Policy and Practice Studies
Online ISSN : 2189-1125
Print ISSN : 2189-2946
Volume 9, Issue 2
Displaying 1-11 of 11 articles from this issue
  • A focus on the expenditure ratio of online shops to physical stores based on product type
    Yuki Ohata, Keita Kodera, Takehito Ujihara
    2023 Volume 9 Issue 2 Pages 141-150
    Published: 2023
    Released on J-STAGE: January 12, 2025
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    With the advancement of information technology and the COVID-19 trend, online shopping is becoming more widespread, and while it frees people from various restrictions, it may also affect the formation of cities as physical stores are reduced in size spatially. This study conducted an analysis of the percentage of expenditure, goods, and reasons for use in physical stores and online shops, using the results of a questionnaire survey of Internet users among residents in the city of Okayama, Japan. Based on the analysis, a study of the importance of online shopping in local cities found the following. (1) The expenditure ratio of online shops for electronics and books is higher in central areas and areas closer to the nearest station. Furthermore, because of the small impact of supermarket location on the expenditure ratio, online shopping may not compensate for physical stores. (2) This study also found differences in the percentage of expenditure on shopping goods because of varying reasons for use. (3) Even among Internet users, nearly half of those who use the Internet basically shop at physical stores. And this study found that people with a high percentage of online shopping expenditure on all goods tend to shop online because they do not have to visit physical stores, rather than because of other factors such as time flexibility, product prices, selection of goods, and functions.
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  • Yurie Toyama, Fumihiko Nakamura, Shinji Tanaka
    2023 Volume 9 Issue 2 Pages 151-161
    Published: 2023
    Released on J-STAGE: January 12, 2025
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Amid social issues such as labor shortages and declining population, there are high expectations for the introduction of demand-oriented transportation. In recent years, technological innovations such as AI have led to the introduction of systems that can dispatch rides in real time, but most demand-oriented transportation systems set the deadline for reserving a ride at least 30 minutes or one hour in advance, or even the day before in some cases. Based on the hypothesis that the reservation deadline for demand-oriented transportation does not match the needs of users, this study clarified trends in the timing and means of reservations for demand-oriented transportation. Analysis of data from “knowroute Ikiminami,” which currently accepts real-time requests for reservation, revealed that immediate reservations were most common for the purpose of daily outings such as shopping and hospital visits. It was also revealed that real-time vehicle dispatch requests were more common when the days and times of trips were patterned to some extent.
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  • Kaoru Kamo, Tetsuharu Oba
    2023 Volume 9 Issue 2 Pages 163-176
    Published: 2023
    Released on J-STAGE: January 12, 2025
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    The Japanese government and the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) are considering a legal amendment that would allow the outsourcing of drug dispensing as an effort to reduce the burden of physical work (dispensing) in order to strengthen interpersonal work by making pharmacists more deeply involved with patients and local residents. If the outsourcing of dispensing is realized, the time required for dispensing will be reduced and interpersonal work can be increased. However, even if the law is revised, if pharmacists do not spend the time they have saved on interpersonal work, it will be useless. Therefore, this study conducted a nationwide Internet survey to determine whether pharmacists are willing to spend the time they have available to strengthen interpersonal work, and analyzed how the outsourcing of dispensing affects pharmacists’ work and the effectiveness of the outsourcing of dispensing. The results showed that more than a majority of the respondents answered “yes” or “somewhat agree” to the pros and cons of outsourcing of dispensing, with the more agreeable group having a higher awareness of involvement in interpersonal work, indicating that it is likely to make a significant contribution to strengthening pharmacists’ interpersonal work. Furthermore, two multiple regression analyses were conducted using “patient services” and “community activities” as the objective variables, and the coefficients of the explanatory variables for “outsourcing of dispensing operations” were positive in both cases. Community activities” had about twice as much influence as “Patient services” from the coefficient ratios. These results suggest that the outsourcing of dispensing services is an effective tool to create opportunities for pharmacists to participate in local social activities.
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  • Sachiyo Kamimura, Takuji Takemoto, Kohei Nakanishi
    2023 Volume 9 Issue 2 Pages 177-187
    Published: 2023
    Released on J-STAGE: January 12, 2025
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Games and their characteristics have been adopted and applied to local communities in order to make decisions that are guided by nature and in which people make better choices on their own. On the other hand, nudge theory, which was introduced in the British administration, is a method of encouraging people to make better decisions. In this study is to obtain basic knowledge by understanding the pre- and post-decision-making factors and the degree of influence in digital games and to consider whether they can be used in “dialogue on high-level radioactive waste (HLW) disposal.” First, through the digital game, we clarified the specific elements of why the participants naturally became aware of and acted in such a way (nudges and triggers), what kind of thoughts and actions they had (verbal actions), and what effects and problems they solved by doing so. Next, the degree of influence on the factors related to triggers, effects, and problem-solving was ascertained to confirm whether these factors were important enough to be applicable to the real world. The results were then discussed in light of the EAST of nudge theory components to the present results. As a result, “Minecraft,” the game with the most playing experience among the respondents of the awareness survey conducted in this study, was identified as a game that can be played from a young age (Easy), a game that allows free expression along a theme (Attractive), and a game that allows sharing and spreading the content of expression to others in a space where people can think about the same theme (Timely). It is also possible to share and spread the contents of expression to others (Social) in a space where people can think about the same theme (Timely). Examples can be seen in school education and the energy field. It also corresponds to some of the elements that influence people's awareness and behavioral choices. This is why we believe that the project can contribute to the dialogue on HLW disposal in practice by encouraging people to know and think about HLW and by influencing them to make good choices.
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  • Direction of development financial resources that moves away from the superficial beneficiary burden theory
    Masatoshi Hatoko
    2023 Volume 9 Issue 2 Pages 189-198
    Published: 2023
    Released on J-STAGE: January 12, 2025
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    In recent years, with the completion of the new Shinkansen lines in sight, some are expressing expectations for the construction of a basic plan that covers a significant portion of conventional trunk line railways. But, starting new construction poses a major problem in terms of financial resources. There are various issues in development of trunk railways, including Shinkansen construction, and various factors are intricately intertwined. Therefore, in this paper, various issues in trunk railway development are presented, their interrelationships from the perspective of returning development profits are analyzed, and solutions of the major issues are proposed. As a result, the following proposals are presented: (a) Collection of “root benefits” or transportation tax is not appropriate because they are changed form of user burden. (b) Since the areas along the Shinkansen from the JNR era to the present have not enough returned development profits to the rail line, a portion of the tax revenue along the lines will be used as a financial source. (c) Since there are unjust burdens depending on the time of year, a system is needed to equalize these burdens. (d) By being involved in freight transportation, aviation, regional transportation, etc., there is a possibility of raising funds for trunk railway development based on the perspective of a comprehensive transportation system. (e) Facilitate the application of interim Shinkansen development program as a means of improving conventional lines. (f) Change the method of calculating the burden along the line to be proportional to the number of stations installed, rather than the construction length. (g) With reference to the theoretical framework of the land readjustment project, the government will issue currency (equivalent to a reduction in foot traffic) to develop trunk railways (equivalent to the provision of land for public works), and the value of the national land will increase (generation of development profits) in an integrated manner. Possibilities of such a system design. Note that this research focuses on analyzing the structure of the mainline railway development issues, and verification of the feasibility of each plan is a future topic.
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  • A case study of urban renaissance urgent redevelopment areas in Tokyo
    Mihoko Matsuyuki, Daisuke Yamaguchi
    2023 Volume 9 Issue 2 Pages 199-216
    Published: 2023
    Released on J-STAGE: January 12, 2025
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    This study examines how large-scale urban development accompanied by deregulation impacts the composition of population and housing, and whether gentrification phenomena are occurring, focusing on four Urban Renaissance Urgent Redevelopment Areas in Tokyo: Shinjuku, Akihabara-Kanda, Osaki, and Shibuya. As a result, a rapid increase in population was observed in three areas excluding Shibuya, particularly among the younger generation. In terms of housing composition, the number of single-family homes decreased, while multi-family residences increased. Regarding ownership, the ratio of owned to rented properties varied by area. Characteristics of gentrification, such as the upscale transformation of housing and the increase in economically affluent young residents, were confirmed. In Shinjuku and Osaki, it is believed that the supply of large-scale condominiums due to deregulation was a direct cause of gentrification. On the other hand, in the Akihabara-Kanda area, while it's hard to say that urban development resulting from deregulation was the direct cause, it is conceivable that the expectation of large-scale redevelopment attracted medium-scale condominium development. These findings suggest that urban development with deregulation has the potential to cause gentrification, but whether it is a direct cause varies by area. Additionally, the nature and impact of gentrification also vary depending on the characteristics of the region and development.
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  • Impact on local civic pride
    Yoshiya Iwata, Ayako Taniguchi, Kentaro Watanabe
    2023 Volume 9 Issue 2 Pages 217-225
    Published: 2023
    Released on J-STAGE: January 12, 2025
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Social acceptance is one of the challenges for the introduction of autonomous vehicles (AVs). In this research, on the theme of social acceptance, a questionnaire survey and analysis were conducted in Town of Sakai, Ibaraki Prefecture, focusing on “civic pride” (CP) to see what kind of impact AVs will have after their implementation. The results revealed that people who had ridden AVs had higher social acceptability of AVs, including an awareness of approval or disapproval, and higher CP and subjective well-being than those who had ridden AVs. Through the Structural Equation Modeling, it was also shown that the social acceptability of AVs in Town of Sakai increases, which in turn increases CP and contributes to the citizens' sense of well-being, further indicating that AVs are a source of CP in Town of Sakai. These results confirm that there were advantages to introducing AVs in terms of CP.
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  • A case study on the Chugoku region
    Takaaki Tsujibe, Haruna Suzuki
    2023 Volume 9 Issue 2 Pages 227-234
    Published: 2023
    Released on J-STAGE: January 12, 2025
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Public transportation networks are becoming increasingly important for the formation of sustainable cities. At the same time, various problems have emerged, such as a decrease in the number of passengers due to the Corona disaster, driver shortages, and problems with the survival of regional railroads. Therefore, it is assumed that local governments are playing an increasingly important role, but that such a system is not sufficient, especially in local cities. To identify issues in the public transportation policy management system, this study conducted a questionnaire survey of municipalities in the Chugoku region and a survey of transportation plans developed by each municipality. The results indicated that the number of staff, the presence of technical staff, and the number of years of staff enrolment were issues for the management organization. The results also showed that the number of technical staff tends to reduce the number of financial expenditures on infrastructure and equipment. Besides, the percentage of descriptions of measures in regional transportation plans tends to be smaller when there are fewer technical staff members.
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  • Focusing on a questionnaire survey in Maebashi City, Gunma Prefecture
    Shinya Tsukada, Shouta Tsuboyama, Tetsuo Morita
    2023 Volume 9 Issue 2 Pages 235-243
    Published: 2023
    Released on J-STAGE: January 12, 2025
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
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  • Evidence from interviews with the stakeholders during the early phase of the COVID-19 crisis
    Kyosuke Hata, Yuichiro Kawabata, Satoshi Fujii
    2023 Volume 9 Issue 2 Pages 245-258
    Published: 2023
    Released on J-STAGE: January 12, 2025
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Since the beginning of the 2010s, until the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Japan experienced a continual surge in inbound tourism, which brought the phenomena of overtourism into public discourse. The pandemic led to a drastic reduction in tourist numbers, and discussions suggest that the pre-existing issues of overtourism may have amplified the economic damages caused by the pandemic. These circumstances highlight the necessity of academic research to understand how excessive dependence on tourism can weaken local economies in both normal and crisis situations. This study is based on interviews conducted with stakeholders in the marketplaces and transportation sectors of Osaka and Kyoto during the pandemic. It confirms the varied impact of the tourism boom and the pandemic on different industries, the disruption caused by the real estate bubble linked to inbound tourism demand, and the emergence of initiatives to reconsider business models overly reliant on temporary tourism booms. The study also underscores the need for cautious planning and regulation regarding land and real estate usage.
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  • Koki Toyama, Masato Kato, Yuichiro Kawabata, Satoshi Fujii
    2023 Volume 9 Issue 2 Pages 259-275
    Published: 2023
    Released on J-STAGE: January 12, 2025
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Previous studies on the economic impact of the Great East Japan Earthquake have mainly focused on short-term or limited damage, potentially leading to an underestimation of the overall scale. This study re-evaluates the economic damage by examining the trends in GRP, subtracting reconstruction project costs, in Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima prefectures, and comparing this with national GDP growth. It estimates the cumulative economic damage up to 2018, a year when detailed data on reconstruction fund distribution became available. The study also hypothesizes the recovery trajectory similar to that of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, estimating the cumulative damage and the completion year for reconstruction. The findings suggest that the cumulative damage in these three prefectures by 2018 was approximately 51.0 trillion yen, with an estimated total of about 59.7 trillion yen over an 18-year recovery period. The study particularly emphasizes the severe damage in Fukushima Prefecture, underscoring the importance of ongoing support.
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