Orographic effects on local southerly winds developing in the area from the southern part of the Matsumoto Basin to the northern part of the Ina Basin, central Japan, were analyzed statistically based on data from routine observations at meteorological stations.
The development of local southerly winds is accompanied by intensification of local pressure gradients, which indicate the formation of local orographic lows in the Matsumoto Basin. The local southerly winds are classified into the NE and NW types based on the direction of the sea-level synoptic pressure gradient and occur under various pressure patterns. The typical pressure patterns for the NE type are the winter monsoon and coupled lows across Japan, and those for the NW type are stationary fronts covering Honshu (mainland Japan), lows over the Sea of Japan, and the transitional migrating high-to-trough pattern. For the NE type, winds at 850hPa are at 250° or greater in the WSW, W, and WNW directions; for the NW type, winds at 850hPa are at 250° or less in the WSW, SW, SSW and S directions.
The local southerly winds tend to increase in strength and reach the maximum value to the wind direction of 250° at 850hPa. Based on the Richardson number and Scorer's parameter (l), local southerly winds occur under stable conditions that induce the formation of leeside mountain waves. In addition, l values showed that winds of the NE type tend to have a vertical component and flow over mountains, while those of the NW type tend to split and flow around mountains. Differences in the l values between the NE and NW wind flow forms at 850hPa were investigated statistically in relation to such local meteorological phenomena as the surface wind speed, local pressure gradient, and potential temperature of local southerly winds in the Matsumoto Basin. The results showed that, for the NE type, wind direction and speed at 850hPa correlated significantly with local pressure gradient and potential temperature, suggesting intensification of the local orographic low and adiabatic heating due to air descending down the leeward side of mountains. For the NW type, wind speed at 850hPa correlated significantly with local pressure gradient but not with potential temperature, suggesting that this type splits to flow around mountains and is not significantly influenced by the descending component and adiabatic heating. The correlations between wind in the upper layer and orographic phenomena accompanying local southerly winds are in basic agreement with the wind flow forms estimated using Scorer's parameter.

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This paper describes the locational factors of management consulting firms in Minato ward, Tokyo, by analyzing the reasons for choosing that location and office buildings to establish consulting firms. Management consulting firms are concentrated in Tokyo's central business district, especially in Minato ward, where there are many clients.
In addition to the presence of clients, there appear to be two sets of factors at work: factors leading to the choice of central Tokyo; and factors influencing the choice of office building. The former set of factors includes the ease of travel because of good transportation networks, proximity to clients, centrality of Tokyo, abundant real estate, and the availability of qualified workers. The latter makes consulting firms locate close to related businesses. When establishing a new consulting firm after working for a company in specialized services such as finance, the new office tends to be located close to the founder's previous workplace. When a company splits up to establish a branch office specializing in management consulting, the new office tends to be located close to its parent company. In both cases, newly established consulting offices are located in the central part of Tokyo including Minato ward, where related businesses are present.
On the other hand, the location of firms within Minato ward shows a dispersive pattern. This is caused by a different set of locational factors to select office buildings. In general, surveyed firms moved to new offices with larger floor space and appropriate office rent as they grew. However, they did not select office buildings outside the ward, and most moves were confined to within Minato ward.

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This study aimed to clarify the effects of deregulation on bus operations in Kyoto, Japan. Deregulation of bus operations in Japan was enacted in February 2002. In particular, public bus operators have reduced their business and operating costs, because they suffering from high overheads and could not easily abolish unprofitable routes. The Kyoto City Bus Association has taken one of the most progressive approaches among Japanese public bus operators. To examine the effects of deregulation, the competition between the Kyoto City Bus Association and new operators was analyzed and it was found that: 1) New entrants start with short routes and then extend them. Although, there is a “cream skimming” clause in the revised regulations, it does not function because new entrants are permitted to operate only profitable routes. 2) The Kyoto City Bus Association continued to increase new routes on a low-frequency basis, but there have been few increases in the frequency of buses on routes competing with new operators. Instead, the Kyoto City Bus Association competed with new operators by improving the convenience of its bus commuter pass. 3) The Kyoto mayor had misgivings about the competition between the Kyoto City Bus line and new operators that only operated on profitable routes. The mayor and the Kyoto Chamber of Commerce and Industry therefore intervened in the competition. As a result, one operator gave up to its routes and became a subcontractor for the Kyoto City Bus Association. Although free competition is the principle of deregulation, ad hoc intervention adjusted the excessive competition. According to the results of this study, the Kyoto bus market is contestable after deregulation.

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