Böcker i International Perspectives in Geography-serien

Management geography explores the spatial characteristics of management-related issues, especially of firms. This book discusses management geography in Japan and other Asian countries from Asian perspectives. The field has made significant contributions to the global economy but has not been deeply investigated in English-language geographical literature to date. The book addresses the following critical questions:What kinds of challenges do multinational corporations in Japan and other Asian countries face?How are managerial actors in multinational enterprises (MNEs) embracing boundary-spanning activities in a global context?How do firms and related entities cultivate business pipelines and 'buzz' within and beyond local regions?How do actors in Japanese MNEs, small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and related institutions embed various managerial processes at overseas locations? This book consists of two parts: Part I discusses the application and roles of Japanese and international managerial practices in the globalizing world. Part II examines changing business communities in the industrial and rural spaces of East Asia, focusing primarily on Japan and China. This work will interest readers in a wide range of fields, including geography, management studies, economics, urban planning and sociology. The book is also suitable for upper-level undergraduate students and graduate students in geography, management studies and related fields.

This book describes observed features of urban climate and its long-term variations as well as the relationship of climate to heat stroke in Japan, based on observational data and statistical analyses. Consisting of three parts, the book is a valuable resource for researchers and professionals involved with these topics. Part 1 focuses on urban climate. The basic characteristics of heat islands are reviewed, and long-term urban warming is described with a focus on the distinction from global warming. The influence of microscale environmental changes on the observed temperature is also presented, as well as changes in wind and precipitation in urban areas. They deepen our understanding of the features and mechanisms of urban heat islands and their long-term changes. Part 2 describes the climatological features of heat stroke mortality, which has become a major social problem in Japan, using mortality statistics and meteorological data. The spatial and temporal variations of heat stroke mortality are analyzed quantitatively on various spatial and temporal scales. In addition, the number of ambulance transports is examined as another measure of heat stroke casualty. The results provide insight into the climatological factors related to heat stroke mortality and contribute to the implementation of preventive measures. The climatology of deaths from extreme cold is also presented. For supplementary information, an overview of the geography, climate, and meteorological data of Japan is presented in Part 3.

This book is the first work to comprehensively investigate the enclaves of non-Japanese residents in Japan. In a comparative study, it convincingly examines eight enclaves of five nationalities (Chinese, Korean, Filipino, Brazilian and Turkish) in twelve municipalities. Japan now leads in terms of depopulation in countries affiliated with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The fact that the country has been supplementing the decreased number of Japanese nationals with an increase in migrants, who form enclaves, has attracted great attention. The temporal development and status quo of such enclaves are important concerns of researchers, policymakers and the general public. This publication is the result of joint studies by geographers and sociologists and contributes to a more detailed understanding of these topics. It thus represents a valuable achievement in the study of the segregation and enclave formation of minority nationalities. The empirical validity of existing explanatory frameworks, such as spatial assimilation and heterolocalism, is also discussed in a Japanese context.

This book discusses the building of comprehensive community support systems, which constitutes a key issue in social security reforms in Japan. The book comprises three parts: (I) Mapping Social Security in Japan, (II) Community-Based Integrated Care Systems in Japan, and (III) A Prospect of Community-Based Inclusive Society in Japan.

Comparative analysis of the communities provides a practical framework to understand a variety of local resources in Japan's coastal regions, which will serve as a guide to the development of alternative adaptive governance in community-based small-scale fisheries in the world.