An experimental study was conducted among Japanese consumers in order to investigate the effects of nationality information in feedback on trust towards a foreign online store. Three experimental conditions were created: (1) feedback from Japanese users, (2) feedback from Thai users and (3) a control condition of no feedback. We hypothesized that showing feedback from Japanese users would result in the highest level of trust, and that an increase in trust would then result in lower perceived risk, and higher perceived usefulness and intention of use of the website. A survey was conducted in Japan, obtaining a total of 915 participants who were randomly assigned into three groups corresponding to the experimental conditions. Structural equation modeling was used in order to analyze the proposed hypotheses within a model of consumer behavior. The results indicate that showing feedback from Japanese users resulted in higher trust than showing feedback from Thai users or showing no feedback. However, feedback from Thai users did not result in an improvement of trust when compared with no feedback shown.

This exploratory study examined how indigenous social media relates to college students' peer interaction and cultural involvement toward digital writing on social networking services (SNSs) in Japan. A qualitative research design was adopted that involved semi-structured in-depth interviews with eight university students on social media participation to investigate the role new technologies play in the establishment of peer connection practices. It was found that the respondents employed SNSs to connect with friends and to establish a sense of belonging by using a “connected presence” strategy. A thin but perpetual sense of membership belonging was developed mainly through silent online participation behavior which enhanced transient friendships. In addition, connected presence strategies that contribute to humorous content and emoticons were analyzed and it was found that social media facilitated the creation of easy-going online identities, which defuses tension, discomfort, or conflict. Finally, it was found that cultural traits such as a “psychological status of shame” and an “extreme sense of privacy protection” could have an impact on the digital writing of young people.

This study measured the dependency on text messaging of students in lectures at a women's university in Japan, comparing students who placed their mobile phone on their desk during lectures with those who did not do so. Dependency was measured by using a text-message dependency scale. Dependency on LINE messaging was measured by the same scale with “text” replaced by “LINE” in each question. The results of the questionnaire survey showed a significant difference in “emotional reaction,” one of the three subscales of the scale used in the study, between students who placed their mobile phone on their desk and those who did not: the LINE messaging dependency score was higher among those who did. Also, in each subscale score and in the total of those scores, dependency on LINE messaging was significantly higher than dependency on text messaging for both students who placed their mobile phones on their desks during lectures and those who did not do so.

This study aims to evaluate measures against the Urban Heat Island (UHI) from the viewpoint of artificial exhaust heat of road traffic using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in the Tokyo 23-Ward Area where the degree of UHI is particularly strong. We developed a GIS database that reflects road traffic conditions and calculated the volume of artificial exhaust heat of road traffic to evaluate measures against the UHI.

The findings of this study can be summarized in the following three points.

(1) Artificial exhaust heat volume for moving targets was remarkably higher than that of stationary targets and, in particular, artificial exhaust heat volume was high on roads with remarkable numbers of vehicles and running speeds such as expressways and ring roads. Artificial exhaust heat volume was particularly high for cars and regular trucks by model, and for weekdays and holidays, and daytime and night-time, artificial exhaust heat volume was mainly high during the day on weekdays.

(2) In UHI-related policy for moving targets, the suppression of waste heat through choice of fuel burned, improvement of traffic flow by securing space for cyclists and pedestrians, development of bypasses, and upgrading signal control managed to reduce artificial exhaust heat volume even though there were differences in degree of reduction. However, roads with high artificial exhaust heat volume reduction ratio differed with each UHI-related policy.

(3) In UHI-related policy for stationary targets, special road surfaces and the increase in efficiency of energy consumption equipment achieved a reduction ratio of around 30% in artificial exhaust heat volume, more than moving targets as well as making it possible to expect a reduction in artificial exhaust heat volume on a wide scale.