Japan Archives

Documenting Japan’s scarecrow village: A living museum to rural life beyond growth

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Professor Atsuko Hashimoto researches the use of tourism to rejuvenate declining rural communities in Japan, highlighting the case of Nagoro, a village where scarecrows memorialise previous residents but currently outnumber the present residents

An ageing society and rural depopulation are ongoing issues in Japan. At Brock University, Canada, Dr Atsuko Hashimoto, Dr David J Telfer, and Sakura Telfer (Brescia University College) explore the use of tourism to rejuvenate rural communities. The remote village of Nagoro (Shikoku Island) has less than 30 residents remaining, most of whom are over the age of 70. Thanks […]

Using agent-based modelling to understand social phenomena

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Professor Shigeaki Ogibayashi uses a novel agent-based modelling system to build a bottom-up modelling system to evaluate the causal mechanisms in social phenomena, such as bullying

Agent-based modelling (ABM) is used to understand the behaviour of a system and establish what governs its outcomes. Professor Shigeaki Ogibayashi, from the Chiba Institute of Technology, Japan, proposes that, if the agent-based model is constructed entirely bottom-up, it should be possible to build a model where the causal relationship emerging from the artificial society is the same as that […]

Natural-capital-based societies in the tropics: Harnessing forest function to combat climate change

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Forests are critical to water–carbon interrelation.

Natural capital – assets derived from the natural world – forms the basis of national economic systems. When natural capital is depleted without reinvestment, there is a net reduction in national wealth, resilience, and living standards. This issue blights the Global South. Professor Mitsuru Osaki of Hokkaido University, Japan, a COP26 symposium leader, studies natural-capital-based societies in the tropics. Natural-capital-based […]

The anti-ageing and anti-tumour effects of Fermented Papaya Preparation (FPP^®): A new neo-adjuvant cancer therapy?

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The fruit of the Carica Papaya plant has many digestive, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties.

The fruit of the Carica Papaya plant has long been celebrated as a champion of traditional indigenous practices for its potent digestive, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties. Additionally, papaya has been shown to have potential oncological applications, fighting accumulation of cancer-causing free radicals. To investigate the anti-cancer and anti-ageing properties of this fascinating fruit, Professor Stefano Fais, head of Research at […]

Long-term outcomes in total knee arthroplasty (TKA) patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA)

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Dr Yamashita studies the long-term outcomes of patients post-operative ability to walk outside after surgery to deal with rheumatoid arthritis

Due to the degeneration of the knee joint in individuals with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), walking becomes difficult. Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) can restore the ability to walk. Several reports have been published highlighting the survival rate of TKA in RA patients, however, no study has focused on the prospect of outdoor walking. Dr Fumiharu Yamashita and his team from the […]

Mothers’ burdens after living donor liver transplantation

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Dr Ayaka Fujita researched the physical and mental burden placed on mothers who underwent liver donation and then went on to have more children

Many mothers who donate a portion of their liver to their child go on to have more children. Research has been conducted to investigate whether there are any medical complications associated with pregnancy or childbirth after liver donation, but no research has considered the mothers’ experiences. Dr Ayaka Fujita and colleagues from Kyushu University interviewed women about their experiences with […]

Cointegration of causes of mortality as a possible measure of human ageing

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Many of us can expect to live longer than previous generations. We might also surmise that one of the top five causes of mortality will prove our demise. Ultimately, however, most causes of death are linked to ageing, an inevitable process for which we have no direct measurement. Professor Séverine Arnold, of the University of Lausanne, has provided a potential […]

Moisture regulation in finger pad ridges can ensure optimal grip

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The ridges on the pads of our fingers, and the fingerprints we produce, have several benefits, including identification purposes. However, this was not the evolutionary purpose of ridged skin on the finger pad, and it is more likely to have evolved to optimise grip and touch. Professor Gun-Sik Park, Seoul National University, has explored how the finger pad has its […]

The knowing child’s quest in contemporary American fiction

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A particular cultural icon is the theme of the adolescent, usually male, who sets out from the countryside to seek his fortune in the city.

The image of an adolescent growing up and making sense of the world is a familiar icon in many cultures around the world. Yuki Namiki from Tokyo Kasei University in Japan looks at how two 21st century American novels use the trope in line with literary tradition but also depart from it to explore family relationships in contemporary society. Both […]

Adaptive thinking as a heuristic in evolutionary psychology

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Recently, in evolutionary psychology, many theorists have employed adaptive thinking as a heuristic as it generates hypotheses that can later be tested using the standard scientific procedure. A heuristic is a pragmatic method that, while not being complete or optimal, provides sufficient approximate results for later use. Professor Shunkichi Matsumoto of Tokai University, Tokyo focuses his research on the use […]