Recently, there has been an increase in the number of “unreported” cases in the Population Census of Japan caused by nonresponses to the survey. Subsequently, this has led to data reliability challenges. In light of this problem, the factors related to the low response rate of the 2015 Population Census in the central Tokyo area are examined in the present study. An online survey was conducted among individuals residing in the three Special Wards of Tokyo to inquire about their responses (submitted or not submitted) to the previous census. The statistical analyses demonstrated that particularly in central Tokyo, middle-aged (35–49 years) people and those who did not own a single-family residence were more likely to be nonrespondents, while most of the other characteristics were similar to the results reported in a previous nationwide study. However, further studies are required to fully understand the high rates of unreported cases in central Tokyo.

This paper briefly introduces the method and results of Regional Population Projections for Japan: 2010–2040 published in March 2013 by the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research. We demonstrate that a population projection using the cohort component method maintains reasonably high accuracy, at least for the near future. For the results of the projection by 2025, population declines in municipalities in nonmetropolitan areas will accelerate, and rapid population aging in the suburbs around metropolitan areas will be unavoidable. We emphasize that because deaths will increase in metropolitan areas after population aging, populations in metropolitan areas will decline following the declines in nonmetropolitan areas.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss methods of geographical research of fishing communities from the viewpoint of economic geography.The problem of the use of sustainable resources is now one of global concern. Japanese coastal fisheries are noteworthy examples of the success of natural resource management, as supported by the following two facts. One is the unique Japanese fishery policy called gyogyo-ken, that is the system of fishery rights. The other is the stability of the fishing yield by the coastal fisheries, which has been around 2 billion tons from the 1910s to the 1990s, with the exception of the period of the Second World War.However, there has not been a great deal of geographical research on fishing communities. One of the major reasons for this is the obsolescence of conventional research methods. To overcome these problems and succeed in advancing our empirical studies, research methods should be evaluated.This paper has three main sections. The first is related to regional and economic change in Japanese rural areas and the effects that these have had on fishing communities compared with agricultural communities. The second major section reviews existing research on fishing communities conducted by geographers, economists, and sociologists. In particular, the development of research methods in each of these fields is the focus of this study. The third section evaluates differences among geographic, economic and sociologic studies and identifies the distinctive features of geographical research, and explores ways to research fishing communities.After WWII, the economy of Japan developed remarkably. In rural areas, agriculture and fisheries, which were the main industries before the era of rapid economic growth, became a depressed sector, and the number of people involved in agriculture and fishing decreased. However, it is considered that the processes which took place in fishing communities are not the same as those which occurred in agricultural ones, because the conditions were different in each. People who worked in fishing did not have the opportunity to engage in a subsidiary business; on the other hand, people engaged in agriculture did.The major concern of geographical research of fishing communities has been to understand the processes of change and explain the spatial differences in fishery communities. Its distinctive feature since the early studies is that geographers regard a local phenomenon as being specific to time and space. Until the 1970s, however, their analyses were provided at the aggregated level and paid little attention to the concrete actions of people living in fishery communities. After the 1980s, the behavioral approach was introduced and clarified what former studies had ignored. However, this new study, depending on the behavioral approach, also needs to be evaluated. First, there are problems with time. This new research was analyzed based on temporal data. The use of longitudinal data is needed to understand the process of changes in fishery communities. A second problem is that they paid little attention to social relations. To understand the process of change in fishery communities, it is also important to explore social relations because these relations influence individual actions.The geographical methods used to study fishing communities are then classified into four categories as follows:1. Temporal and individual: individual behaviors in a fishing community are analyzed using temporal data.2. Temporal and organizational: organizational behaviors in a fishing community are analyzed using temporal data.3. Dynamic and individual: individual behaviors in a fishing community are analyzed using longitudinal data.4. Dynamic and organizational: organizational behaviors in a fishing community are analyzed using longitudinal data.

This paper attempts to explain the transition and sustainability of a fishing community by tracing the relations of fishery households and the reproduction mechanism of fishermen. In Japan, the number of coastal fishermen decreased after World War II. Consequently, many fishing communities moved on to other production activities. However, some fishing communities have survived. Nagashima, one of the surviving fishing communities, has been selected as the study area. The results of the research can be summarized as follows. 1. The production activities of the households in Nagashima changed from fishing supplemented by farming or farming supplemented by fishing to fishing alone during the rapid economic growth era after World War II. Consequently, three types of fishery households appeared: Type 1) squid fishing, Type 2) angling, and Type 3) diving apparatus fishery. Each fishery household adapted to management circumstances under such constraints as fishing skills and labor composition, which is dependent upon the family life cycle. 2. Each fishery household has sustained its fishing activity by flexibly using kinship or communal relationships. However, these relationships have always been informal. 3. The reproduction mechanism of fishermen has worked well. From an economic perspective, the successor has played an important role in terms of household income. From a social viewpoint, friendship and social customs have influenced successors. 4. The economic aspect of the reproduction mechanism in Nagashima is more precarious than that in Oro-noshima community, which has the same geographical conditions. Consequently, it is uncertain whether successors will engage in fishing. © 2002, The Human Geographical Society of Japan. All rights reserved.

This paper attempts to analyze the economic and social changes on a small remote island, which depends on fishery, by tracing the reproduction process of residents, and to clarify the mechanism of households reproduction. Japanese rural areas, such as remote mountain villages and islands, have experienced drastic depopulation since the beginning of the economic development following World War II. Consequently, many communities either disappeared or were in danger of disappearing, but some have survived. One of such surviving comunities is Oro Island, a small remote island that si primarily dependent on its fisheries because of its geographical and ecological conditions, which differ from those of remote mountain villages. The results of the research can be summarized as follows. 1 The history on Oro Island after World War II can be divided into four periods (I: 1945-1953. II
1954-1996. III: 1966-1982, and IV: 1983-1998). The increasing production levels of fishing are the result of various technological innovations. 2 The fishing industry labor organization, responsible for organizing the fishing fleet, has a direct effect on the number of households. In the first reorganization of term A [1 to the first half of II]. each household retained some successors, who enable the households to increase their numbers. In the second reorganization of term B [II], almost all households retained only one successr because of fishing regulations that imposed labor constraints. As a result, the number of households increased only slightly. On the other hand, some organizations and households retired from work in the fisheries in term B. However, decreasing households were few because of providing new employment oppurtunities by the association of fisheries founded and developed in the 1960s and 1970s 3 The households income level of those in the fishing industry has been higher than that of typical urban workers. The income leverl per fishing worker has also been higher than that of employees, who get a first job after the graduation of school in period III. This has enables the Oro Island community to maintain its number of households. 4 Social customs have influenced the natives of Oro Island. Males were affected throught family ties, labor organization, and community ties. Females are affected most by their oppurtunities for marriage. 5 Because of the changing social and marriage patterns, it will remain difficult to maintain the number of households. In spite of the problems, the number of households will be maintained at a sufficient level. The reasons are that social conditions will affect a few households, and that the level of fishing resources will be able to satisfy the economic conditions of fishery on Oro Island. the second.