Journal of Geography (Chigaku Zasshi)

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Along the shores of the Inland Sea in Western Japan, many new factories have been constructed here and urbanization have remarkably expanded during the 1960's. As a results the region is facing air and water pollution and also urban sprawl is aggravated. We regret to say we had scarcely any scholars who studies to forecast the present condition. This paper is the first report of study on the future environmental changes of the Inland Sea region which deals with land and sea areas. We recognized that the following two points seem to the basic subjects to investigate : 1) to discuss the balance of water supply and demand on account of the Mediterranean sea climate and lack of big rivers, 2) consider to the quality of sea water inflow of home usage water, industrial and agricultural effluents. And we made efforts to approach the objects through systematic analysis on the items-size of population and industrial output in the future, possibility of developing water resource and discharge of pollutant water into the sea.
The results of this research are summarized as follows : 1) During the period from 1965 to 1985, the region will come to have 10.6 million inhabitants, its concentration into the small coastal lands will be accelerated, and the industrial output will increase eight times, which is much indebted to the growth the heavy-chemical industries. The estimated demand for fresh water will amount to 75 million tons daily, incidentally 52 million tons are now needed every day. As it is difficult to meet the demand especially in the central part of the region, that part will surely become a serious water shortage area. 2) Total volume of the BOD, COD, SS and oil pollutant will amount to 1.4 times during the period from 1969 to 1985, even under the government restriction on the discharge level which is 50 percent severer. The industrial and agricultural effluents occupied the greater part of burden, and the COD pollutant will increase remarkably.
The point which author especially emphasizes is that we have make efforts to alter the industrial structure from resource-consuming industries to value added industries, and to promote to use the recycled water for home usage. But the study on the diffusion of polluted water in the sea is the subject for a future study.

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In the Chilgoku Mountains, the geological and geomorphological relations between Backbone Ridge surface and Kibi Highland surface as elevated peneplain in the post-Miocene age, have been discussed many times over the past years.
It is noteworthy that IMAMURA et al. newly found out a remnant of the marine Miocene Bihoku group, from the erosion surface on the crest of Mt. Azuma, which is one of the Backbone Ridge surface. The IMAMURA's data is considered to indicate that both Backbone Ridge and Kibi Highland surfaces had been formed by the same post-Miocene peneplanation contemporaneously.
In this article, the significance of its discovery is discussed from the Miocene paleogeographic and post-Miocene geotectonic points of view.

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