The Japanese people's understanding of the Fifteen Years War (1931-1945) is still problematic. The problem of the war was commonly solved by transferring responsibility for the war to an obscure subject called the State, and by offering financial compensation to those who were directly affected. However, there has been no in-depth discussion of…

It is widely considered that native English speaking teachers (NESTs) are more suitable to teach nonnative students than nonnative English speaking teachers (NNESTs). When it comes to NNESTs in an EFL setting, most are local nationals (LNNESTs). However, it should be noted that there is also a group of NNESTs who are foreign nationals (FNNESTs).…

Very few attempts have been made to survey patient opinions, particularly regarding the use of residual biospecimens and health information in research, to clarify their values. We conducted a questionnaire survey that targeted outpatients of a university hospital to gauge their awareness levels and understand patient perspectives on research that…

Risk and uncertainty can destabilise and reconstruct the relationships between medicine, policy and publics. Through semi-structured interviews with medical staff following the Fukushima 3.11 Disaster, this paper demonstrates the way in which disruption (caused by disaster), coupled with uncertainty (in this case, around radiation risk) can serve…

Excessive workloads are a concern for teachers across the world. Overwork puts pressure not only on the physical and mental health of teachers, but also on their ability to provide quality education to their students. Nevertheless, many teachers struggle under the weight of excessive workloads, and have very little input in the top-down policies…

Contributions from and innovation in science and technology over many decades have resulted in dramatic improvements to American lives, including enhanced living standards and life expectancy, better access to information and connectivity across the globe, and increased access to and affordability of consumer goods. The analysis in this report is…

In April 2011, the Ministry of Education in Japan formally introduced Primary School English (PSE) language teaching in Japanese elementary schools. The PSE policy made it mandatory for fourth- and fifth-graders to attend English lessons once a week. Using the theoretical framework on why educational language plans fail [Kaplan, R. B., Baldauf, R.…

Timely analysis of trends and issues in TVE can help TVE stakeholders cope with rather than oppose them. Educating in the direction of the trend and resolving the important issues can maximize TVE's chance of success. The purpose of this paper was to identify trends and issues in the TVE in 10 Indo-Pacific countries. To achieve this purpose, a…

This paper examines people's attitudes toward public spending on education in Japan. It is well known that Japan has the smallest public education expenditure relative to GDP among the OECD countries, and this may yield unequal opportunities in education. The tax burden in Japan is small compared to those in OECD countries, and there may be no…

In this article, we quantified Japanese residents' potential preferences for public participation, specifically public meetings, concerning regional environmental issues in Yodo River watershed decision-making process. We conducted a choice experiments (CE) survey in the Yodo River watershed in Japan. Our findings confirmed that residents assign a…

The degree of acceptance of dog guides at public facilities, which is required by law in Japan, was investigated, and evidence of rejection was found. Japanese people with visual impairments who used dog guides reported higher daily stress levels than did those who did not use dog guides. (Contains 3 tables and 1 figure.)

Health care systems worldwide are experiencing similar pressures such as rising cost, aging populations, and increased burden of disease. While policy makers in all countries face these challenges, their responses must consider local pressures, particularly the implicit social contract between the state, medicine, and insurers. We argue that…

International assessment studies have shown since decades that Japanese students score highly on math and science tests. As a consequence, many scholars, education policy officials and journalists outside Japan share the opinion that quality of education is ensured and turn to the Japanese educational system to identify educational effectiveness…

Examining the impact of news on people's knowledge about and favorableness of opinion toward six foreign countries, a study conducted telephone interviews with 374 adult residents in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, during November 1984. The nations selected for study included three developed countries (Britain, the Soviet Union, and Japan) and three…