Japanese Sociological Review

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Based on a longitudinal survey (1987-1990) of a national representative sample aged 60 and over, we examined the income change rate of elderly and the factors related to their movement into and out of poverty. A couple is defined as poor if their annual income is less than 1.2 million yen. Independent variables such as socioeconomic status and life event indicators are taken into account.
The findings are as follows :
1. The poverty rate was 34.7% in 1987, and 31.7% in 1990. Comparing baseline and follow-up interviews, 8.8% of the sample experienced a fall into poverty, while 11.8% moved out of it.
2. Socioeconomic status showed differences in the likelihood of a subject's moving into or out of poverty. Interviewees who had higher educational attainment were less likely to become poor, and the longest-held occupation had significant effects on the likelihood of a subject's moving into or out of poverty.
3. During the period of the survey, life events were found to have significant effects on the likelihood of moving into or out of poverty. Women who became widowed and subjects who became unemployed were more likely to move into poverty, while those who continued to be employed were more likely to move out of poverty.
4. Sex, age and functional capacity had significant effects on the likelihood of moving out of poverty even after the effects of socioeconomic status and life events were controlled. Men were more likely to move out of poverty than women were, while subjects who were older and subjects who had a lower functional capacity at the baseline were less likely to do so.

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The concept of national identity has been used in a wide range of theoretical studies in social sciences. The diversity of the contexts in which this concept has been applied, however, might have resulted in a lack of common understanding as to what exactly constitutes the concept of national identity. Hence, the aim of this paper is to empirically investigate the structure of the concept to clarify the components of national identity. In past research, the term “national identity” was employed to refer to the following : (1) national membership identification, (2) national pride, (3) ethnocentrism, and (4) xenophobia. Using the Japanese sample of the 1995 ISSP data, items relating to national identity were factor analyzed. The results confirmed the above components as constituent factors of national identity. However, “national pride” was found to consist of two distinct dimensions : political and cultural. Analyses further revealed an additional factor, namely, “orientation towards internationalization.” Interpretation of each component, as well as the relationships between components, pointed to certain aspects unique to the Japanese society.

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In recent years, many people have taken interest in the publicness involved in public works much broadcast by the mass media. Now, we have doubts over what publicness should be. This paper clarifies how residents actually have become involved in the issue of publicness at large-scale facilities by examining the case of illegal occupation on state land allocated for the use of Osaka International Airport.
First, this essay examines the connection between public space and private space, and attempts to clarify the notion of justice from the point of view of minorities, who occupy an overwhelmingly disadvantageous position. From there, we proceed to examine the process of social space construction, where the right to private abode is informally guaranteed.
From the difference in perspectives between state and municipality toward the concept of public space, we analyze the viability and validity of the notion of publicness with regard to “Environmental Justice”. In more specific terms, the municipal authority regarded resident's justice as a reasonable claim of the socially disadvantaged who suffered from discrimination and poverty. In the community, a social space was thus produced on a different level of public definition by national authorities. As a result, the authorities must have recognized the squatters' occupation of the land in question.

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