Japan Archives

Food security in an insecure world: Modelling self-sufficiency

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When global food prices spiked in 2008, many governments embarked on programmes to improve their country’s food self-sufficiency – but have they been successful? At Setsunan University, Japan, Dr Tetsuji Tanaka and Dr Jin Guo are quantitatively assessing the effectiveness of a number of self-sufficiency policies. They have studied regional and global volatility in beef and wheat prices, and used […]

Reducing treatment costs for thyroid cancer patients in Japan

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Japan’s healthcare system disincentivises longer hospital stays to reduce costs, but also categorises certain complications as secondary diseases, which incur separate additional payments. The high rate of occurrence of these complications makes these costs unavoidable. Hiroki Konno, Associate Professor at the College of Sports Sciences at Nihon University, Japan, studied the implications of this for four prognostic factors affecting thyroid […]

Collaborative facilitation of mental health of disaster responders

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Preparation to reduce stressors and respond to stress reactions before and around a response to a natural disaster can facilitate greater mental wellbeing after the disaster. To protect their mental health, the individual disaster responders’ actions are just as important as the organisational support. A review by Maki Umeda and collaborators at University of Hyogo (Japan), Kobe University (Japan) and […]

Maths and honeycombs: Searching for the materials of the future

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The nanotechnology revolution is fuelled by the versatility of nanomaterials. Changing a nanomaterial’s composition and structure alters its properties, rendering nanomaterials tailor-made for specific applications. Mathematical modelling guides researchers towards predicting desired behaviour prior to experimentation. Titus Masese of the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) and Godwill Kanyolo of the University of Electro-Communications (UEC), in Japan, […]

Modelling sea-island reversal in viscoelastic phase separation

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In the 1990s, researchers first discovered that within mixtures of viscoelastic materials, unique transitions known as phase separations can appear when the right conditions are applied. In his research, Mr Yoshihide Kubo, Hiroshima University alumnus, presents the first robust approach for modelling these systems, avoiding unnecessary complexities while producing results which can be easily reproduced in experiments. His work addresses […]

The way we think is reflected in our brain activity

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People think and act differently. The ability to visualise things, to read newspapers upside down, to mentally rotate objects, to remember faces or phone numbers, or to perform any other daily task, differs from one person to another. Everyone is unique, and yet, despite these individual differences people interact, communicate and understand each other. Professor Kazuo Nishimura at Kobe University, […]

Quality of life for family caregivers is impacted by satisfaction with care

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Cancer does not only affect the patient but their caregiver.

Cancer has an emotional and physical impact on caregivers as well as patients. If relatives are not happy with the care they are able to provide for the patient, this can impair their quality of life. Dr Miki Morishita-Kawahara at the Tokyo Women’s Medical University aims to understand better the factors that influence the quality of life of family caregivers […]

How did the data propagate? Automated Optical Path Monitoring

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With the development of 5G, our world might seem more wireless than ever. However, lurking behind this and facilitating all high-speed data transfer are kilometres and kilometres of optical fibres. The backbone network for all communication, wireless or otherwise, is this sprawling network of fibres. For reliable communications and internet access, the world’s expanse of fibre optic cables must work […]

Soil and groundwater contamination: An old and new issue needs to be solved

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Industrial and agricultural waste contaminate the soil and groundwater.

Dr Ming Zhang is an innovation coordinator at Geological Survey of Japan, AIST. Alongside his research group, he is advocating the importance of using interdisciplinary tools for sustainable remediation of contaminated soil and groundwater. Their research has shown that cost-effective and environment-friendly technologies such as the use of microorganisms to degrade organic contaminants and the use of minerals to immobilise […]

A focus on beta cell mass could help prevent type 2 diabetes

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Diabetes is a global health problem expected to affect nearly seven percent of the world’s population by 2035. Treatment broadly focuses on regulating glucose levels, and an increase in the range of pharmacological options means that it is usually possible to manage the condition. However, diabetes cannot be cured. Professor Yoshifumi Saisho from Keio University, Japan, advocates moving the focus […]