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Satoshi Fujii
2021 Volume 7 Issue 1 Pages
5-6
Published: 2021
Released on J-STAGE: January 22, 2025
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Hirotaka Ueda, Yuichiro Kawabata, Satoshi Fujii
2021 Volume 7 Issue 1 Pages
7-12
Published: 2021
Released on J-STAGE: January 22, 2025
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Countermeasures against pandemics including COVID-19 are required to be implemented based on the comparison between health damages caused by infection and socio-economic damages caused by preventive measures such as activity restrictions. In assessing the health hazards, it is necessary to consider not only the number of deaths but also other indicators from various perspectives. In this study, we aimed at capturing one aspect of the characteristics of COVID-19 by comparing it with other causes of death in terms of years of life lost (YLL). YLL can examine substantial difference among deaths caused by different risk factor. As a result, it was found that the YLL of COVID-19 per person was about the same as that of influenza and pneumonia, and about one third or half of that of traffic accidents and suicide. In addition, YLL of COVID-19 per month was 2.4 times higher than that of influenza, but same as that of traffic accidents, and about one-tenth of pneumonia and one-eighth of suicide. Finally, we discussed the importance of multifactor risk assessment and the need for comprehensive research on decision-making process based on the consideration of trade-offs among risks and the nature of uncertainty.
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Makoto Ayabe
2021 Volume 7 Issue 1 Pages
13-20
Published: 2021
Released on J-STAGE: January 22, 2025
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Yufuin Town, located in Yufu City, Oita Prefecture, has long been attracting attention from commercial organizations and local governments nationwide as a successful example of tourism and community development. However, looking back at the history of the town, it is evident that there was a fierce opposition to large-scale development by external capital. Nowadays, the clear division of the town into a quiet hot spring area in the middle of nature and a densely populated area of restaurants and retail stores along the main street introduced by external capital shaped the “Duality” of Yufuin Town. The COVID-19 outbreak at the end of 2019 quickly spread all over the world and seriously damaged the Japanese tourism industry. Under these circumstances, the government of Japan has been implementing large-scale economic support measures to maintain domestic industry and sustain employment. This study reveals how the people operating businesses in Yufuin evaluate these measures as well as the points in common, differences, and challenges based on the “Duality” of this town.
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Focusing on the difference in timing between urban and rural areas in Japan
Haruna Suzuki, Takeshi Utsumi
2021 Volume 7 Issue 1 Pages
21-32
Published: 2021
Released on J-STAGE: January 22, 2025
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In this study, we examined the impact of COVID-19 infection status on mobility in seven prefectures selected as urban and rural areas of Japan. Correlation coefficients between mobility use and the number of new infections (own prefecture and whole country) were calculated by shifting the data on the number of new infections to estimate when each infection status had the greatest impact on mobility use. In addition, regression analysis was performed to examine the extent of the impact. The results indicate that the decrease in mobility from the spread of infection may have occurred earlier in the second wave than in the first wave. It is also indicated that the period of the first wave in rural areas was longer than that in their own prefectures, as they were more influenced by the national infection situation. Furthermore, in the first wave, when the number of new infections nationwide was used as an explanatory variable, the regression coefficients were significant in all prefectures, and the coefficient of determination was higher in many prefectures than when the number of new infections in their own prefecture was used as an explanatory variable. The results of this study suggest that mobility may have changed in the first wave due to the nationwide infection situation reported by the mass media in addition to the local infection situation in Japan.
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Hirotaka Ueda, Yuichiro Kawabata, Satoshi Fujii
2021 Volume 7 Issue 1 Pages
33-38
Published: 2021
Released on J-STAGE: January 22, 2025
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While strong non-medical interventions such as stay-at-home strategy were implemented in the reaction to the novel coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19), it is essential to examine the extent to which these interventions were effective enought in controlling the infections in order to ensure that the future countermeasures against pandemic will be appropriate. In this study, we analyzed the statistical relationship between the spread of the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) in Japan and the reduction rate of going-out and seasonal factors that may have contributed to the outbreak. The results showed that the spread of SARS-CoV-2 (weekly number of positive cases) has a strong positive correlation with the seasonal epidemic pattern of conventional coronaviruses and a strong negative correlation with the weekly average temperature. However, on the other hand, it was not significantly correlated with the weekly average reduction rate of going-out. Furthermore, a multiple regression analysis suggested that average temperature has the dominant effect on the spread of SARS-CoV-2.
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Yuichiro Kawabata, Hirotaka Ueda, Satoshi Fujii
2021 Volume 7 Issue 1 Pages
39-48
Published: 2021
Released on J-STAGE: January 22, 2025
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In order to reduce the COVID-19 infections, a state of emergency was declared in Japan from April to May in 2020 and January to March in 2021, which led to closing of restaurants, restraint of unnecessary travels and promoting telework. Policies aiming at drastic restrictions on social activities including the declaration of a state of emergency need to be implemented appropriately after considering how effective they are because they can have negative side effects such as economic losses. In this study, focusing on the effect of the second state of emergency in January on the number of infections, we analysed the data from December 27 to February 14, 2020 (the rate of increase and the effective reproduction number calculated from the 14-day delagged numbers of reported infections, from January 10 to February 28, 2021) by conducting a repeated measure ANOVA with two factors: inside/outside of the target area and before/after the declaration. As a result, there was no statistically significant difference between before and after the declaration, inside and outside the target area, and there was no interaction between them. The result suggests that it cannot be said that the second declaration of emergency in Japan suppressed the infection statistically.
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Takumi Ishibashi, Ayako Taniguchi
2021 Volume 7 Issue 1 Pages
49-61
Published: 2021
Released on J-STAGE: January 22, 2025
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Japan’s countermeasures against COVID-19 include requests to refrain from going out of the house due to the declaration of a state of emergency, restrictions on entry into Japan, requests for simultaneous closure of schools, loans to small and medium-sized enterprises and individual business owners, and distribution of cloth masks to all households. However, these measures are not predetermined to prepare for a pandemic. Therefore, they have been considered and established each time during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the public’s evaluation of the government’s COVID-19 measures remains unclear. In this study, we conducted a quantitative evaluation of the measures by multiple regression analysis using questionnaire survey data and also a qualitative evaluation by newspaper analysis. The questionnaire survey was conducted in early February 2021, targeting 521 people living in the Tokyo metropolitan area. For the newspaper analysis, an Internet newspaper search of Yomiuri Shimbun was used. The results showed that 56.4 % of the respondents rated the government’s overall countermeasures against the new corona viruses as unsatisfactory, indicating a generally low level of satisfaction. On the other hand, “trust in the government” had a significant positive impact on satisfaction with COVID-19 measures, but with the exception of the special flat-rate benefit. This indicates that trust in the government is a major factor in the level of agreement with pandemic measures. In addition, service sector workers tended to be less satisfied with the first declaration of a state of emergency, and the reason was that the business situation remained sluggish even after the emergency declaration was lifted. Also, newspaper articles suggested that appropriate measures to support economic recovery were needed.
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Nobuhiko Matsumura, Suzuka Ichimiya
2021 Volume 7 Issue 1 Pages
63-70
Published: 2021
Released on J-STAGE: January 22, 2025
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In social psychology research on wearing makeup, it has been indicated that wearing makeup can contribute to more positive interpersonal behavior, a higher sense of personal fulfillment, and better mental health. In this time of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a need for revitalizing the street life while taking necessary measures to prevent spreading the virus, both in terms of economic revitalization and improving life satisfaction. This study examines the effects of wearing makeup on going out among female university students. The first group was instructed to put on more makeup than usual every day, and the control group was given no instructions. Later, they were all asked to answer a questionnaire about how or whether they wore makeup, the effects of makeup, and how often and how long they went out before and after the beginning of the study, and the answers of each group were compared. The results revealed that wearing makeup was effective in increasing the number of days they went out as well as the number of times they went out alone. In addition, covariance structure analysis confirmed that wearing makeup improves emotional effects, thus contributing to a higher sense of life satisfaction. It was also indicated that wearing makeup, by improving emotional effects, tends to increase the frequency of going out, which contributes even more positively to the sense of life satisfaction. In conclusion, the study implies that even during the pandemic, promoting wearing makeup may lead to not only increasing personal life satisfaction but also to revitalizing economy by encouraging people to go out more.
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Outing mobility management to avoid damage caused by “the slowly coming tsunami”
Mamoru Taniguchi, Riku Takeda, Ryoko Komatsuzaki
2021 Volume 7 Issue 1 Pages
71-78
Published: 2021
Released on J-STAGE: January 22, 2025
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With the spread of COVID-19 infection, a state of emergency has been announced and individuals have been refrained from acting. Along with this, people’s behavior has changed, which has never been seen in the past. In this paper, we first clarified the actual situation based on an activity survey for individuals throughout daily life. As a result, it was concretely shown that the conversion of transportation from public transportation to automobiles, and the implementation of work at home (remote work) have not returned to the original state, even after the state of emergency was lifted. The change is occurring plastically. In addition, using the relationship diagram between urban density and automobile dependency introduced by Newman and Kenworthy (1999), it was suggested that the infection situation may be worse in cities with sparse urban spaces that are highly dependent on automobiles. Furthermore, based on the results of research on online shopping from the past and the results of new awareness surveys, we pointed out the considerable impact of remote work and online shopping on the actual urban space in the future. At the same time, examples are given of actual urban facilities that are currently disappearing as if they were swept away by the “the slowly coming tsunami.” Based on these results, this paper emphasized the need for a “new three-magnet,” which is a basic concept for using cyberspace in consideration of real space. As a concrete action, with the catchphrase “How to manage online wisely”, we need to establish “Outing MM” that recommends the safety of going out as a new mobility management measure.
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Yasuchika Aoki, Kento Yoh, Kenji Doi
2021 Volume 7 Issue 1 Pages
79-88
Published: 2021
Released on J-STAGE: January 22, 2025
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Public transport in Japan needs to respond to worsening issues in sustainability due to the decline in both supply and demand, and deal with Covid-19 pandemic and resulting “new normal” lifestyles. In this context, it is necessary to review both the de-mand and operation resources of public transport. Based on the current situation and issues of Japan’s fare systems,this paper provides a perspective to guide people’s travel behavior and the transport systems toward more desirable and sustainable direc-tions in consideration of diverse stakeholders’ values. Also, this paper clarifies the need for value-oriented fare systems. As a result of institutional examination,this paper proposes a conceptual framework of mutual design between fare-pricing and relationship-building of stakeholders in the process of public transport network design in consideration of MaaS deployment,which has been attracting increased attention in recent years. Specifically, it exemplifies a possible solution through utilizing the idea of the existing “consultation fare system”.
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Focusing on regional characteristics in the Sanno, Ohiradai, and Yuwa Districts
Yu Suzuki, Satoru Hino, Masaya Maekawa
2021 Volume 7 Issue 1 Pages
89-100
Published: 2021
Released on J-STAGE: January 22, 2025
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This study analyzed local residents’ consciousness of community building with new residents. This consciousness was highest in rural areas, followed by city centers and new homes. In the heart of the city, attachment to the community affected new residents and commu-nity building for those who originally lived there. In new residential areas, the consciousness of community building increased with the number of new residents, reflecting relationships formed with people who originally lived there and consideration of local issues, while in rural areas, efforts to solve local problems affected community formation. From the above, it can be concluded that the characteristics of a given district affect its residents’ consciousness, which constitutes one of the factors for town planning for new residents.
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Takeshi Kamatani, Yuichiro Kawabata, Akio Kasuga, Satoshi Fujii
2021 Volume 7 Issue 1 Pages
101-109
Published: 2021
Released on J-STAGE: January 22, 2025
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Japan faces great risks of natural disasters, and it is important to make resilient national land as well as economic and social systems. However, the development of disaster prevention infrastructures has not progressed sufficiently due to the lack of financial resources. Even though there are methods of using private funds to construct, maintain, and operate public facilities, such as PFI, they are seldom applied for the development of disaster prevention infrastructures. One of the reasons for this is the difficulty to arrange business structures which convert the value of disaster prevention into the provider’s profit, which is in contrast to other types of projects such as airport facilities and public housing. Therefore, in this research, referring to past efforts, we proposed to introduce the PFS (Pay For Success) system, which has been introduced in the social welfare field in Japan as “Social Impact Bond” etc., to the field of investment in development of infrastructure for disaster prevention. By applying this method, the government can return a part of the benefit of damage reduction to the private sector that undertakes infrastructure business. After that, the advantages of introducing the PFS mechanism for disaster prevention infrastructure investment and the problems to be solved for its introduction are discussed.
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Takashi Mizukawa, Yuichiro Kawabata, Satoshi Fujii
2021 Volume 7 Issue 1 Pages
111-128
Published: 2021
Released on J-STAGE: January 22, 2025
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In recent years, the expansion of public transport services has been demanded across Japan, however it requires sufficient usage to generate sustainable profit for the operators. In this study, we describe the cases of mobility management (MM) activity through residents' initiative. We gathered cases in which Resident-led MM activities have increased bus usage and enabled service expansion, composed narrative descriptions of the cases based on interviews with the leaders, and discussed the advantages of this type of MM. Through describing the cases, some important suggestions are derived: (1) Resignations of residents (It is difficult to expand the service.) and operators (It is difficult to generate sufficient usage.) have been turned into hope by the methodology of MM; (2) Solidarity among/between the residents, government and transportation operators enabled the expansion of the services; (3) Service expansions were realized through a new type of MM framework, called internalized bus-trigger system, in which the residents are aware of the risk of the failure of expansion and, therefore, encouraged themselves to use the buses.
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Hidefumi Shida, Yoshihito Oida, Shugo Katsuhara
2021 Volume 7 Issue 1 Pages
129-138
Published: 2021
Released on J-STAGE: January 22, 2025
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The purpose of this study is to clarify the academic retention strategies (components and procedures) for international students in culinary arts and confectionery hygiene training programs at professional training colleges. As a result of the qualitative research, it was found that the “components” required for the academic retention strategy for international students are the cook and confectionery hygienist class teachers (instructors and mentors), visa support staff, Learning Management System (LMS) staff, and supervisors. Next, the procedures were as follows: (1) gather only international students and provide visa support; (2) provide support for applying for scholarships; (3) provide orientation on post-enrollment learning and academic regulations; (4) provide motivation for understanding cooking utensils, ingredients, onomatopoeia, and collaborative teaching; and (5) set goals for future occupational image and make friends to achieve them. The following nine processes were found to be important, (6) teaching manners in group learning situations, (7) teaching student registration and use of the Learning Management System (LMS), (8) providing ruby for all subject materials, and (9) supporting attendance management and part-time work time management. The following nine processes were found to be important. In addition, the following nine processes were found to be important as a strategy for academic retention of international students in the cooking and confectionery hygienist training program: (1) the need for instructors and mentors, (2) motivation for all international students to understand cooking utensils, ingredients, and onomatopoeia, and to work together, and (3) the need to teach manners in group learning. Thirdly, it was suggested that it is necessary to teach manners in group learning.
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Yumi Vincent-Fujii, Yoichi Kanayama, Yutaka Honda, Toshimichi Murao
2021 Volume 7 Issue 1 Pages
139-154
Published: 2021
Released on J-STAGE: January 22, 2025
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This article first describes the historical trends in French urban planning (1967-2017) and then introduces the development and methodology of the current urban planning master plan PLUi. Next, it takes a closer look at the commercial adjustment system and the various regulatory laws and taxation systems that have made it possible to create bustling regional cities. It also introduces trends in recent years (until 2018) in commercial revitalization policies, initiated and implemented by municipalities that have problems with shuttered areas. Also, for commerce to flourish, there needs to be a population of consumers within a short distance. Therefore, this article will refer to the local government-led housing development system and the Master Urbanist system, which is still rare in Japan. This article focuses on the way in which the French municipal administration formulates a new comprehensive urban planning master plan that encompasses transportation, commercial, and housing policies. With the aim of contributing to Japanese society, this article considers “what kind of systems and institutions are needed to implement civil engineering policies” and considers the nature of the outreach of civil engineering projects to local government and politics in France.
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Masatomo Ogane
2021 Volume 7 Issue 1 Pages
155-163
Published: 2021
Released on J-STAGE: January 22, 2025
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The aim of this report is to identify the cause of problems that burden the borrower of the JASSO Student loan 1.27 million students, 37 percent of the whole of university students borrowed 3.4 million Japanese yen averagely per person in 2019. It is certain that the JASSO Scholarship Loan Program contributes to the students as a whole scholarship system for university students as a constant effect to a great extent. Those students who can find a job and work regularly after graduation face no problem in general. However, if the parents of borrowers fall into economical difficulty or borrowers themselves lose opportunity to work, outstanding repayment of the Scholarship Loan has the possibility to become a heavy burden to the borrower. In fact, a news article of NHK reported 5,238 students who felt negative economical effects took time off university. There exist certainly some students among who have had negative economical effects are borrowing large amount of scholarship Loan program. The first cause of the problem is one the process of the formulation and revision of the law and regulations of the student scholarship loan. The second cause of the problem is one of feedback issues on how the incorporated administrative agency in Japan formulate the system of setting the medium-term target and how it draws real needs of the nation who are beneficiaries by feedback system of the previous medium-term evaluation. The third cause of the problem is one related to norms in the Japanese society. As a results of analysis of consideration on the JASSO scholarship loan case, it is necessary to examine possibilities of realization of : (1) expansion of the amount of the scholarship grant to a large extents (2) creative new measure s of the debt-relief only during the period that borrowers face economical difficulty to repay the installment of the scholarship loan in the case that the cause is not the responsibility of themselves, and (3) diversification of resources of funds of the scholarship loan by induction of a system of financial technology in the private sector.
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