Decline In Japan Research Articles

Aspiration pneumonia after SARS-CoV-2 Omicron infection frequently induced physical functional decline in Japan.

Introduction. Nursing and healthcare-associated pneumonia (NHCAP) mainly occurs in older people whose physical functions have declined, and it is the most common type of pneumonia in Japan, a super-ageing society. In older people who meet NHCAP criteria, respiratory tract infections are often accompanied by aspiration pneumonia.Gap statement. The SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant frequently causes aspiration pneumonia and has induced a decline in physical function.Aim. To clarify functional outcomes at 1 year after hospital discharge in SARS-CoV-2 Omicron-related NHCAP cases.Methodology. We compared the functional outcomes between 259 patients with primary SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia and 223 patients with aspiration pneumonia.Results. Functional decline rates for calculating the Barthel index at the time of hospital discharge were higher in the aspiration pneumonia group than the primary SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia group [114 patients (51.6%) vs 70 patients (27.0%), P<0.0001]. Of 114 patients with aspiration pneumonia who had a decline in physical function at the time of hospital discharge, 91 (79.8%) still showed functional decline 1 year later. In contrast, 9.3% of patients had functional decline at 1 year after hospital discharge in the primary SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia group, which was significantly lower than in the aspiration pneumonia group.Conclusions. The Omicron variant showed decreased infectivity in the lungs and was less pathogenic compared with the Delta and former variants. However, physicians should recommend SARS-CoV-2 vaccination and non-pharmaceutical interventions, depending on the presence or absence of applicable criteria for NHCAP, even when the predominant strain is the Omicron variant.

Unveiling the Global Economic Impacts from Demographic Change in East Asia: An Estimation and Web Explores

This paper explores the economic consequences of demographic changes on development in 208 countries through 2100. We employ panel fixed effects models to estimate long-run equilibrium relationships between capital stock, labor force, and economic growth. Cointegration analysis confirms the existence of these long-run relationships. We affirm that there is a steady, long-run relationship between GDP, capital stock, and population. We also present our findings in an interactive web application, allowing users to explore how population shifts might impact economies worldwide. Highlighting key trends, we offer an illustrative case study of East Asia, while emphasizing the tool's universal applicability. Thus, this work does not seek to engage in specific academic discourse, but rather endeavors to contribute a valuable resource for informed public dialogue concerning the global economic implications of anticipated demographic transformations. The results show that the "Comparative Global Weights Forecasts" section showcases economic clout, illustrating Japan's decline and Indonesia's rise in global GDP rankings. Lastly, the "Comparative Regional Forecasts" section contrasts regional dynamics, such as East Asia &amp; the Pacific versus South Asia, highlighting population peaks, economic growth disparities, and shifts in global GDP shares.

Primary care and medical education for Japan’s ageing population

Primary care and medical education for Japan’s ageing population Prof Junji Haruta from Keio University highlights Japan’s ageing population, focusing on challenges and innovations in primary care, plus medical education. Japan has announced in its latest population estimates that the ageing rate for those aged 65 and above has reached 29.0% (Cabinet Office, 2023). This marks a 12-year consecutive decline in Japan’s total population, positioning it as the country with the highest proportion of elderly worldwide. A significant study predicts that by 2040, over 27% of Japan’s elderly population will face limitations in Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) and social functions (Chen et al., 2016).

Examining corporate support issues with health literacy as a key factor: The Case of a Hiroshima corporation.

Given the dramatic decline in Japan's labor force, promoting women's participation in the workforce is essential. We aimed to take a Hiroshima company as an example and analyze the influencing factors of health literacy (HL) to clarify the issues of the active participation of female employees. From February to March 2023, a cross-sectional study was conducted by a company in Hiroshima prefecture that contained many male employees. A total of 1,114 valid respondents were received. Employees' demographics, menstrual-related concerns, women's activity promotion support, and HL were investigated in this study. The Chi-square test and logistic regression using SPSS statistical software version 25 were used. There were significant differences between high and low HL with age, women's menstrual problems, and women's activity promotion support. The participants who were unaware of women's menstrual-related problems and their company's implementation of women's activity promotion support were more likely to have high HL. In addition, female employees (including female management) and male management have significantly different cognitions about women's activity promotion support. This study found that overall HL among employees in male-dominated companies is low, even among participants who were aware of women's menstruation-related health issues and the company's women's activity promotion support. Increased women's representation in management can bridge policy perception gaps. Male-dominated companies should enhance HL via career programs, health education, and improved communication for active female engagement.

What caused the downward trend in Japan’s labor share?

Measuring the labor share is not an easy task. Labor share movements often vary depending on both their definition and the measurement scope. This study estimates the labor share in Japan based on two representative government statistical sources—the National Accounts and the “Financial Statements Statistics of Corporations by Industry” —with their differences in coverage and accounting standards corrected. We confirmed a clear downward trend in Japan’s labor share since the 1990 s, both in the total Japanese economy and in the corporate sector. The driving force behind the labor share decline is the significant decrease in the income of the self-employed (mixed income) and in the salaries and bonuses awarded to executives who are owners of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This decrease is attributed to the decline in the number of self-employed individuals and SMEs. By contrast, salaries and bonuses to employees hardly contributed to the decline. These findings suggest that the straightforward narrative that—technological progress, globalization such as the transfer of production overseas, and the expansion of non-regular employment have reduced labor income to employees, thus resulting in a lower labor share—does not directly apply to the Japanese economy. Understanding the mechanism of the decline in Japan’s labor share requires identifying the causes and effects of the decline in the numbers of self-employed individuals and SMEs.

Deterioration in youth employment, social contexts, and marriage decline in Japan and South Korea

ABSTRACT Japan and South Korea are experiencing drastic declines in marriage rates. One of the main factors explaining these declines is deteriorating youth employment. This study examined the effects of youth employment on marriage timing and the moderating effects of social contexts in both countries using longitudinal data and discrete-time logit analysis. The results indicated that unmarried people, particularly men, who were not regular employees with low annual income delayed marriage; this association was moderated by educational background and family structure (parents living together, primogeniture). Comparing the two countries, Japan experiences a stronger influence on marriage from the traditional family system, and South Korea has a stronger influence from economic disadvantages. This reflects differences in the strength of the traditional family system and the degree of deterioration of youth employment in the two countries.

Japanese national survey on declined liver allografts from brain-dead donors: High decline rate but promising outcomes in allografts with moderate steatosis.

Liver allografts from brain-dead donors, which were declined and were eventually not transplanted due to accompanying marginal factors, have never been surveyed in Japan. We surveyed the declined allografts and discussed the graft potential focusing on various marginal factors. We collected data on brain-dead donors between 1999 and 2019 from the Japan Organ Transplant Network. We divided their liver allografts into declined (nontransplanted) and transplanted ones, and then characterized declined ones focusing on their timepoints of decline and accompanying marginal factors. For each marginal factor, we calculated the decline rate from the number of declined and transplanted allografts, and assessed the 1-year graft survival rate from transplanted allografts. A total of 571 liver allografts were divided into 84 (14.7%) declined and 487 (85.3%) transplanted ones. In the declined allografts, a majority was declined after laparotomy (n=55, 65.5%), most of which had steatosis and/or fibrosis (n=52). Out of the moderate steatotic (without F ≥ 2 fibrosis) allografts (n=33), 21 were declined and 12 were transplanted, leading to a 63.6% decline rate. The latter 12 achieved a 92.9% 1-year graft survival rate after transplantation. Comparison of donor background showed no significant difference between the declined and transplanted allografts. Pathological abnormalities of steatosis/fibrosis seem to be the most common donor factor leading to graft decline in Japan. Allografts with moderate steatosis were highly declined; however, transplanted ones achieved promising outcomes. This national survey highlights the potential utility of liver allografts with moderate steatosis.

Weight-for-age z-scores of Japanese children using the World Health Organization Child Growth Standards.

Weight-for-age z-scores of Japanese children using the World Health Organization Child Growth Standards.

Sensitivity analysis on the declining population in Japan: Effects of prefecture-specific fertility and interregional migration.

Japan has been facing a population decline since 2010 due to low birth rates, interregional migration, and regional traits. In this study, we modeled the demographic dynamics of Japan using a transition matrix model. Then, from the mathematical structure of the model, we quantitatively evaluated the domestic factors of population decline. To achieve this, we constructed a multi-regional Leslie matrix model and developed a method for representing the reproductive value and stable age distribution using matrix entries. Our method enabled us to interpret the mathematical indices using the genealogies of the migration history of individuals and their ancestors. Furthermore, by combining our method with sensitivity analysis, we analyzed the effect of region-specific fertility rates and interregional migration rates on the population decline in Japan. We found that the sensitivity of the population growth rate to the migration rate from urban areas with large populations to prefectures with high fertility rates was greatest for people aged under 30. In addition, compared to other areas, the fertility rates of urban areas exhibited higher sensitivity for people aged over 30. Because this feature is robust in comparison with those in 2010 and 2015, it can be said to be a unique structure in Japan in recent years. We also established a method to represent the reproductive value and stable age distribution in an irreducible non-negative matrix population model by using the matrix entries. Furthermore, we show the effects of fertility and migration rates numerically in urban and non-urban areas on the population growth rates for each age group in a society with a declining population.

A New XGBoost Inference with Boundary Conditions in Real Estate Price Prediction

AbstractReal estate price prediction takes an important role in the economy that can drive up and down the stock prices and even generate disruptive economic events. Many researchers have tried to understand the pricing mechanism with machine learning techniques such as support vector machine, neural network, random forest, and AdaBoost. The boundary problem, on the other hand, makes the pricing scheme more complicated, and this trend is accelerated especially in the situation of population decline in Japan. In this paper, we discuss how we could approach the boundary problem in real estate prediction. We propose a new comprehensive inference model extending and adapting XGBoost to the domain that has the boundary conditions problem by utilizing the distance between the instances in the domain data set to make the layers of bumpy boundaries smooth for more accurate predictions and robustness against the domain data set. The experiments result showed our proposed method performed well on both hypothetical data sets and actual real estate price data. © 2022 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.

Predicting Increase in Demand for Public Buses in University Students Daily Life Needs: Case Study Based on a City in Japan

Accessibility and economic sustainability of public bus services (PBS) have been in a continuous decline in Japan’s countryside. Rural cities also suffer from population transformation toward industrial centers experiencing rapid economic growth. In the present study, we reviewed the current demand status of PBS in Kitami, a rural city in Japan that hosts a national university. The investigation was performed by examining students’ daily lives using a survey to collect data representing a portion of the population. The objective was to predict the change in demand rate for PBS concerning the necessities of everyday life from the perspective of university students as potential users of PBS. Intuitively, decision-makers at every level display a distinct prejudice toward alternatives that intend to change the long-lasting status quo, hence in the question sequence, a two-step verification probe was used to reveal a person’s actual perceived opinion. Accordingly, the respondents’ initial demand rate for PBS was around 60%; however, this score increased to 71% in the secondary confirmation. Afterward, using machine learning-based prediction methods, we could predict this demand at over 90% of F-measure, with the most reliable and stable prediction method reaching 80% by other daily life indicators’ weight. Finally, we supplied thorough evidence for our approach’s usability by collecting and processing the data’s right set regarding this study’s objective. This method’s highlighted outcomes would help to reduce the local governments’ and relevant initiatives’ adaptability time to demands and improve decision-making flexibility.

The Transformation of the “Command Center of Science and Technology” and the Decline of Japan’s Research Capabilities

The Transformation of the “Command Center of Science and Technology” and the Decline of Japan’s Research Capabilities

Factors associated with birthweight decline in Japan (1980\u20132004)

BackgroundBirthweight has been declining consistently for more than 30 years in Japan. This rapid rise in low birthweight is one of the worst among the countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. We examined potential determinants of birthweight decline in Japan.MethodsWe used population-based birth certificate data from vital statistics records and retrieved 40,968,266 birth certificates of neonates born between 1980 and 2004. We analyzed time trends using linear regression analysis in examining whether the decline in birthweight could be explained by obstetrical variables such as gestational age and multiple gestations.ResultsFrom 1980 to 2004, we observed a decline in mean birthweight with a yearly effect of − 8.07 g, which became steeper after 1985, persisted until 1999, and plateaued thereafter. After adjusting for gestational age, gender, birth order, multiple gestations, and fathers’ age, the yearly effect between 1980 and 2004 persisted at − 5.13 g.ConclusionRecent decreases in birthweight among Japanese neonates were not fully explained by trends in gestational age, gender, birth order, multiple gestations, and fathers’ age. Thus, additional factors such as pre-pregnancy maternal body mass index (BMI) and maternal diet should be considered. Reducing the rate of induced deliveries and improving the BMI or diet of young women should be a public health priority.

Supply Chain Disruptions: Evidence from the Great East Japan Earthquake*

AbstractExploiting the exogenous and regional nature of the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011, this article provides a quantification of the role of input-output linkages as a mechanism for the propagation and amplification of shocks. We document that the disruption caused by the disaster propagated upstream and downstream along supply chains, affecting the direct and indirect suppliers and customers of disaster-stricken firms. Using a general equilibrium model of production networks, we then obtain an estimate for the overall macroeconomic impact of the disaster by taking these propagation effects into account. We find that the earthquake and its aftermaths resulted in a 0.47 percentage point decline in Japan’s real GDP growth in the year following the disaster.

Deteriorating Employment and Marriage Decline in Japan

As is the case in Western countries, more Japanese are marrying later or remaining unmarried and are postponing childbearing or staying childless. Previous studies revealed that those individuals who were unable to secure regular employment due to the serious recession between the mid-1990s and mid-2000s, labelled a “lost generation,” had a very low marriage rate. But what about subsequent cohorts? Using a discrete-time logit model to analyse Japanese Life Course Panel Survey data, this study investigates the effects of employment on first marriages between 2007 and 2015, including cohorts after the lost generation. The results indicate that: (a) among men who are classed as non-regular employees, unemployed, or low-income regular employees, the likelihood of first marriage is low due to their weak economic position; and (b) women have a low likelihood of first marriage if they are non-regular employees or unemployed, not because of their employment status but because they have less chance of meeting a romantic partner and also because of their values regarding work and marriage. These explicit gender differences in the findings contradict observations made in contemporary Europe and North America, where a trend towards gender convergence in the effects of employment and earnings on marriage has been identified. The ambivalence towards gender equality in family and the workplace will be discussed to understand why many young Japanese remain single.

What happened to the world's potential growth after the 2008–2009 global financial crisis?

This paper provides estimates of potential growth for 52 economies in 2000–2018. We follow Borio et al.’s (2014, 2017) methodology, which takes into account the relationship between financial factors and the output gap. We find that the world's potential growth declined from an average of 3.0% in 2000–2007 to 2.6% in 2010–2018. Potential growth peaked before the crisis at 3.4% in 2006. The trough was in 2009 at 2.3%. Potential growth started recovering in 2010 and reached 2.9% in 2018. Decomposing the 0.4 percentage points decline between 2000–2007 and 2010–2018 by economy, we find that high-income Europe contributed 0.34 percentage points. The decline in potential growth in the United States contributed 0.24 percentage points, while the decline in Japan contributed just 0.07 percentage points. China's potential growth and that of Asia and the Pacific also fell, but their contributions to the change in the world's potential growth were positive, 0.33 percentage points and 0.11 percentage points, respectively. The other economies contributed 0.19 percentage points to the decline. Decomposing the sources of the decline into the contributions of labor force growth and labor productivity growth, the former declined by 0.55 percentage points, while labor productivity growth increased by 0.15 percentage points.

ART FESTIVALS AND RURAL REVITALIZATION: ORGANIZING THE OKU-NOTO TRIENNALE IN JAPAN

Organizing rural art festivals is considered an effective intervention in support of rural revitalization in the face of aging and population decline in Japan. Several studies have identified the impacts of art festivals on economic and social rural development internationally. Little research, however, has focused on the management process of such festivals. The objective of this paper is to identify and examine the management processes crucial to an arts festival’s success, especially in terms of preparation, organization and community outreach. We focus on the first edition of the Oku-Noto Triennale, which took place in Suzu City, a remote coastal area of rural Japan in 2017. The Triennale was held from September 3, 2017 to October 22, 2017 with 39 groups of artists. Data for this study was primarily obtained through qualitative interviews with Suzu’s City Office, the coordinator of theArt Front Gallery, a Tokyo-based art gallery, and community members involved in the festival. Our case study revealed thatseveral factors were found to be crucial to the festival’s success. The organizing team’s flexibility, for example, assigning additional municipalities’ employees to site operations, was pivotal. Experienced actors, such as outside professionals and residents with prior experience organizing previous projects, who could address and overcome the difficulties they faced during the preparation, also deserve mention. The festival also succeeded due to the involvement of residents. In total, 1,176 people were involved as registered supporters, and 434 residents were involved as local volunteers during the festival (counted in working-days). The organizing team worked hard to convey the underlying concept of the art festival to the local residents. By organizing the festival, the residents met and formed bonds with new people and also strengthened their ties with one another.

Pathogenicity and Distribution of Fusarium solani Isolates Associated with Erythrina Decline in Japan.

Erythrina spp. trees have been declining since the 2000s worldwide, and fungi belonging to Fusarium solani species complex (FSSC) have been suggested to be a causal factor of decline and mortality of Erythrina variegata trees in Okinawa Island, Japan. In addition to the FSSC isolate grouped as "it-1" based on ITS sequence data (previously called strain A), we conducted an inoculation experiment with two isolates grouped as "it-2" (previously strain B), which is genetically close to it-1. Two it-2 isolates originating from two islands showed pathogenicity to E. variegata with the same symptoms as those caused by it-1 isolate. We also found the isolates of it-1 and it-2 were widely distributed, including on Ishigaki Island, ∼400 km south of Okinawa Island across the ocean. All isolates of it-1 and it-2 belong to the ambrosia Fusarium clade of the FSSC, a group of symbionts of ambrosia beetles, including the pathogens of Fusarium dieback in avocados and teas. The detection of ambrosia beetles Euwallacea spp. from our specimens provided information on the vectors of the pathogens. Our present results suggest the fungi of the FSSC could be responsible for the Erythrina decline in other areas with damage.

Native and non-native frogs responded differently to modernization at Japanese paddy fields

Rice farming modernizations, especially changes in the irrigation system, have been accused as one of the reasons of frog population decline in Japan. Here, we examined responses of native frog, Daruma pond frog (Pelophylax porosus porosus) and non-native frog, Rice frog (Fejervarya kawamurai) population to the modernization in Japanese paddy field. We tested the following two hypotheses: 1) native frog’s density will be lower in the modernized paddy field, and 2) non-native frog density will not be affected by modernization. After two periods of field studies (2017 and 2018), we found that native frog’s density is indeed lower in modernized paddy fields, and the non-native frog’s density is lower in the non-modernized sites. Presumably, changes of shallow soil ditches to concrete ditches in modernized paddy fields act as a death trap for Daruma pond frog. Ditch depth and the distance from forest also significantly affecting the density of Daruma pond frog. On the other hand, the population of Rice frog did not show any negative response to the modernizations. The non-native frog population remained stable because they may have high fecundity.

Ecological relationship between social capital and cognitive decline in Japan: A preliminary study for dementia-friendly communities.

Building community social capital is important for socially inclusive societies, leading to dementia-friendly communities. However, quantitative evidence is currently lacking regarding the effectiveness of dementia-friendly communities, including the association with community social capital. The current study examined the ecological relationship between social capital and the proportion of people with cognitive decline. Data were obtained from population-based, cross-sectional surveys (mail-in questionnaire survey and home-interview survey) of community-dwelling older adults aged ≥65 years, living in 17 district areas in Machida City, Tokyo, Japan. Social capital included social networks (neighborly ties) and social support (emotional support and instrumental support). Cognitive function was assessed using the Mini-Mental State Examination, Japanese version (with a cut-off of 23/24). The proportions of people with high social capital and cognitive decline (Mini-Mental State Examination, Japanese version ≤23) were calculated for residential districts and used in the analysis. The district-level social capital indicators were positively and moderately correlated with the proportion of people with cognitive decline. After adjusting for the aging rate, educational level and population density of the district, an ordinal logistic regression analysis showed that higher proportions of people with strong neighborly ties and people with strong instrumental support were significantly associated with a higher proportion of people with cognitive decline. This trend was stronger among women than men. People can continue to live in communities with high social capital, even if they are experiencing cognitive decline. Although this study was preliminary, it provided empirical evidence for the benefits of promoting dementia-friendly communities. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2019; 19: 950-955.