Long-term care: common issues and unknowns

All industrialized countries are grappling with a common problem—how to provide assistance of various kinds to their rapidly aging populations. The problem for countries searching for models of efficient and high-quality long-term care (LTC) policies is that fewer than a dozen countries have government-organized, formal LTC policies. Relatively new surveys focused on the elderly populations of about 25 countries could become the basis for research on which LTC policy design choices have desired outcomes for individuals and society and might be replicable in other countries. As in earlier decades when U.S. researchers created the Current Population Survey (CPS) modules and the Survey of Income and Program Participation to answer policy questions, researchers and policy analysts are now at a point where a concerted effort is needed to generate questions that international comparative research on LTC could answer as well as the data needed to address the questions.     

Designing and Analyzing Randomized Experiments: Application to a Japanese Election Survey Experiment

Randomized experiments are becoming increasingly common in political science. Despite their well-known advantages over observational studies, randomized experiments are not free from complications. In particular, researchers often cannot force subjects to comply with treatment assignment and to provide the requested information. Furthermore, simple randomization of treatments remains the most commonly used method in the discipline even though more efficient procedures are available. Building on the recent statistical literature, we address these methodological issues by offering general recommendations for designing and analyzing randomized experiments to improve the validity and efficiency of causal inference. We also develop a new statistical methodology to explore causal heterogeneity. The proposed methods are applied to a survey experiment conducted during Japan's 2004 Upper House election, where randomly selected voters were encouraged to obtain policy information from political parties' websites. An R package is publicly available for implementing various methods useful for designing and analyzing randomized experiments .     

Accuracy and Usefulness of the AVOXimeter 4000 as Routine Analysis of Carboxyhemoglobin

The measurement of blood carboxyhemoglobin (CO‐Hb) is important to determine the cause of death. The AVOXimeter 4000 (AVOX), a portable CO‐oximeter, has the advantages of a low purchase price and operating cost, ease of operation, and rapid results. Little information is available on the usefulness of AVOX in the forensic sample, and the previous study investigated only six samples. Therefore, in this study, we confirmed the usefulness of the AVOX through a comparison of its re s ults with data previously obtained using the double wavelength spectrophotometric method in autopsies. Regression analysis was performed between CO‐Hb levels measured by the AVOX and those measured by the conventional double wavelength spectrophotometric method in postmortem blood samples: a significant correlation was observed. This study suggests the usefulness of the AVOX to analyze postmortem blood, and the AVOX is suitable for routine forensic analysis and can be applied at the crime scene.     

Central banking below zero: the implementation of negative interest rates in Europe and Japan

This paper provides an overview of the operational implementation of negative interest rates in Europe and Japan. Drawing attention to the fact that there is precedent for negative policy rates and negative money market rates, the paper addresses conceptual issues and summarizes measures which define negative interest rate policy. Based on detailed institutional analysis and an examination of the interaction of interest rate policies with balance sheet policies, it is argued that there exists substantial heterogeneity in the purpose, design, and operational specificities of negative interest rate policies across economies, with significant consequences for effective market rates, private sector funding conditions, and expectations. Summarizing transmission channels of negative rates, benefits, and risks of the policy, the paper calls attention to potential adverse effects resulting from the interaction of negative interest rates with tighter liquidity and capital standards adopted since the Global Financial Crisis.     

Reflections on the history of Japanese diplomacy

Japan and the Wider World: From the Mid‐Nineteenth Century to the Present, Akira Iriye. London: Longman. 1997. viii, 213pp. ISBN: 0–582–21053–4

The Clash: U.S.‐Japanese Relations Throughout History, Walter LaFeber. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. 1997. xxii, 508pp. ISBN: 0–393–03950–1

Hands Across the Sea?: U.S.‐Japan Relations, 1961–1981, Timothy P. Maga. Athens, Ohio: Ohio University Press. 1997. x, 183pp. ISBN: 0–8214–1210–8     

Reflections on the history of Japanese diplomacy

Japan and the Wider World: From the Mid-Nineteenth Century to the Present, Akira Iriye. London: Longman. 1997. viii, 213pp. ISBN: 0-582-21053-4

The Clash: U.S.-Japanese Relations Throughout History, Walter LaFeber. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. 1997. xxii, 508pp. ISBN: 0-393-03950-1

Hands Across the Sea?: U.S.-Japan Relations, 1961-1981, Timothy P. Maga. Athens, Ohio: Ohio University Press. 1997. x, 183pp. ISBN: 0-8214-1210-8     

Asia Women's Fund Revisited

The Asian Women's Fund's atonement project for former comfort women set a new vision of Japan in which the people along with the Japanese government proactively participate in performing the moral responsibility for the suffering of former comfort women in cross-boundary and cross-generational ways. This article argues that the Fund's imperfect reconciliation with former comfort women particularly in Taiwan and South Korea was due to the misunderstanding about moral responsibility as an evasion of the Japanese government's legal responsibility and due to the inadequate exercise of political and administrative leadership. Underneath these factors lie the intertwined root causes of the limited availability of facts on the issue of comfort women and the ideologically driven discourse. The article suggests the following measures as a further atonement project: strong political leadership to present the clear meaning of moral responsibility, cooperation with the governments and support groups in the victims' countries, and an international truth investigation.     

The Background to the Japan-Republic of Korea Agreement: Compromises Concerning the Understanding of the Comfort Women Issue

This article argues that behind the background of the December 2015 agreement between Japan and South Korea over the issue of comfort women lies the emerging common understanding about the nature of the issue of comfort women, particularly the issue of coerciveness, and the subsequent moderation in rhetoric in mutual security cooperation in view of the destabilization in the region, particularly due to the rise of China and the nuclear and missile threats from North Korea.     

Effects of a Dog-Assisted Intervention Assessed by Salivary Cortisol Concentrations in Inmates of a Japanese Prison

Physiological effects of a dog-assisted, stress management and communication training program conducted in a prison were investigated by assessing salivary cortisol concentrations of prison inmates before and after the sessions. The program was conducted with groups of inmates with psychiatric and/or developmental disorders. In the program, male inmates interacted with trained pet dogs and their volunteer handlers. Inmates evaluated their mood states before and after each session by using a questionnaire. Moreover, handlers evaluated the quality of the interaction with inmates after each session. Results indicated that the inmates’ cortisol values in most cases decreased following their participation in the sessions. The inmates who demonstrated stress reduction by decreasing cortisol values were diagnosed only psychiatric disorders, were aware of their mood improvement, and were evaluated by the handlers as having interacted well during the sessions. This indicated the validity of psychiatrists’ diagnoses, inmates’ self-evaluation, and handlers’ evaluation of inmates. Also, inmates who experienced a medium mood without mood changes had decreased cortisol values. It is suggested that these results are useful for predicting and selecting inmates who are expected to obtain effects by participating in the program. Moreover, it is suggested that providing feedback to inmates about changes in their salivary cortisol levels could help them better understand their psychophysical state, which could result in more effective stress management.