The purpose of this paper is to clarify Kiku YAMAMOTO's concept of 'Department of Clothing' as an argument for reorganizing sewing education as one which teaches not only technical skills but also techniques used for general clothing. Three points were clarified from the above examination. Firstly, Yamamoto's concept was conceived as early as the 1920s. She paid attention to embellishments, which until then had been neglected as an important feature of clothing. Secondly, Yamamoto's idea was not only to develop skills to care for and manage ready-made clothes, but also to help students learn to be attentive to what they wore, as expressed in the word “dress culture”. Thirdly, there were certain differences of opinion among proponents of these concepts, especially in terms of the degree to which technical instruction should be maintained.

  This study used a cross-sectional web survey to identify the characteristics of health literacy (HL) in the elderly and clarify its relationship with lifestyle habits. The survey, conducted in September 2021, covered 200 elderly people aged 65 and over living in one metropolitan area and three prefectures. It focused on their basic attributes, communicative and critical HL (CCHL), subjective health, mindset in daily life, and lifestyle, among others. The participants were divided into two groups based on their level of HL. The high HL group scored significantly higher on all CCHL items (p < 0.001). This group had subjective health (p = 0.008), life satisfaction (p = 0.002), rest (p = 0.009), nutritional balance (p < 0.001), walks and sports (p < 0.001). Participants in this group also scored higher in daily life mindset, food intake diversity (p < 0.001), and social support (p < 0.001). These findings show that elderly people with low HL need to be provided with information from the earliest stage. They also indicate that it may be necessary to implement projects, education, and classrooms based on these facts.

  In China, people's views on children are changing, which influences parenting practices in society. This study used anonymous surveys to investigate Chinese university students' views on children, by comparing them with those of Japanese university students. In order to explore their views on children, we used “Positive Emotional” and “Pro- Social Behaviors” scales. As a related factor, we focused on knowledge of child development. The valid respondents were 501 students from a public university in Zhejiang Province in China and a national university in Tokyo, Japan (China N = 316, Japan N = 185).

  The results showed that Chinese students were on a significantly lower scale in terms of “Positive Emotional” and “Pro-Social Behaviors” and were less knowledgeable in “Knowledge of Child Development” than Japanese students. Regarding Chinese students, “Positive Emotional” and “Pro-Social Behaviors” showed a statistically significant difference between those with siblings and those without, and the experience of contact with children. In addition, Chinese students who understood ‘Mental Development’ or ‘The Role of Adults’ and were aware of child development were on a higher scale with regard to “Pro-Social Behaviors” compared with students who lacked understanding of these matters.

  The findings suggested that Chinese university students who will support Next-Generation development are not really aware of children in the community. Based on the present situation in China, we discussed the necessity of reconsidering views on children from the point of view of societal change in China.

  This study obtains data to develop methods for advertising the rock oyster (Crassostrea nippona) as a regional branded food by investigating the degree of recognition of the characteristics of the rock oyster, the Pacific oyster (C. gigas), and the common oyster by young people living in oyster-producing regions. The survey was conducted in the production regions of Japan, namely, Nagasaki, Hyogo, Miyagi, and Hiroshima prefectures. The participants were university students who would become future consumers of the rock oyster. Approximately 40% of the participants recognized the rock oyster; furthermore, less than 20% of them had consumed it. Thus, most participants did not recognize and/or had never consumed the rock oyster. Furthermore, the season of the rock oyster was identified to a lesser degree than that of the Pacific oyster. Most participants could not identify the production region of the rock oyster. The most common perceptions of nutrients and dishes associated with oysters were minerals and fried and grilled dishes, respectively. These findings are useful as a basis for developing methods to advertise the rock oyster as a regional branded food.