In Japan, local public transport systems are facing problems such as reduced revenue due to a decline in user numbers and a worsening shortage of management resources, including bus drivers. As a solution to these problems, measures are being taken to improve LoS (Level of Service) in value and information spaces by utilizing information and communication technologies. Although the effects of these measures have been confirmed from the perspective of business operators, the impact on users’ usage awareness and the interactions between measures remain unclear. In this paper, we conducted a usage survey in Sakaide City, Kagawa Prefecture, with the aim of identifying the status of bus use by users and their awareness of the measures. Sakaide City has introduced Japan’s first full-scale zone fares, as well as reorganized of its operation routes, introduced a cyclic bus schedule, and introduced a cashless payment system and is developing public transportation measures related to operation, fares, and payment in an integrated manner. Based on the results of the survey, it was found that the introduction of a cyclic bus schedule and the reorganization of routes had a statistically significant influence on the increase in the frequency of bus use. Furthermore, TAM was applied to each of the four measures, through Structural Equation Modeling, this paper suggested that the increase in awareness of the measures leads to the promotion of user’s perception of the usefulness of the measures, identified the structure of the interrelationships of usefulness among the measures, and showed that the embodied knowledge that can be acquired through daily bus use is necessary to create the intention to use buses.

View full abstract

Previous research has demonstrated that voting is a significant way for citizens to participate in criminal justice, and candidates’ attitudes have been linked to voting behavior. However, the effect of candidates' campaign promises on voting intention remains unexplored. This study aimed to investigate whether candidates with punitive campaign promises are more likely to attract votes than candidates with rehabilitative promises or no crime-related promises. Respondents, were presented with posters of candidates who made punitive promises, rehabilitative promises, or no promises related to crime, and their voting intentions were measured. Data from 497 participants revealed no significant differences in voting intentions across these conditions. One possible explanation is that citizens may prioritize other policy areas over crime policy when deciding whom to vote for. The implications of these findings are discussed.

View full abstract

There are conflicting views on the relationship between Japan’s gross domestic product (GDP), both nominal and real, and tax revenue (general account tax revenue). Some argue that an increase in GDP leads to an increase in tax revenue, while others contend there is no clear relationship between the two. This study investigated the relationship between nominal and real GDP and general account tax revenue using nonlinear time series analysis, which can estimate causality in time series data with potential nonlinear relationships, such as between GDP and tax revenue. Using Convergent Cross Mapping, a causality estimation method, the study found bidirectional causality between nominal GDP and tax revenue, as well as between real GDP and tax revenue. Further analysis using S-map revealed a negative effect of nominal GDP on tax revenue, and a positive effect of tax revenue on nominal GDP. Conversely, real GDP had a positive effect on tax revenue, while tax revenue negatively affected real GDP. These results suggest that while nominal GDP and tax revenue fluctuate in the same direction, tax revenue shows greater volatility. Real GDP positively affects tax revenue with a time lag of several years, but tax revenue may decrease real GDP after about two years. Therefore, increasing real GDP is crucial for long-term stable tax revenue growth, as prioritizing tax revenue increases may lead to a decline in real GDP.

View full abstract

The population of the central Osaka City area has a tendancy to increase with re-urbanization. The number of children in elementary schools is increasing rapidly, and this affects the educational environment. The purpose of this study is to understand changes in the number of children due to re-urbanization, to analyze the factors of the changes, and to clarify the influence of re-urbanization on the educational environment. In analyzing the factors affecting the changes in the number of children, this study focused on the supplement of high-rise condominiums, the academic performance of the children, and the occurrence of crimes in each elementary school district. In order to take into account the effect of the supply of high-rise condominiums on the population, an analysis was conducted using the number of children calculated from the census of a small area population. The main results of this study are as follows. (1) It was confirmed that the location of high-rise condominiums affects an increase in the number of children. (2) It was confirmed that the increase in the number of children is related to a greater number of high-rise condominiums, higher academic performance, and lower crime density, in descending order of influence. (3) It was confirmed that all elementary schools in which buildings were expanded or remodeled were below the standard for the area of playground per child. (4) Based on the above, in the short term it was shown that demand-following measures to cope with the increase in the number of children are necessary, however, in the long term demand-management measures to control the number of children are required.

View full abstract

In recent years, the promotion of the night-time economy (NTE) has been attracting attention in Japan. In the past, the Japan Tourism Agency has mainly promoted the development of tourism content. Currently, local governments are also implementing their own projects and plans to promote NTE. Among them, urban parks where Park-PFI is implemented in government-designated cities have potential as places for NTE. In this study, we investigated Higashi-Yuenchi Park in Kobe City and Yamashita Park in Yokohama City, which are located in government-designated cities with projects and plans to promote NTE and implement Park-PFI, to clarify various conditions necessary for the promotion of the nighttime economy in government-designated cities through Park-PFI by organizing the surrounding environment, utilization, and actual conditions. The results revealed the following. As a result, the following points became clear. First, in both target sites, the use of the ground floor of the surrounding buildings was not conspicuously NTE-like in the past. The city department, the Park-PFI operator, and the surrounding area management organization are trying to ensure safety and security at night. Furthermore, these entities are trying to make urban parks participate in the NTE by diverting participants from nighttime events in urban parks to nearby restaurants and by encouraging them to migrate from surrounding areas to urban parks as tourist destinations. Based on the above, it can be said that the safety and security of users, which is a nighttime issue for urban parks, can be realized in cooperation with surrounding businesses and other entities. If urban parks participate in NTEs, the number of entities involved is expected to increase in the future, and in such cases, it will be necessary to share the benefits among these entities and cooperate with them.

View full abstract

In this study, we focused on the station plaza in a regional city with traffic characteristics centered on private cars. We conducted a case study of Midori City in Gunma Prefecture, aiming to explore ways to promote station-area urban planning that aligns with both current traffic conditions and residents’ preferences. In this case, areas with relatively high population density are located more than 1 km away from the station, and the main modes of access to the station are private vehicles and bicycles. The questionnaire analysis revealed that both residents and station users expressed strong needs regarding the convenience and safety of private vehicle use around the station plaza. During the workshop, discussions centered on prioritizing the development of the station plaza based on residents' needs and feasibility. As a result, a plan was developed to provide parking lots in the station plaza and surrounding areas, to accommodate access via private vehicles. While the installation of parking lots can be seen as a short-term measure addressing immediate residents’ needs, there is also a need for long-term urban planning. This includes, for instance, using location optimization plans to enhance the station’s role as a hub for community activity. Based on this case, we offered the following suggestions for the future development of stations in small and medium-sized regional cities that currently lack a sufficient role in transportation and local hubs - particularly those without an urban district near the station. In the short term, efforts should focus on attracting station users from a wide area, such as by developing station plazas that support park-and-ride （P&R). In the medium to long term, planning guidelines should incorporate the improvement of walkability and bicycle access around the station, the improvement of public transport connectivity, and the promotion of stakeholder dialogue.

View full abstract

As home-based care is being promoted as a policy, it may influence the lives of cohabiting caregivers who provide care at home in the future. This study conducted a survey and analysis with the aim of clarifying the actual temporal, environmental, and psychological differences resulting from providing care at home, by comparing the lifestyle, working style, and sense of well-being between individuals who do and do not engage in cohabiting care. A questionnaire survey was conducted targeting the Tokyo metropolitan area, Hiroshima City, and Fukuyama City, and an analysis that accounted for individual attributes was performed using propensity score matching. To identify temporal differences due to the presence or absence of cohabiting care, this study compared the use of time and found that those providing cohabiting care spent more time on housework on both weekdays and holidays, while those not providing care had more free time. Regarding environmental differences, telework implementation and work locations were compared, finding that those engaged in cohabiting care spent more time working at home, whereas those not providing care spent more time working outside the home. For psychological differences, this study compared the sense of well-being with how individuals perceived themselves and society five years ago, and found that those providing cohabiting care reported lower well-being, possibly due to lifestyle constraints caused by caregiving. As a countermeasure, it is necessary not only to enhance physical infrastructures such as commonly used facilities and care-related institutions, but also to expand systems and policies that support cohabiting caregivers.

View full abstract

Since the Great East Japan Earthquake Disaster (GEJED), numerous disaster memorial facilities have been developed nationwide to preserve the disaster’s memories and lessons. Among them, parks have attracted particular attention as spatial platforms that integrate multiple roles, including remembrance, documentation, and disaster education. However, most existing studies have focus on individual facilities or programs, and few providing a systematic analysis of entire parks as disaster memorial spaces. This study investigates 54 parks with disaster memorial functions, analyzing them from four perspectives: general information, integration into disaster prevention strategies, locational conditions, and spatial composition of memorial facilities. Based on this, the parks were classified into eight types. In addition, spatial analyses using site plans and related materials were also conducted for selected representative cases to clarify structural tendencies and characteristics of each type. The results indicate that spatial configuration and functional focus differ depending on park scale and administrative background. Large-scale parks often feature zone-based layouts where multiple functions are spatially divided, while small-scale parks adopt compact designs concentrating symbolic elements. These tendencies reflect differing emphases on core functions such as disaster education, remembrance, and preservation of disaster remnants. This typological and spatial analysis offers insights into the strategic design and development of disaster memorial parks that align with local conditions and social contexts. The findings provide practical implications for enhancing disaster recovery and disaster prevention plans and improving the design of memorial spaces within public parks.

View full abstract

Corporate Museums serve not only as spaces for exhibiting corporate history and products but have evolved into strategic tools for enhancing brand value. These museums play a pivotal role in strengthening corporate brand value by communicating “trustworthiness,” “innovation,” and “cultural sustainability” through the presentation of founder leadership. This study investigates how corporate museums convey founder leadership and how this influences brand value. A qualitative case study was conducted through site visits to thirty-seven corporate museums, where the analysis identified three key pathways for brand value enhancement: emotional resonance, value internalization, and technological recognition. Emotional resonance involves conveying the founder’s philosophy and life principles through storytelling and experiential exhibits, fostering visitor trust by highlighting corporate “integrity” and “social responsibility.” Value internalization emphasizes the philosophies of both founders and successive leaders, showcasing the “cultural sustainability” of the organization. Technological recognition highlights corporate innovation and product development history, enhancing visitors’ perception of “innovation” and brand leadership. This study systematically demonstrates the strategic role of corporate museums in brand management and provides empirical insights into how the communication of founder leadership strengthens brand value.

View full abstract

Understanding daily passenger origin-destination (OD) patterns is essential for planning and implementing detailed measures to maintain and revitalize public transportation. Building a system to continuously acquire OD traffic volume allows for a detailed understanding of passenger behavior in response to implemented measures. While urban railways utilize data such as automated ticket gate records, regional railways face challenges in OD tracking due to the high investment costs of equipment. To address this, utilizing Bluetooth Low Energy from smartphones offers a potential solution for simple and low-cost acquisition of passenger OD data. However, the recent widespread adoption of “randomization,” where Bluetooth MAC addresses are randomly changed for privacy protection, necessitates the development of OD estimation methods for such data. This study constructs an OD traffic volume estimation method that accounts for the effects of randomization and conducts an investigation using data obtained from observing railway vehicle usage via Bluetooth. Additionally, validation was performed through simultaneous boarding and alighting surveys. The results indicate the potential for passenger OD estimation in regional railways, even under the influence of randomization. Furthermore, this study explores methods for utilizing passenger OD data, proposing applications such as demand fluctuation prediction for train augmentation decisions and event-driven passenger volume prediction.

View full abstract

Osaka City’s Master Plan for Greening (2013), which is the current master plan for greening in Osaka City, will conclude in FY 2025, therefore, Osaka City’s Master Plan for Greening （2026) is currently being discussed. Based on Osaka City’s Master Plan for Greening （2026) （Preliminary draft) that was published in January 2025, and materials from the Council on Creating a Green City which discussed the new master plan, the current work describes efforts in accordance with Osaka City’s Master Plan for Greening （2013) and Osaka City’s self-assessment of those efforts, and it also presents an assessment made by the author of this paper. Results indicated that urban infrastructure for greenery, which is based on an increase in the total number of tall trees and medium trees and shrubs, has been successful to an extent. However, results also revealed issues with the current plan: there is no mention that large numbers of tall trees have been cut down and that the number of tall trees has greatly decreased, satisfaction with nearby greenery has decreased because people fail to sense it even though it is present, and there are issues with the methods used to determine visible greenery. Next, this study examined improvements and issues with Osaka City’s Master Plan for Greening （2026) （Preliminary draft). Improvements are evident in the new plan: it mentions an increase of street trees and park trees and target tree shapes have been specified. “Tree coverage” is an index that was deleted from Osaka City’s Master Plan for Greening （2013), however, it has been restored in the new plan. Even so, several issues with the new plan have been identified: locations to measure visible greenery have been added but they tend to be in areas of public attraction, specific details on the deliberate regeneration of trees are not listed so there is still a concern that trees will continue to be cut down unadvisedly as in the past, and methods by which members of the public not affiliated with an organization can collaborate and share information with the city hall are not indicated. It is hoped that presenting these issues before the period for public comment on the new plan ends will lead to a better master plan for greening. In addition, the issues identified in this paper may be helpful to other urban municipalities in developing next master plans for greening.

View full abstract

The purpose of this study is to clarify the ingenuities of river basin flood control measures that local government implement in accordance with the land use conditions of areas affected by flooding. To this end, we investigated whether there were any areas affected by flooding in local government along the Kakogawa River and what flood countermeasures were implemented in those areas. In addition, we used GIS to analyze the characteristics of land use in those areas. As a result of these efforts, it was found that the following eight measures were considered to be ingenuities: “Putting lottery tickets on disaster prevention maps,” “Urging vertical evacuation within buildings,” “Creating evacuation plans for people who require assistance,” “Considering countermeasures in collaboration with local residents,” “Managing and operating water gates in the area,” “Setting flood sensors on water gates,” “Drainage using agricultural pumps” and “Replacing bridges.” In addition, of these ingenuities, “Urging vertical evacuation within buildings” and “Creating evacuation plans for people who require assistance” were found to be effective in areas at risk of flooding by external water or in low-altitude urbanized areas; “Drainage using agricultural pumps” was found to be effective in areas with many rice fields scattered from upstream to mid-river; “Managing and operating water gates in the area” and “Setting flood sensors on water gates” were found to be effective in areas where buildings tended to locate at relatively low altitudes scattered from mid-river to downstream; “Replacing bridges” was found to be effective in urban areas with many bridges located downstream.

View full abstract

Currently, Japan does not have a designated high-level radioactive waste (HLW) disposal site. In order to advance the selection of a disposal site in the future, public interest and understanding are important. However, the low level of interest and understanding, especially among the younger generation, as well as the low participation and utilization rates in events aimed at fostering awareness, are challenges that need to be addressed. In this study an event was conducted utilizing digital games, primarily targeting high school and university students, analyzing changes in understanding and interest, evaluating the dialogue space, willingness to participate, and willingness to encourage others to participate based on pre- and post-event surveys, and the effectiveness of a new way to learn about nuclear energy was examined. From the above, effects were observed on the willingness to participate in events, the promotion of participation by others, and the enhancement of interest and understanding after the dialogue. However, future research challenges include the selection of digital games to enhance interest and understanding of HLW treatment compared to traditional methods, as well as improvements in content, progress, and accuracy.

View full abstract

In recent years, the introduction of ICT tools in neighborhood associations has been promoted. However, concerns about the digital divide among elderly neighborhood association leaders and residents have been identified as a major barrier to adoption. This study examines the intentions of neighborhood association leaders and residents regarding the adoption of ICT tools before their official implementation, focusing on the Matsuyama School District Neighborhood Association in Toyohashi City, Aichi Prefecture, which has decided to introduce these tools. The analysis is based on survey responses from 15 neighborhood association leaders and 759 residents, considering residents’ attributes, internet usage, and their involvement in the neighborhood association and local community. The results revealed that while neighborhood association leaders were interested in adopting ICT tools, they also expressed concerns about the digital divide among elderly residents. Furthermore, residents were classified into four groups based on their level of interest and concerns: Proactive Group (21 %), Anxious Group (12 %), Opposing Group (11 %), and Indifferent Group (56 %). The study also suggested that barriers to ICT tool adoption are not solely determined by age or internet usage. Instead, participation in neighborhood association activities and connections with the local community significantly influence residents’ willingness to adopt these tools. Notably, over half of the residents fell into the Indifferent Group, indicating that a lack of interest in the neighborhood association and local community is a major obstacle to ICT tool adoption. To facilitate the smooth implementation of ICT tools, it is essential to adopt a tailored approach for each resident group. This includes fostering momentum for adoption among the Proactive Group, providing sufficient explanations and support to the Anxious Group, and implementing initiatives to raise awareness and engagement in neighborhood activities for the Indifferent Group.

View full abstract

Information sharing is extremely important in disaster response. However, it has been pointed out that disaster information systems that have been developed for this purpose are difficult to utilize even in times of disaster due to a lack of operational proficiency resulting from not using them in normal times. In this study, ISUT-SITE, which is operated by Information Support Team (ISUT) for disaster response organizations in times of disaster, was expanded and ISUT-SITE (always open website) was constructed and operated to enable information sharing during normal times. This site was constructed based on the following three concepts: (1) to be available in normal times, (2) to have the same functions and structure as the ISUT-SITE in times of disaster, and (3) to avoid information overload. An analysis of the access logs from April to December 2022 showed that 138 organizations used the site which was always open, and that it was accessed 7,809 times in total. Even in the event of a disaster of a scale that does not require the establishment of ISUT-SITE, or in times of peace, multiple organizations used the site to check information, suggesting that disaster response organizations have a need to share disaster information even in times of peace. In addition, after a disaster occurs, access to ISUT-SITE tends to shift from using the website, indicating that an information-sharing environment during normal times is effective in promoting the use of information during a disaster.

View full abstract