted a proposal by the Great Eastern Telegraph Company to exchange data with harbor masters in Shanghai, Amoy, and Hong Kong. The data from these four cities were published under the title “China Coastal Meteorological Register” in English-language newspapers in China. In 1881, this exchange was succeeded by the Nagasaki Meteorological Station, a national observatory established in 1878, and the data from China were transferred to Tokyo.

    Along with the formation of a national observation network and establishment of the Central Meteorological Observatory as a national agency in 1887, Japan promoted data exchanges with foreign countries. While exchanges with Vladivostok and Manila were initiated, a request to the Korean Maritime Customs, which commenced observations in the late 1880s, was refused, because Korea did not yet possess a meteorological agency to exchange data with other countries.

    The Sino-Japanese War was an important turning point for Japanese meteorological observations. The Navy required the Central Meteorological Observatory to submit daily weather charts and provide storm warnings from overseas. However, the only additional weather station established was at Port Arthur, where the Japanese Navy established a provisional observatory. In addition, as a replacement for meteorological data from the former Maritime Customs of Chinese Taiwan, data were requested from newly established stations in Japanese colonial Taiwan and the Ryukyu Islands after the war by the Royal Hong Kong Observatory and the Zikawei Observatory operated by French Jesuits, which served as hubs of meteorological service for the southern coast of China.

    From the beginning of the Russo-Japanese War, Japanese ministries such as the War Department and Navy Department were eager to establish new weather stations in Korea and China. Telegraph cables including submarine cables laid for military use expanded the networks of these stations. Weather forecasts and storm warnings based on these data including those from new stations were transmitted using coastal watchtowers equipped with telegraphic wires and a special boat to which submarine cables could be linked. Warships and other vessels received military information including weather forecasts via signals and short-range wireless messages, which had just been put into practical use, from these watchtowers and special boat.

    Notably, these new stations that were established during the war era were transferred to the new colonial governments of Korea and Kwantung province. Most of the stations that had been set up at consular offices in China were maintained by technicians from the Central Meteorological Observatory.

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REVIEW ARTICLE
  • Sadao Takaoka
    2023 Volume 96 Issue 1 Pages 57-73
    Published: January 01, 2023
    Released on J-STAGE: March 16, 2024
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS

    In this paper, the potential for wild-animal studies from the perspective of physical geography is discussed. First, recent progress in biogeography, arising mainly from biological research, is reviewed. Second, as focusing on landforms and geomorphic processes is useful for studying the relationship between animal distribution and geodiversity, the role of landforms in animal distribution based on previous studies is discussed. Next, examples of landform-oriented research pertaining to relationships between mountain geodiversity and fauna are presented, specifically for mountain pond and landslide ecotopes. Incorporating geodiversity, which is understood in association with landforms, into small-scale ecogeographic studies will contribute to validating the results of research on large-scale distribution patterns revealed by phylogeography. Understanding wild-animal distribution from a causal viewpoint requires both an evolutionary history perspective of geodiversity and a dispersal history perspective of wildlife, and when the latter needs to be examined in detail, collaboration with landscape genetics can be beneficial.

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RESEARCH NOTES
  • Sumika Kashiwagi
    2023 Volume 96 Issue 1 Pages 74-93
    Published: January 01, 2023
    Released on J-STAGE: March 16, 2024
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS

    In Japan, an increasing number of producers are using information and communication technology (ICT) in agriculture. Various actors are involved in the adoption of new technologies such as ICT in agriculture. To analyze the interactions of those actors, we used the agricultural innovation system approach in this study. The function of intermediary role-players was noted. While technology is utilized by producers, it is improved in accordance with the agricultural practices of the local area. Therefore, attention was paid to the process of technological adaptations according to the agricultural practices in specific areas.

    Based on the above, this study aimed to clarify how ICT in agriculture is adopted in production areas, focusing on the function of intermediaries, i.e., agricultural cooperatives at the local and the regional levels, and the spatiality of networks. The case study was a cucumber production area in Nishio, Aichi prefecture, where a business and cultivation management system (Akisai developed by Fujitsu) was introduced.

    The results are summarized as follows: 1) As an intermediary, the Aichi Prefectural Economic Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives (at the regional level) connected organizations outside the production area with cucumber producers inside it and facilitated the provision of resources to the producers. 2) As an intermediary, the Nishimikawa Agricultural Cooperative (at the local level) transferred knowledge on the Akisai system to cucumber producers in face-to-face meetings to increase the number of Akisai users inside the production area and enable them to use it continuously and effectively. 3) In the production area, the Nishimikawa Agricultural Cooperative and Aichi Prefectural Economic Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives, together with the Cucumber Producers Group and Fujitsu, continuously improved the Akisai system to make it more adaptable to prevailing agricultural practices. The Nishimikawa Agricultural Cooperative played a central role in this process from beginning to end.

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  • Yoshiyuki Kikuchi
    2023 Volume 96 Issue 1 Pages 94-109
    Published: January 01, 2023
    Released on J-STAGE: March 16, 2024
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS

    In recent years, the number of solar power generation facilities has increased remarkably in Japan. In particular, since the introduction of the feed-in tariff (FIT) system in 2012, mega-solar developments with power outputs exceeding 1 MW have been increasing. These developments are undertaken by existing power and energy-related companies and often implemented as a form of real estate investment. They are funded by co-investment schemes such as infrastructure funds in which investors worldwide financialize local land through international financial markets. In this study, we first clarified the regional characteristics of mega-solar developments in Japan. Subsequently, we examined the interface between land and financial markets in peripheral areas by clarifying the relationships among actors involved in mega-solar developments.

    We then analyzed the development of mega-solar power plants throughout Japan, focusing on the Tsuyama urban area of Okayama prefecture. The results demonstrated that mega-solar power plants are generally developed on existing underutilized land and have yet to significantly change the structure of local land ownership. However, co-investment schemes involving the capital of several owners often contribute to the development of a small number of large-scale mega-solar power plants, which account for the majority of mega-solar sites in the region, and are therefore owned by them. Large amounts of capital and technical know-how are essential for large-scale mega-solar developments. Major operators with technical know-how and networks accumulate the capital of investors worldwide seeking attractive investment opportunities. Mega-solar power plants therefore function to integrate peripheral land areas into a complex financial network.

    From the investors’ point of view, such plants are attractive financial instruments because of the long-term stable income expected from FIT. Therefore, many investors worldwide own mega-solar power plants in specific regions without any direct connection to those regions and, in some cases, without being aware of the location of the plants. These developments can be seen as typical financialization of real estate in the sense that by linking local land to the financial market, massive development funds are introduced into a region, thus rapidly changing regional land use.

    On the other hand, in most mega-solar developments, the involvement of local actors is limited. However, it was suggested that even in highly financialized projects, local actors could participate in the projects if local governments become involved. Therefore, it is necessary for local governments to play an active role in establishing development zones and granting development permits, and for an institutional framework to be established at the national level to make this possible.

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