Neighboring Prefectures Research Articles

Attitudes toward future child-rearing among male and female adults without children in different prefectures at 11 years after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident

This study aimed to determine whether confidence in future childbearing and child-rearing in relation to radiation exposure differs among people without children in Fukushima Prefecture, its neighboring prefectures (Tochigi, Ibaraki, and Miyagi), and other prefectures, and among men and women at 11 years after the nuclear accident. In February 2022, a cross-sectional online survey was conducted using an Internet research company. A total of 985 people were surveyed: 240 from Fukushima, 305 from neighboring prefectures, and 440 from other prefectures. The proportion of women who were confident about future childbearing was low and the confidence was associated with radiation-related risk perceptions in both Fukushima and neighboring prefectures. The results suggest that the more people want to have children in the future, the more likely they will be able to discuss radiation, and the less likely they will be able to believe that radiation has a low impact on their partners. Therefore, it is necessary to create an environment where people can openly discuss radiation, and to examine factors that affect confidence in future childbearing and child-rearing by gender and prefecture.

Young people\u2019s perspectives of thyroid cancer screening and its harms after the nuclear accident in Fukushima Prefecture: a questionnaire survey indicating opt-out screening strategy of the thyroid examination as an ethical issue

BackgroundOverdiagnosis of thyroid cancer has become a major global medical issue. Ultrasound-based thyroid cancer screening has promoted overdiagnosis, and recently international recommendations state that it should not be conducted, even after a nuclear accident. The Fukushima thyroid cancer screening program was initiated in 2011 as a health policy after the nuclear accident. The risk of radiation-induced thyroid cancer was unlikely given the low radiation levels, but the thyroid cancer screening program has continued at 2-year intervals with a relatively high participation rate and is now in its fifth round. It is therefore crucial to clarify whether those targeted for screening understand the disadvantages of screening, and to identify factors that influenced their decision to participate.MethodsWe conducted an anonymous mail-based questionnaire among young people from Fukushima Prefecture (subjects) and a neighboring prefecture that was not targeted for screening (non-subjects). We asked them about the significance of the thyroid cancer screening in Fukushima Prefecture, their reasons for accepting or refusing screening, their perception of the harms of screening, and their opinions on thyroid examination at school. We compared the results of the questionnaire between subjects and non-subjects and between examinees (who were screened) and non-examinees (who declined screening).ResultsOnly 16.5% of respondents were aware of the harms associated with thyroid cancer screening, with most perceiving that the benefits outweighed the harms. Comparison of subjects’ and non-subjects’ responses showed there were no significant differences between the two groups. Among subjects, there were also no differences in responses between examinees and non-examinees. The most common reason for participation in screening was that the screening was conducted in schools and perceived as obligatory.ConclusionsThese results highlighted a serious ethical issue in that school-based screening leads to making young people think that it is mandatory screening in an opt-out and default setting manner, with a lack of knowledge about the disadvantages of screening. Based on the autonomy of the subjects and the ethical principle of the post-disaster, surveys after a nuclear disaster should be conducted in an opt-in style without an opt-out style such as school-based screening.

Genetic Population Structure of Wild Boars (Sus scrofa) in Fukushima Prefecture.

Simple SummaryAfter the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident, a highly contaminated area with radionuclide appeared and was designated a difficult-to-return zone (DRZ). After that, the increase in number of wild boars (Sus scrofa) has been pronounced in DRZ, and the spread of highly contaminated wild boars into other areas is cause for concern. Understanding the population structure based on the genetic diversity of wild boars in Fukushima provides important information for the management of the animals. In this study, we carried out MIG-seq analysis to clarify the dispersal and gene flow of the local wild boar population and uncover the genetic population boundary in Fukushima. We obtained 328 single-nucleotide polymorphisms from 179 wild boars. Based on STRUCTURE analysis, we found significant genetic differences between groups of wild boars inhabiting in the east and west, divided by the Abukuma River. Since the urbanized area is concentrated along the Abukuma River in Fukushima, both the Abukuma River and the urbanized area are likely to interfere in the migration and dispersal of wild boars. Furthermore, our results indicate that the population in the western area was established by the migration from other neighboring prefectures rather than by that from the eastern group of Fukushima Prefecture.We aimed to reveal the dispersal and gene flow of the local wild boar (Sus scrofa) population and find their genetic boundary in Fukushima Prefecture. After the nuclear incident in 2011, the land was considered a difficult-to-return zone, and the increase in the number of wild boars was pronounced. To provide an effective management strategy for the wild boar population, we used multiplexed inter-simple sequence repeat genotyping by sequencing (MIG-seq) and clarified the genetic structure of wild boars. We obtained 328 single-nucleotide polymorphisms from 179 samples. STRUCTURE analysis showed that the most likely number of population cluster was K = 2. Molecular analysis of variance showed significant genetic differences between groups of wild boars inhabiting in the east and west across the Abukuma River. The migration rate from the eastern population to the western population is higher than in the reverse case based on BayesAss analysis. Our study indicates that both the Abukuma River and anthropogenic urbanization along the river may affect the migration of wild boars and the population in western was established mainly by the migration from other neighboring prefectures.

The Mental Health of Long-Term Evacuees outside Fukushima Prefecture after the Great East Japan Earthquake.

Ten years after the Great East Japan Earthquake, thousands of residents of Fukushima Prefecture were still living as evacuees. Among them, unignorable numbers of people were living outside of the prefecture. A survey was conducted with evacuees to Ibaraki, the neighboring prefecture of Fukushima, to investigate their medium- to long-term mental care needs. A questionnaire was sent to 1,470 households that had been living in Fukushima on March 11, 2011, and who were evacuated to Ibaraki by October 2016. Binary logistic regression analyses were performed to identify risk factors for major depressive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and suicidal ideation. Of the participants, 16.5% had a high risk for major depressive disorder, 39.0% exhibited a high risk for PTSD, and 19.7% indicated suicidal ideation. "Own injuries and illnesses" and "Worries about the hometown" were risk factors for major depressive disorder, PTSD, and suicidal ideation. "Not receiving compensation for damages" was a risk factor common to major depressive disorder and suicidal ideation. There is a high possibility that many people who have evacuated to other prefectures might still be suffering from psychological symptoms after the disaster. Worries about their hometowns were highly related to their mental disorders.

Surveillance system assessment in Guinea: Training needed to strengthen data quality and analysis, 2016.

The 2014–2016 Ebola virus disease outbreak revealed the fragility of the Guinean public health infrastructure. As a result, the Guinean Ministry of Health is collaborating with international partners to improve compliance with the International Health Regulations and work toward the Global Health Security Agenda goals, including enhanced case- and community-based disease surveillance. We assessed the case-based disease surveillance system during October 1, 2015–March 31, 2016, in the Boffa prefecture of Guinea. We conducted onsite interviews with public health staff at the peripheral (health center), middle (prefectural), and central (Ministry of Health) levels of the public health system to document leadership structure; methods for maintaining case registers and submitting weekly case reports; disease surveillance feedback; data analysis; and baseline surveillance information on four epidemic-prone diseases (cholera, meningococcal meningitis, measles, and yellow fever). The surveillance system was simple and paper-based at health centers and computer spreadsheet–based at the prefectural and central levels. Surveillance feedback to stakeholders at all levels was infrequent. Data analysis activities were minimal at the peripheral levels and progressively more robust at the prefectural and central levels. Reviewing the surveillance reports from Boffa during the study period, we observed zero reported cases of the four epidemic-prone diseases in the weekly reporting from the peripheral to the central level. Similarly, the national District Health Information System 2 had no reported cases of the four diseases in Boffa but did indicate reported cases among all four neighboring prefectures. Based on the assessment findings, which suggest low sensitivity of the case-based disease surveillance system in Boffa, we recommend additional training and support to improve surveillance data quality and enhance Guinean public health workforce capacity to use these data.

Perinatal mortality after the Fukushima accident: a spatiotemporal analysis

Objective. This study investigates the trend of perinatal mortality rates in Fukushima Prefecture and four neighboring prefectures (Miyagi, Gunma, Tochigi, and Ibaraki) after the disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in March 2011. Material and methods. Japanese monthly perinatal mortality data on a prefecture level are available on a website of the Japanese government. A combined regression of perinatal mortality rates from the study region and the rest of Japan (the control region) is conducted. The regression model allows for an asymptotic lower limit and a level change of perinatal mortality rates in 2012–2017 in the study region relative to the predicted trend. Results. In 2012–2017, perinatal mortality in the study region shows a significant 10.6% increase relative to the trend in preceding years (p = 0.006). The excess mortality translates to 195 (95% CI: 28, 462) excess perinatal deaths. The increase is three times greater in Fukushima Prefecture than in the four neighboring prefectures and the difference in excess rates is statistically significant (p = 0.010). Periodic peaks of perinatal mortality are found in 2012–2017 with maxima around April. Conclusion. We find an increase in perinatal mortality in Fukushima and four neighboring prefectures after the Fukushima nuclear accident. The results agree with similar observations in Germany and Ukraine after the Chernobyl disaster. Due to its ecological design, the study cannot prove a causal link between radiation exposure and perinatal mortality. Continued observation of the trend of perinatal mortality in contaminated regions of Japan is recommended.

Destruction and Reconstruction in Cinematic Portrayals of Tokyo

Since becoming the globe’s most populous city in the early eighteenth century, Tokyo has risen, collapsed and boomed again as no other metropolis. For 300 years spectacular bursts of growth occurred against a background of earthquakes, fires and floods, until in 1923 a horrific quake wiped it out. The bombing of the rebuilt city in 1945 was deadlier than the atomic attacks on Hiroshima or Nagasaki. Relative seismic and political stability after the war underpinned an economic miracle and transformed Tokyo into a global business and cultural icon, but the ‘lost decades’ that followed brought back socioeconomic uncertainty and undercurrents of anxiety. Manmade calamities, including a terrorist attack on the subway in 1995 and a nuclear leak in a neighboring prefecture in 1999, shook confidence in a city that normally enjoys high health and safety standards, while the massive earthquake and tsunami in Fukushima in 2011, just 240 km away, reminded inhabitants of the tectonic time bomb underneath them. Not surprisingly, physical, social and psychological fragility feature prominently in cinematic portrayals of Tokyo, with destruction and reconstruction of the cityscape and of the lives of those who inhabit it a common theme. Cinematic stories typically revolve around characters dwelling on the past, living cautiously for the moment or fearing the future. This paper explores how directors have incorporated physical destruction and socioeconomic devastation into their depictions of the city, focusing particularly on the use of images of the built environment.

Comparison of Citrus tachibana Collected in Nara and Neighboring Prefectures by Gene Analysis

Comparison of <i>Citrus tachibana</i> Collected in Nara and Neighboring Prefectures by Gene Analysis

Relationship between Individual External Doses, Ambient Dose Rates and Individuals' Activity-Patterns in Affected Areas in Fukushima following the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident.

The accident at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant on March 11, 2011, released radioactive material into the atmosphere and contaminated the land in Fukushima and several neighboring prefectures. Five years after the nuclear disaster, the radiation levels have greatly decreased due to physical decay, weathering, and decontamination operations in Fukushima. The populations of 12 communities were forced to evacuate after the accident; as of March 2016, the evacuation order has been lifted in only a limited area, and permanent habitation is still prohibited in most of the areas. In order for the government to lift the evacuation order and for individuals to return to their original residential areas, it is important to assess current and future realistic individual external doses. Here, we used personal dosimeters along with the Global Positioning System and Geographic Information System to understand realistic individual external doses and to relate individual external doses, ambient doses, and activity-patterns of individuals in the affected areas in Fukushima. The results showed that the additional individual external doses were well correlated to the additional ambient doses based on the airborne monitoring survey. The results of linear regression analysis suggested that the additional individual external doses were on average about one-fifth that of the additional ambient doses. The reduction factors, which are defined as the ratios of the additional individual external doses to the additional ambient doses, were calculated to be on average 0.14 and 0.32 for time spent at home and outdoors, respectively. Analysis of the contribution of various activity patterns to the total individual external dose demonstrated good agreement with the average fraction of time spent daily in each activity, but the contribution due to being outdoors varied widely. These results are a valuable contribution to understanding realistic individual external doses and the corresponding airborne monitoring-based ambient doses and time-activity patterns of individuals. Moreover, the results provide important information for predicting future cumulative doses after the return of residents to evacuation order areas in Fukushima.

Origins of recently re‐established and newly discovered populations of the endangered butterfly Shijimiaeoides divinus (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) in Oita Prefecture, Japan

AbstractThe endangered butterfly Shijimiaeoides divinus was believed to have been extirpated from Oita Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan, but was rediscovered in Taketa in recent years. This population is considered to have re‐established as a result of natural dispersal from Kumamoto, a neighboring prefecture located to the west of Oita. Furthermore, another population was recently found in Yufu, Oita Prefecture, which is an area where the species had never been recorded. To elucidate the origins of these two populations newly found from Oita Prefecture, their DNA sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene were compared with those of other S. divinus populations from Kumamoto Prefecture, Honshu and Korea. The results supported the hypothesis that the Taketa population originated from Kumamoto Prefecture. However, it was not clear whether this population originated from the natural dispersal or deliberate release of individuals. It was also found that the Yufu population was not established by the deliberate release of individuals from Honshu or Korea; however, it remained unclear whether the population of S. divinus was native to Yufu, or originated from other localities in Kyushu.

Maintaining a surgery service for local hospitals under the situation of a decreasing number of surgeons in a region of Japan.

BackgroundThe number of surgeons is decreasing in Japan, leading to the problem of how to maintain a surgery service in local hospitals. We introduce our strategy for supporting ongoing surgical services in regional hospitals by dispatching surgeons temporarily to assist in operations.MethodsWe conducted a questionnaire-based survey at three local hospitals in Tottori and a neighboring prefecture to which surgeons from our department were temporarily dispatched over 5 years from January 2008 to March 2013.ResultsWe supported 686 operations at three hospitals over 5 years. The average age of the patients was 72.4 years. Of the diseases treated, 45.1 % were malignant, and 54.9 % were benign. The emergency operation rate was 17.3 %.ConclusionsOur strategy has produced a continuous surgical service at local hospitals in the face of diminishing numbers of surgeons. We recommend that such a strategy be adopted in other regions in which there are a decreasing number of surgeons and where it is not easy to move patients elsewhere for care.

Antimicrobial Resistance and Molecular Typing of Neisseria gonorrhoeae Isolates in Kyoto and Osaka, Japan, 2010 to 2012: Intensified Surveillance after Identification of the First Strain (H041) with High-Level Ceftriaxone Resistance

In 2009, the first high-level ceftriaxone-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae strain (H041) was isolated in Kyoto, Japan. The present study describes an intensified surveillance (antimicrobial resistance and molecular typing) of Neisseria gonorrhoeae isolates in Kyoto and its neighboring prefecture Osaka, Japan, in 2010 to 2012, which was initiated after the identification of H041. From April 2010 to March 2012, 193 N. gonorrhoeae isolates were collected and the MICs (μg/ml) to six antimicrobials, including ceftriaxone, were determined. All isolates showed susceptibility to ceftriaxone and cefixime (MIC values, <0.5 μg/ml), and spectinomycin. The rates of resistance (intermediate susceptibility) to azithromycin, penicillin G, and ciprofloxacin were 3.6% (19.7%), 24.4% (71.0%), and 78.2% (0.5%), respectively. Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) showed that 40.9%, 19.2%, and 17.1% of isolates belonged to ST1901, ST7359, and ST7363, respectively. Furthermore, N. gonorrhoeae multiantigen sequence typing (NG-MAST) revealed that 12 (63%) of the 19 isolates with decreased susceptibility to ceftriaxone (MIC > 0.064 μg/ml) were of ST1407. NG-MAST ST1407 was also the most prevalent ST (16.1%; 31 of 193 isolates). In those NG-MAST ST1407 strains, several mosaic type penA alleles were found, including SF-A type (penicillin binding protein 2 allele XXXIV) and its derivatives. These were confirmed using transformation of the penA mosaic alleles as critical determinants for enhanced cefixime and ceftriaxone MICs. The intensified surveillance in Kyoto and Osaka, Japan, did not identify any dissemination of the high-level ceftriaxone-resistant N. gonorrhoeae strain H041, suggesting that H041 might have caused only a sporadic case and has not spread further.

Global Transport and Deposition of 137Cs Following the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Accident in Japan: Emphasis on Europe and Asia Using High–Resolution Model Versions and Radiological Impact Assessment of the Human Population and the Environment Using Interactive Tools

The earthquake and the subsequent tsunami that occurred offshore of Japan resulted in an important loss of life and a serious accident at the nuclear facility of Fukushima. The "hot spots" of the release are evaluated here applying the model LMDZORINCA for (137)Cs. Moreover, an assessment is attempted for the population and the environment using the dosimetric scheme of the WHO and the interactive tool ERICA, respectively. Cesium-137 was deposited mostly in Pacific and Atlantic Oceans and North Pole (80%), whereas the rest in the continental areas of North America and Eurasia contributed slightly to the natural background (0.5-5.0 kBq m(-2)). The effective dose from (137)Cs and (134)Cs (radiocesium) irradiation during the first 3 months was estimated between 1-5 mSv in Fukushima and the neighboring prefectures. In the rest of Japan, the respective doses were found to be less than 0.5 mSv, whereas in the rest of the world it was less than 0.1 mSv. Such doses are equivalent with the obtained dose from a simple X-ray; for the highly contaminated regions, they are close to the dose limit for exposure due to radon inhalation (10 mSv). The calculated dose rates from radiocesium exposure on reference organisms ranged from 0.03 to 0.18 μGy h(-1), which are 2 orders of magnitude below the screening dose limit (10 μGy h(-1)) that could result in obvious effects on the population. However, these results may underestimate the real situation, since stable soil density was used in the calculations, a zero radiocesium background was assumed, and dose only from two radionuclides was estimated, while more that 40 radionuclides have been deposited in the vicinity of the facility. When monitoring data applied, much higher dose rates were estimated certifying ecological risk for small mammals and reptiles in terms of cytogenetic damage and reproduction.

Matching System within Clinical Training Facilities Group of Clinical Dental Training in Tokyo Dental College Chiba Hospital

Since clinical dental training became mandatory in April 2006, Tokyo Dental College Chiba Hospital has been offering the following two types of training system: 1. a single system, and 2. a clinical training facilities group system. The clinical training facilities group system consists of program B, in which residents are trained in a cooperation-type clinical training facility for 3-4 months, and program C, in which residents are trained in two cooperation-type clinical training facilities for 7-8 months. A matching system within the clinical training facilities group is applied to select and decide on the cooperation-type clinical training facility for residents. In this system, the ranking of resident candidates that a cooperation-type clinical training facility would like to accept, and the ranking of training facilities that candidates choose are matched. The present study investigated the matching system within the clinical training facilities group in 2006, 2007, and 2008. The rate of matching to their third choice was more than 90% in program B and about 80% in program C in each year, suggesting a high matching rate. The percentage of cooperation-type clinical training facilities accepting dental residents dropped due to a decrease in the number of such residents. The distribution of accepted cooperation-type clinical training facilities is concentrated in Chiba Prefecture where our hospital, the management-type clinical training facility, is located, and the neighboring prefectures.

Land use and cover change in Japan and Tokyo’s appetite for meat

Urban consumption of ecosystems services such as food generates environmental impacts at different geographical scales. In the last few decades Tokyoites have shown an increasing appetite for meat. This study examines the environmental implications of Tokyo’s increasing meat consumption by analyzing how this trend has affected land use and cover change in areas near and far away. Historical databases (1970–2005) are employed in order to explore meat consumption patterns in Tokyo and to relate it with beef and pork production in areas within the country and abroad. It also integrates the historical analysis of production and consumption patterns with a discussion of the drivers (e.g., wealth, price, policies and seafood availability) behind these trends. We identified that meat production in Japan followed three distinct phases between 1877 and 2005. In the first period it took 50 years for production to increase by 50%, while during the next phase production showed the same growth in just half the time. Major changes in land use/cover change because of domestic meat production occurred mainly during the second phase and, thereafter, when domestic production declined and was substituted to a great extent by imports. Despite the increasing consumption of imported meat, Tokyo relies greatly on domestic meat produced in its neighboring prefectures. The paper concludes that regional planning can be used as an effective instrument to protect the environment and secure protein for the population of mega-urban areas such as Tokyo.

Corrected empirical Bayes confidence intervals in nested error regression models

In the small area estimation, the empirical best linear unbiased predictor (EBLUP) or the empirical Bayes estimator (EB) in the linear mixed model is recognized to be useful because it gives a stable and reliable estimate for a mean of a small area. In practical situations where EBLUP is applied to real data, it is important to evaluate how much EBLUP is reliable. One method for the purpose is to construct a confidence interval based on EBLUP. In this paper, we obtain an asymptotically corrected empirical Bayes confidence interval in a nested error regression model with unbalanced sample sizes and unknown components of variance. The coverage probability is shown to satisfy the confidence level in the second-order asymptotics. It is numerically revealed that the corrected confidence interval is superior to the conventional confidence interval based on the sample mean in terms of the coverage probability and the expected width of the interval. Finally, it is applied to the posted land price data in Tokyo and the neighboring prefecture.

Introduction of Activities of a Private Association of Chemical Education

CEAT is short for Chemical Education Assembly Tokyo, a private association of chemical education. It has around 200members which include not only senior high school teachers in Tokyo and its neighboring prefectures but also teachers at colleges and graduate students. The Association specializes developing practical ways of conducting experiments in senior high schools.

Prevalence of Epstein–Barr virus in Japan: Trends and future prediction

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is the causative agent of infectious mononucleosis and some malignancies including EBV-associated-lymphomas. A large portion of adults all over the world are infected with EBV. In children, however, there are geographic variations. Most of the children in Asia and in other developing countries are infected in their early life, before 1 year of age (>90% of 5-9-year-old children are infected), while the age of primary infection is delayed in Western countries (approx. 50% of 5-9-year-old children are infected). The purpose of the present paper was to investigate the recent time trend of the EBV seropositivity among 5-7-year-old children living in Tokyo and its neighboring prefectures. Indirect immunofluorescein study for IgG antibody to viral capsid antigen was performed on 442 archival sera. Before the early 1990s, >80% of 5-7-year-old children were found to be seropositive, while the positivity rate decreased to 59% (P < 0.001) for the years 1995-1999. These results also showed that the delay in the age of primary infection is continuing and that the rate is estimated to be <50% in 2006. This result suggests that the delay will affect the incidence of EBV-associated disorders in Japan.

ECONOMIC EVALUATION OF YODO RIVER PARK BY TRAVEL COST METHOD

Yodo river park, the first government-managed river park in Japan, has annual visitors of about 5 million and has become one of the most important parks in Osaka and its neighboring prefectures. The park also plays a role to protect or preserve natural river environment and is composed of four types ofareas according to purposes. The actural condition of various functions and utilization of the park has never been investigated sufficiently since the park was open to the public. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the utilization of the park economically using a questionnaire survey result and visitors number data by the park administrator. A relation between characteristics of the areas and the benefit of the utilization is investigated. Annual benefit of the park is over 2.7 billion yen.

Mutagenicity of drinking water and the relation to total organic halogen

Concentrates of drinking water in Tokyo and the neighboring prefecture were tested with Ames assays. The correlation of mutagenesis with total organic halogen (TOX) indicated that TOX of 100 μ g/l was equivalent to 300 net rev./l with TA100.