Eastern Japan Research Articles

Complete Genome Sequences of Getah Virus Strains Isolated from Horses in 2016 in Japan.

ABSTRACTGetah virus is mosquito-borne and causes disease in horses and pigs. We sequenced and analyzed the complete genomes of three strains isolated from horses in Ibaraki Prefecture, eastern Japan, in 2016. They were almost identical to the genomes of strains recently isolated from horses, pigs, and mosquitoes in Japan.

茨城県桂村で発見された中期中新世Stegolopbodon属(長鼻類)の下顎骨化石

茨城県桂村で発見された中期中新世Stegolopbodon属(長鼻類)の下顎骨化石

Hydroclimate reconstruction in central Japan over the past four centuries from tree-ring cellulose δ18O

The East Asian summer monsoon is an important part of the Earth's climate system that is characterized by variations in the strength and expansion of the summer rain band. Rainfall reconstructions in China have revealed changing patterns of rainfall during the Little Ice Age (LIA), but limited hydroclimate reconstruction around Japan have hindered detailed understanding of physical processes associated with the atmospheric system in the western North Pacific. Here, we report relative humidity variations in the Meiyu/Baiu season from 1600–1959 CE by using tree-ring cellulose oxygen isotopes from central Japan; this is the first record of the LIA from the easternmost regions of the East Asian monsoon domain. Our data suggest that the wettest period occurred around 1780–1880 CE corresponding to the final stage of the LIA. This shift was concurrent with sea surface temperature negative (positive) anomalies around the Philippines (off eastern Japan). We suggest that meridional atmospheric circulation was weak during the last stage of the LIA.

Spatial prediction of radioactive Cs concentration in agricultural soil in eastern Japan(SSPN AWARD)

Spatial prediction of radioactive Cs concentration in agricultural soil in eastern Japan(SSPN AWARD)

Risk Communication and the Disposal of Radioactive Debris: Answering Questions Without Questioning Answers

Between 2011 and 2014, the Japanese government conducted a ‘wide-area processing’ scheme to dispose of radioactive debris from Iwate and Miyagi prefectures following the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake and Tsunami. The scheme was designed to hasten recovery in those areas by disposing of radioactive debris in other regions. Although ‘wide-area processing’ was open to localities in all 47 prefectures, only 18 participated. Out of the 18 participants, nine explained their involvement to residents in Question and Answer (Q&A) sections posted on their homepages. This article examines those nine Q&As from the perspective of risk communication. It holds that different risk perceptions were held by localities on the one hand, and residents on the other. While the Q&As ostensibly represented a wider shift from a ‘deficit model’ of risk communication to a ‘democratic model’, they nonetheless operated hierarchically through the construction of ‘ambiguous risks’ as ‘simple risks’ to neglect the ‘concern assessment’ advocated by the International Risk Governance Council (IRGC). As such, the Q&As were employed as a moral technique to discipline local populations into accepting the radiation risks generated by the national government’s approach to reconstruction.

C4 グローバル化する災害復興支援におけるPM体系の役割について : スマトラ沖地震と東日本大震災からの教訓(安心・安全社会とインフラ,「産業構造転換と変革のためのプロジェクト・プログラム・マネジメント」-東日本大震災の教訓と日本復興のシナリオを探る-)

C4 グローバル化する災害復興支援におけるPM体系の役割について : スマトラ沖地震と東日本大震災からの教訓(安心・安全社会とインフラ,「産業構造転換と変革のためのプロジェクト・プログラム・マネジメント」-東日本大震災の教訓と日本復興のシナリオを探る-)

구로사와 아키라(黒澤明)의 영화 『꿈』(1990)에 그려진 삶과 죽음

It`s composed of Akira Kurosawa`s “dream” by an episode of 8. “Dream” was called director`s will. Because they`re director`s autobiography and a work for the old director. In particular, `Akahuzi` was watched again for `Eastern Japan great earthquake in 2011` and a nuclear accident. There is only a thesis about each episode for a movie “dream” up to now. And a subject about the whole movie isn`t learned about. This thesis is consideration about a view of life and death of “dream”. The meaning of each episode was analyzed in the theme of nature and `life` of a symbol of `death` and natural regression by human relation and break mainly. An episode from 1 to 3 drew the state of the man who forgot the nature symbolized by `kitune. peach and snow fairy`. Nature and the existence with which you can sympathize were KUROSAWA only, and experience of KUROSAWA was drawn. An episode from 4 to 7 drew self-murder and a human collapse by radioactivity and war as `death` from a feud with nature. But a director proposes life and death of natural by the 8th episode. I thought the work trying relief and prayer by the thing even the people who have achieved unfortunate death take in the nature again.

History of the great Kanto earthquakes inferred from the ages of Holocene marine terraces revealed by a comprehensive drilling survey

We measured the emergence ages of four marine terraces in the Chikura lowland, which lies to the southeast of the Boso Peninsula, in eastern Japan, to reevaluate the history of the great earthquake occurrences along the Sagami Trough over the past 10,000 years. The dates of the marine terraces are measured via radiocarbon dating of shell fossils obtained from the marine deposits. The sampling method employed in this study collects core samples using a dense and systematic drilling survey, which increased the reliability when correlating shell fossils with marine terraces. In addition, radiocarbon dating was performed with accelerator mass spectrometry, which produces more highly accurate measurements than those measured in previous studies. Moreover, we explored the surface profiles of the terraces with detailed digital elevation model (DEM) data obtained using LiDAR. The maximum emergence ages of the marine terraces were dated at 6300 cal yBP, 3000 cal yBP, and 2200 cal yBP from the top terrace excepting the lowest terrace (which was estimated at AD1703). In addition, another previously unrecognized terrace was detected between the highest and the second terrace in both the dating and the geomorphological analyses and was dated at 5800 cal yBP. The newly obtained ages are nearly a thousand of years younger than previously estimated ages; consequently, the intervals of the great earthquakes that occurred along the Sagami Trough are estimated to be much shorter and more varied than those of previous estimations. This result revises the data used in the current assessment of the probabilities of earthquakes along the Sagami Trough, which could devastate the Tokyo metropolitan area. Furthermore, it demonstrates that the current approach could be a powerful tool to increase the accuracy of assessments of the other areas with depositional marine terraces.

Taxonomic study on Japanese Salvia (Lamiaceae): Phylogenetic position of S. akiensis, and polyphyletic nature of S. lutescens var. intermedia.

Both Salvia akiensis and S. lutescens (Lamiaceae) are endemic to Japan. Salvia akiensis was recently described in 2014 in the Chugoku (= SW Honshu) region, and each four varieties of S. lutescens distributed allopatrically. Among varieties in S. lutescens, var. intermedia show a disjunctive distribution in the Kanto (=E Honshu) and Kinki (= W Honshu) regions. Recent field studies of S. lutescens var. intermedia revealed several morphological differences between the Kanto and Kinki populations. Here, I evaluated these differences among Salvia lutescens var. intermedia and its allies with morphological analysis and molecular phylogenetic analyses of nuclear ribosomal DNA (internal and external transcribed spacer regions) and plastid DNA (ycf1-rps15 spacer, rbcL, and trnL-F) sequences. Both morphological analysis and molecular phylogenetic analyses showed that S. lutescens var. intermedia from the Kinki region and var. lutescens were closely related to each other. However, var. intermedia from the Kanto region exhibited an association with S. lutescens var. crenata and var. stolonifera, which also grew in eastern Japan, rather than var. intermedia in the Kinki region. These results indicated that S. lutescens var. intermedia is not a taxon with a disjunctive distribution, but a combination of two or more allopatric taxa. Present study also suggested that S. akiensis was most closely related to S. omerocalyx.

The comprehensive role of general physicians is very important in the chronic phase of a disaster area: Beyond and after the Great East Japan Earthquake.

The Great East Japan Earthquake was a major earthquake, one of the largest (Magnitude 9.0) in Japan since 1900. 18 997 human lives were lost in the subsequent tsunami around the Sanriku coast of eastern Japan. Ishinomaki City, which was close to the epicenter, is one of the greatest locations that experienced of the greatest loss of human life: 3819 people. The Ishinomaki Red Cross Hospital (IRCH), which is the main trunk hospital of the Ishinomaki medical sphere, moved to a hill away from the Pacific Ocean in order to avoid future tsunami 5 years prior to the Great East Japan Earthquake. IRCH was therefore nearly intact and its functions were maintained after the Great East Japan Earthquake. Other neighboring medical facilities were in a catastrophic state; for emergency, patients were all concentrated at the IRCH, and the medical staff of IRCH became exhausted. In response, the Japanese Red Cross Society collected and transported physicians, nurses, pharmacists, medical engineers, and medical clerks, to IRCH from Red Cross hospitals across the country during the period of April to August 2011. The dispatched medical personnel operated a makeshift clinic on a rotating basis autonomously in the hospital to support the IRCH. In this temporary clinic, the primary and secondary emergency staff conducted the center's general practice.

コメント(人と「赤谷の森」の新たな関係-国有林・地域社会・ガバナンス-,2011年度東日本林業経済研究会シンポジウム)

コメント(人と「赤谷の森」の新たな関係-国有林・地域社会・ガバナンス-,2011年度東日本林業経済研究会シンポジウム)

はじめに(人と「赤谷の森」の新たな関係-国有林・地域社会・ガバナンス-,2011年度東日本林業経済研究会シンポジウム)

はじめに(人と「赤谷の森」の新たな関係-国有林・地域社会・ガバナンス-,2011年度東日本林業経済研究会シンポジウム)

第２報告 国有林野事業における赤谷プロジェクトの意義（人と「赤谷の森」の新たな関係-国有林・地域社会・ガバナンス- 2011年度東日本林業経済研究会シンポジウム）

第２報告 国有林野事業における赤谷プロジェクトの意義（人と「赤谷の森」の新たな関係-国有林・地域社会・ガバナンス- 2011年度東日本林業経済研究会シンポジウム）

第１報告 官民協働型森林管理における地域環境ガバナンスの実態と課題について（人と「赤谷の森」の新たな関係-国有林・地域社会・ガバナンス- 2011年度東日本林業経済研究会シンポジウム）

第１報告 官民協働型森林管理における地域環境ガバナンスの実態と課題について（人と「赤谷の森」の新たな関係-国有林・地域社会・ガバナンス- 2011年度東日本林業経済研究会シンポジウム）

A new species of the genus Mongolotettix Rehn, 1928 from Hubei, China (Acrididae, Acridoidea, Orthoptera).

The genus Mongolotettix Rehn, 1928 is a small genus of family Adrididae. It has nine species discovered from the Far Eastern Asian countries, including China, Japan, Korea, Mongolia, and Russia [Bolívar, 1898; Uvarov, 1914; Caudell, 1921; Chogsomzhav, 1974; Li et Lian, 1994; Wan, Ren et Zhang, 1998; Xie et Li, 2000, Kim et Kim 2005; Dong, et al, 2015; Shi et al, 2016; Storozhenko, 2016; Eades et al, 2017; Zhang et al, 2017]. In the present paper, we describe a new species of the genus from Hubei, China. Type specimens are deposited in the College of Plant Protection, Shandong Agricultural University, Taian, Shandong, China.

Invisible radiation reveals who we are as people: environmental complexity, gendered risk, and biopolitics after the Fukushima nuclear disaster

ABSTRACTThe March 2011 Tōhoku earthquake, and the subsequent tsunami and release of nuclear contamination from the Fukushima Daiichi power plant, is clearly one of the largest disasters of the past century and it has devastated large portions of eastern Japan. In this paper we explore the coping mechanisms of people navigating these landscapes of contamination, as well as examine state policies developed to deal with the disaster. We argue that there has been a significant discrepancy between state policies and the needs of people directly affected by the catastrophe. To more fully examine why this discrepancy exists – and how it is produced – we investigate the complex geographies of contamination and risk near the damaged Fukushima power plant through the conceptual lens of ‘wet ontologies’ coupled with an analysis of state strategies for the governance of the affected populations. In our research we found that Foucauldian theorizations on biopower, neoliberalism and environmental governance can help explain how nuclear power as a social institution can require states to sacrifice the well-being of hundreds of thousands of their citizens in ways that affect people in gendered and age-specific ways.

Smoothing effect for spatially distributed renewable resources and its impact on power grid robustness.

In this paper, we show that spatial correlation of renewable energy outputs greatly influences the robustness of the power grids against large fluctuations of the effective power. First, we evaluate the spatial correlation among renewable energy outputs. We find that the spatial correlation of renewable energy outputs depends on the locations, while the influence of the spatial correlation of renewable energy outputs on power grids is not well known. Thus, second, by employing the topology of the power grid in eastern Japan, we analyze the robustness of the power grid with spatial correlation of renewable energy outputs. The analysis is performed by using a realistic differential-algebraic equations model. The results show that the spatial correlation of the energy resources strongly degrades the robustness of the power grid. Our results suggest that we should consider the spatial correlation of the renewable energy outputs when estimating the stability of power grids.

S-wave reflection and surface wave surveys in liquefaction affected areas: a case study of the Hinode area, Itako, Ibaraki, Japan

Property damage results from liquefaction that occurs easily in soft sandy layers. Moreover, liquefaction damage tends to be more serious at locations where earthquake ground motions are locally amplified. It is commonly understood that ground stiffness is correlated with S-wave velocity (Vs); in addition, the structure of the local subsurface is important for predicting local earthquake ground motion. Surface wave and S-wave reflection surveys are efficient, non-destructive techniques used to obtain two-dimensional S-wave velocity distributions and to map subsurface structures. In this study, we performed surface wave and S-wave reflection surveys to investigate the Hinode area of Itako, Ibaraki, Japan. This area suffered serious liquefaction damage during the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake of 2011. Using subsurface boundaries imaged by the reflection surveys and the Vs structures obtained by surface wave analyses, it is possible to extrapolate geological and hydraulic information obtained by boring and cone penetration tests (CPTs). The combined information was used to delineate the layer in which liquefaction occurred, identified as an artificial layer of sandy dredged material, formed after 1970. The results of this study confirmed the effectiveness and applicability of geophysical surveys to the evaluation of the liquefaction potential. These methods enable us to predict the spatial distribution of liquefiable soils for future large earthquakes.

A case study of liquefaction risk analysis based on the thickness and depth of the liquefaction layer using CPT and electric resistivity data in the Hinode area, Itako City, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan

The Hinode area of Itako City in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan, suffered some of the most severe liquefaction damage of any areas in the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake in 2011. This liquefaction damage has been investigated by Itako City, as well as by universities and research institutes in Japan. The National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) has carried out numerous investigations along the Tone River, and in particular, intensive surveys were done in the Hinode area. We have conducted a risk analysis based on the thickness and depth of the liquefaction layer measured using cone penetration testing (CPT) data and electric resistivity data obtained in the Hinode area. The distribution of the risk estimated from CPT at 143 points, and that obtained from analysis of the resistivity survey data, agreed with the distribution of actual damage. We also carried out conventional risk analyses method using the liquefaction resistance factor (FL) and liquefaction potential index (PL) methods with CPT data. The results show high PL values over the entire area, but their distribution did not agree well with actual damage in some parts of the study area. Because the analysis of the thickness and depth of the liquefaction layer, using geophysical prospecting methods, can cover a widespread area, this method will be very useful in investigating liquefaction risk, especially for gas and water pipelines.

Shallow subsurface structure estimated from dense aftershock records and microtremor observations in Furukawa district, Miyagi, Japan

We conducted single-site and array observations of microtremors in order to revise the shallow subsurface structure of the Furukawa district, Miyagi, Japan, where severe residential damage was reported during the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake of 2011, off the Pacific coast of Tohoku. The phase velocities of Rayleigh waves are estimated from array observations at three sites, and S-wave velocity models are established. The spatial distribution of predominant periods is estimated for the surface layer, on the basis of the spectral ratio of horizontal and vertical components (H/V) of microtremors obtained from single-site observations. We then compared ground motion records from a dense seismometer network with results of microtremor observations, and revised a model of the shallow (~100 m) subsurface structure in the Furukawa district. The model implies that slower near-surface S-wave velocity and deeper basement are to be found in the southern and eastern areas. It was found that the damage in residential structures was concentrated in an area where the average value for the transfer functions in the frequency range of 2 to 4 Hz was large.