The domestic marine transportation in Japan is basically to connect the ports in the coastal industrial areas, the ports for ore and coal shipping, and those of metropolitan areas. The sea areas most frequently used for such sea-born traffic service are the Inland Sea of Japan and the sea along the southern coasts of the Central and Western Japan. The Japan Sea and the sea areas around the Northern Japan are less utilized for marine transportation.
Auxiliary motor-sailing vessels and small-sized steamships constitute the major means of marine transportation in the Inland Sea which is the center of Japan's sea-born traffic serivce. On the contrary, larger ships are used along the coast of the Japan Sea and the waters of Northern Japan, where meteorological conditions are less favorable and port facilities are inadequate.
Liner service has developed most extensively in the Inland Sea with the Port of Osaka as the center. On the other hand, the port of Tokyo is the center of the Eastern Japan. There are differences between these two districts in regard to the size of vessels, manner of cargo gathering and the kinds of goods to be handled.
In tramper service or tanker transportation of oil, coal, ballast, etc., vessels are distributed with commission in proportion to the distance. The sea routes of these vessels generally lie along the Pacific coasts where the manufacturing industries are most prosperous. Steel transportation lines are interlaced in this part of the country.
New forms of vessels, which may be called a modernization in marine transportation are developing most remarkably in the Inland Sea.

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The refractory brick factories in Japan are concentrated especially in two districts -Wake and Nobi districts. In Japan, 85% of the factories in this industry are producing the refractory bricks made from clay, and this concentration is because the factories are built in the producing areas of raw material to insure the supply of raw material at low cost (Fig. 1, 4 table 1, 2).
Refractory brick is a kind of the production goods and at the same time a kind of the raw material. And this industry is subordinated to the user of the products, chiefly to the iron and steel industry, producing respectively a little quantity of refractory bricks of different types (Fig. 6, table 3). Such character of this industry gives birth to differrent features of the factories in accordance with each user, and many subcontractors producing low-class refractory bricks (Fig 10). These small scale subcontractors are concentrated in the Nobi district, where both the labour and the material costs are relatively low (Fig 3, 8, 9), while many of the larger factories of high-class refractory bricks are concentrated in the Wake district, situated near the old and large market of Osaka district (Fig 2, 3, 6, 7).
Some other factories are distributed in the market areas ; the eastern Setouchi, Tokyo and its neighbourhood, and Kitakyushu City (Fig 1, 6). Strong demand for the stable supply of the products on the part of the users is the main factor of the distribution of the latter type (Fig 11).
Thus, the above mentioned distribution in the raw material areas and the market areas brings about the dense distribution of the factories in the Industrial Belt along the Pacific side of Japan (Fig 1).

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In this study, the changes in the number of dairy households and dairy cows were reviewed in Japan and the Tohoku area for a comparison of the differences in the trends. An examination of the statistics of the twenty-five agricultural regions of Tohoku was undertaken to delineate some of the recent changes. Finally, possible specialized dairying regions delineated after an examination of the statistical data.
Nationally, the number of dairy households and dairy cows increased up to 1963 when there were 417, 800 households and 1, 446, 100 heads. But, it decreased to 360, 730 households and 1, 309, 970 heads in 1966. However, the trend toward “a larger number of cows per household” was noticeable with an increase to 3.50 heads per household engaged in dairying in 1966.
The dairy trends in the six prefectures of Tohoku showed a comparatively different pattern. For example, in 1966, four prefectures, Aomori, Akita, Fukushima and Yamagata, showed a decline in the number of dairy cows. This seems to be about a two year lag in the start of the decline in contrast to the national trend. However, Iwate and Miyagi Prefectures still show an increase in the number of dairy cows and the number of households. The trend toward “a larger number of cows per household” was similar to the national trend.
An examination of the statistics from 1961 to 1966 for the twenty-five agricultural regions of Tohoku presented still another pattern of change in dairying. The decline in the number of dairy households started much earlier in the western regions of Tohoku. Also, the growth, in terms of the number of dairy cows, seems to be much smaller in the western regions than in the Pacific Coast regions of Tohoku. In most paddy field areas, the subsidiary enterprise character of dairying within an agricultural household was conspicuous. This charactisteric was also strong in some of the mountainous regions where the development of dairying has been anticipated previously. A review of recent trends in dairying in Tohoku seem to indicate the possibility of the development of specialized dairying in Kamikita-Shimokita and Sanpachi regions in Aomori Prefecture, Kitakamigawa Joryu and Hokubu regions in Iwate Prefecture, and Yoneshirogawa region in Akita Prefecture.

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In this research, the author took the branch offices of companies as an approach to the analysis of the Central Managing Function in Sendai.
In August 1966, the company branch offices numbered 1, 916, and their workers were over 45, 000. The accumulation of about 95% of this total took place after the World War II. The increase was remarkable since 1960, and was accelerated especially since 1965.
Many of the branch offices located in Sendai have the function to control the whole Tohoku District or Northeastern Japan. But, generally speaking, many of them are the secondary function, so they don't perform the pivotal function to control the lower and the lowest offices.
The distribution of the head offices is mainly in Tokyo (61.6%), Osaka (10.8%), and Nagoya (2.9%) etc.

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Mt. Hakkoda-Odake (1584m a.s.l.), is the main peak of the North Hakkdda Mountains, Aomori Prefecture. The peak, like other peaks of these mountains, is nearly conical and has a relative height of about 200m. Geologically it is almost homogeneous and valleys dissecting it are rather shallow. In the present research, species composition, coverage of each species and height of plant communities were surveyed at survey sites placed at intervals of 200m (Fig. 1).
As to the vegetation of these mountains many studies have been carried out. According to these studies we can say as follows : Three altitudal zones arc distinguished in these mountains in general. The lowest of them is the area below 900m a.s.l. and is occupied by Fagus crenata forest, the mediate, 900-1500m, by Abies mariesii forest and the highest, above 1500m, by Pinus pumila scrub. Therefore the present survey area belongs to the upper half of the Abies mariesii forest zone and the Pinus pumila scrub zone. These altitudal zonations, however, are often disturbed especially on the east slopes. The upper limit of the Abies mariesii forest, on these slopes, is lower than on other slopes, and, Sasa kurilensis community, deciduous broad leaved community and snow patch community, a particular one dominated by peculiar herb and dwarf scrub species, often occupy the area between the Abies mariesii forest zone and the Pinus pumila scrub zone (Fig. 2). It has been observed that these phenomena are connected with local heavy snow, and that the distribution of plant communities are eventually well correlated with the topography -altitude, exposure, inclination and so on.
Through the present survey, considerably clear correlation between plant communities and topography is found quantitatively as well as qualitatively. In this area, centering the top of the peak, communities of low height are radially distributed (Fig. 3). The NE-extending part of them falls on a snow patch. However this figure does not show except the NE-extending part, another snow patch is to the SE of the summit and there the plants are very low in height, too. The rest parts, extending to NNW, W and S, are seemingly not due to heavy snow, but to local strong wind. In winter, the snow cover, which protects plants, is blown away by the strong wind, and in summer, there is an excessive transpiration. The low height vegetations, extending to NNW, W and S, are supposed to be the results of these effects. This assumption well agrees with the estimated direction of prevailing wind (Fig. 5) and the distribution of wind speed around a conical mountain assumed by Ozawa and Yoshino (1965) (Fig. 4).

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On May 16th, 1968, at 09:49, an earthquake (Tokachi-oki Earthquake) with the magnitude of 7.8 occurred on the Pacific side of Tohoku and Hokkaido. Many of artificial embankments such as railroad basements, highway constructions and earth-fill dams were severely damaged. The connecting slopes to bridges were subsided in many cases, but the bridges were undamaged.
On the alluvial lowlands, especially newly reclaimed or graded lands for factory areas around urban districts of Hakodate, Aomori, Mutsu and Hachinoho, there occurred many cracks, depressions and sand-jetting.
It is characteristic of this earthquake that some steel-concrete buildings on the terrace surface collapsed.
Land falls and landslides in the valleys dissecting the uplands to the west of Hachinohe City were the most disasterous accidents, in which the earthquake acted as a trigger after a heavy rain amounting 160mm in three days.

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Followings are some characteristics of the influences of this tsunami along the Sanriku coast observed by the survey members : H. Naito, S. Nakagawa, S. Ogasawara, M. Kawakami, K. Yamashita, and H. Fukui. The damages by the Tsunami were very slight in the iandareas of the coast, while considerable destruction was given to oysters, lavers, Wakame and others which have recently developed in the bays along the coast. The arrival of the highest waves of the Tsunami in this coast coincided with the low tide, and the heights of the waves were smaller than at the time of the Chile Tsunami in 1960. The walls constructed for Tsunami deffence along the coast esinc the Chile Tsunami proved very effective to protect the settlements and arable land.

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So-called Akita-Sugi, the Cryptomeria of Akita district, has a high reputation all over the country with its lumber of high quality. Among the merits of the lumber, are counted particularly the huge size of the trees and the beauty of the grains. Excellent cryptomeria forests mostly belong to the national forests in northern Akita Prefecture. But recently natural Akita-Sugi forests are remarkably decreased and are replaced by other kinds of forests. Two figures show this change from natural forests to afforestation.

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The streams of the “moist tongue” (700mb) in East Asia in early summer were classified according to their courses to Japan, as shown in Figure. In June the course 1, and in July the course 2 are frequent. The author thinks that the differences between the distribution patterns of frequency of the heavy rains in June and in July is related to the difference in the courses of the “moist tongue” in these months.

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The authors pointed out following results, according to the analysis of the vehicular traffic flow at the crossroad in front of Sendai railway station measured by the memomotion camera. Although the survey was made at the crossroad in front of the station, the amount of the traffic related to the station plaza is smaller than through-traffic. The traffics with their origins and destinations at station plaza mainly have east-west direction, that is, straight course to and from the station. The through-traffic flow shows north-south and east to north directions.

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