After success of Tokaido Shinkansen, as the first high speed rail in the world, Shinkansennetwork has been extended to north and south in Japan.On the way of the Shinkansen extension,some parallel old railways were separated from inter-regional network （operated by JR） tothe prefectural control as regional railways（ so-called “third sector company”）.

  At the start time of new Shinkansen section commercial, those “railways separated frominter-regional network” have faced various difficulties, such as smaller traffic volume, smallerrevenue, etc.Furthermore, some of them must keep freight train operations with insufficientaccess charge.Considering previous described situation, some insights and solutions arerequired for each regions along those railways to overcome difficulties.

  The mission of this study is to give valuable insights and solutions for foundation factors ofregional railway’s commercial sustainability.

  For the purpose of the study, we analyzed population data in some station-neighbored areasbased on statistical GIS data （500 meters mesh population data published by the central government）,because population in an area is considered as one typical foundation factor.We also analyzedother related indexes described in the statistical data book.

  We focused on three railways ; Shinano Railway, IGR Iwate Galaxy Railway and AoimoriRailway.These railways were transformed from inter-regional railway to regional railway,because they were separated from the East Japan Railway.However, they are still a part of theinter-regional railway network, because of freight train operation.

  Main achievements of this study are as follows ; there is a high correlation between thenumber of station passengers and population in the station-neighbored area, but no correlationbetween traffic density and population in the station-neighbored area.

  On the other hand, traffic density of each railway is decreasing, even though each railway hasmade efforts to attract more passengers, especially by developing new station.Additionally wealso found that IGR Iwate Galaxy Railway and Aoimori Railway depend on revenue from freighttrain operations including government subsidies.

JEL Classifications:O18, R14, R42

　　After the Tohoku Earthquake of 2011, converting biomass resources to electrical energy hasbecome a major focus in Japan.　The government encourages local governments to use biogasplants to recycle organic waste.　This study evaluates the biogas and liquid compost plants managedby local governments using life cycle assessment （LCA）, and includes a comparative analysisof greenhouse gas（ GHG） emissions with respect to the economic cost of each plant.　For theLCA, the amount of GHG emissions was calculated by dividing the whole process implemented bythese plants into three stages : carrying and transporting organic waste, plant operations, andtransporting and spraying liquid fertilizer.　The results showed that the plant operations stageaccounted for the highest proportion of GHG emissions.　Furthermore, transporting and sprayingliquid fertilizer had the lowest percentage of GHG emissions for both plant types.　In terms ofthe carbon content of raw materials, it was confirmed that the GHG emissions from the biogasplant were about 38% those of the liquid compost plant.　In addition, the economic cost of thebiogas plant was superior to that of the liquid compost plant.

JEL Classifications:Q53, Q54, Q42

　　Productivity of workers is much different among the regions involved.　We used to believe that the regional economic performance largely depends on the activities of manufactures.　However, most of the advanced countries have a low correlation coefficient between per capita income and the share of manufactures.　In the 21st century, we have recognized that improvements in the non-manufacture sectors must be needed for Japanese economic recovery.

　　From the above point of view, I will adopt the I-O analysis about Hokkaido economy, which has much larger share of service-products than the average of Japan.　I will compromise the I-O table into the two-sectors, the physical good-producing sector and the service-production sector, deriving the various characteristics of Hokkaido economy.　The fundamental equation of the divided I-O model is the following;

　　The relation of industrial structure and productivity, the factors of productivity difference, as well as the role of service sector activity for the regional economy are to be inquired.　By using the I-O analysis, we can see to what extent an activity of some sector has an effect on the activities of other sectors.　In short, the object of this study is to extract the role of service sector activities played in the regional economy, especially in terms of the productivity of the regional production.

　　In Hokkaido, the share of service sector has grown faster than the average of Japanese economy.　Using the above partitioned I-O model, we can show not only that the internal multiplier of the good-producing sector has decreased but also that the external effect of the service sector activities on improving manufacture has not been significant.　These results are much more notable in Hokkaido than those in the entire Japan.

JEL Classifications:L3, O4, R2

　　In Japan, Consumer Cooperatives （Co-op）, particularly the regional Co-ops that supply safe, secure and high-quality food to consumers, play an important role in the development of Japanese food systems.　Members of Co-ops participating in the business operation at various levels are also consumers.　However, studies on Co-ops from the viewpoints of both theoretical and empirical economics analyses, especially in corporate governance, are not sufficient.

　　Therefore, in this paper, we aim to clarify the role of Co-ops in the development of food systems in Japan and their dynamics in quality-enhancing innovation empirically from the view of corporate governance.　First, we present a new analytical framework for economic theory considering the service innovation in Co-ops and driving forces based on the synthesis of the theories of industrial organization and corporate governance.　Next, we will empirically clarify the factors for development of the Co-ops based on financial data and a survey on the members’ consciousness. Finally, we derive policy implications on the roles and tasks of Co-ops in the sustainable development of food system based on the analytical results.

　　Based on the theoretical consideration and analytical results so far, following three points about the role of Co-ops in the sustainable development of food systems can be pointed out.　First, Japanese Co-ops contribute to sustainable development of food system through promoting and securing food safety.　Secondly, the governance model of Japanese Co-ops is clarified to be the model of quasi-multi stakeholder and there is the positive correlation among the cooperative management of members, the formation of social capital and the satisfaction level of members.　Therefore, the improvement of cooperative governance contributes to the innovation in quality of food products.

　　Finally, the behavior and the performance of Japanese Co-ops are closely related to the structure of regional food market.　The environment surrounding the competitive relationships among regional Co-ops and between Co-ops and food retailers not only affects the performance of each Co-ops but also the entire regional food market.

JEL Classifications: Q10, M10

　　In recent years, various numbers of empirical studies based on the theory of creative class （CC） have been conducted around the world.　However, the research on the mechanism of CCs’ residential distribution and its impacts on regional economic growth in Japanese major cities is scarce, especially from the viewpoints of culture diversity and gender disparity.

　　The purpose of this study is to clarify the gender inequality in the CCs and the impacts of culture diversity on the economic growth of the cities in Japan using official statistical data.　Specifically, in order to reach our purpose, structural equation modeling （SEM） analysis is introduced in the paper through constructing the indicators of amenity, tolerance, and job opportunity in addition with gender inequality.　The following three hypotheses are set for verification.　First, amenity, employment and tolerance affect the residential distribution of the CCs （H1）.　Secondly, the high ratio of the CCs promotes sustainable development of the region （H2）.　Thirdly, the gender gap in the CCs have a negative impact on the sustainable development of the region （H3）.

　　The above mentioned hypotheses are verified （H1 and H3 are partially verified and H2 is verified） in the paper.　In addition, policy implication drawn from the research suggested that the direction of urbanization shifting from the employment-driven to a sustainable development linked with a sufficient supply of amenity is required in Japanese cities based on the analytical results. Furthermore, policy innovation that includes social innovation through enhancement of tolerance including the acceptance of cultural diversity is called for, due to the gender gap of creative class in Japan has become obstacles for the sustainable development of cities.

JEL Classifications:R1, J1

　　This paper pays attention to the problem of measuring impact of the Great East Japan Earthquake on Industrial Structure Change.　We then illustrate “the Great East Japan Earthquake Damege and Reconstruction Indexes”.　This index is composed of 11 dates about production sector and industries sector including agriculture and tourism, life sector, and public investments sector.　In addition, we use “Regional Domestic Expenditure Index （RDEI）”, which indicates monthly 4 series, consumption of households, private residential investment, private non-residential investment, public investment.　And we compare impact of the Earthquake Disaster on Iwate Prefecture, Miyagi Prefecture, Fukushima Prefecture, and the surrounding prefectures.　We show the industrial structure change before and after the disaster, and evaluate the recovery performance.　The index can be useful in comparing the situation on other prefectures, because it is based on RDEI.　And the index has significance that we can grasp the damage and reconstruction situation of other areas by selecting series based on the influence on the surrounding area.

　　The results of the analysis are summarized as follows.　First, the Earthquake Damege and Reconstruction Indexes shows the monthly impact on each prefecture due to the disaster and the reconstruction situation, and the effects on the regional economies and industries.

　　Second, for the series constituting the Earthquake Damege and Reconstruction Indexes, the characteristics of the industry in the area and the ratio of employees are calculated and selected using the fundamental statistics of Japanese Prefecture.　Therefore, we measuring impact of the Earthquake on industrial structure change for Japanese Prefecture.

　　Third, the Earthquake Damege and Reconstruction Indexes is useful as an indicator of the shock at the time of the earthquake disaster and the initial restoration situation.　Furthermore, it can grasp the signs of the change in the industrial structure of the region by the reconstruction activities at an early stage.　And the Indexes indicate starting to provide a regional disaster support toward a self-sustained recovery at a succeeding stage.

JEL Classifications:E32, R11, R15

　　Japan is already in transition towards a depopulating society.　Especially, the population of Hokkaido Prefecture is forecasted to decline 1.38 million by 2045, a cutting-edge region of the depopulating society.　Especially, suburban cites surrounding regional central cities have faced on ignore population decline in Hokkaido prefecture.

　　Under these circumstances, some municipalities in Hokkaido prefecture have implemented various policies correspond to depopulating issue.　One way decrease depopulation many municipalities is to implement growth of the population policy by encouraging migration from other cities.　However, important influential factors of migration have not been made explicit, and it is also not analyzed yet by a quantitatively method such as Cluster Analysis and Customer Satisfaction Analysis.　Moreover, we usually have catch sight of subsidy policy for migration household in several municipalities, but relationship between an effect of increasing migration and subsidy level is not clear yet.

　　Based on these backgrounds, the aim of this paper is that propose an effective policy for increasing a immigrate population.　This paper targets Kitahiroshima City, which is estimated to have a particularly high depopulating rate among suburban cities around Sapporo City, which is a representative of regional central city.　This Kita-Hiroshima City already carried out a subsidy policy targets at families with small children.

　　We conducted an attitude survey for families with small children, and gathered data related to the attractiveness of the city, intention of migration to the city, household income, and distance between the current workplace to the city.　Based on these datasets, we analyzed a characteristic of migration household by means of Cluster Analyses.　Additionally, we analyzed important factors influencing factors for migration by means of Customer Satisfaction Analyses.　Furthermore, we also analyzed a relationship between willingness to accept of migration to the city and subsidy level.　Based on these analyses, we consider measures and policies regarding the inducement of migration to suburban cities.

JEL Classifications:R23, R28, R41

　　Foreign visitors often travel to many destinations and tourism characteristics are different depending on nationality.　Therefore, it is necessary to consider differences in tourism characteristics and forecast travel consumption after the opening of the high-speed railway.　In this study, we focused on two kinds of foreign visitors from China and Taiwan and differences in tourism characteristics between the two counties was clarified.　Using a consumption model considering trip chains of foreign visitors, we made a comparative analysis on impacts to consumption as a result of the opening of the high-speed maglev line in Japan.

　　In the first half of the paper, after explaining the basic concept and model structure of the travel consumption model used in this analysis, the parameter estimation method is explained.　Then, model parameters are estimated using the OD flow data of Chinese and Taiwanese in Japan, and the differences in tourism characteristics analyzed.　As a result of the analysis, tourists from China are less sensitive to distance because of a longer stay, and their interest in the destinations of three metropolitan regions.　On the other hand, tourists from Taiwan are more sensitive to distance because of a short stay, and they are interested in many destinations in rural regions.

　　In the second half of the paper, we compare the influence of the opening of the high-speed maglev line on the travel consumption of each tourist using tourist consumption models.　As a result of the analysis, tourists from China make more expenditures in many regions after opening of the high-speed maglev line.　On the other hand, tourists from Taiwan make more expenditures in rural regions along the maglev line, but the consumption in other regions does not greatly increase.　In addition, after opening of the maglev line, especially Kansai and Chubu Airports have improved the access to many destinations including the Tokyo Metropolitan Region.　The rate of increase in utility is higher for tourists from China.

JEL Classifications:C68, L83, L92

　　For the analyses of climate change impacts, ‘scenario approach’ is frequently used.　With the ‘scenario approach’, a limited number of plausible sets of future climate condition and non-climate condition are prepared and they are inputted into climate impact analyses models for projecting future plausible impacts.　While ‘scenario approach’ is applied broadly in many impact analyses, it also has weak points.　One of them is the relatively small number of scenario sets that can be examined, which often constrains utility of the results for the purpose of supporting policy assessment.　For complementing the ‘scenario approach’, ‘impact response function’ approach has been applied in some studies.　The ‘impact response function approach’ is a kind of sensitivity analyses with perturbating some important factors and archive the results of the analyses as a database, which could be utilized for further applied analyses.

JEL Classification:Q5

　　Social enterprises can be regarded as a new model of modern non-profit organisations （NPOs）.　They are working to challenge and untangle the various social obstacles we face today, such as issues relating to the environment and well-being, the inequality of educational opportunities, and the disparity in income distribution.　Although prompt action must be taken to overcome these challenges, governments alone cannot find an answer to them in a satisfactory manner, so social enterprises have recently stepped in and are shifting the boundaries.　From the viewpoint of sustainability, to accomplish their various targets, they need to earn money by generating their own business.　They also need to receive contributions or investments to continue their activities.　Many start-up social enterprises are struggling to obtain resources such as manpower, contributions, and grants.　As a support organization for fund-raising, non-profit organizations and commercial organizations can be considered.　The former, there are NPO banks, Shinkin Banks, community banks, etc.　The latter there are crowdfunding, etc.　In addition, analysis support using financial data from the viewpoint of management will also be necessary to improve the business management capacity of the supporting organizations.

　　In this paper, we examined the function of the intermediate support organization on the fundraising. Social finance utilizes private capital and contributes to solving social and environmental issues.　In considering cases of venture philanthropy in Japan and issues of sustainable management of citizen funds, hints are taken on the idea of actors and tools by Salamon’s proposal, diversification of fund procurement sources and ingenuity to procurement methods would be important. How to build empathy for mission of social enterprises and mission with fund provider is an issue to be solved.　For future intermediate support organizations in Japan, it is necessary to enhance and strengthen the function to support not only the current function but also intermediary functions and to foster and develop social enterprises.

JEL Classifications:D63, H44, M14