This case study of the anime “Natsume's Book of Friends” (hereinafter “Natsume”) and its main model site, the Hitoyoshi-Kuma region, identified the worldview of “Natsume” and investigated the perceptions of tourism stakeholders in the Hitoyoshi-Kuma region to analyze the region's actual tourism situation and its relationship with “Natsume” tourism. The results confirmed that while the worldview of the anime differs from the region's traditional Yokai culture, it shares aspects of the region's traditional perception of nature. The study further found that stakeholders have managed “Natsume” tourism with consideration for the feelings of both residents and “Natsume” fans. In addition, the study examined the environmental conservation potential of anime tourism, suggesting that depicting the natural environment of the model site could help promote a balance between tourism and environmental conservation.

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The land use associated with the production of garden and green trees in traditional garden and green trees production areas, which originated in the late Edo and Meiji periods, represents a significant aspect of Japanese rural livelihoods that requires consideration of conservation purposes. In order to develop effective conservation measures, it is necessary to understand the transition of the land use associated with the production of garden and green trees. The aim of this study is to identify the transition of the land use associated with the production of garden and green trees in Tanushimaru District of Kurume City, Fukuoka Prefecture, through statistical analysis of spatial information. The main findings are as follows: (1) The quantity of tree fields exhibited variability in accordance with the demand for garden and green trees. (2) The majority of tree fields were situated on alluvial fans and flood plains, which had previously been utilized for paddy fields. (3) The elevation and slope of tree fields were found to decrease. (4) The conversion patterns from paddy fields to tree fields that were maintained over time were concentrated on alluvial fans, whereas conversion patterns from paddy fields to tree fields and then back to paddy fields were concentrated on flood plains. Our findings offer land use conservation measures that contribute to adaptation to natural disasters and succession of garden and green tree production.

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In recent years, urban parks have been redeveloped through Park-PFI. However, only large-scale parks have been selected as targets of Park-PFI, while small-scale parks have not been selected as targets of Park-PFI. The purpose of this study is to clarify the perception of local governments toward the introduction of Park-PFI in small parks and the location characteristics of small parks where Park-PFI has been introduced, and to consider what kind of small parks the municipalities perceived as suitable for the introduction of Park-PFI. An interview survey was conducted to ascertain the perceptions of municipalities. In addition, a GIS analysis was conducted to understand the location characteristics. The results of the interview survey revealed that the municipalities recognized that not only residents in the block but also visitors to the block were users of the block park. The GIS analysis revealed that parks are located in areas where social fragmentation is likely to be high. The study suggested that municipalities selected parks that were expected to increase the value of the entire area, including the park after redevelopment, rather than the value of the park alone.

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With the development of science and technology, people's understanding of the environment has changed. The spiritual connection between humans and the environment is weakening. Stewardship is a concept involving emotions, attitudes, and value systems. It is used to address various challenges of sustainable development. The bibliometric analysis method was adopted to analyze the changes, focuses, trends, differences, and characteristics of Stewardship responsibilities in different countries, summarize their regional features, and indicate future research directions. Specifically, 2924 papers were screened from the Web of Science through keyword and literature filtering. The relationships between keywords and countries were analyzed through CiteSpace's collaboration networks and co-occurrence analysis. The research results indicate that according to the trend of historical literature publication, Stewardship research can be divided into three different developmental stages: the Embryonic stage, the Growth stage, and the Development and redefinition stage. Each stage has different research themes. Moreover, two central research areas of Stewardship (Ecology/Methods and Practices) and three characteristics (Sense of place/Active collaboration/Feasibility) were summarized in this study.

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Launched in 2023, the Ministry of the Environment, Japan's “Nationally Certified Sustainably Managed Natural Sites” system aligns with the National Biodiversity Strategy of Japan 2023-2030. In FY2023, 184 sites totaling 63,190.18 hectares were certified. We analyzed applicant type, location, value, land ownership, and monitoring practices of these certified sites. Remarkably, companies comprised about 57% of the applicants. Regarding location distribution, 45 sites (24.5%) were in natural areas, 53 (28.8%) were in rural areas, 57 (31.0%) were in suburban areas, and 29 (15.8%) were in urban areas. The most commonly cited value under the “value of biodiversity” criteria was value 4 (healthy ecosystems provide ecological services) with 139 sites (75.5%). This was followed by value 6 (habitats of endangered plant and animal species) at 133 sites (72.3%), value 3 (secondary ecosystem sites) at 103 sites (56.9%). Regarding land ownership, the most frequent category was “corporate management green spaces” (offices, research institutes, etc.), with 64 sites (34.8%). For site monitoring, 121 sites (65.8%) will be implemented by the applicant, whereas the remaining 64 sites (34.2%) will be outsourced to consultants and specialists. Given the ecological significance of Nationally Certified Sustainably Managed Natural Sites, their entire, from surveying and planning to design, construction, management, and monitoring, necessitates the application of ecological engineering techniques. Consequently, landscape architecture is poised to emerge as a key professional field in this domain.

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