The purpose of this paper is to investigate recent changes in the systems for producing and distributing sports equipment and their influence on material suppliers and production areas through a case study on kendo protectors in Japan. I used two methods to collect data: document survey and interviews. The interviews were conducted with 8 material suppliers and 3 local governments from August 2016 to November 2016.

Suppliers of kendo protectors are located in areas where there are raw materials, processing technologies, proximity to markets, and industrial promotion policies. They started producing materials for kendo protectors in response to increasing demand in the 1950s. To respond to this increase, most retailers and manufacturers of protectors had to adopt low cost operations due to customers preferring cheaper products. Manufacturers built mass production systems across Asia. In addition, they used artificial materials that are cheaper than natural ones. This change has caused a problem for suppliers who specialize in natural materials in Japan. Since the 2000s, they have had serious problems in terms of sales, raw material procurement, financing and securing of company successors. Most suppliers plan to discontinue their current products and produce new products including martial arts supplies, traditional crafts, and processed parts for growth fields.

Business organizations and local governments in these areas have supported the production and sales activities of material suppliers since the 1950s. At first, they supported production activities such as by giving subsidies to unions, constructing factory complexes, and treating wastewater. Such support encouraged suppliers to modernize their production systems but also placed a new economic burden on them. Next, organizations and governments began to support suppliers in developing technology and products. Recently, they have been supporting sales activities aimed at consumers directly, such as through exhibitions at trade fairs and certification of regional-brand products. However, such support has not always been successful due to differences in how suppliers think about manufacturing and sales and due to non-cooperation between suppliers. Therefore, organizations and governments have changed their support policy from equal support to selective and focused support for highly motivated suppliers with business strength. As a result, suppliers planning to discontinue producing materials for kendo protectors and instead produce new products tend to be supported by business organizations and local governments.

入浴は日常において欠かせない行為であるが，入浴中の事故死の数は年間19000 人とも言われている．身体への負担を軽減する入浴方法に着目し，生理・心理面に与える影響について検証を行った．健常男性8 名に42℃入浴と加温入浴という2 つの異なる入浴方法で8 分間の入浴を行ってもらい，生理反応（オシロメトリック法による収縮期血圧，フィナプレス法による収縮期血圧，ダブルプロダクト），心理反応（全身の温冷感，総合的な快適感）を測定した．血圧に関しては連続血圧計を用い入浴中の詳細な変動についても測定を行った．結果として生理反応については，加温入浴において身体負担の軽減につながる収縮期血圧の上昇の抑制，ダブルプロダクトの増加の抑制が見られた．また，連続血圧計により測定できた入浴中の収縮期血圧の最大値についても，加温入浴において有意に低い値が見られた．心理反応については全身の温冷感，総合的な快適感について条件による差は見られなかった．

入浴中の熱中症を防止するためには，入浴時の深部体温の上昇を多様な気温条件下で適切に予測可能な人体熱モデルが有用となる．本研究では，既存のTwo-nodeモデルのcore層を2分割するという改良を行ったモデルを開発し，湯温2段階（40℃・42℃），3季節(夏30℃，秋24℃，冬18℃)の計6条件について，男女各6名に対する10分間の入浴実験の結果と比較することで，モデルの妥当性検証を行った．直腸温の実測値とcore温度の計算値の誤差は，従来のTwo-nodeモデルでは0.15℃であるが，改良モデルでは0.11℃と改善された．冬季の湯温40℃条件に限ると，誤差が0.21℃から0.10℃へと大幅に改善された．以上より，Two-nodeモデルのcore層を2分割した提案モデルにより，入浴時の深部体温上昇を適切に予測できることが示された．