Cycle In Japan Research Articles

Ixodes persulcatus Ticks as Vectors for the Babesia microti U.S. Lineage in Japan.

The major cause of human babesiosis, the tick-borne blood parasite Babesia microti, U.S. lineage, is widely distributed in the temperate Northern Hemisphere. However, the specific tick vector(s) remains unidentified in Eurasia, where there are people with antibodies to the B. microti U.S. lineage and cases of human babesiosis. In this study, the first isolation of B. microti U.S. lineage from Ixodes persulcatus ticks, a principal vector for many tick-borne diseases, is described in Japan. Limited antigenic cross-reaction was found between the Japan and United States isolates. Thus, current serological tests based on U.S. isolates may underestimate B. microti occurrence outside the United States. This study and previous studies indicate that I. persulcatus is part of the B. microti U.S. lineage life cycle in Japan and, presumably, northeastern Eurasia. This report will be important for public health, especially since infection may occur through transfusion, and also to researchers in the field of parasitology.

PHP53 - Health Care Inequality And Business Cycles In Japan

PHP53 - Health Care Inequality And Business Cycles In Japan

The Term Structure of Credit Spreads and Business Cycle in Japan

This paper investigates the usefulness of the term structure of credit spreads to predict the business cycle in Japan. Our analyses provide clear evidence that the term structure of credit spreads has more predictive power than the government bond yield. Specifically, the paper shows that the credit spread curve of medium-grade corporate bonds with an A or BBB rating has more useful information than the government bond yield curve for predicting the business cycle in Japan. However, our results indicate that the increase in the BBB-rated credit spread is associated with future economic growth, contradicting the theoretical prediction in the existing literature. Our Markov-switching analysis demonstrates that this peculiar relationship holds only during the global financial crisis regime, and the 1-year government bond yield and the term spread of A-rated credit spread information have significant predictive power for the business cycle in Japan regardless of the economic state.

Evolution of East Asia's Arcto-Tertiary relict Euptelea (Eupteleaceae) shaped by Late Neogene vicariance and Quaternary climate change.

BackgroundThe evolutionary origin and historical demography of extant Arcto-Tertiary forest species in East Asia is still poorly understood. Here, we reconstructed the evolutionary and population demographic history of the two extant Euptelea species in China (E. pleiosperma) and Japan (E. polyandra). Chloroplast/nuclear DNA sequences and microsatellite loci were obtained from 36 Euptelea populations to explore molecular structure and diversity in relation to past and present distributions based on ecological niche modelling (ENM). Time-calibrated phylogenetic/phylogeographic inferences and niche-identity tests were used to infer the historical process of lineage formation.ResultsEuptelea pleiosperma diverged from E. polyandra around the Late Miocene and experienced significant ecological differentiation. A near-simultaneous diversification of six phylogroups occurred during the mid-to-late Pliocene, in response to the abrupt uplift of the eastern Tibetan Plateau and an increasingly cooler and drier climate. Populations of E. pleiosperma seem to have been mostly stationary through the last glacial cycles, while those of E. polyandra reflect more recent climate-induced cycles of range contraction and expansion.ConclusionsOur results illustrate how Late Neogene climatic/tectonic changes promoted speciation and lineage diversification in East Asia’s Tertiary relict flora. They also demonstrate for the first time a greater variation in such species’ responses to glacial cycles in Japan when compared to congeners in China.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12862-016-0636-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Monetary Policy and Structural Decline: Lessons from Japan for the European Crisis

Japan experienced a boom-and-bust cycle in the real estate and stock markets almost 20 years earlier than Europe. Since the bursting of the Japanese bubble economy, the country has fallen into a deep recession and has experimented with crisis therapies in the form of unconventional monetary expansion, Keynesian fiscal stimulus, and recapitalization of financial institutions. Japan reached a low interest rate environment in the mid 1990s and has accumulated an exceptionally high level of public debt during more than two decades of economic stagnation. This paper compares the boom-and-bust cycles in Japan and Europe with respect to the reasons for excessive booms, the characteristics of the crises, and the (potential) effects of the crisis therapies. It is argued that in both Japan and Europe the consequences of expansionary monetary and fiscal policies include the hysteresis of a low-interest rate and high government debt environment, the erosion of the allocation and signaling functions of the interest rate, the gradual quasi-nationalization of financial institutions, as well as gradual real income losses. The economic policy implication for Europe and Japan is the timely exit from crisis therapies in the form of excessively expansionary monetary and fiscal policies.

G113 ガラス溶融炉熱流動解析コードの開発(OS-14:凝固・融解伝熱および結晶成長の新展開(1))

Vitrification of high level liquid waste (HLLW) after reprocessing spent fuel from nuclear power stations is one of the most important processes in nuclear fuel cycle in Japan. Numerical simulation was developed to simulate temperature, electrical potential and noble metal elements, which are included in HLLW. Material properties in high-temperature conditions were measured to introduce into the simulation code. The numerical simulations were carried out to compare with the result of mock-up melter test and to plan the mock-up test.

Die japanischen Lehren für die europäische Krise

Abstract Japan went 15 years earlier than Europe through a boom-and-bust cycle in the real estate and stock markets. The country has made important experience with crisis therapies in form of monetary expansion, Keynesian fiscal stimulus and recapitalization of financial institutions. Japan has reached the zero interest bound in 1999 and has accumulated a very high public debt level. The paper compares the boom-and-bust cycles in Japan and Europe with respect to the reasons for the boom, the characteristics of the crises, and the (potential) effects of the crisis therapies. It is argued that the consequence of expansionary monetary and fiscal policies is the hysteresis of the zero-interest rate and high debt trap, the erosion of the allocation and signaling function of the interest rate, the gradual nationalization of the financial sector and aggregate demand, as well as gradual real income losses. The economic policy implication for Europe and Japan is the timely exit from crisis therapies in form of expansionary monetary and fiscal policies despite high adjustment costs.

The Macroeconomic Policy Challenges of Balance Sheet Recession: Lessons from Japan for the European Crisis

The paper compares the boom-and-bust cycles in Japan and Europe with respect to the reasons for excessive booms, the characteristics of the crises, and the (potential) effects of the crisis therapies. As in Japan the consequence of expansionary monetary and fiscal policies is the hysteresis of the low-interest rate and high government debt environment, the erosion of the allocation and signaling function of the interest rate, the gradual quasi-nationalization of financial institutions as well as gradual real income losses, the economic policy implication for Japan and Europe is the timely exit from the current crisis therapies.

Lead–lag relationship between household cultural expenditures and business cycles

This paper empirically examines how household cultural expenditures correspond to business cycles in Japan. Since income level is among the most important determinants of cultural demand, and income fluctuates with business cycles, examining the relationship between cultural expenditures and business cycles is useful, particularly in discussing income elasticity of cultural demand. The data used are monthly household expenditures for movies, live performances, and cultural establishments in the Family Income and Expenditure Survey. Turning points for cultural expenditures and related indicators are determined by estimating the regime-switching model. The lead–lag relationship between these series and the reference dates of Japanese business cycles are analyzed. The result indicates that cultural expenditures fluctuate cyclically with unstable leads and lags corresponding to business cycles. In addition, cultural expenditures adhere to smaller specific cycles within officially designated expansions, which imply that income elasticity has not been constant during past business cycles.

Direction of Future Fuel Cycle in Japan ; Fuel Cycle from the Perspective of Cost

Direction of Future Fuel Cycle in Japan ; Fuel Cycle from the Perspective of Cost

Aging of the Female Reproductive System

Abstract: Women in Japan and elsewhere are increasingly delaying childbearing. The percentage of Japanese women giving birth to their first child at the age of 30 and above has increased from 28.9% in 1980 to 58.9% in 2009. As a result, women seeking to conceive one or more children increasingly do so when the effects of reproductive aging first become noticeable. Female fertility begins to decrease after 30 years of age, falls markedly after the age of 35 in association with an increased risk of complications during pregnancy and of chromosomal abnormalities in the offspring, and most women become infertile after the age of 40. In parallel, the number of assisted reproductive technology (ART) treatment cycles in Japan is steadily increasing, from 37,455 in 1997 to 190,613 in 2008, according to a survey by the Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Because of the high emotional and social toll of infertility on couples and the demographic consequences of a decrease in fecundity, it is imperative to b...

Frozen-thawed blastocyst transfer reduces ectopic pregnancy risk: an analysis of single embryo transfer cycles in Japan

To evaluate the effect of frozen-thawed blastocyst transfer on ectopic pregnancy (EP) rate. Retrospective analysis. Japanese registry of assisted reproductive medicine. Women who were registered during 2008. None. Rates of live birth, EP, and spontaneous abortion in single blastocyst and cleavage-stage ET cycles in both fresh and frozen-thawed were determined. In the frozen-thawed single blastocyst transfer cycles, 84 EPs of 10,312 clinical pregnancies (0.81%) were reported. There were 25 EPs of 1,361 clinical pregnancies (1.8%) in fresh IVF single blastocyst transfer cycles and 19 of 1,352 (1.4%) in fresh intracytoplasmic sperm injection single blastocyst transfer cycles. The rate of EPs after frozen-thawed single blastocyst transfers varied between 0.56% and 0.97% after stratification by age group. Frozen-thawed blastocyst transfers have reduced EP rates significantly compared with fresh blastocyst transfers.

State of the Art of Pyroprocessing Technology in Japan

Abstract Minor actinide recycling in a fuel cycle is a potential technology to minimize the environmental radioactivity burden in waste disposal in the fast reactor era after 2050. Pyroprocessing technology with metal electrorefining expects that no additional process is required to separate minor actinides and short- cooled fuels can be treated due to no-use of organic solvent that degrades by radiation. Pyroprocessing has been explored for metal fuel cycle and nitride fuel cycle in Japan. Metal fuel fast reactor, which can achieve a high breeding ratio over 1.3, and its fuel cycle is a compact system by integrating pyroprocessing. Oxide fuel can be also treated by converting to metals by reduction. Separation of transuranium elements from high level liquid waste originating from aqueous reprocessing has been challenged. Verification of the process and development of an engineering scale device are the current interests for study. In addition, irradiation study of metal fuel with minor actinides currently much advances from the point of fundamental investigation. Accelerator-driven system (ADS) for transmutation of minor actinides is integrated with pyroprocessing for recycling system. The denitriding at anode and azotizing at cathode together with electrorefining have been fundamentally studied by use of plutonium.

Current Status and Future Plan of Nuclear Fuel Cycle in Japan, with Focus on Human Resource Development

Abstract Japan's basic nuclear policy isto reprocess spent fuel and to effectively use the recovered plutonium and uranium.MOX fuel utilization in LWRsispromotedin 16-18 reactors by FY2015. Commercial operation of Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant is planned to start in 2012. Prototype reactor “Monju” restarted operation in May 2010. From FY 2007, Fast Reactor Cycle Technology Development Project (FaCT project) started which focuses more toward the commercialization stage FBR cycle. Basic scenario of Japan's R&D aims for realization of demonstrationFBR by around 2025 and introducing commercial FBRs before 2050. Smooth transition fromLWR fuel cycle to FBR one is an important point.Fornuclear fuel cycle which requires long termR&D, human resources development and keeping isvitally important.

The intranational business cycle in Japan

This paper studies the intranational business cycle—that is the set of regional (prefectural) business cycles—in Japan. One reason for choosing to examine the Japanese case is that long time series of relatively detailed data are available. A Hodrick-Prescott filter is applied to identify cycles in annual data from 1955 to 1995 and bilateral cross-correlations of prefectural GDPs are calculated for all pairs of prefectures, in our results we find fairly high cross-correlations. The paper then turns to an econometric explanation of the cross-correlation coefficients in the augmented gravity model framework. Two prefectures with similar GDPs and a shorter distance between them lead to business cycle synchronization whilst those with larger regional gaps in factor endowments (capital, labour, and human capital) result in more idiosyncratic business cycle.

Multi-model analysis of terrestrial carbon cycles in Japan: limitations and implications of model calibration using eddy flux observations

Abstract. Terrestrial biosphere models show large differences when simulating carbon and water cycles, and reducing these differences is a priority for developing more accurate estimates of the condition of terrestrial ecosystems and future climate change. To reduce uncertainties and improve the understanding of their carbon budgets, we investigated the utility of the eddy flux datasets to improve model simulations and reduce variabilities among multi-model outputs of terrestrial biosphere models in Japan. Using 9 terrestrial biosphere models (Support Vector Machine – based regressions, TOPS, CASA, VISIT, Biome-BGC, DAYCENT, SEIB, LPJ, and TRIFFID), we conducted two simulations: (1) point simulations at four eddy flux sites in Japan and (2) spatial simulations for Japan with a default model (based on original settings) and a modified model (based on model parameter tuning using eddy flux data). Generally, models using default model settings showed large deviations in model outputs from observation with large model-by-model variability. However, after we calibrated the model parameters using eddy flux data (GPP, RE and NEP), most models successfully simulated seasonal variations in the carbon cycle, with less variability among models. We also found that interannual variations in the carbon cycle are mostly consistent among models and observations. Spatial analysis also showed a large reduction in the variability among model outputs. This study demonstrated that careful validation and calibration of models with available eddy flux data reduced model-by-model differences. Yet, site history, analysis of model structure changes, and more objective procedure of model calibration should be included in the further analysis.

Macroeconomic Adjustment to the Lehman Shock in Japan

In this paper we overview the macroeconomic adjustment to the Lehman shock in Japan. After retrospecting the Japanese economy since the Plaza Accord which led Japan to the bubble economy and the ‘lost decade’ we explain the business cycles in Japan and show related macroeconomic indicators since as early as the 1980s. Then we trace the macroeconomic responses of the Japanese economy to the Lehman shock by selectively looking at such aspects as the contribution of GDP growth by expenditure components, from peak to trough of the CI(composite index), production and inventory adjustment, and employment adjustment. We also supplement our analyses by observing additional factors including export, investment, consumption, exchange rate, and the stock market. The roles played by policy measures and expectations formation are also emphasized to explain why and how the Japanese economy did not develop as forecasted against the ‘once in a hundred years’ crisis.

Financial Accelerator in Action: Economic Fundamentals, Real Estate Dynamics, and Business Cycles in Japan

Using the test case of Japan during 1980 to 2000, this paper quantitatively explores a trinity of issues: (a) role of time variations in aggregate productivity and land taxation policy on real estate market fluctuations, (b) extent of spillover from the real estate market to the aggregate economy, and (c) given the preponderance of real-estate backed lending practices, the significance of the financial accelerator mechanism in turning small shocks to the real estate market into an amplified and prolonged business cycles. Using a fully calibrated, dynamic general equilibrium model, the paper finds that fluctuations in productivity and land taxes account well for fluctuations in output and land redistribution between commercial and residential uses. Land prices, on the other hand, are very sensitive to agents' expectations about persistence of the initial shocks. A comparison of the benchmark model with an alternative where credit constraints are exogenously determined numerically establishes the power of the financial accelerator in amplifying and prolonging a business cycle.

Regional Business Cycles in Japan

In previous studies of regional business cycles in Japan, critical differences in the amplitudes and the turning points in business cycles by region were revealed. However, there is a problem in the previous studies; they relied on one series, typically an index of industrial production in manufacturing sectors, hence, it is necessary to include information on sectors other than manufacturing to provide a more complete measure of the business conditions of a region. Specifically, we extract a regional business index from four business indicators using the principal components and applied the regime switching model to identify the turning points in regional business cycles. Our result shows that the sector that generates the greatest influence on the business cycles differs by region. Furthermore, different regions have different features also from the viewpoint of the turning points of business cycles.

Business cycle fluctuations in Japanese macroeconomic time series: 1980–2000

This paper provides the robust stylized facts for recent Japanese business cycle fluctuations, by examining the cyclical component of macroeconomic time series based on the frequency domain analysis. The results confirm many of the conventional views on business cycles in Japan. Among the most interesting findings are that non-scheduled hours worked plays a key role as a buffer for labor inputs. Distinctively, because of the behavior of non-scheduled cash earnings and bonuses, wages in Japan are very sensitive to changes in the level of economic activity. Also significant, the relationship between money and output has changed dramatically after the collapse of the bubble economy in 1991.