Beginning in the 21^st century, Japanese firms operating in China expanded their production.　The international division of labor was built by importing materials and parts from Japan to China, followed by exporting the finished products back to Japan, and other countries.　As a result, the trading of intermediate goods rapidly increased.　This expansion of trading made the interrelationships between Japan and China more complex and stronger, causing a significant impact on the Japanese economy.
The objective of this study was to clarify economic impacts on Japan from trade between China and Japan.　The study focused on production expansion and job creation inside Japan that is brought on by the expansion of exporting from Japan to China, which can be considered a positive impact for the Japanese economy.　However, a negative impact can be considered when the production and employment in Japan decrease with expansion of imports from China to Japan.　In this study, these economic impacts, the expansion or contraction of production and employment, were estimated using the Input-Output Model.
The magnitude of the impacts is dependent on the region in China because of the volume of trade, the variety of traded goods, and the regional industrial structures are totally different and independent.　For this reason, the International and Regional Input-Output Models were developed by linking the 2007 Regional Input-Output Tables for 8 regions with the 2007 Japan-China International Input-Output Table.　The 8 regions consisted of Liaoning, Shandong, Jiangsu, Shanghai, Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong in the eastern coastal area, and Sichuan.　Using this combined table, several analyses of the impacts of trade between the regions and Japan were conducted to determine the overall affects on the Japanese economy of production and employment.
The results of the analysis concluded that the Shanghai and Liaoning regions played a role in increasing production, while the other regions showed the opposite effects on production and employment in Japan.　From the sectorial viewpoint, the capital-intensive sectors increased production in Japan, whereas the labor-intensive sectors such as textile products decreased production and employment.　This finding indicates trade expansion between Japan and China can be interpreted as a factor in the Japanese industrial structural changes that are accompanied by an increase in labor productivity.
JEL Classification:R15, F14

View full abstract

We follow Batabyal and Beladi (2014, 2015) and theoretically study a regional economy that produces a final consumption good with physical and creative capital.　However, in contrast with the approach taken in the above two papers, in our model, the means for obtaining acquired creative capital which is the number of years of schooling is not constant but growing over time.　In this setting, we first derive an expression for the long run growth rate of output per raw creative capital unit.　Next, we provide a numerical example to show how the above expression can be used to determine the proportion of overall regional growth that is due to increases in schooling.　Finally, we discuss whether it is possible for the number of years of schooling in the region under study to grow indefinitely.
JEL Classifications:R11, I21

View full abstract

Kesennuma City, located in Miyagi Prefecture, area affected by the Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami (2011), have developed construction plans to build giant seawall barriers for protection.　The majority of the residents in Kesennuma City have accepted the current construction plans.　However, in the Koizumi City, some residents are against the construction of the walls and have proposed alternate plans to protect the landscape and ecosystem of the seaside.　This has subsequently caused conflicts between the local government and residents.
In this study, household surveys were conducted in Kesennuma in 2014 (N=150).　Using a cost benefit analysis and employing a mean-structure model, we identified factors that lead residents to agree or disagree with the construction of seawalls.　The results showed residents in Koizumi District have a keen ‘awareness of risk prevention’ the walls can provide, while residents in Kesennuma City do not share the same consciousness (Kesennuma:mean=0, Koizumi:mean=.23, p<.001).　Consciousness of environmental preservation negatively affect decisions to construct the current seawall plan (Kesennuma:r=－.47, Koizumi:r=－.87, p<.001).　These factors may negatively affect the ability to create community consensus for higher seawall construction.　Koizumi District showed significantly stronger disagreement than Kesennuma.
In conclusion, this study identified that residents have a keen awareness of environmental conservation and aspire to incorporate an eco-friendly construction plan for the seawalls.　However, there also exists an unfavorable community environment in which residents feel it is difficult to express their opinions.　Enhancing consciousness of environmental preservation, may make it possible to achieve community consensus and choose an alternative eco-friendly plan.
JEL Classifications:C3, D1, R2, Q5

View full abstract

The Remote Islands Development Act made remote islands excessively depend on the central government.　Since the financial situation of the central government is aggravated, remote islands as well as other small municipalities are required to examine how they can govern themselves.　This study examined how a regional development plan applied to a remote island, Tsushima, is meaningful for the region.
First, chronological changes in the regional industrial economic structure were analyzed by applying a specialization coefficient.　Second, a questionnaire was conducted to investigate residents’ opinions about a future regional plan.　Third, a latent mixture model was applied to the questionnaire results, and several classes identified by residents’ consciousness structure were estimated.
Analysis of the regional economy using a socialization coefficient revealed that Tsushima’s regional economics were largely dependent on infrastructure development subsidized by the central government.　However, according to respondents’ opinions observed in the questionnaire, infrastructure development was not a major demand of the residents as a use for the subsidy.　The latent mixture model analysis classified the respondents into two clusters.　The first cluster containing 70% of the respondents, showed a tendency for low interest in resettlement and living collectively, as well as less expectation toward governmental initiatives.　The second cluster with 30% respondents, tended to expect governmental initiatives and were positive about the resettlement and collective living plan.
Relationships between characteristics of each cluster regarding community communication and attitudes towards a future regional development were consistent with common knowledge in a social capital context.　The first cluster with a negative attitude toward the region-reform resettlement plan, had stronger ties within the local community than the second cluster that had a positive attitude toward the reform plan.
When making future policies, policy makers should pay attention to the opinions of the first cluster, which contains the majority.　Therefore, it would be more sound and sustainable development if the main body of the future policy changed from ordinal infrastructure development to subsidy for making a diffused-autonomous community on the island.　Changes in infrastructure development and how people live and gather may bring a new style of people-to-people exchanges that may be able to change the situation of regional economics.　The results show that it is one future regional plan that can possibly be supported by the majority of the inhabitants of the island.
JEL Classifications:O2, R1, R5

View full abstract

In recent years, the number of foreign tourists who visit Japan is increasing.　In addition, tourists are visiting not only major cities but also regional areas.　It is important for regional areas to cooperate with their neighboring areas because tourist visits are usually cover a wide area.　However, the more foreign tourists that come to regional areas, the more problems that occur with regards to uneven distribution.　Problems such as the capacity of accommodations and traffic jams occur in the area.
This paper considers the above problems by analyzing situations of uneven distributions faced by various areas on the basis of seasonal accommodations centralization.　The area of the case study was “the Chubu Area”, a central area in Japan consisting of nine prefectures.
The results of the case study showed that the more foreign tourists that come to this area, the greater the seasonal ubiquity.　One reason for this is assumed to be because the increased rate of foreign people visiting the Chubu Area is for sightseeing.　Therefore, sightseeing spots, which have seasonal features, attract visitors in the specific seasons.　If this condition continues, foreign tourists may become dissatisfied with their visit to Japan because of overcrowding, so a solution needs to be considered.　Some regional areas in Japan may already have overcome the problems by not promoting only the famous sightseeing spots in an area for a specific season.　One of the resolutions of both decentralization and continual increases in foreign tourists may be the promotion of business attractions.
JEL Classification:R11, R15, R58

View full abstract

This paper first argues major issues related with deforestation and loss of biodiversity in the World.　Second, issues specific to forest and forestry in Japan due to rapid changes in economic conditions and international markets after the last war are pointed out, and technical and policy prescriptions are generally discussed focusing on multifaceted functions of forests.　Contrary to cases in developing countries, potential producible wood is increasing but left unutilized because of proper management.　This situation causes serious concerns of disasters such as floods and landslides as well as marginal villages.　Taking forests privately owned by pulp factories in Fuji City as a typical example, measures for revitalization of forests and forestry are proposed and possible impacts are discussed.　Taking forests as a source of supply for biomass resources, preliminary calculations of potential reduction in fossil-oriented carbon dioxide through pellet fuel utilization of timber from forest thinning left in the forest is shown.　Changes in the thinking of the government from taking forestry as a sector to provide lumber in a competitive market to taking forestry as a sector that utilizes and enhances the multifaceted functions of a forest can effectively revitalize forests and forestry in Fuji City.
JEL Classification:Q23, Q27

View full abstract

The aim of this study was to draw policy implications by clarifying the consciousness structure of local residents towards participation in community based management of CAR （Common-Agricultural-Resources） under the implementation of MCILWE （Measures to Conserve and Improve Land, Water and Environment）.　Two analytical methods were introduced in the study.　First, the consciousness of residents was analyzed based on the results of a questionnaire survey undertaken in Niigata Prefecture.　Second, person-to-person interview surveys from two recommended cases were carried out to supplement the analysis of the results based on the questionnaire survey.
The following results were obtained from the analysis.　First, along with the participation in collective actions, resident understanding for the necessity of maintenance and management of CAR increased.　This should be taken into consideration to promote extensive participation in the future.　Next, participation in collective actions is expected not only to promote the maintenance and management of the resources, but also lead to potential activation of joint collective actions in local areas.　Furthermore, the results of the questionnaire showed that human resource development by foster community leaders from the local area （including women and young people） in the continuation of regional initiatives is an important issue.　Therefore, understanding the characteristics of the local area and regional leadership responding to the changes in the external environment, utilizing various kinds of knowledge of the participants and their experiences, and accumulating the social capital between residents and agricultural corporations to fulfill their potential for implementation of MCILWE and maintenance and management of CAR for the realization of sustainable regional development are considered to be absolutely necessary.
JEL Classification:Q00

View full abstract

Commercial clusters, especially shopping districts, have declined in recent years, with the worst decline occurring in the central urban areas at municipal hubs.　This decline is due mainly to the movement of shopping centers from the city core to the suburbs, which has triggered an outflow of customers to those areas.　This downturn has increased the number of vacant stores in the commercial districts, causing the buildings to lose their aesthetic appeal.　A drop in sales can also be attributed to this decline in commercial accumulation and to a consumption shift.
The study focused on the transportation infrastructure and dependence on automobiles as a major factor behind the shift in the consumption base in the suburbs.　We also considered roads as part of the transport infrastructure.　Roads likely promoted the consumption shift at the expense of existing commercial districts.　The rate of automobile dependence in the surveyed Aichi Prefecture is high.
The purpose of this paper is to estimate regional production functions for commerce by type of district as defined by location features.　We estimated the production function for Aichi Prefecture as a case study.　The results indicate that roads have had a negative effect on commercial production in the city.
In conclusion, motorization has advanced in recent years.　Therefore, road construction has progressed.　Consequently, consumers relocating to the suburbs, adversely affecting commercial accumulation in the city.　The negative fallout, in turn, affects the city as a whole.　In particular, store revenues drop with falling commercial accumulation around a station.
JEL Classification:C5, H1, L8, R1

View full abstract