The Long-term Care Insurance System (LCIS) has been implemented to establish a new nursing care system in Japan since April 2000. This new system differs from the previous one in the following points: facilitating various providers such as private-sector companies and medical institutions to enter the nursing care service market; enabling service users to choose care services and providers; and basing these services on an agreement between each service user and provider. Therefore it is assumed that the regional distribution of service opportunities is governed by the spatial behavior of service providers under the LCIS.
This article aims to analyze the uneven distribution of opportunities for nursing care service and to examine the relation between that distribution pattern and providers' behavior in the Kanto district as a case study. As the results of analysis of statistical data for the designated providers of nursing care service using GIS-assisted maps and local Moran I statistics, the following features became evident. 1) There are many opportunities for home-visit type services in and around Tokyo's wards (TW) where there are many social needs for nursing care, while sparsely populated municipalities have few. Furthermore, home-visit type services in the welfare sector are mainly provided by a large number of private-sector corporations in and around TW and by social welfare councils in sparsely populated municipalities. 2) Facility-stay (short-term and long-term stay) -type services are mainly provided by social welfare corporations and medical corporations. The combination of welfare and medical service providers has entered the market for this type of services in urban areas in the Eastern Kanto district. However, welfare-sector services are in short supply by local governments in and around TW. 3) Although these features are also observed for daily visit-type services, other features are found on the local scale. Daily visit-type services in the welfare sector are mainly provided by local governments and social welfare councils in municipalities in the northwestern mountain area. Opportunities for medical-sector services are concentrated in urban areas.
These results indicate that private-sector corporations, originally expected to become the principal providers of nursing care services, tend to enter only specific service sectors and regions with high profit expectations. Implementation of the LCIS even nonprofit organizations such as social welfare corporations and councils were forces to pursue profit-oriented service provision. Future research should focus on the analysis of business operations of service providers in the regional context.

View full abstract

This paper examines maintenance systems of low-input sustainable rice growing through low chemical application in rice farming practices and the effects on ecological conservation and farm management in Tajiri. Maintenance systems are analyzed based on three points: 1) circumstances of their introduction and development; 2) decreased environmental stress through soil improvement; and 3) effects on ecological conservation and farm management of less environmental stress.
Data were collected from interviewing 17 farmers who participated in a farming group practicing the limited application of pesticides and chemicals, and 7 farmers who participated in a farming group practicing nontilled farming. Data on the number of aquatic animals in paddy fields were gathered by the quadrat method, a sampling method frequently used in ecology. The results are summarized as follows.
The basis of maintenance of low-input sustainable rice growing is the construction of a low environmental stress system by soil improvement, and the stability of farm management through efforts for individual farms and farming groups. Recycling of organic by-products such as fertilizers, which utilizes manure, rice straw, and remnants of vegetables occurs though the network of farmers who participate in such groups. As a result of group activities that limit the application of pesticides and chemicals, the environmental stress upon aquatic animals in paddy fields is lessened. The numbers of aquatic animals are greater in paddies that receive less frequent application of pesticides and herbicides. Therefore the reuse system of regional resources contributes to decreasing environmental stress. Furthermore, because a balance in farm management is maintained, farmers have been able to practice agricultural activities continuously. These bases of maintenance of low-input sustainable rice growing are supported by group supports, farmers' decision-making, and rich agricultural resources in Tajiri. These results lead to the conclusion that low-input sustainable rice growing has played an important role in keeping the balance between ecological conservation and farming practices through the interrelationships among human, natural, and socioeconomic factors in Tajiri. These interrelationships have a type of supplemental system, where each factor is related to other factors for the development of low-input sustainable rice growing.

View full abstract

The main purpose of this paper is to clarify the diversity of the subjective environment, focusing on coastal fishing grounds and spots. The study area chosen comprised coastal waters bordered by the Izu Peninsula to the southeast, Oshima Island, and Niijima Island, and referred to in the local fishermen's dialect as Shimauchi (Shimanaka) by fishermen. Due to the presence of many reefs, these waters attract fishermen from various coastal villages. However, there has been no research on the process used by fishermen to recognize fishing grounds and spots. The continental shelf in these locations is narrow, except at Oshima Island to the southwest and Ohmurodashi, with steep drops of more than 500m from the edge of shelf. The author counted 207 fishing points in these waters. In the same waters, many fishing points have been given different names by fishermen from different villages. The naming systems of these fishing points are based on fishing ground systems used by village groups of fishermen. The names are typically derived from perceived images of the topographical features from each fishing spot or ground.

View full abstract