Wajima City Research Articles

Analysis of Leisure Activities and Residential Intentions in Depopulated Areas: A Case Study of Wajima City, Ishikawa Prefecture

Population outflow from rural areas represents a significant social issue in Japan. Data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications suggest that insufficient leisure options contribute to rural residents’ decisions to relocate. This study aims to examine the relationship between subjective well-being and the intention to reside in a specific region, considering the diversity of leisure activities available to rural residents. Our findings indicate that enhancing leisure activities improves subjective well-being but does not necessarily strengthen residents’ intentions to reside in the area. Notably, those partaking in wider areas for leisure activities exhibited a lower inclination to stay in the region. This study contributes to the understanding necessary for developing sustainable rural societies.

Role of physical therapists in providing care to older adults in welfare shelters during the hyper-acute phase of a disaster: lessons learned in Wajima City, Japan, after the 2024 Noto Peninsula earthquake

Natural disasters pose significant challenges to affected communities, particularly vulnerable populations such as older adults. The aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake highlighted the necessity of welfare shelters to provide essential care. However, little is known about the specific role of physical therapists in these shelters. The aim of this article is to share the experiences and contributions of physical therapists in a welfare shelter in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, immediately after the 2024 Noto Peninsula earthquake. The earthquake, with a magnitude of 7.6, damaged 76,589 houses, injured over 1,100 people, resulting in 245 deaths. The authors comprised a multidisciplinary team, including physical therapists, that provided short-term medical support at a welfare shelter in Wajima. Through several examples, we describe the contribution of physical therapists to evacuees' health outcomes. Physical therapists played multifaceted roles in the welfare shelter, optimizing living environments, conducting physical screenings, and delivering continuous medical care, including respiratory care and exercise programs. The involvement of physical therapists in post-disaster evacuation shelters is crucial for enhancing emergency health care delivery and promoting community resilience.

Operational Management and Improvement Strategies of Evacuation Centers during the 2024 Noto Peninsula Earthquake—A Case Study of Wajima City

Operational Management and Improvement Strategies of Evacuation Centers during the 2024 Noto Peninsula Earthquake—A Case Study of Wajima City

Development and implementation of a rehabilitation triage algorithm for disasters in the subacute phase: an experience from the 2024 Noto peninsula earthquake

Early rehabilitation during disasters such as earthquakes is an important but often undervalued responsibility of medical teams. Both the development of simple tools for assessing the life functioning of evacuees and the standardization of intervention methods are urgent issues in disaster rehabilitation. The Japanese Rehabilitation Assistance Team (JRAT), an officially recognized organization consisting of 10 suborganisations, was established after gaining important experience with disaster rehabilitation in the aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake. We, the Hiroshima JRAT, were dispatched to the Monzen area of Wajima City to support disaster recovery after the 2024 Noto Peninsula Earthquake. Since disaster rehabilitation assistance was not well established in the Monzen area of Wajima City, the medical team consulted JRAT for guidance on triaging evacuees based on their life functioning. We developed a rehabilitation triage algorithm that classifies evacuees into four triage tags based on their ability to perform three simple movements: sitting up, standing up from the floor, and one-leg standing. In our triage algorithm, an inability to sit up is classified as a red tag (difficulty living in a shelter without assistance), an inability to stand up from the floor is classified as a yellow tag (individual intervention: introduction of beds and handrails), one-leg standing for < 2 s is classified as a green tag (group intervention: installation of toilets and bath rails and use of walkers to prevent falls), and standing on one leg for more than 2 s is classified as a white tag (independent in ADLs). We worked with medical teams to triage 922 evacuees in 27 evacuation centers, resulting in the extraction of four red and eight yellow evacuees in 1 day. Our rehabilitation triage system has the potential to be a simple assessment tool for classifying the life functioning of disaster victims and linking them to appropriate supports.

Maintaining Shiroyone Senmaida, Wajima City, Japan: Dynamics of Rice Production by Various Actors

Maintaining Shiroyone Senmaida, Wajima City, Japan: Dynamics of Rice Production by Various Actors

A study of referendum on final industrial waste disposal facility in Wajima City

A study of referendum on final industrial waste disposal facility in Wajima City

Twenty Years after the Nakhodka Oil Spill Accident in the Sea of Japan, How Has Contamination Changed?

The Nakhodka, a Russian tanker loaded with 19,000 kL of C-type heavy oil, was broken up into sections and submerged off Oki Island, Shimane Prefecture, Japan on 2 January 1997. The bow, after drifting for four days, was wrecked off Anto, Sakai City (Mikuni), Fukui Prefecture, threatening the environment throughout the various shores of Ishikawa Prefecture. The accident, caused by a heavy oil spill of 6200 kL, created serious environmental problems along the shores of Hokuriku District. We report the characterization of C-type heavy oil 20 years after the accident at the Atake seashore, Wajima City, Ishikawa Prefecture, in the Sea of Japan, based on observations in the field on 18 January 2017. We studied the microstructure, mineralogy, chemical composition, and radioactivity associated with microorganisms in the soils, and buried fishing nets and ropes that were contaminated with C-type heavy oil from this spill. The analyses used a combination of micro techniques, analytical data based on a CHN analyzer, X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), and two kinds of scanning electron microscopy equipped with energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS). Hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria, paraffin wax, cristobalite, graphite, calcite, halite, and biotite from the Nakhodka oil spill were recognized on the surface of ropes and in the soil of the polluted seashores after 20 years. The chemical compositions indicated that high concentrations of C, O, Na, Al, Si, P, S, Ca, Fe, Cl, Sr, and Pb were predominantly indigenous to the Nakhodka oil spill. In the XRD analysis of the oil-contaminated soils on the rope at the Atake seashore indicated paraffin wax, graphite, sulfate, calcite and halite refractions with clay minerals, after 20 years. To date, no report has described the results of electron microscopy observations, such as Micrococcus bacillus and filamentous fungi, found in oil-contaminated soils after 20 years. In this research, such observations are introduced as “bioremediation” by hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria, graphite, and paraffin wax. On 18 January 2017, the reflection of graphite, paraffin wax, sulfur, calcite, and halite with clay minerals confirmed the occurrence of bioremediation. Many kinds of hydrocarbon-degrading microorganisms—such as filamentous fungi—were found in oil-contaminated soils after 20 years. We have used SEM-EDS to show semi-permanent bioremediation and biomineralization processes after 20 years.

石川県輪島市で保護されたアオバトの体重の推移と換羽との関係（2011年～2014年）

石川県輪島市で保護されたアオバトの体重の推移と換羽との関係（2011年～2014年）

石川県輪島市（能登半島）に分布する中新統から産出した珪藻化石

石川県輪島市（能登半島）の市街地周辺に分布する中新統の輪島層と塚田層の珪藻化石分析を行い，層序・年代及び古地理に関する新たな知見が得られた．輪島層からは湖沼生の珪藻化石が産出し，輪島層の一部に湖沼成堆積物が存在することが明らかとなった．塚田層からはNPD5B帯上部に属する海生珪藻化石が産出し，本層の年代が12.3–11.6 Maであることが判明した．塚田層の基底には明瞭な不整合が存在し，輪島層と塚田層の堆積期の間，輪島市の内陸を含む能登半島西部には陸域が存在していたと推定される．

Proposition on the Preservation and Utilization of Rural People Interaction Heritage Systems for the Restoration of Depopulated Rural Areas in Japan: A Case Study of Kurokami Shrine Festival

This study aims to clarify the current status of the preservation and utilization of Rural People Interaction Heritage Systems (RPIHS) for the restoration of depopulated rural areas based on a case study of Nigishi District Kurokami Shrine′s traditional festival which is located in Wajima City, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. It is highlighted in this study, that the daily activities are linked with RPIHS. It is a remarkable discovery in backing up RPIHS that the organizations supporting the daily activities of the residents and RPIHS are highly linked. In order to effectively utilize and maintain the RPIHS in the future, it is crucial to determine what kind of activities and organizations are connected to the RPIHS to jointly support RPIHS. In order to accomplish this, coordination among the related policies becomes crucial and important.

Song recording of a Chestnut-winged Cuckoo at Hegura Island, Wajima City, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan

Song recording of a Chestnut-winged Cuckoo at Hegura Island, Wajima City, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan

Relationship between the degree of property damage and changes in red blood cells, hematocrit, and hemoglobin among victims of the Noto Peninsula Earthquake.

The aim of this study was to assess the impact of the Noto Peninsula Earthquake on various hematologic parameters. We studied the relationships between the degree of property damage and changes in red blood cells (RBCs), hemoglobin (Hb), and hematocrit (Ht) among residents before and after the March 2007 Noto Peninsula Earthquake. A total of 5,563 residents of Wajima City who were not receiving oral treatment for anemia and who had received basic health screenings for fiscal years (FYs) 2006 and 2007, before and after the earthquake. We analyzed changes in their RBCs, Hb, and Ht levels by gender, age, body mass index (BMI), level of property damage, and evaluation standards. RBCs, Hb, and Ht for FY2007 showed a trend of decreasing values compared to FY2006 in both male and female subjects. RBCs and Hb significantly decreased in females aged between 65 and 74years who experienced total property damage, and Ht significantly increased for those younger than 65years who experienced the same level of damage. In addition, significant differences by degree of property damage and FY2007/FY2006 ratio were seen only among subjects with a BMI ratio <1. Furthermore, we found a significant relationship between reduction of RBCs or Hb and increasing age in females; however, no significant relationship to property damage was found. No significant relationships were found for males. A significant association between property damage and changes in RBCs, Hb, and Ht was not found in this population of residents who experienced the Noto Peninsula Earthquake.

石川県輪島市大沢の生活地名と空間構造の関係

Place names with life are defined as “names for land or space that are internally shared by the resident population in daily life”.The purpose of this study is to examine the spatial structure of villages on cultural landscape. By employing place names with life, we investigate the characteristics of distribution patterns on land uses. In the present study, we gathered and organized place names with life in Osawa, a traditional village in Wajima City, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. Results show ninety-one (91) place names with life. We then analyzed the village spaces having place names with a focus on topography and land use, and classified them into six (6) types, an easy slope with rivers on either side, a steep slope, planation surface that is surrounded by hills on two sides, yatsu on a small scale, planation surface that faces toward the sea, coastal sea area. The results clarified the characteristics of village spaces having place names as well as the spatial structure in the study location. We also discussed the possibility of using place names with life in the light of classifications on cultural landscape.

RECONSTRUCTION OF DAMAGED HOUSES AND CONSENSUS FORMULATING PROCESS TO PRESERVE TOWNSCAPE IN A SEISMIC AFFECTED HISTORICAL DISTRICT

After Noto Peninsula Earthquake, many damaged houses were reconstructed by the rehabilitation method and consensus formulation to accept the designation of Historical Preservation District, which could preserve townscape characteristics, at Kuroshima District in Wajima City. These were achieved by several factors such as municipality clear policy, supporting system of Prefecture Government, key person activity and assisting activities of relating professional groups. The total time could be divided to four periods for formulating the consensus to the Historical Preservation District including restoration from the seismic damage.

MEASURES OF HOUSING RECOVERY AND DISASTER PUBLIC HOUSING IN THE STRICKEN AREA AFTER NOTO PENINSULA EARTHQUAKE

We reported outline of house recovery policy and marked them in the stricken area of Noto Peninsula earthquake in the March of 2007. And we clarified the actual situation of disaster public housing in case of Touge, village Wajima city where is near to the hypocenter and has sustained great damage. We marked them in the point aimed at building process, and defaine reasons of moving, community relations. and attributes of tenants, of Shofudai Disaster Public Housing.

Special Issue on Effective Emergency Management: A Geographic Approach

This special issue introduces 12 papers on a variety of best practices for effective emergency management using geospatial database and geographic information system (GIS). The first seven papers are grouped under GIS in action, show how GIS is used for different disaster reduction services. In response to the 2007 Niigata-ken Chuetsu-oki Earthquake, GIS maps have been a part of Niigata PrefectureGovernment Emergency Operation Center work to aid in decisionmaking by providing Common Operational Picture (COP) as detailed by Tamura et al. A victim database was used as the key for integrated victim support in Kashiwazaki City in long-term recovery as detailed by Inoguchi et al. The success of GIS-based postdisaster operations vastly impacts on local governments in Wajima City, hit by the 2007 Noto Hanto Earthquake, where the use of GIS continued and expanded as an effective tool for building local government agency response capacity as detailed by Ura et al. In Kashiwazaki, the failure to apply municipal integrated GIS in postdisaster operations changed GIS policy to a less expensive service-oriented GIS readily available for local government agency use as detailed by Honma et al. A nationwide GIS map archive for researchers contains maps created at different disaster response stages as detailed by Nawa et al. Visualization of disaster impact using GIS is a powerful tool for disaster mitigation and preparedness, with impact by a worst-case-scenario magnitude 7.3 Tokyo Metropolitan earthquake as detailed by Suzuki et al. Design principles for visualization are reviewed by Urabe et al. In Japan, damage certification is used as the basis for deciding public and private support eligibility for quake victims, making it imperative for local governments to issue certification based on housing damage assessment results as soon and as fairly as possible. Based on practices in Kashiwazaki City following the 2007 Niigataken Chuetsu-oki earthquake, damage to 64,000 household footprints was assessed within one month as detailed in the last five papers. Two papers cover GIS-based data acquisition in housing damage assessment - PDA-assisted real-time input as detailed by Tonosaki et al., and OCRassisted paper result conversion as detailed by Higashida et al. In addition to housing damage assessment data, preexisting residential and housing databases should be integrated. Basic principles for creating this new database using GeoWrap are detailed by Yoshitomi et al. and implemented for Kashiwazaki as detailed by Matsuoka et al. In anticipating future disasters, a proposal to integrate local government operations both daily routine and emergency management was made by Urakawa et al. We appreciate the support of the Special Project for Governance in Ubiquitous Society (2007-2009) by the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) and the Special Project for Metropolitan Earthquake Disaster Mitigation in Tokyo Metropolitan Area (2007-2011) by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology of Japan (MEXT). Lastly, we would like to appreciate all the authors for their wonderful contribution as well as all the blind reviewers for their dedication to make this issue more valuable.

Realization of Local Capacity Building for Managing Instructional-System-Design-Based GIS -A Case Study of Wajima City at 2007 Noto Hanto Earthquake-

Geographic information system (GIS) use in disaster response in Japan has tended to be poor due to a lack of skills among local responders. The educational model based on instructional system design (ISD) and cognitive apprenticeship theory we proposed enabled local responders to build on GIS management capacity. Our research example is taken from the case of Wajima City, Ishikawa Prefecture, hit by the 2007 Noto Hanto Earthquake, magnitude 6.9 on the Richter scale, on March 25, 2007, in which local responders managed GIS quickly after the quake to developmany useful maps representing recovery progress.

A Study of Social Inclusion and ICT Engagement in Chusankanchiiki (Mountainous) Areas: A Case Study of Kanakura Village, Wajima City

As mounting social maladies such as depopulation, population ageing, agricultural decline, and public infrastructure cutbacks threaten the socioeconomic viability of mountainous regions, access to information and communication technology (ICT) is increasingly promoted as a tool to drive socioeconomic development. As a result of ICT adoption disparities between rural-urban areas, the e-Japan Strategy has focused on providing access to ICT through telecommunication infrastructure reforms. This paper advances the debate to examine the ends of ICT use, utilizing the social inclusion framework to examine how ICT engagement can improve the social quality of mountainous region community residents by strengthening the ability to participate in society. We then employ the social capital concept as a theoretical backdrop to examine how engagement with ICT impacts existing social processes. For this analysis, we draw on the findings of a case study conducted in a mountainous region community in Kanakura Village, Wajima City, Ishikawa Prefecture. The case study findings showed a strong relationship between bonding social capital and ‘old' ICT such as face-to-face communication, and a strong relationship between bridging social capital and ‘new' ICT, such as the Internet. The case study pointed to the need for johoka policies to incorporate measures that support old as well as new ICT.

SENIOR CITIZEN SUPPORT NETWORK IN RURAL VILLAGE REGION AND CONSIDERATION CONCERNING RESIDENCE CONTINUANCE

Wajima City Monzen town Touge is maintaining the number of households though is one of the mountainous village regions where depopulation and aging become problems. The factor that the senior citizen keeps residing in the village includes the existence of the senior citizen support network. In the senior citizen support network, two or more things etc. by the relative by the one, the one by the friend, and the welfare commissioner exist. The environment that the senior citizen lives easily is made because two or more support networks accumulate, and the residence of an aged home is continued.

LOCAL CHARACTERISTICS AND EARTHQUAKE DISASTER REVIVAL IN CASE OF TOUGE VILLAGE IN STRICKEN AREA OF NOTO PENINSULA EARTHQUEAKE

This paper clarified the following points in case of Touge, Wajima city where is near to the hypocenter and has sustained great damage in the stricken area of Noto earthquake in March of 2007.1) I clarified suffering the revival situation of Noto Peninsula earthquake disaster area and the Touge village which were a study and a local characteristic.2) In the formation process of the Touge village, I arranged a characteristic of the space structure. And I clarified traditional space structure and social structure and the connection with the present age of the village. .3) I paid my attention to the connection with the social spatial characteristic of the Tougea village and clarified the revival from the earthquake disaster at the point in time and the characteristic of the making of revival t plan after suffering for two years.