Managing Technological and Environmental Risks in Japan

This paper is primarily concerned with environmental risks arising from utilizing modern technology. Our attention focuses on the interface between policy decisions and regulatory measures. The interface involves not only science and technology but also politics and social values, and perceptions which are deeply rooted in the industrial countries. A case of setting air quality standards and regulatory practices in Japan is studied on the basis of scientific and technological knowledge, economic cost, and subjective judgment of what constitutes an acceptable level of risk or health hazard.     

Asymmetric Preference and Inflation Bias in the Visegrad Four

This paper investigates the asymmetric preference of monetary policy in the Visegrad four (V-4). To this end, we estimate the nonlinear interest rate rule provided by Surico (2007). This enables us to estimate the central banker’s preference and to inference the average inflation bias. Empirical results provide some important evidence. First, the nonlinear rule and the preference are successfully estimated. This also imply that the average rates of inflation in the V-4 are set at a relatively high by their monetary policy. Second, After EU accession, the preferences of Slovakia and Poland become much lower than those in the full sample. This reflects the policy effort by these two to introduce the euro.     

以人性的宗教创建和平

近年来，我们一直积极推进“文明间对话”、“宗教间对话”活动。在宗教史上，经常会出现盲信与不宽容的一面，这完全游离了对话精神。抛开教义信条，进行满溢自律和理性的对话，才是宗教的生命线。背离对话，则可以说是宗教的自杀行为。因此我们SGI在推广以佛法为基础的人性主义时，无论遇到多少疯狂、自以为是和不信任等障碍，也绝不降下“对话”这一人性主义的黄金旗帜。     

Utility of Hospital Emergency Department Data for Studying Intimate Partner Violence

The authors examine 12 months of emergency department visit data (N= 2,521) from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System All Injury Program and explore its utility for measuring and studying intimate partner violence. Given the dearth of national data on intimate partner violence–related injury and its potential value for public health surveillance and prevention, the data set appears promising for estimating national rates of emergency department visits. Missing perpetrator‐patient relationship data limit estimation of intimate partner–related hospital visits for injury and pain, which precludes national rate estimation at this time, but the data are still useful for describing documented intimate partner violence cases and may be helpful in designing prevention strategies.     

对话交流和谐共生

2007年4月,国务院总理温家宝访问日本,获得巨大成功。12日温总理会见中国人民的老朋友池田大作先生,题赠"慈航创新路,和谐结良缘"的条幅。池田先生赠诗一首:"春风应时樱缤纷,春霖迎来一贵人。融雪破冰志坚定,温文儒雅又亲民。知难不难迎难上,言信承诺行必果。同一世界同一梦,和谐社会喜春晖。"池田大作先生是我校名誉教授,我刊委托我校正在创价大学访问的阮毅博士,约请他撰稿。现将池田先生文章(原题为《致词》)刊载于此,以飨广大读者。     

出土资料研究同样需要“古史辨”派的科学精神——池田知久教授访谈录

池田知久教授为原东京大学文学部教授,他的简帛学及思想史研究都在当今日本学界享有盛名。在2005年3月进行的这次访谈中,池田教授结合中国及日本古典学研究的历史及现状,就古史辨派的学术理路与成果、出土文献的价值认定与研究方法等问题给予了比较系统的评定和论说,当有益于推进我们对上古史的认知。     

Differences in facilities' acceptance of patients under long-term care insurance in Japan

OBJECTIVES: In April 2000, Japan launched a public, long-term care insurance (LTCI) plan for elderly people who need support. This study describes how medical support for the elderly is delivered at LTCI care facilities in Japan now and gaps between system goals and current activity. Recommendations are made for enhancing the implementation of LTCI. METHODS: We mailed questionnaires to all health service facilities for the elderly (HSF) and special nursing homes for the elderly (SNH) located in the Kyushu area of Japan, asking whether they would accept patients with nine specific conditions. RESULTS: We found that HSFs, which are required to employ a full-time doctor and are reimbursed at a higher rate, accept significantly fewer patients with four conditions that need medical support than are accepted by SNHs, which are not required to employ a full-time doctor. DISCUSSION: In this study, we find discrepancies between system goals and current activities at LTCI care facilities. For the Japanese LTCI system to work well in the limitation of medical resources, we must understand how it really works and to reform the system continuously.     

Flood Risk Acceptability and Economic Value of Evacuation

The economic value of evacuation and its relationship with flood risk acceptability in Japan were studied by applying the contingent valuation method (CVM). Flood risk acceptability here refers to the extent to which people accept the occurrence of floods, in terms of scale and frequency. The economic value of evacuation refers to people's willingness to pay (WTP) for avoiding evacuation inconvenience because of its inconvenience and the potential for certain losses as a result of evacuation. Our main finding was that over half of the people (56%) who actually evacuated in a real flood situation reported inconvenience. The greatest inconveniences were the shortages of information and food. Evacuation inconvenience can be regarded as an important factor causing the low rate of evacuation in Japan. The WTP for avoiding current inconvenience was approximately half of the estimated economic value of evacuation, implying that the current budget for evacuation is too small and should be increased to improve the conditions of evacuation sites. The economic value of evacuation can be taken into consideration in the risk assessment process in order to evaluate the efficiency of risk reduction measures. Flood risk acceptability and home ownership are two major statistically significantly determinants of the WTP. Considering that those who accept flood risk have a lower WTP for flood risk control (ex ante measures) than those who reject it, it is reasonable to think that there may be a tradeoff between the public WTPs for ex ante or ex post measures.