A large amount of research in economic geography has been conducted in a field called "Socio-economic Studies on Resources Problems". Starting from the time of Japan's postwar economic revival, and through the energy revolution of the 1960s and the oil shocks of the 1970s, this field of study has focused on the debates surrounding disaster control, the problem of water resources, and the development of energy resources. However, these problems are not the mainstream of research in recent economic geography. This paper is a consideration of two subject, which have not been widely debated within the field of "Socio-economic Studies on Resources Problems"; "metal resources" derived from ores, and "genetic resources". In both cases, there is a friction between the people who want to exploit resources, and local people in places where resources are found; there is also the problem of a resurgence of new resources nationalism. In the case of "metal resources", Japan was once called Zipangu, because it was believed to have abundant resources of silver and gold, but the majority of Japan's copper, zinc, and lead mines have now closed. However, improvements in remote sensing technology have resulted in the development of a gold mine at Hishikari in Kagoshima, and there continues to be new development of other high quality metallic mineral resources in foreign countries. In addition, ore refining facilities located in areas where mining used to take place have formed collaborative networks with refining facilities located at places where imported ores can be refined, and now provide the market with metal resources including various base metals and, if possible, rare metals with high added value. These production networks are an important legacy from Japan's heritage in metal refining. In the case of "genetic resources", developments in genetic modification technology are having a significant influence on the global food chain and the pharmaceutical industry. At the same time, this has brought into focus the problem of biodiversity.

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Rapid increase of organic food market has promoted global trade from global south to the north, including US, EU and Japan. Eco-label produced by Third Party Certification plays key role in global trade of organic food. This paper examines framework for understanding the institution of eco-certification and its impacts on producing region, by case study of Pangasius catfish farming in the Mekong delta, with special attention to its implication for wetland ecology. From viewpoint of global value chain, international environmental certification is a form of value chain governance to create rent by constructing scarcity of quality. Enviornmental governance by various actors such as environmental NGO and scientist is incorporated in part of the value chain governance. In terms of actor-network theory, such value-making and system efficiency in the governance is a powerful context which promote translation of actions taken by actors, and produce new form of knowledge which serve to preparation of environmental standard. This framework brings political ecology an elaboration of politics. For critical study of market-based environmental governance, political ecology should pay attention to peasant behavior and its diversity, and their interaction with ecosystem should be further studied.

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Agriculture is strongly tied with natural environment. Additionally, food usually requires a level of naturalness because it is directly ingested into living body. In this paper, I discuss nature in terms of agriculture and foods frm the perspective of economic geography. Generally speaking, organic agriculture and environment-friendly farming are less of a burden on natural environment, but this is only effective for the immediate natural setting in the vicinity of their farms. Organic farming normally has less land productivity; hence much larger land is needed to meet the demand for world food consumption. In other words, organic farming can have environmental risks, leads to the deforestation and the development of virgin land. It is also said that conventional farming leads to the deterioration of the natural environment. While I admit this is true, I must insist that the most serious environmental problems associated with agriculture emerged in Japan come with alteration of local fauna and flora, not the sustainability of agriculture itself. Recently, so-called life-brand rice farming, which aim is to promote the reintroducing endangered species such as crested ibis or oriental stork, has attracted attention as an example of environment-friendly agriculture. However, only a portion of animals are protected in some of these locations. On the other hand, industrial livestock production has proved to have a horrendous burden on the environment as massive amount of animal wastes pollute rivers, soils, and the atmosphere. These hazardous problems nowadays are driven away to peripheral regions by the capitalism system. Compared to manufacturing, agriculture faces the challenges of three constraints: natural environment, land, and biological traits. Plant factory have recently basked in the spotlight as they have overcome natural environmental constraints faced by agricultural farms. The location theory of plant factories is utterly different from that of traditional agriculture. Present plant factories do not displace common farmland anywhere, and are able to develop new types of produce, such as high sugar content tomato and low potassium lettuce. Affluent consumers appreciate the value of naturalness in their foods. The concept of terroir in French wine has been expanded to other products, creating appellation systems beyond wine. The natural environment of production areas differs from place to place. Localness which is characterized by natural environment is growing in importance to determine the quality of foods. This is partly because naturalness has become a symbol in order to maximize profits, as urbanization has progressed. However, what is "natural" can differ according to area or country.

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The question "Is nature natural?" is one of the principal ones in the study of geographies of nature. For example, Noel Castree's recent book Making Sense of Nature takes the same perspective and discusses this question exhaustively. In this research field, studies should consider how we make sense of "nature," instead of seeking to present an objective definition of "nature." In other words, scholars must investigate the ways through which we categorize concepts as natural, and simultaneously, the ways through which we understand the world within complicated social, economic, and political relations. Hence, this study analyzes the recent conditions around running as sport and entertainment in Japan, especially running for non-atheletes, by focusing on nature and the human body. It also critically interrogates the representational politics implicated in the production of geographies of nature under the "running boom." At present, Japanese society is engaged in a fad of running. For example, 302,442 people, more than 10 times as much as the fixed number, have applied for the Tokyo Marathon in 2014, which is considered to drive the "running boom" in Japan further. The increasing number of runners is not the only example that proves the existence of a "running boom." The social trends beyond the sport must be examined to encompass current discourses on running, which have received wide media attention, as well as the commercial aspect of running and the regional development facilitated by running events. Running as a sport for citizens can be considered within a wider social context. In this paper, I focus on the increasing number of female runners and consider women's experiences of running by analyzing articles in Japanese women's magazines related to fashion, health and beauty, travel, culture, and entertainment. Through this analysis, I answer the following question: How are female runners and their bodies represented connected to the natural? I also discuss the ways in which magazine articles on running, as well as ads for running and related goods, produce a discourse of naturalness and beauty.

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