Capital Of Japan Research Articles

Regional variations in HIV diagnosis in Japan before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

BackgroundThe number of people undergoing voluntary HIV testing has abruptly decreased since 2020. The geographical heterogeneity of HIV infection and the impact of COVID-19 on the diagnosis of HIV at regional level are important to understand. This study aimed to estimate the HIV incidence by geographical region and understand how the COVID-19 pandemic influenced diagnosis of HIV. MethodsWe used an extended back-calculation method to reconstruct the epidemiological dynamics of HIV/AIDS by geographical region. We used eight regions: Tokyo, the capital of Japan, Hokkaido plus Tohoku, Kanto plus Koshinetsu (excluding Tokyo), Hokuriku, Tokai, Kinki, Chugoku plus Shikoku, and Kyushu plus Okinawa. Four different epidemiological measurements were evaluated: (i) estimated HIV incidence, (ii) estimated rate of diagnosis, (iii) number of undiagnosed HIV infections, and (iv) proportion of HIV infections that had been diagnosed. ResultsThe incidence of HIV/AIDS during the COVID-19 pandemic from 2020 to 2022 increased in all regions except Kanto/Koshinetsu (51.3 cases/year), Tokyo (183.9 cases/year), Hokuriku (1.0 cases/year), and Tokai (43.1 cases/year). The proportion of HIV infections that had been diagnosed only exceeded 90% in Tokyo (91.7%, 95% confidence interval (CI): 90.6, 93.3), Kanto/Koshinetsu (91.0%, 95% CI: 87.3, 97.8), and Kinki (92.5%, 95% CI: 90.4, 95.9). The proportion of infections that had been diagnosed was estimated at 83.3% (95% CI: 75.1, 98.7) in Chugoku/Shikoku and 80.5% (95% CI: 73.9, 91.0) in Kyusyu/Okinawa. ConclusionsIn urban regions with major metropolitan cities, including Tokyo, Kinki, and Kanto/Koshinetsu, the number of undiagnosed HIV infections is substantial. However, the proportion of undiagnosed infections was estimated to be smaller than in other regions. The diagnosed proportion was the lowest in Kyusyu/Okinawa (80.5%), followed by Chugoku/Shikoku and Hokkaido/Tohoku. The level of diagnosis in those regional prefectures may have been more influenced and damaged by the COVID-19 pandemic than in urban settings.

From private to public and back? Kyoto's cityscape councils and the urban commons

AbstractScholarly and public debate on the urban commons is burgeoning, but building exteriors and the cityscape these constitute are surprisingly absent from it, despite their considerable significance for and impact on residents and visitors. After reflecting on the cityscape as a commons, the article turns to Kyoto, the former capital of Japan and acclaimed stronghold of history and tradition. Decades of conflict about the built environment led to a new building code in 2007 that continues to enjoy broad support. Details of building design, however, are now left to ‘local cityscape councils’, volunteer bodies that discuss construction plans with developers. Officially, local amateurs meet non‐local professionals here, but ethnographic fieldwork in 2019/20 revealed that both technical expertise and Kyoto ties are present on both sides. State representatives are also less absent than officially proclaimed. This case demonstrates that mixed management of the urban commons by the state and civil society can lead to amicable solutions that rise above vested interests, so that state involvement and ‘commoning’ should not be posited as mutually exclusive.

Startups and Venture Capital in Japan

Startups and Venture Capital in Japan

Актуальність використання людського капіталу на підприємствах: міжнародний аспект

The aim of the article is to analyze the relevance of the use of human capital in enterprises in the international context. According to the results of the carried out study, it has been found that human capital is becoming a key factor of competitiveness at the international level. The article examines the relevance of the use of human capital in international enterprises and its impact on their competitiveness. Various approaches to the development and training of staff in different countries of the world, in particular in Japan, the USA, Sweden and Germany, are analyzed. Through the analysis of various models of corporate training and staff management, the article highlights the features of each country and the most effective practices. In particular, Japanese domestic study programs, American corporate universities, Swedish financial well-being programs, and the German dual education system are considered. A general analysis of approaches to the use of human capital in Japan, the United States, Sweden and Germany indicates a significant variety of methods and strategies used in enterprises in these countries. At the same time, there is some convergence in efforts to improve personnel policy and use innovative approaches to human capital management. Japan and Germany focus on long-term development and loyalty to the company, the United States on flexibility and adaptation to change, and Sweden on well-being and social responsibility. The study highlights the importance of adapting human capital management strategies to the specific conditions of each country and to the particular sector of the economy, with a focus on ensuring high productivity, efficiency and competitiveness of enterprises in the global market environment. The carried out analysis helps to understand how each country adapts to the challenges of the modern labor market and the development of its staff.

Geographical profiling incorporating neighbourhood‐level factors using spatial interaction modelling

AbstractThe aim of this study was to examine the applicability of methods that use spatial interaction modelling to predict the most probable area for an offender's residence. Tokyo, which is the capital of Japan and is divided into 1507 square‐kilometre zones, was selected as the study area. We analysed 4316 criminal trips to commit residential burglaries by 1089 offenders who lived in Tokyo. The following neighbourhood‐level factors, and a distance‐decay effect between zones, were incorporated into the proposed model: the size of the residential population aged 15–59 years in origin zones, the numbers of households living in detached houses, newcomers, the number of police facilities in destination zones, and the spatial structures of the criminal trips. Search areas calculated by the proposed model were smaller than previous models, suggesting that neighbourhood‐level factors are important for predicting the location of an offender's residence.

Perspectives on Collaboration between Physicians and Nurse Practitioners in Japan: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Nurse practitioners (NPs) are known as effective healthcare providers worldwide. In Japan, nurse practitioner adoption is considered to be in a shaky period. Although nurse practitioners were introduced approximately 10 years ago at the initiative of educational institutions in Japan, the full extent of this trend is not known. Therefore, we have clarified the whole picture of nurse practitioners from two directions: the perception of nurse practitioners in Japan and the perception of physicians who work with nurse practitioners. This will inform discussions regarding the recruitment of nurse practitioners at the national level in Japan. From 18 June to 24 July 2021, we administered a nationwide cross-sectional survey of NPs and physicians working in the same clinical settings as NPs in Japan. The domains of the survey included "scope and content of work", "perceptions of NPs' clinical practice", and "individual clinical practice characteristics". The survey was distributed and collected digitally. The total number of respondents to the survey was 281, including 169 NPs and 112 physicians; the percentage of NPs who responded was 50.5%. The number of valid responses was 164 NPs and 111 physicians, for a total of 275 respondents. Approximately 60% of NPs are concentrated in Tokyo, the capital of Japan, and the three prefectures adjacent to Tokyo. They also worked fewer hours per week, cared for fewer patients per day, and earned less money than physicians. More physicians than NPs indicated that "more NPs would improve the quality of care". A total of 90.1% of physicians and 82.3% of NPs agreed that "Nurse practitioners should practice to the full extent of their education and training," and 73.9% of physicians and 81.7% of NPs agreed that "Nurse practitioners' scope of practice should be uniformly defined at a national level". This study clarified the present working conditions of NPs from NPs' and physicians' perspectives in Japanese contexts. Japanese NPs may be able to work effectively in collaboration with physicians. Therefore, the implementation of NPs in Japanese medical conditions should be discussed further for better healthcare.

근대일본의 자본주의 정신 - 시부사와 에이치의 도덕경제사상을 중심으로 -

Buddhism and Confucianism also contributed to the development of capitalism in Japan, just as Protestantism developed Western modern capitalism by providing an ethical basis for human beings. By injecting religion and ideology into economic activities, a practical ethical view was established, and based on this, the traditional Japanese professional ethics was established. Based on the historicity of the spirit of capitalism that began to form in modern Japanese society, this study aims to reveal the reality of the spirit of capitalism in modern Japan. The specific analysis target is Eiichi Shibusawa's 'ideology of moral economic unity', which is called 'the founder of Japanese capitalism' and 'the father of Japanese capitalism' in Japanese society. Through his moral economic ideology, I would like to analyze the characteristics and historical significance of Japanese capitalism in the period of the formation of modern society.

Analysing the Impact of Participation in Community Activities (Festivals) on Mental Health

Social capital is vital for community activities, such as those pertaining to area management activities. Furthermore, festivals and the existence of temples and shrines are crucial for enhancing social capital in Japan. Among all of the area management activities in Japan, festivals are typically held at shrines, which allow attendees to pray for their health and well-being. In this paper, we investigate the impact of participating in festivals and traditional events on mental health. We conduct a nationwide questionnaire survey in Japan and use ordered logit techniques to analyse the impact of participation in festivals and traditional events on mental health. It is found that community activities related to festivals and traditional events normalise mental health. The dependent variable (i.e., the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K6)), is negative and statistically significant, which denote that participation in community activities can stabilise mental health. Since landscape maintenance activities, such as cleaning, are not statistically significant, it would be effective to merge such activities with festivals and other community-based efforts. It is also important to consider how residents could be motivated to participate in community activities when ties with neighbours become weaker.

Changes in the carbon mitigation responsibility of Japan's capital city, Tokyo – analysis of power supply shocks due to nuclear power plant accidents

Tokyo is the capital of Japan and the hub of the country's economic and administrative activities. To maintain the momentum of sustained economic growth, Tokyo is transforming the structure of its economic activities, production efficiency, and consumption patterns. Consequently, the supply and demand structure of energy and material in the city has been changing over time with a dramatic increase in the external dependency of supply. In particular, Tokyo depends on the supply of the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), which has power plants outside of Tokyo's boundaries. However, TEPCO suspended its nuclear power plants for inspection purposes in 2003. Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant was suspended following Niigata Prefecture Chuetsu-oki Earthquake in 2007; the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant (the first and second power plants) was suspended following the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011. In this study, we analyze the changes in the carbon mitigation responsibility of Tokyo, the capital of Japan, after the electricity supply shock caused by the nuclear power plant accident and examine how dependence on electricity supply affects CO2 emissions. We compare CO2 emissions in terms of 1) the changes in Tokyo's electricity supply, 2) the long-term changes in the local economy (flows of goods and services) in 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005, 2011, and 2015, and 3) different carbon accounting methods applied to consumption-based emissions. In this study, we have adopted a method that is based on four system boundaries to identify and compare per capita CO2 emissions from 1990 to 2015 using data from Tokyo's statistical data. Results show that although CO2 emissions associated with Tokyo's electricity consumption fluctuated significantly due to the suspension of the nuclear power plant, there was no significant change in Tokyo's consumption-based emissions. Since Tokyo's consumption structure has remained steady despite these major changes in electricity supply, we assume that Tokyo's emission responsibility will not change unless there is a major switch to lower carbon goods and services consumed in the city.

Evaluation of employee occupational stress by estimating the loss of human capital in Japan

BackgroundHuman capital is thought to be a crucial factor that drives economic growth. This study aims to understand the evaluation of the loss of human capital caused by employees’ occupational stress.MethodsIn total, 1,021,178 observations for employee occupational stress were collected from 390 companies from 2017 to 2019 in Japan. The original cross-sectional survey contains 11,167 employees with occupational stress and their socioeconomic information in 2015. The relationship between stress and annual income is estimated with polynomial regression, and accumulated human capital loss is estimated. Matching approaches are applied for corporate human capital loss.ResultsThe negative association between annual income and employee stress is derived, which indicates that the worse the employees’ stress is, the greater the human capital losses. Importantly, we confirmed that most employees have human capital loss, and on average, for male employees aged 25, the accumulated human capital loss will reach approximately $0.6 million USD by retirement.ConclusionFor corporations, human capital loss is highly correlated with the number of employees, suggesting that reducing the occupational stress of employees can lead to greater corporate performance.

Serologic Survey of IgG Against SARS-CoV-2 Among Hospital Visitors Without a History of SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Tokyo, 2020-2021.

BackgroundTokyo, the capital of Japan, is a densely populated city of >13 million people, so the population is at high risk of epidemic severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. A serologic survey of anti–SARS-CoV-2 IgG would provide valuable data for assessing the city’s SARS-CoV-2 infection status. Therefore, this cross-sectional study estimated the anti–SARS-CoV-2 IgG seroprevalence in Tokyo.MethodsLeftover serum of 23,234 hospital visitors was tested for antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 using an iFlash 3000 chemiluminescence immunoassay analyzer (Shenzhen YHLO Biotech, Shenzhen, China) with an iFlash–SARS-CoV-2 IgG kit (YHLO) and iFlash–SARS-CoV-2 IgG-S1 kit (YHLO). Serum samples with a positive result (≥10 AU/mL) in either of these assays were considered seropositive for anti–SARS-CoV-2 IgG. Participants were randomly selected from patients visiting 14 Tokyo hospitals between September 1, 2020 and March 31, 2021. No participants were diagnosed with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and none exhibited COVID-19-related symptoms at the time of blood collection.ResultsThe overall anti–SARS-CoV-2 IgG seroprevalence among all participants was 1.83% (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.66–2.01%). The seroprevalence in March 2021, the most recent month of this study, was 2.70% (95% CI, 2.16–3.34%). After adjusting for population age, sex, and region, the estimated seroprevalence in Tokyo was 3.40%, indicating that 470,778 individuals had a history of SARS-CoV-2 infection.ConclusionsThe estimated number of individuals in Tokyo with a history of SARS-CoV-2 infection was 3.9-fold higher than the number of confirmed cases. Our study enhances understanding of the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Tokyo.

Zapobieganie przestępczości i sprawiedliwość karna z perspektywy Kongresów Organizacji Narodów Zjednoczonych

For over 65 years, the United Nations has held congresses aimed at strengthening international cooperation against expanding crime. The First Congress on the Prevention of Crime and Treatment of Offenders took place in Geneva in 1955. Sixty-six years later, in 2021, this tradition continued, postponed by the Covid-19 epidemic, as the Fourteenth United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice took place in the former capital of Japan — Kyoto. The aim of the paper is to present the most important achievements of all 14 congresses, especially focusing on the development of UN standards and norms in crime prevention and criminal justice. The author also presents the history of the participation and activities of Polish participants of the Congresses (official delegates and individual experts) in the years 1960–2021. The general conclusion is that the institution of the UN Crime Congresses is a major high-level forum to steer the development of the rule of law, to promote global security and good governance, and to improve the response to crime.

International Students’ Psychological Capital in Japan: Moderated Mediation of Adjustment and Engagement

This study examined how positive psychological capital (PsyCap) of international students is linked to their engagement and organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs) in the Japanese higher education context. We also explored the mediation effect of engagement between PsyCap and OCBs, and the moderating effect of cultural adjustment on the mediation relationship. The results show that PsyCap is significantly related to OCBs, which is mediated by engagement. The moderation effect of cultural adjustment is also significant.

Natural capital for nature\u2019s contributions to people: the case of Japan

Recently, natural capital has gained the attention of researchers and policymakers to promote sustainability. Previous studies have investigated the value of ecosystem services with respect to specific areas or species. Other studies have investigated the value of various types of ecosystem services and natural capital by integrating a number of findings using meta-analyses at the global level. Although these studies have provided information on either the global value of natural capital or the local value of specific subjects, there is little evidence on the country-specific values of natural capital in Japan, which will provide useful information for national environmental policies. We investigated the perceived values of terrestrial and marine natural capital in Japan using internet surveys and payment card methods. Data on various natural forms of capital were collected in a unified format and comparable manner. We found that some explanatory variables, such as perceived importance and visit frequency, as well as sociodemographic characteristics, are significant drivers of the willingness to pay (WTP), which maintains each aspect of natural capital. In addition, we conducted future predictions of terrestrial and marine natural capital using a scenario developed in a previous study. Our results indicate that Japan should follow a population-dispersed scenario for the sustainable management of natural capital up to 2050.

Kenkoku University and the Experience of Pan-Asianism: Education in the Japanese Empire by Yuka Hiruma Kishida

Reviewed by: Kenkoku University and the Experience of Pan-Asianism: Education in the Japanese Empire by Yuka Hiruma Kishida Cemil Aydin (bio) Kenkoku University and the Experience of Pan-Asianism: Education in the Japanese Empire. By Yuka Hiruma Kishida. Bloomsbury, London, 2020. xvi, 266 pages. $115.00, cloth; $39.95, paper; $103.50, E-book. Earlier historiography of Japanese empire categorized Pan-Asianism as the ideological tool of Japan's expansionism, and its domination in East Asia, behind the facade of antiwhite internationalism. Recent scholarship, however, has normalized the study of Japanese imperialism and Pan-Asianism. [End Page 228] Instead of seeing Pan-Asianism as simply a discursive mask for brutal occupation, it is now taken more seriously as a project of universalism and potential cosmopolitanism, without denying its legitimizing role in imperial expansion. In the scholarship of the last two decades, Japan's use and abuse of Pan-Asianism is increasingly treated in a way similar to the British Empire's championing of internationalism or the U.S. claim to promote democracy in the postimperial world order. As scholars have consistently shown the white supremacism and blatantly racist agendas behind the discourses of Western internationalism and universalism, historians of modern Japan similarly interrogate the praxis of Pan-Asianism to understand how internationalism as well as antiracist cosmopolitanism could coexist with the brutal aspects of Japanese colonialism. It is the mixture of anticolonial sensibilities challenging white supremacy in Asia and Africa with rightwing notions of a Japanese imperial mission to lead Asian revolt against the West that makes the study of Pan-Asianism often controversial. Pan-Asianism, for example, facilitated the cooperation between anticolonial nationalists and the Japanese empire during World War II in locations such as Indonesia. Yet, Pan-Asianism also served as a tool for creating domestic consensus within Japan in relation to the occupation of Manchuria and the Sino-Japanese War. Thus, studying Pan-Asianism within the context of Japanese-occupied China requires attention to archival sources as well as to delicate theoretical controversies. Yuka Hiruma Kishida achieves both with her focus on the institution of the top university in Manchuria built with the purpose of actualizing and spreading the ideology of Pan-Asianism to diverse imperial subjects. Hiruma Kishida offers a nuanced and original contribution to the study of Japan's nationalism, universalism, and Pan-Asianism by examining the experience of students from ethnically Chinese, Korean, Mongolian, Russian, Taiwanese, and Japanese backgrounds, as well as those of the faculty and staff, at Kenkoku (Nation-Building) University from 1938 to 1945. The university was built in Changchun, the capital of Japan's puppet state of Manchukuo in Northeast China, by the Kwantung Army, with the Pan-Asianist visions of General Ishiwara Kanji. It was the most important Pan-Asianist educational institution of Manchuria tasked with the ideological formation of the state's proclaimed goal of ethnic harmony. It was well funded, with free board and stipends for selected students and promised employment opportunities to its diverse student body in order to create future leaders of an inclusive Pan-Asian empire based on the idea of ethnic harmony of all the subject population. As the university was tasked with bringing the ideal of Pan-Asian solidarity into practice and making it a future reality, students were given a chance to criticize the existing practices on behalf of their proclaimed ideals, which, in principle, meant that non-Japanese students would become equal partners in the future empire. [End Page 229] In order to recreate the culture, conversation, and power relations during the seven years of Kenkoku University's existence, Hiruma Kishida tracks all the records, minutes, newspaper and journal articles, and diaries of about two hundred staff members and several hundred students. She successfully classifies faculty and students from different ethnicities to present a portrait of each ethnic group's experience with the Pan-Asianist curriculum at the university. While chapter 2 is devoted to the planning period, curriculum, and ideological visions and divisions among the faculty, chapter 3 focuses on Japanese students. She then discusses the ideas and political activities of Korean and Taiwanese students in chapter 4 and Chinese students in chapter 5. Chapter 6 presents a...

Киото эко-модель қаласының эко-саясатындағы көлік секторының талдауы

Global warming countermeasures are being taken around the world, and every country and every city is trying to minimize emissions of greenhouse gases such as CO2, on its territory. This article is devoted to the environmental policy of the Kyoto cityin the transport sector. Kyoto city is the former capital of Japan, where Kyoto Protocolwas adopted. During the study of the environmental policy, the authors identified the most important political measures based on important official documents of the local government. Not only the measures adopted by the city mayor’s office in the transport sector, were studied, but their assessment and results were examined too. However most information on eco-model cities of Japan is presented in Japanese, access to basic information is limited. Thus, this article offers new information from the original sources

Analysis of Tokyo’s municipal solid waste management system

The article analyzes the features of municipal solid waste management in Tokyo. Special attention is paid to the analysis of trends in the volume of waste in the city of Tokyo over the past decades, as well as the reasons for the constant decline in these volumes. The article deals with the waste management activities of the Clean Authority of Tokyo, discusses the features of treatment of various types of waste, as well as the arrangement of the Tokyo city waste landfill. It was noted that the capital of Japan succeeded in creating an effective system for the disposal and recycling of municipal solid waste that can ensure the environmental safety of the city, as well as integrate waste into the country’s fuel and energy complex. An important feature of Japanese waste management companies is the desire not only to comply with official environmental standards, but also to adhere to their own standards, even more stringent. Based on an analysis of Japanese experience, the authors put forward proposals for optimizing the sphere of waste management in Russia. In particular, attention is drawn to the need to prevent an environmental catastrophe caused by a careless attitude to waste, improve the quality of life of citizens, prevent social unrest associated with environmental pollution, and also involve waste in the generation of electricity and heat. The authors note that as part of the “trash” reform, it is necessary to increase the environmental awareness of citizens, provide citizens with relevant and complete information about the industry, and create stricter environmental standards for waste to energy plants and other enterprises involved in waste management.

Water budget of Lake Ashinoko, the origin of Hakone thermal waters

Study regionLake Ashinoko in the Hakone caldera is located about 100 km southwest of Tokyo, the capital of Japan. Hakone is a world-famous resort that more than 20 million tourists visit every year to enjoy various kinds of hot springs and spectacular landscapes of the caldera. Study focusMonthly water budget of Lake Ashinoko was investigated based on the correlation between monthly potential inflow of water to the lake and monthly outflow of water from the lake. Potential inflow consists of rainfall on the lake and catchment area, and monthly out flow is the change in water of the lake plus evaporation and intake from Fukara gate for irrigation. New hydrological insights for the regionWe found that only about a quarter of the rainfall during a prior few months flows into the lake. Besides that, there is stationary inflow. About 45 % of the rainfall on the catchment area infiltrates into the ground. Many observational facts and analytical results indicate that rainfall on the central cones penetrates into the volcanic edifice, and does not flow into the lake. It is proposed that the water stored in the volcanic edifice and heated by a reservoir of magma that is thought to exist at a depth of about 10 km is a major source of Hakone thermal water.

Boomtown or Bust? Policy Feedback Effects of Divisive Facilities on Social Capital in Japan

Boomtown or Bust? Policy Feedback Effects of Divisive Facilities on Social Capital in Japan

Spatial Character of Tokyo’s Famous Tourist Attractions

Various competitiveness reports on tourism have ranked Japan as one of the most visited countries in Asia. Along with South Korea and Singapore, Japan offers many unique traits to the tourists. Since the establishment of “Kihinkai” (lit. Welcome Society), Japan’s first organization to engage with foreign tourists, the country has succeeded in developing various sector of tourism such as heritage sites, nature-based tourism, religious sites, and urban tourism. Tokyo Metropolis, as the capital of Japan, is one of the best examples in urban tourism sector. Hotel occupancy in Tokyo has risen around 80% in the last decade, showing high growth of tourism in the city. The aforementioned growth is supported by many factors, with one of them being the enhancement of tourist attractions. The paper examines Tokyo’s nine most famous tourist attractions specifically at their spatial aspects. The complexity of place, accessibility and the presence of surrounding amenities, as well as the ambience or atmosphere offered by the attractions are the components analyzed to form a set of characteristics that define the character of Tokyo’s tourist attractions. The compiled data can be a precedent study or preliminary guideline for other big cities in Japan or Asia to develop their potential of urban tourism.