Previous theories of equality have not totally focused on the influence of “equality” on employees, family members, and family life. The purpose of this study is to form a theory to essential gender equality in Japanese employment. We worked for it from the viewpoint of guarantee of well-being of employees and family members. We examined Capability Approach with family resource management. As a result, we suggest that we treat “human” as productive, reproductive, and cultural existence, and consider “life” as vital-life, living, and “life-course.” Humans should be treated as three-career existence (from productive, reproductive, and cultural aspects). We call the careers “Life-Career.” Equalizing “Life-Career” is essential for gender equality in employment. Development of “Life-Career” means evaluating quality of three human developments. To promote “Life-Career” Equality, we suggest “Co-governance.” It is a system to let company build partnership with employees and their families. It helps company to structure membership with association and citizenship with organization. “Co-governance” is helpful for “Life-Career” Equality.

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MO₁-miso (6% salt miso from 9 : 1 mixture of soybeans and okara fermented with Neurospora intermedia) was prepared to minimize the bitterness of LO₁-miso (4% salt miso using the same materials as those for MO₁-miso) and make it usable for both Japanese- and western-style dishes that would help to maintain good health. A sensory evaluation of MO₁-miso showed negligible bitterness, although there was less flavor, but all dishes cooked with it in Japanese- and western-styles were evaluated to be palatable. MO₁-miso contained more isoflavone aglycons than 6% salt soybean-miso (MC-miso), although the level was lower than that in LO₁-miso. The reduced bitterness of MO₁-miso and more acceptable palatability of dishes cooked with it might have been due to less isoflavone aglycons than in LO₁-miso. The scavenging activities of DPPH and the superoxide anion, as well as the antimutagenicity of the 70% ethanol extract from MO₁-miso, were both markedly higher than those in the aqueous extract, and these scavenging activities were also higher than those in MC-miso with or without heating. The high activity of MO₁-miso may be attributed to it having more isoflavone aglycons than those in MC-miso. These results indicate that MO₁-miso would be more beneficial for health than MC-miso.

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The objective of this paper is to analyze the food consumption patterns during two periods of 1980-1989 and 1990-2002 by estimating a Linear Approximate Almost Ideal Demand System (LAIDS) model. The author used the workers' household data from 10 districts compiled in Annual Report on the Family Income and Expenditure Survey. Empirical results show that cooked food and food away from home (FAFH) were luxury items in 1980-1989. But it is to be noted that the cooked food failed to respond either to income or to price change during 1990-2002, the fact of which shows that the cooked food became a necessity in the dietary life. Cooked food and beverages including alcoholic beverage became strong substitutes for FAFH during this period, and the cross price elasticities of these items became higher during this period than in 1980-1989. Complementing FAFH were cereals and fruits. The expenditure share of fish and shellfish in Kanto tended to be smaller than in any other districts during 1990-2002. On the other hand, FAFH share in Kanto tended to be higher than in any other districts.

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This study examines the effect of children's involvement in community activities on life satisfaction. In addition this, the author also examines whether or not family characteristics moderate the association between children's involvement in community activities and life satisfaction. This study draws on data from “Survey in Primary and Middle School Students' Lives and Attitudes” by Youth cultural studies meeting in 1995. The author studied the data on 3, 083 fifth graders in primary school. The results of the study suggested that children's involvement in community activities was positively associated with life satisfaction. Moreover the effects were more remarkable for those children with lower emotional closeness to other members of their family. These findings indicate that children's involvement in community activities were significant for mental health in Japan. Moreover it is safe to state that children's involvement in community activities may substitute the role of family for child-rearing.

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Inclusion of α-cyclodextrin (α-CD), β-cyclodextrin (β-CD), and γ-cyclodextrin (γ-CD), which can effect a reduction of oily substances, was investigated with a view to constructing low-fat substances through this interaction. The oily substances used were cholesterol, triolein, and four saturated fatty acids having different alkyl chain lengths; namely, lauric, myristic, palmitic, and stearic acids, as well as oleic acid, an unsaturated fatty acid. Each oily substance was dissolved in ethanol, while the CDs were dissolved in water. Thereafter, inclusion was carried out by mixing each oily substance solution with a CD solution. Using a water-ethanol solvent, interaction between each water-soluble CD and the oily substances was examined. Inclusion of an oily substance was determined by a thin-layer chromatograph with hydrogen flame ionization detector (TLC-FID). α-CD did not form an inclusion compound with cholesterol and triolein, but did with oleic acid. β-CD formed a compound with cholesterol, although the amount of β-CD involved was low, owing to poor solubility in water. γ-CD formed inclusion compounds with oleic acid, cholesterol, and triolein. CDs thus demonstrated selective inclusion of oily substances. In the case of α-CD and fatty acids, the amount of saturated inclusion and the binding coefficient increased with increasing chain length of the fatty acid, forming more stable inclusion compounds as the chain length became longer. On the other hand, the amount of saturated inclusion by β-CD of cholesterol was low because β-CD has low solubility in water, but the binding coefficient was large and theβ-CD-cholesterol compound was stable. In the case of γ-CD, since the cross-section area of γ-CD is too large, as a whole the inclusion amounts were small.

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The purpose of this study is to develop an educational program for sustainable dietary life. To construct a basic concept of the program, the authors calculated the life cycle energy for an ordinary menu, which is the sum of energy required for producing, transporting, cooking and disposing of food. First, data available at the Japan Resources Institute were collected. Then, the authors worked out the amount of gas and electricity needed for cooking food. The main findings are as follows : 1. The life cycle energy was far greater than food intake energy. 2. The energy required for producing of food in-season was less than that for producing food out of season. 3. The energy spent for transporting food from the distance including importing food was naturally greater than that for transporting from local production centers. 4. The energy for cooking varied with different ways of cooking. 5. The amount of waste was decreased by devising ways of cooking. 6. Choosing food in-season, local production for local consumption, and appropriate ways of cooking can lead to sustainable dietary life friendly to environment.

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Growth tests were conducted on microorganisms isolated from dried cheese (teppa), a traditionally fermented food obtained from the yak. The results revealed the presence of Bacillus sp., Enterobacteriaceae, Lactobacillus sp., Staphylococcus sp., yeast, mold and fungi. The (96-BHU-003) strain, which was the bacterium with the highest protease activity, was isolated from Bacillus sp. (a gram-positive bacterium), and identified as Bacillus lentus. This bacterium is capable of decomposing αs-casein in the same way as B. subtilis (FS-2). In vivo safety tests by orally inoculating mice with B. lentus showed no change in their body or weight of internal organs.

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