Policy and Practice Studies
Online ISSN : 2189-1125
Print ISSN : 2189-2946
Volume 6, Issue 2
Displaying 1-15 of 15 articles from this issue
  • Ryoshun Numajiri, Ayu Miyakawa, Mikiya Hayashi, Kazuhisa Takemura, Sat ...
    2020 Volume 6 Issue 2 Pages 121-130
    Published: 2020
    Released on J-STAGE: January 26, 2025
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    In Japan, particularly since the Koizumi cabinet, policies based on Neoliberalism have been being implemented. As a result, there are reports of the deepening of deflation in the economy, the widening of the gap in the society and the weakening of national strength and other negative effects on the society. As a democratic country, the level of acceptance by the nation affects policy decisions in Japan. Thus, the purpose of this study is the empirical analysis of supporting attitudes towards Neoliberalism and its determinant, especially ressentiment against public body such as politicians or bureaucrats. First, we defined the idea of “ressentiment” according to M. Scheler, and developed a hypothesis that the resentment against public body effect the supporting attitudes toward Neoliberalism. Secondly, we performed questionnaire survey and Structural Equation Modelling to test this hypothesis. As a result, it was suggested that the ressentiment against public body exists in Japan and this enhances the supporting attitude towards Neoliberalism. It was further suggested that the results of Neoliberal policies could widen the gap in the society and the social structure with the widening gap may escalate the ressentiment. This suggests the existence of a spiral of deepening Neoliberalism and resentment in society.
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  • Focus on Safety-I and Safety-II
    Atsushi Kato
    2020 Volume 6 Issue 2 Pages 131-136
    Published: 2020
    Released on J-STAGE: January 26, 2025
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    In recent years, a new approach to safety called resilience engineering has attracted attention. Resilience means the elasticity and flexibility of objects and systems, but Hollnagel has proposed safety concepts called Safety-Ⅰ and Safety-Ⅱ to ensure the safety of socio-technical systems. The purpose of this article is to review the ideas of Safety-I and Safety-II in resilience research, while considering resilience engineering, and to examine the resilience of nurses in the medical field. Regarding resilience engineering, it has been pointed out that it is related to organizational culture, and it will be necessary to create a mechanism to instill the efforts of resilience engineering in organizations (or person).
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  • A consideration of essential elements in relation to facilitators in clinical settings
    Kumiko Yoshitake
    2020 Volume 6 Issue 2 Pages 137-147
    Published: 2020
    Released on J-STAGE: January 26, 2025
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    There are various ethical issues in clinical settings. Medical professions like physicians, nurses and therapists are required to notice and resolve these ethical issues. Ethical education is essential for practical nurses by using both on the job training and off the job training in Japan. However, ethical education for practical nurses depends on each education branch at the medical institutions. Ethical education used for consensus building theory and method has a goal which participants are able to notice ethical risks, share various values among stakeholders, and understand resolving methods and practice. The purpose of this paper is to introduce a practice of ethical education used for consensus building theory and method with facilitator training, and to consider essential factors which are required of facilitators at ethical meetings in clinical settings. Facilitators at ethical meetings in clinical settings are required for the next eight factors; (1) Planning and preparing for a meeting, (2) Communications to lead a meeting direction, (3) Communication to induce interests and concerns that stakeholders have, (4) Communication for confirmation, saying in another words and summarization, (5) Having sights both as an individual and as a whole, (6) Available for having sights both according to performing a plan and managing an unforeseen situation, (7) Having consciousness of what is being seen by stakeholders, and (8) Providing a better atmosphere and environment. Meaningful benefits of unified ethical education program used for a consensus building method and facilitator’s education at the time is possible to connect to noticing and creating action for resolving ethical issues in clinical settings.
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  • A case study on Takasaki city, Gunma prefecture
    Shinya Tsukada, Tetsuo Morita
    2020 Volume 6 Issue 2 Pages 149-158
    Published: 2020
    Released on J-STAGE: January 26, 2025
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    In local cities in Japan, the decline of local cities due to the rapid population decrease by the declining birthrate, the aging of the population and the migration of young people to large cities has become a serious issue. It is required to improve the attractiveness of cities and the quality of life of citizens while ensuring the sustainability of urban activities. Urban consolidation policies are being considered. In this study, we focused on private trips as a traffic that supports our daily lives. This study is to clarify the residence intention of each action group by typifying the private trips of the residents of the local city into the action group. In the target area is Takasaki City in Gunma Prefecture, and the “Gunma Prefecture Person Trip Survey Data” conducted in 2015 was used. From the analysis, private traffic were categorized into 6 groups, and the characteristics of each group were clarified. Next, the intention to live in each action group was clarified. From the results, it was found that the Takasaki area, which is an urban area, has a high tendency to depend on automobiles. The policy that encourages conversion to transportation means such as public transportation is effective in advancing the urban consolidation policy. Since the behavior group of women who depend on cars has been categorized in the suburbs, it is considered that transportation support for child-rearing is effective.
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  • Comparison with the perceived threats of Chinese, Japanese/Korean and Foreigner in Japan and Korea
    Tomoya Mukai, Yuma Matsuki, Shinwoo Kim, Mariko Kimura
    2020 Volume 6 Issue 2 Pages 159-165
    Published: 2020
    Released on J-STAGE: January 26, 2025
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    The number of Muslims who visit and live in Japan is increasing. However, attitudes toward Muslims are not generally positive. Existing research has shown that the perceived threat of Muslims exerts a strong influence on attitudes toward Muslims and perceptions of them. However, previous studies have not fully revealed the factor structure of perceived threats. Thus, the present study aims to explore the factor structure of the perceived threat in both Japan and Korea by building on integrated threat theory which incorporate the perceived threat into the realistic and the symbolic separately. In addition, to compare the perceived threat of Muslims, the present study also examined perceived threats associated with Chinese, Japanese/Koreans, and foreigners in general. An analysis of data collected from 409 Japanese and 417 Koreans revealed that the factor structures of perceived threats differed from those expected from the integrated threat theory and that the structures varied among groups. In conclusion, the integrated threat theory cannot be fully applied to perceived threats in Japan and Korea, and further exploration needs to be done to understand the contextuality of these societies.
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  • Realization of a hundred-year dream of Toyama citizens by completion of the north-south connection of two LRT systems
    Shinji Honda
    2020 Volume 6 Issue 2 Pages 167-190
    Published: 2020
    Released on J-STAGE: January 26, 2025
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Toyama City has been promoting compact city management strategy (a city having a dense center and a series of dense hubs interconnected by strong public transport) in anticipation of full-scale population decline and the progress of a super ageing society. Toyama has been promoting efforts to vitalize public transportation, especially with the formation of LRT networks which form a total length of 15 km centering on Toyama Station. This network includes “Portram” as Japan’s first full scale LRT system to revitalize the JR Toyama Port Line, and “Centram” as Toyama City Loopline to reactivate the central downtown area. The city has seen not only residential relocation along public transport routes but also the upward trends in ridership of public transport. The completion of the north-south connection of the two LRT systems in March 2020 has integrated urban areas that had been divided by Toyama Station and railways since 1908. Since the establishment of the City in 1889, Toyama has undertaken a number of significant urban development projects to build a modern city over the past 130 years. This roughly went through three phases from the perspective of resilience: 1. Flood Control of the Jinzu River and the First Tram Service on the Japan Sea Coast (from 1897 to 1938); 2. Post-war Reconstruction including the Construction of City Planning Roads and Restoration of Tram Service (from 1945 to 1955); 3. Compact City Plan and Realization of a Hundred-year Dream of Toyama Citizens by Completion of North-South Connection of Two LRT Systems (from 2004 to 2020). The purpose of this study is to show that the third phase was realized by the development of the first phase and the second phase. Predecessors strengthened the resilience of the city and maintained the transportation infrastructure for the future. We should continue to make use of historical assets to promote city development.
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  • Hiroki Shimizu, Mizuki Ohashi, Mamoru Taniguchi
    2020 Volume 6 Issue 2 Pages 191-198
    Published: 2020
    Released on J-STAGE: January 26, 2025
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    In Japan, as the population declines and as population aging progresses, new urban problems are emerging, such as difficulties with vacant houses, withdrawal of commercial facilities, and financial deterioration. In light of these circumstances, the concept of “urban aging” has been proposed, which includes population aging and the housing deterioration. Empirical analysis of urban aging and land price formation has been conducted. This study aims to quantify urban aging in order to evaluate it practically in regional policies and aims at plainly clarifying the changes of urban aging and average residential land prices over time for each similar city. For this purpose, we chose urban problems based on various descriptions in academic papers. Then we conducted factor analyses based on these proxy indicators to quantify urban aging. Results show that the phenomenon of urban aging is an urgent issue and that even in Kanto, an area with high population density, many cities have serious aging difficulties. Furthermore, as a general trend, residential land prices tend to decline as urban aging progresses. Urban aging and residential land prices for each type show that land prices decline along with aging, not only in regional cities but also in suburban cities in large cities, revealing disparity in land prices between central cities and other cities.
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  • Comparing activities influenced by different vehicle functions
    Akira Mitarai, Shingo Ando, Mamoru Taniguchi
    2020 Volume 6 Issue 2 Pages 199-208
    Published: 2020
    Released on J-STAGE: January 26, 2025
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    In recent years, expectations have increased for realization of fully automated driving. New transportation services are being considered in conjunction with this new technology. As one of them, automated Driving Vehicle with Utility Service (ADVUS) equipped with urban functions has been proposed. The proposed service provides alternatives for various activities such as purchasing, medical care, eating, and hobby activities. Whereas the introduction of this service might exceed the concept of the conventional car as a “tool for transportation” and take on the role of a “convenient service provider,” the unrestricted introduction of ADVUS will cause competition with facilities that have been located in the city, and will result in the withdrawal of facilities. To understand the two-sided nature of the service, one must identify preferences for the service, their differences, and factors that influence preferences. For this study, we apply a quantification method II based on an original web survey. We examined factors contributing to residents' intentions to use the service and their differences according to activities. Results demonstrate that the factors affecting the preference for ADVUS differed depending on the type of activity installed in the ADVUS. As examples, for “hobby activities” and “meal with acquaintances,” the closer the ADVUS facilities were, the more the respondents preferred to use them. For “hobby products”, the closer the existing facilities were, the more the respondents tended to prefer to use them, which suggests that even identical factors might have opposite effects on the choice of ADVUS or facility.
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  • Asami Ogura, Misa Iwamoto, Yusuke Kanda, Shin-ichi Kawamura
    2020 Volume 6 Issue 2 Pages 209-220
    Published: 2020
    Released on J-STAGE: January 26, 2025
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    We tried to clarify what information should be provided to foreign residents in preparation for a disaster similar to the heavy rains in July 2018 and how to convey the information. We conducted interviews with the support staff of foreign residents and Japanese language classes’ organizers, focusing on Kure, Higashi-Hiroshima, and Fukuyama city. The survey results show that foreign residents request the same information as Japanese residents, namely where to find shelters, how to get there safely, and details on the disaster. They want flash news on their smartphones in English or in basic Japanese. In addition, some foreign residents hope to attend disaster drills. However, two cities where we conducted interviews find it problematic to notify all foreign residents of a disaster, although it is necessary to provide multilingual information and secure staff resources. Therefore, it is urgent to provide information to international residents during a disaster using basic Japanese or communicate appropriately with an international community.
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  • Sachiyo Kamimura, Yoshimi Kawamoto
    2020 Volume 6 Issue 2 Pages 221-234
    Published: 2020
    Released on J-STAGE: January 26, 2025
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    It is considered that ingenuity is required for dialogues about high-level radioactive waste disposal. However, information generated through current general dialogues is only uniformly provided, regardless of the characteristics of the participants, and it is considered that a mismatch occurs. In this study, by using text mining analysis based on two recorded dialogues between college students and the general public, we examined the characteristics of student dialogues about issues of high-level radioactive waste disposal. The results are as follows. Firstly, as a result of word advent, student dialogues have thoughts on the social aspects of the “object person,” “cases of developed countries,” and “publicity.” Secondly, they have thoughts about “nuclear power,” “understanding,” responsibility for waste generation in “Japan,” and from a broad range standpoint for “national people.” Thirdly, there is a result of a co-occurrence relation, for example “nuclear power” is connected to the words “thought” and “accident,” and there was a chain with other words. Also, “geological” and “disposal” are connected to words “employment” and “merits” which are indirectly affected by the advance of high-level radioactive waste disposal projects, and the words of “science course” regarding the degree of the participants’ knowledge. These are characteristics of student dialogues that could not be confirmed in a general dialogue. Therefore, we determined these three patterns within dialogue development of high-level radioactive waste disposal issues.
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  • Toshikazu Nishio, Tetsuo Morita, Shinya Tsukada
    2020 Volume 6 Issue 2 Pages 235-243
    Published: 2020
    Released on J-STAGE: January 26, 2025
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    The aim of the present study is to consider pedestrian traffic and land use and official land price around Takasaki Station in downtown Takasaki City in Gunma. The specific methods are as follows: (a) discerned the history of downtown Takasaki City and set the study target point; (b) observed the trends in downtown Takasaki City; and (c) selected multiple regression analysis from the statistical analysis technique. From this, land use X is used to formulate a model of multiple regression analysis to predict the impact directly to the pedestrian traffic volume Y; and (d) selected multiple regression analysis from the statistical analysis technique. The land use and pedestrian traffic volume X was then used to formulate a model of multiple regression analysis to predict the impact directly to the official land price Y. The results obtained in the present study can be summarized as follows: first, shopping street and private store are activated; second, to capture the pedestrian traffic volume in the central area of Takasaki City from the viewpoint of building use, street, accessibility, the presence or absence of a store/office, the presence/absence of a store/house, and the distance from the Renjakucho intersection in the center of downtown Takasaki City, the distance from Takasaki Station must be considered; third, it can be confirmed that stores and offices have the greatest impact on official land price; and fourth, in conclusion a store/office affect the traffic volume of pedestrians. The traffic volume of pedestrians and a store/office affect the official land prices in the central area of Takasaki City.
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  • Kazumasa Iwamoto, Akihiko Nishimura, Satoshi Funakubo
    2020 Volume 6 Issue 2 Pages 245-254
    Published: 2020
    Released on J-STAGE: January 26, 2025
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    In 2008, the “Act on Maintenance and Improvement of Traditional Scenery in Certain Districts” became operative. In this act, the new concept of “Japanese historical scenic”, which is composed of intangible activities, tangible buildings, and the surrounding landscape, was defined for maintenance and improvement. By January 2020, seventy-eight municipalities were certified into this act, and some municipalities had moved from the first term plan to the second term plan. In other words, this act and the new concept of “Japanese historical scenic” spread throughout Japan. However, scholars have not grasped the characteristics and details of this concept because of insufficient previous cases. This paper explores the characteristics and components of “Japanese historical scenic” of seventy-eight cases of historic scenery maintenance and improvement plans through a questionnaire survey. As results of the questionnaire survey, which includes six hundred and forty-five cases of “Japanese historical scenic” in the seventy-eight municipality’s plans, this paper concludes the following two points. Firstly, the typical case of “Japanese historical scenic” consists of activity about faith as intangible activities, shrines as tangible buildings, and the activity route to them as a surrounding landscape. Secondly, depending on the origin of the city area, the characteristics and components of “Japanese historical scenic” show different tendencies; in particular, the type of a “castle town” is the majority and show more diverse activities and surrounding landscapes than other types.
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  • Mitsuyo Toyoda, Toru Takashima, Aiko Kita, Katsunori Nakagawa
    2020 Volume 6 Issue 2 Pages 255-266
    Published: 2020
    Released on J-STAGE: January 26, 2025
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Agricultural land management is one of the important issues in the development of the agricultural industry in Japan. With the goal of supporting efficient land use by leading regional farmers, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries initiated a key program called the “Hito-Nouchi Plan (Farmer-Farmland Plan)” in 2012, encouraging each region to create a concrete plan that identifies which farmlands should be abandoned in the near future and who would be able to utilize them. A unique feature of this program is its emphasis on the implementation of communal dialogues to generate consensus among farmers on agricultural land use. While this program seems crucial for the autonomous governance of farmland by local farmers, the government argues that it still fails to have a strong impact on agricultural land management. Many regional plans have been developed without implementing meaningful communicative processes and, hence, lack effectiveness in actual land management. In particular, it is difficult to promote this program in mountainous regions where small-scale, inefficient agriculture is dominant and where aging and depopulation are extremely critical. What then are the difficulties involved in the implementation of communal dialogues for farmland governance by the community? This study approaches this question by examining various observations regarding the challenges of the Hito-Nouchi Plan from the aspect of consensus building and identifying concrete problems that emerged in the actual design of the communicative processes for agricultural land management. The following two points are discussed in this paper as essential aspects in the design of communal dialogues: (1) the expansion of the scope of stakeholders to include non-farmers in the region as potential candidates for future farmers and (2) the broad setting of the theme of discussion that allows various local concerns to be explored. For the sustainable development of agriculture in mountainous areas, it is crucial to design a dialogue for agricultural land management to empower community members in various possible ways.
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  • A case study on environmental conservation in Fukuda River, Kobe City
    Tomoki Takada, Yukito Yamaguchi, Naoto Yamamoto, Michiro Tsukamoto
    2020 Volume 6 Issue 2 Pages 267-278
    Published: 2020
    Released on J-STAGE: January 26, 2025
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    The purpose of this study is to present knowledge on how to achieve basin governance in urban small rivers through collaboration of diverse citizens. For this purpose, we will analyze in detail a case study in which citizens developed projects and achieved comprehensive environmental conservation in an urban small river basin, where values are not shared by the community. The case study is about Fukuda River basin in Kobe City. In Fukuda River basin, a citizen started a river cleanup project, which led to the formation of a citizens' organization and the realization of comprehensive environmental conservation in the basin. In this study, we modeled the formation process of a loose network of citizens, government, and experts toward the governance of the basin.
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  • Yoshito Dobashi, Nobuaki Ohmori
    2020 Volume 6 Issue 2 Pages 279-290
    Published: 2020
    Released on J-STAGE: January 26, 2025
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    The concept of PDCA is an old and new one for civil engineering. Through three case studies, Hankyu Itami station rehabilitation project, Fukuoka Nanakuma line project, and Sendai Tozai line project, as the best practices of each decade, this paper examines that there are actual PDCA cycles in the fields to improve accessibility. Also, in order to realize such efforts, there are pressures and actions from disabled people’s organizations. Through their actions and movement toward railway operators to visualize “barriers”, the operators and local governments have become aware of the problems and have tried to create the most accessible railways in each decade through PDCA approaches as responding to the movement of disabled people’s organization and citizen participations of disabled people.
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