Yoshinori Nakagawa

Policies for climate change adaptation differ from those for climate change mitigation, both of which share the common aim of maintaining a sustainable climate system that enables humankind to survive while enjoying wellbeing. Considering the variability in regional conditions, they must be diverse throughout the policymaking process, with the participation of multiple stakeholders, to place the livelihood of residents as the central issue. Simultaneously, these regional diversities must also be realized in a manner consistent with the global goal of climate change mitigation. To that end, comprehensive and transformative adaptation measures are essential, rather than responding to imminent issues on an ad-hoc basis. As the literature shows, a transdisciplinary approach involving researchers across different fields and multiple non-academic sectors can fill the gaps in transformative adaptation. Still, it has yet to be implemented because of the lack of experience of this issue. Here, we present key findings that affect the generation of synergies and tradeoffs among issues through our novel transdisciplinary approach in Kyoto, Japan, via a series of Future Design workshops in agriculture in collaboration with local farmers, regional policymakers, and researchers with diverse backgrounds. These results provide a direction for future research to secure a methodological foundation that will facilitate the sustainability of these efforts.

The relationship between aging brains and driving safety performances (DSPs) of elderly drivers was studied. A total of 90 dementia-free participants (63 men and 27 women, mean age 75.31 ± 4.795 years) were recruited and their DSPs were analyzed on actual vehicles running through a closed-circuit course. DSPs were comprehensively evaluated on the basis of driving instructors' scores (DIS). Signaling and visual research behaviors, part of DSPs, were measured to supplement the DIS evaluation by driving recorders (DR) and wearable wireless sensors (WS), respectively. Aging brains were evaluated via magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings and experimentally assigned to two grades (high vs. low) of brain atrophy (BA) and leukoaraiosis (LA). Regression analyses on DIS and DR data, and logistic analysis on WS scores showed significant correlations of aging brains with degradation of DSPs. The participant group with more advanced BAs and LAs showed lower DIS, DR data, and WS scores representing degraded DSP regardless of age. These results suggest that MRI examinations from both volumetric and pathological perspectives of brains have the potential to help identify elderly drivers with dangerous driving behaviors. Brain healthcare, lifestyle improvements and medical treatments to suppress BA and LA, may contribute to preventing DSP degradation of elderly drivers with aging brains.

© 2018 Elsevier Ltd Brain scientists have established that projecting future events can influence the functioning of human brains and possibly current decisions (Schultz et al., 1997; Gilbert and Wilson, 2007; Gerlach et al., 2014, Szpunara et al., 2014). We design and institute a deliberative experiment to test whether the acquisition and experience of intergenerational retrospective viewpoints as one way of projecting future events affect individual preferences for policies. To this end, we employ a case-method approach for forest management policies in Kochi prefecture, Japan, because these environmental issues extend over multiple generations. We prepare two treatments of non-retrospective and retrospective settings where subjects are asked to read through a case-method material on forest management and reveal preferences for policies at the individual and group levels through deliberative discussions. Subjects in the retrospective treatment experience a series of procedures to acquire intergenerational retrospective viewpoints, while those in the non-retrospective treatment do not. The results reveal that the acquisition and experience of intergenerational retrospective viewpoints affect individual preferences for forest policies in that the most favored policies chosen by subjects in the retrospective treatment differ from those in the non-retrospective treatment. Subjects in the retrospective treatment tend to choose the policies that fundamentally change the status quo, while those in the non-retrospective treatment show the opposite tendency. Overall, this result suggests that acquiring intergenerational retrospective viewpoints as part of projecting the future could possibly affect ways of thinking and preferences for possible betterment of the future.

In recent times, many studies have been conducted to understand those who migrate to rural areas. However, few have investigated the psychological and behavioral factors that affect people's decisions to migrate to rural areas. This study identifies the psychological and behavioral factors that have been suggested in the psychology literature and in rural studies as factors affecting people's decision to move to rural areas. The study is unique in that it categorizes the psychological states during the process of rural migration decision into three levels and identifies how psychological and behavioral factors affect people at each level. Researchers collected data from 906 respondents in Japan, including 128 people who had migrated to rural areas. The findings show that environmental and health concerns were significantly associated with initiating the procedure of the rural migration decision, while motives related to spiritual growth and employment were strongly connected with completing the procedure by actually migrating to rural areas. These findings contribute to a better understanding of a question that attracts a great deal of political attention in Japan: Why are rural areas gaining popularity especially after the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011? This study represents the first time that the importance of psychological and behavioral traits, as measured by psychometrically sound scales, has been confirmed within a model explaining the decision to migrate to rural areas.

This phenomenological study aimed to explore the lived experiences of households after the installation of seismic hazard mitigation measures. Unlike studies aimed at identifying the causal mechanisms behind household behavior, the present study focused on the subjective meaning of these experiences. A total of 17 households that had adopted seismic retrofitting were interviewed; data from six of these households were purposefully selected and analyzed in detail using Giorgi's phenomenological psychological method. The data were reduced to a single structure according to which the installation of the seismic hazard mitigation measure was considered a dilemma related to perceptions of vulnerability versus the awkwardness of getting started, which developed into another irreconcilable dilemma related to feeling safer versus an awareness of absolute safety. In this process, a sense of life coherence was established, which enabled the participants to accept the irreconcilability. On the basis of these findings, this study proposes a new approach of promoting earthquake preparedness, in which the central point is practitioners assisting households to create their own coherent life stories to deal with these dilemmas. It sheds light on the importance of how practitioners listen to households, rather than of how practitioners inform households.

Critical thinking is a form of open-minded thinking that aims to gain insight into how to improve things. The focus is on criticism and applicability of the resultant knowledge. Despite the existence of theories linking the critical thinking disposition and hazard adjustment adoption, there have been no previous studies examining the association between this disposition and household earthquake preparedness. The present study intends to identify this association. Data were collected from 598 respondents through a questionnaire survey. Household earthquake preparedness was measured by the number of adjustments adopted in the household. In regression analysis, taking into account interactions between the considered variables, it was found that logical thinking awareness, a subconstruct of the critical thinking disposition, was a significant predictor of household preparedness. Furthermore, inquisitiveness, another subconstruct of critical thinking disposition, was found to moderate the association between risk perception and earthquake preparedness. This finding suggests that people who have the motivation to tackle challenging situations actually do so in the context of earthquake preparedness. The practical implications of the findings are also discussed.

 Relinquishment of driving licences is regarded as a measure to prevent elderly drivers' traffic crashes. Those who completed relinquishment often suffer from constraints on transportation. In order to consider measures to support these people, it is essential to understand what the act of relinquishing driving licences actually means to them. Thus, the present study aimed to conduct a life story research of two elderly people in order to clarify the meaning. There were two major findings. First, it was shown that there are cases in which the meaning of the act can be understood only through the understanding of the stories of the entire life span. Second, the two subjects were found to be similar in the sense that their acts of relinquishing licences can be interpreted as the opportunity to strengthen the motivation to make their lives more coherent. Practical implications of the findings are also discussed.

The present paper aimed to develop concepts explaining how construction workers acquire and transfer their techniquies. Life stories were collected from a pair of two construction workers: a master and a woker who used to be his pupil. After utilizing the tool of Analytical Worksheet, seven concepts were identifiend. It is expected that a general theory on the process of acquisition and transfer of the techniquies will be described using the seven concepts, although the development of which is a futre task.

In the last few decades, a number of researchers have attempted to identify the effects of paid care services on alleviating the sense of burden of family care-givers, especially care-givers to people with dementia. However, few researchers have considered the possibility that paid care services alleviate the sense of burden only among those care-givers who possess specific characteristics. Without considering this point, the impact of paid care services would be averaged over an entire sample, and one might overlook the effects on these specific care-givers. With this background, this study examines the relationship between family care-givers' sense of burden and the amount of paid care services in Japan and identifies groups of care-givers among whom these services are significantly associated with a lesser sense of burden. The sense of burden of 339 family care-givers to older care recipients with dementia was measured using a modified version of the Caregiver Burden Inventory. In order to examine their association with the amount of paid care services received, logistic regression analysis was individually applied to groups of care-givers who exhibit specific characteristics. The results suggested that paid care services alleviated two out of five components of burden, provided the groups to which the analyses are applied are appropriately defined. In particular, two subsets of the entire sample, comprising young care-givers aged.. or below, and including male care-givers, indicated that their overall sense of social and emotional burden were alleviated by the use of paid care services. The practical implications for policy makers are discussed.

Passenger presence in vehicles has both positive (i.e., crash-reducing) and negative (i.e., crash-inducing) effects on drivers. Although many earlier studies have empirically investigated conditions under which negative or positive effects predominate, few of them considered why passenger presence has these effects. The present paper aimed to contribute to the understanding of this question by identifying dimensions of psychological effects of passenger presence that can influence the likelihood that drivers are involved in crashes. A multidimensional scale was developed by means of factor analysis. Data were collected from drivers who drive regularly with their spouses as passengers. Five dimensions were identified: "pique," "flattery, vanity, and overdependence," "relief," "responsibility," and "annoyance." Each dimension's subscale was shown to have a sufficient level of internal consistency and significant associations with external criteria on marital relationships and personality characteristics. The findings could serve as an important scientific basis for consideration of how to maximize the positive effects or minimize the negative effects of passenger presence. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

It is essential to find measures to compensate for the decline in elderly drivers' driving ability in order to meet their mobility needs and ensure their safety when driving. Although it has been well documented that elderly drivers' risks of crash involvement are alleviated by the presence of passengers, few studies have investigated whether the protective effect of passengers is influenced by driver characteristics including the degree of cognitive impairment. This study aimed to identify subgroups of elderly drivers whose crash involvement risks are more effectively alleviated by passenger presence. After dividing elderly drivers into three levels of cognitive impairment, as measured by the Short-Memory Questionnaire, and two gender groups, the present study found that only male drivers in the middle cognitive level benefited from passenger presence. The effectiveness of passenger presence may be more successfully achieved by proper selection of the appropriate range of cognitive decline and gender.

This paper proposes a method of structuring public policy by incorporating reciprocal expectation analysis. The proposed method is characterized by three components: identification of the problem structure perceived by stakeholders using cognitive maps, policy structuring analysis with a value-driver matrix and a reciprocal expectation matrix, and feasibility analysis of agreements among the stakeholders. The three types of relationship among stakeholders are derived from the feasibility analysis, which are "Dosho-imu", "Isho-imu", and "Domu". Three tests of feasibility to reach the agreement are then proposed: "information-sharing test", "bargaining test", and "reframing test". A case study is presented, applying the method to strategic transportation planning in the Kanto region of Japan. Finally, the potential functions of the proposed method in practice are discussed. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

On the one hand, mobility of elderly people is critical for their quality of lives and welfare. On the other hand, older drivers have higher crash rates per vehicle-mile of travel. In order to achieve the two conflicting goals, driving safety and mobility of the elderly, the present paper aims to discuss the possibility that intelligent artifacts can play a role of reducing crash risk of elderly drivers. A research design for obtaining empirical evidence on the effectiveness of robot presence in vehicles is also discussed. © 2014 Springer International Publishing.

Background: There are no reported studies on the relationship between traffic crashes and brain tissue changes in healthy drivers. The relationship between traffic crashes and leukoaraiosis, a common magnetic resonance imaging finding, was investigated in this study. Methods: A total of 3,930 automobile drivers (2,037 men and 1,893 women age, 21-87 years) who underwent brain magnetic resonance imaging as part of total health check-ups and answered a road traffic questionnaire were examined to determine whether asymptomatic leukoaraiosis was associated with various types of traffic crashes. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to elucidate the relationship between leukoaraiosis and various types of traffic crashes. Results: Subcortical leukoaraiosis was diagnosed in 28.52% of all subjects, whereas periventricular leukoaraiosis was diagnosed in 9.57% of all subjects. Adjusted odds ratios for involvement in all types of traffic crashes were not significant for subjects with periventricular leukoaraiosis however, they were significant for subjects with multiple and large multiple subcortical leukoaraiosis. Adjusted odds ratios for involvement in crashes at crossroads were 1.09 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.60-2.00) for subjects with single subcortical leukoaraiosis, 3.35 (95% CI, 2.36-4.77) for subjects with multiple subcortical leukoaraiosis, and 2.45 (95% CI, 2.36-4.98) for subjects with large multiple subcortical leukoaraiosis. Periventricular leukoaraiosis was not significantly associated with crossroad crashes. Involvement in crashes of any type, parking lot crashes, and rear-end collisions showed no significant association with either subcortical or periventricular leukoaraiosis. Conclusions: Multiple subcortical leukoaraiosis, but not periventricular leukoaraiosis, is significantly associated with traffic crashes, in particular, crossroad crashes. This association is independent of sex, age, and driving exposure. To our knowledge, this is the first evidence describing the relationship between brain tissue changes and traffic crashes. © 2013 Park et al.

When or whether elderly drivers stop driving is concerning not only to the drivers themselves but also to their family members. Therefore, it is important for family members to take the initiative if they wish to obtain information on the likelihood of the drivers' involvement in crashes. On the basis of the older drivers' Everyday Behavior Questionnaire (EBQ) developed in this paper, we attempt to predict drivers' involvement in crashes using the responses given by their family members. The results revealed that this 14-item questionnaire has a sufficient level of internal consistency as well as a significant correlation (r = 0.29) with the experience of involvement in crashes in the last three years (p &lt 0.01). Although the EBQ is a proxy-reported questionnaire and does not include items directly related to driving behaviors, the correlation between the EBQ and crash involvement is stronger than that of the self-reported Driver Behavior Questionnaire reported in deWinter and Dodou (2010), who conducted a meta-analysis and estimated the overall correlation among samples of earlier studies. In addition, logistic regression analysis showed that the EBQ score and the exposure to driving risks, measured by the frequency of driving, are significant predictors of involvement in crashes. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd.

This paper reviews the history of regional transportation system in Kochi Prefecture, Japan. The history of regional network development is categorized into the four periods: before Edo-era, Edo-era, Meiji-era to the World War II (WW II), and after the WW II. The results show Kochi has suffered from poor road accessibility because it is landlocked whereas it has developed maritime network mainly connecting Kansai Region. As it has been located far from any political centers in the past, the unique culture has been developed in Kochi. This has made the local authorizes introduce the conservative transportation policy which prevents the local people from regional travels. They also show the religious-purpose travelers contributed to the technology transfer from other regions to Kochi.

Objectives: The aim was to identify significant relationships between the 21 components of caregivers' sense of burden in the Zarit Burden Interview and specific paid care services provided in Japan's long-term care insurance system. Method: We defined a service utilization level (SUL) that represents the amount of care services that caregivers were consuming. We calculated the ratios of people, among those with the same SUL value, whose sense of burden was weaker than a specific level. Finally, we conducted regression analysis and checked how this ratio varied compared to the change in SUL values. Results: For 12 among 22 components, the use of paid care services in general were significantly and linearly related with a smaller number of people having the strongest sense of burden. Several pairs of burden components and care service types were identified indicating that the type of care services effectively alleviated that burden component. Conclusions: (1) Paid care services do relieve caregivers' sense of burden. (2) Measures to increase the ratio of people with the weakest sense of burden by encouraging the use of care services do not necessarily match those that decrease the ratio of people feeling the heaviest burden. (3) Policies that encourage caregivers to use more care services can be more effective if policy makers know which type of care service is related with a burden component.

This paper proposes an AHP based statistical method for the design of a comprehensive policy alternative, AHPo, for solving societal problems that require a multifaceted approach. In the proposed method, criteria relevant to the goal or focus are structured in the same way as in the conventional AHP. However, these two methods are quite different in regard to the method of quantification. The new method predicts or analyses the impact of the policy alternatives on the overall goal. In other words, it predicts or rationalizes the way people appreciate the situation in which an alternative is adopted and implemented. It will serve as a tool for supporting (especially political) decision making. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

This paper aims at developing a problem structuring method based on interview surveys of key stakeholders and a well-known visualizing technique, called a "cognitive map." We found that this new method, based on an interactive process with key stakeholders, was able to draw broader and more detailed issues than was previously anticipated. We also found that the proposed method was useful for the analysis of the societal implications of emerging technologies, such as nanotechnologies, which are not easily defined. It is confirmed that the proposed method can clarify common and diversified issues based on the perception of key stakeholders and identify additional stakeholders to be interviewed. (C) 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

This paper aims to establish a method to support designs of policies for prevailing anti-seismic retrofitting of wooden fragile houses by local governments. Specifically, we conduct the following three items. First, we list up and structure the criteria (or psychological factors) that individuals keep in mind when they decider their own attitudes toward seismic retrofitting. In order to neglect comprehensive items that do not overlap with each other, we exclude individual attributes and indirect factors. Second, based on the established structure, we propose a framework to rationalize the change in the distribution of the degree to which people intend to adopt seismic retrofitting. This enables us to investigate effective ways of combining different approaches toward the ultimate goal of prevailing retrofitting. Third, we investigate the most effective ways of embodying each of the approaches by identifying relevant demographic and personality variables.

A number of various policy, measures and administrative works exist in local governments in order to provide public services effectively for the resident's demand. In addition, they owe the obligation which makes such a series of measure system to visible and makes it public to the resident as accountability. This research not only proposes the methodology to plan policy and measures in the local governments and to achieve set strategic target effectively but aims to construct the administrative management system by making good use of the tool which called problem structuring, logic model and so on.

This paper proposes a method to generate future scenarios with an analysis on the reciprocal expectation of stakeholders and applies it to a case of regional transport planning. Our method covers both macroscopic uncertainty and microscopic uncertainty. The macroscopic uncertainty originates from five factors: natural, political, economics, social and technological, whereas the microscopic uncertainty originates from interrelations among stakeholders. We demonstrate an empirical application of the proposed method to a case of regional transport planning of the Tokyo Metropolitan Area.

This paper aims to propose a practical methodology of problem identification and structuring for regional transport policy. The strategic regional transport planning of the Kanto Region is used as the case study. Ten stakeholders are selected including central/local governments and transport operators. Then the interview-based discussions are conducted with them. The cognitive maps of stakeholders are integrated into the structure of transport problems in the region. After the main factors and drivers of the problems are abstracted from the maps, the problematic issues are analyzed based on the problem structure. Finally, the differences of problem perceptions and interests among stakeholders and their political relationship are discussed.