In Japan, neighborhood associations exist in almost all local governments.　Neighborhood associations are basically composed of elementary school districts.　However, neighborhood associations are not mandatory organizations, and recently the number of residents who do not join neighborhood associations is increasing.　In some regions, there are concerns about the future existence of these associations.　The purpose of this study was to elucidate the process from the motivation to participate in neighborhood association activities to the intention to participate in neighborhood association activities, focusing on the motivation to participate in neighborhood association activities.　As a result, we aimed to obtain policy implications.　As a premise for the analysis, we hypothesized that the motivation to participate in neighborhood associations is influenced by factors that discourage participation while making intentions to participate in neighborhood association activities.　The hypothesis also incorporated the factor that age demographics also influence the intention to participate in neighborhood associations, thus modeling the process of determining the intention to participate in neighborhood associations based on the motive for participation.　The method used in the analysis was Structural Equation Modeling （SEM）.　In conclusion, we were able to confirm the importance of quantifying the decision-making process and promoting recruitment to neighborhood associations through policies.

JEL Classification:L30, L38

　　This study attempted to identify factors that trigger the mental recovery of natural disaster victims who have lost family members.　A field study was conducted in Aceh, Indonesia where many people lost their lives during the Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami in 2004.　One hundred nine bereaved family members were interviewed, in the form of semi-structured interviews.　When asked what helped them recover from the bereavement, the most common answers were the existence of and comfort from family, followed by friends and people in the local community, and Islamic teachings.　However, concerning the direct event or catalyst for the mental recovery, most people answered that it involved a third party, especially a friend.　These results suggest that social support from friends and other third parties other than family members play a more important role as a turning point in bringing about positive internal change in bereaved families.　Therefore, it is necessary to give special consideration to individuals in vulnerable positions, such as people who have lost their entire family, children who have little contact with society and are too young to express their feelings, and people such as some women in Aceh, who are expected to refrain from social advancement due to social customs or religious values.　When reconstruction policies are planned and conducted, efforts need to be made to ensure that vulnerable people in disaster situations have as much contact as possible with those around them in the community, including NGOs and support groups.　In addition, the case of Aceh emphasizes the need to understand and take into consideration local customs and cultural values when social support is provided to disaster-stricken areas.

JEL Classification:C93, I31

　　Japan aims to become a tourism-based nation, and regional revitalization through the development of tourist facilities that utilize local resources has become an important regional policy.　The northern area of Toyohashi City, the focus of this study, is characterized by rich agricultural production, historical assets such as ancient burial mounds, and abundant natural resources including Mt. Ishimaki and iris gardens.　With the planned construction of a smart interchange on the Tomei Expressway, improved accessibility is expected to provide new opportunities for tourism development in this region.

　　To clarify potential tourism demand, this study conducted a questionnaire survey among residents of surrounding areas regarding their intention to visit various hypothetical tourist facilities in northern Toyohashi.　The survey employed a five-point scale to measure visiting intentions for multiple types of facilities.　The results revealed that “roadside stations,” “hot spring facilities,” and “local restaurants” received high demand, whereas “tourist farms” and “outdoor facilities” showed relatively lower demand, although the latter still exceeded respondents’ usual travel frequency.　To further examine determinants of visiting intentions, structural equation modeling （SEM） was applied to three major facilities-roadside stations, hot spring facilities, and tourist farms.　The SEM results demonstrated that visiting intentions were strongly associated with usual travel preferences, but the influencing factors varied depending on the facility type.　These findings suggest that facility development should consider the everyday tourism preferences and personal attributes of local residents.　Moreover, from the perspective of attracting visitors from a wider area, integrated and multifunctional facilities combining different functions are likely to be more effective for regional revitalization.

JEL Classification:R10, R50, R51, Z32

　　Japanese firms prioritize trust and harmony, fostering long-term relationships to enhance productivity. This paper explores the role of “trust” and “skill formation” in Japanese corporate culture through real options theory. Skilled investment, which builds unique employee capabilities, is examined under uncertainty, emphasizing the importance of timing. We explain the surge in skilled investments during Japan’s 1980s bubble economy and rise in informal employment thereafter. By highlighting trust and long-term employment as central to Japanese productivity, we provide insights into the interplay of uncertainty, investment decisions and corporate growth strategies.

JEL Classification:D04, D81, F65, F66

　　In this paper, we propose a method to visualize a relationship network with countries as nodes, using WIOD input-output tables in order to analyze the essential connections between countries through trade transactions.　Specifically, the proposed method constructs an EMST （Extended Minimum Spanning Tree） from an input-output table using the Z-score method, and visualizes it by adding upstreamness and United Nations classification category information. The results of network visualization, using WIOD from 2000 and 2014, show that it is possible to visually clarify the structure of international trade clusters, the relationship between upstreamness and regions, changes in countries playing central roles, and major trade routes. More specifically, we show that it is possible to easily visualize the fact that the structures of Western Europe, East Asia, and Northern Europe clusters are significantly different, that most countries in the Western Europe and Northern Europe clusters are in the middle of upstreamness, that the roles of Russia and Japan declined in 2014 compared to 2000, and that the relationship between Japan and China has weakened. Finally, some international trade clusters, each of which coincides with a region, can be automatically detected by adding an adequate number of links to the MST.

JEL Classification:C01, C02, F14

　　 The exact mechanisms by which the pandemic has affected stock markets have largely remained unexplored, especially in countries that have an effective COVID-19 strategy but lack strong corporate governance mechanisms. Using daily data of COVID-19 confirmed cases and stock market returns and trading volume turnover of 795 listed firms in Vietnam from January until November 2020, we documented that COVID-19 negatively impacts stock return and stock turnover. We also found that female executive directors exhibited some moderating effects on stock turnover. Other corporate governance attributes such as female CEO/chairman/board of directors/executive directors/supervisory board and different types of ownership have insignificant moderating effects on stock return. These results imply that although having an effective COVID-19 strategy, COVID-19 continues to affect the stock market. In addition, gender equality in Vietnam has improved, but the roles of women in firms should be enhanced to contribute better to the development of the stock market.

JEL Classification:G10, G14, G30, R11, R51

　　　　In resource and environmental impact assessments, impact data and input-output tables are connected to analyze the inflow and outflow of resource and environmental impact through economic transactions.　In this study, we propose a method for estimating the tourism money flow that tourists bring to destinations by linking tourism consumption data with tourism Origin-Destination （OD） data.　Simultaneously, we introduce a method for constructing a tourism money flow table, which illustrates the inflow and outflow of tourism money to and from various tourist destinations.　Using 2019 data, we estimated the tourism money flow table for Japan’s 47 prefectures and analyzed actual trends.

　　Our analysis revealed that, although tourism consumption is relatively low in local regions, the amount of tourism money flowing into these areas is considerably large.　Conversely, metropolitan regions experience high levels of tourism consumption, particularly from tourists visiting after their time in local regions.　Furthermore, our examination of tourism money flows from metropolitan to local regions indicates that, within the three major metropolitan regions, substantial tourism money flows occur both within the same metropolitan areas and along the Golden Route, which extends from Tokyo to Kyoto and Osaka.　Additionally, in the central region of Japan, we found that significant tourism money flows move from the three major metropolitan regions to the Dragon Route, which runs from Nagoya to Takayama and Kanazawa.

　　This study, by constructing a tourism money flow table for Japan, revealed that while a significant amount of tourism money flows from metropolitan regions to local regions, much of it is not spent in local regions but is instead consumed in metropolitan regions.

JEL Classification:C82, D12, L83

　　 The socio-economic development of Bangladesh is affected by gender inequality, uneven distribution of livelihood assets, and lack of income opportunities for rural people. The government policies are intended to promote gender empowerment, prosperity and equitable growth of the country. The common interest group (CIG) aims to build a conducive environment for male and female members to enhance entrepreneurship development and economic empowerment. Notable initiatives include equal access to and ownership of productive assets, entrepreneurial skill development, and marketing facilities to eradicate poverty and unemployment problems from the society. The primary goal of this study was to analyze the effectiveness of the CIG approach to guide socio-cultural changes attributed to limited means of income-earning through entrepreneurship development in rural areas of Mymensingh District. To achieve our goal, we set the hypothesis for verification as “Common interest group (CIG) approach is effective to bring socio-cultural changes (gender equality and economic empowerment, etc.) through entrepreneurship development for sustainable socio-economic development in Bangladesh (H1)”. We introduced the qualitative method of trajectory equifinality modeling (TEM) based on six cases (three male and three female) of local entrepreneurs through a semi-structured questionnaire survey to verify our hypothesis.

　　The results clarified that women entrepreneurs faced more potential constraints compared to men due to socio-cultural barriers and traditional gender roles. It also revealed that the CIG approach was effective for entrepreneurial development through the formation and mobilization of social capital and enabling the environment to overcome the challenges. Furthermore, mixed-gender CIG composed of male and female entrepreneurs was more effective when compared to single-gender CIG to ensure gender equality and economic empowerment. Small-scale entrepreneurial activities brought positive impacts on employment creation, local economic growth and minimizing gender gap. Besides men, women were also empowered through their contributions to family income and cognitive changes in society. Access to finance, workplace culture and institutional support were the most crucial factors for entrepreneurship development. The policy recommendation suggests to set priorities for the promotion of entrepreneurship to facilitate socio-cultural transformation to build an affluent society based on fairness. In particular, gender-inclusive entrepreneurial environment is essential for sustainable socio-economic development in Bangladesh.

JEL Classification:R1, R11