Thanks for visiting The use of software that blocks ads hinders our ability to serve you the content you came here to enjoy We ask that you consider turning off your ad blocker so we can deliver you the best experience possible while you are here Your browser does not support JavaScript, or it is disabled．Please check the site policy for more information National Report Hiroshima Prefecture—An animal-cruelty suspect has indicated responsibility for the deaths of dozens of rabbits on Okunoshima island a wartime weapons production site that is now a tourist hotspot called “rabbit island,” police said Hiroshima prefectural police said the suspect a 25-year-old company employee from Otsu city 21 after he was seen kicking rabbits on a walkway of Okunoshima island in Takehara city He is accused of violating the Welfare and Management of Animals Law The suspect has admitted to “kicking rabbits in the same way several times since October last year,” according to the Takehara Police Station “While I felt that these rabbits were adorable I wanted to know how rabbits would react when they were bullied,” police quoted him as saying 77 dead rabbits were found on the island between late November last year and mid-January this year The small island in the Seto Inland Sea is about 4 kilometers in circumference It is known as the site of a poison gas factory of the imperial Japanese military the island has drawn thousands and thousands of tourists because of its many rabbits According to the Environment Ministry’s Chugoku-Shikoku Regional Environmental Office the rabbit population on the island is around 500 Thirteen rabbit carcasses were found from Nov Ten percent of the bodies had bone fractures “It is unnatural for so many carcasses to be found in such a short period of time,” the official in charge said After receiving a consultation from the Environment Ministry the Takehara Police Station has started checking security camera footage on the island According to the Chugoku-Shikoku Regional Environmental Office rabbits were brought to Okunoshima island in the 1970s word spread widely about the rabbit population on the island and the number of tourists there sharply increased and the rabbit population jumped to about 1,000 at one point “The rabbits on Okunoshima island understand that people give them food,” said Fumio Yamada a visiting professor of zoology at Okinawa University and an expert on rabbit ecology “But the rabbits are at risk of infectious diseases and abuse Yamada noted that the rabbits on the island are domesticated European rabbits the rabbits can easily thrive in the environment As for the injuries confirmed on 10 percent of the rabbit corpses Yamada said it is possible for the animals to break bones or bleed in fights over food or females but there is also a possibility of abuse by humans It is a risk caused by the animals being too familiar with people,” he said About 200,000 people visited the island in 2023 “It is difficult to take countermeasures because the island has become a tourist spot but it may be necessary to limit the feeding and interactions with humans,” Yamada said (This article was written by Kai Nemoto and Hana Endo.) Death toll from heavy rains in Kyushu region continues to rise Heatstroke alerts continue for many areas after 2 deaths Information on the latest cherry blossom conditions Please right click to use your browser’s translation function.) A series based on diplomatic documents declassified by Japan’s Foreign Ministry Here is a collection of first-hand accounts by “hibakusha” atomic bomb survivors chefs and others involved in the field of food introduce their special recipes intertwined with their paths in life A series about Japanese-Americans and their memories of World War II In-house News and Messages No reproduction or republication without written permission The staff for the new live-action series of Osamu Tezuka's Black Jack manga revealed on Tuesday that musician and actor Pistol Takehara will join the show's cast as Biwamaru He will perform music in-character within the show and he will also perform the show's theme song "Hitoyo" (One Night) Hideo Jōjō is directing the series, and Yoshiko Morishita is writing the screenplay. Takashi Ohmama is composing the music. Isao Tsuge is designing the costumes and supervising the character designs Tezuka's original Black Jack manga centers on a brilliant maverick doctor who practices without a license. Tezuka published the manga in Akita Shoten's Weekly Shōnen Champion magazine from 1973 to 1984. The official Osamu Tezuka website describes the manga: The manga has inspired multiple anime adaptations The manga has inspired several Japanese live-action adaptations The manga is also inspiring a Chinese live-action adaptation Beijing Enlight Pictures announced the adaptation in 2020 at a press conference announcing new works in production Beijing Enight Pictures' subsidiary Coloroom Pictures is producing the work "Black Jack Kikai no Shinzō - Heartbeat Mark II" (Black Jack Mechanical Heart - Heartbeat Mark II, a new partially generative AI-produced 32-page one-shot Black Jack manga, debuted in Weekly Shōnen Champion magazine on November 22 An earlier project "TEZUKA2020" launched a manga titled "Paidon" in February 2020 that used AI to learn from and imitate Tezuka's style Source: Comic Natalie Nicholas Santos nuota 23.26 nei 50 m farfalla M45 LCM limando di 1,70 s il precedente record mondiale e superando il minimo “A” per i Mondiali we are discussing the madness that occurred at the Ft Lauderdale Pro Swim Ledecky’s world record in the 800 free proves that age is seemingly just a number for her but it also makes the Rio 2016 swim she beat out more memorable Marchand has a few areas of improvement to work on if he hopes to return to his Paris form at the World Championships this summer in Singapore having tight battles in both the 200 and 400 IM but ultimately touching 2nd in both March 20th, 2024 Asia, International, News, Previews & Recaps It’s day five of the 2024 Japanese Olympic Trials and we are officially halfway through the meet There was a short prelims session over in Japan this morning with only four events to cover: the women’s 200 breaststroke While Suzuki has focused on the sprints over the past few years this 200m distance was once her best event she claimed bronze in the 100 breast (1:06.46) before snagging silver in the 200m (2:20.92) distance Yumeno Kusada was 2nd quickest during prelims clocking 2:26.33 en route to winning the final heat The 18-year-old boasts a best time of 2:25.70 in the event and may have that in her sights once the semifinals roll around Imai owns a career-best 2:22.98 in this event and also specializes in a variety of other disciplines but has opted to focus on breaststroke this year Shuichi Takehara (1:56.90) was the fastest men’s 200 backstroker during prelims as he stopped the clock in the only sub-1:57 effort who cut off 0.03 from his previous best that he set almost exactly a year ago his time in the heats already undercuts the Japanese Olympic qualifying time of 1:56.92 so he looks to be on the right path with two more rounds to go After missing the qualification standard in the 100m distance, backstroke legend Ryosuke Irie touched in 1:58.82 for 2nd this morning holds the national record in both the 100 (52.21) and 200 (1:52.54) backstrokes He produced both of those records back in 2009 has a lifetime best of 2:06.77 in this event which is under the 2:07.95 qualifying time set by Swimming Japan She won the 2022 Junior Pan Pacific title (2:07.82) in this event and placed 5th in the final of the 2023 World Championships (2:07.15) Mizuguchi clocked a time of 2:08.22 back at the 2022 World Championship Trials so she’s in contention to notch a qualifying time as well The women’s 50 back heats ended the session, with Miki Takahashi (28.56) clearing the field by 0.11 She posted a time of 27.84 in this event at the Fukuoka World Championships last July That time still stands as her lifetime best and makes her the early favorite for tonight’s final Hikaru Yamazaki (28.67) and Miri Sasaki (28.68) qualified 2nd and 3rd behind Takahashi Yamazaki narrowly missed her best time of 28.46 while Sasaki was about three tenths shy of her 28.36 marker from September’s World Junior Championships Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value" More from Sean GriffinSee All Subscribe to our newsletter and receive our latest updates Travel back to Edo-period Japan in this port city located in central Hiroshima Animal lovers with a passion for travel have been raving about Japan’s ‘rabbit island’ Ohkunoshima for half a decade but only a handful of visitors that make their way to the ferry take the time to wander around this corner of Hiroshima Prefecture This is a shame considering the port city of Takehara is full of delicious local delicacies and picturesque architecture which has earned it the nickname of “Little Kyoto” — despite being located in central Hiroshima While you won’t find lush bamboo fields you will discover traces of history left behind through interactive workshops consider spending a day or two in Takehara and make sure to tick off your bucket list all the following activities It’s easy to get caught in a routine when traveling especially hopping from one landmark to the other Takehara is a relatively small city with mostly residential neighborhoods and landmarks are sparse doesn’t mean that the city is not worth stopping by Where it lacks in Instagrammable towers it makes up in fun unique (and affordable!) workshops that make for a truly hands-on experience of Japanese culture it should be takezaiku (objects made of bamboo) Perfect for those who enjoy working with their hands the end result makes for a unique and travel-friendly souvenir Not only will you be bringing home something you made yourself but also a little bit of the Takehara spirit For a more contemporary type of experience visitors can also sign up for a kimono experience and walk around Honmachi a neighborhood where you can see a street full of traditional Japanese buildings This area is also known as the Takehara Townscape Conservation Area Climbing up the temple’s stairs will reward you with a beautiful view of Takehara Other experiences also include handmade pottery and more so be sure to do your research before heading out A visit to Hiroshima just wouldn’t be complete without tasting local gourmet food which includes the well-known Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki There are a handful of local joints that serve the delicious savory pancake around town a port city means lots of fresh fish to satisfy those who want a taste of Japan’s sushi culture Another distinctive feature of local food in Takehara is its use of salt that might not sound like much of an innovation but the city has been producing high-quality salt for decades and to this day it remains an important part of the local economy and cuisine You can learn more about how cooking salt through a visit and a workshop at a local salt factory and see what makes Takehara salt so special This relationship with salt is also at the heart of a well-loved and rich sake culture in the city Takehara is home to many master brewers and nationally renowned breweries The city is said to be blessed with great water which is an important component when it comes to making delicious sake which has been open for business since the end of the 19th century Fujii Shuzo dedicates itself exclusively to junmai-shu a variety of sake meant to be enjoyed alongside food instead of by itself Visitors interesting in the sake-making process would be happy to know that it’s possible to visit local breweries off-season (spring to fall) and some even offer tasting on-site All these factors make Takehara an amazing place to spend an evening comfortably seated in an izakaya with local dishes and sake Take your experience of traditional Japan from the streets to your hotel room by staying at Nipponia This chain of luxurious hotels inspired by ryokan (Japanese inns) is known for its beautiful Japanese rooms offering nothing short of Japanese hospitality High-end rooms also come with private hinoki baths making it abstain from a late-night soak Its Takehara branch is located right at the center of Honmachi only a short walk from Saihoji Temple and some of the city’s coziest cafes including some of the ones mentioned above through the Nipponia Takehara website and on-site after checking in The hotel is also home to a restaurant with a menu inspired by the variety of ingredients freshly available in Takehara salt but also a wide assortment of seafood For a taste of Takehara in an elegant setting the easiest and quickest ways to reach Takehara City is by car For more information about car rental services in Japan, check out this guide If you would rather take the railway route there are a few routes possible but here is the most time-efficient one take the Nozomi Shinkansen bound for Hakata Station change for the Kodama Shinkansen and get off at Mihara Station take the JR Kure Line towards Takehara Station To reach the Takehara Townscape Preservation Area, it’s a short 20-minute walk. Alternatively, you can rent bicycles and ride around the city. To learn more about renting bicycles in Takehara, please refer to this web page Learn more about what to do in Takehara city via their travel website (Japanese and English): www.takeharakankou.jp/en/ Hiroshima Prefecture (Asahi Shimbun file photo) Why do people experience comfort when using things Shoichiro Takehara of the Faculty of Science and Technology adopts an interdisciplinary approach to the analysis of “comfort”—combining mechanical engineering and Kansei engineering—and seeks to apply his findings to product development When humans use objects or ride modes of transport we experience sensations of comfort: “that felt comfortable to use,” or “that felt comfortable to ride.” On occasion we also experience the opposite: “that was difficult to use,” or “that was unpleasant to ride.” It turns out that there are an unexpectedly large number of factors at play—including many we are not conscious of My research focuses on scientifically analyzing human notions of comfort and pleasantness and applying my findings to the actual development and evaluation of different products we measure how the human body moves when it uses objects we consider what sensations these movements elicit in the user we gauge the influence these sensations have on the human mind I integrate three different engineering fields in my research: mechanical dynamics which seeks to identify the relationship between force and motion when a machine moves; human factors engineering which seeks to understand interactions between humans and external objects; and Kansei engineering which seeks to reflect human needs and feelings in product design including sports equipment such as golf clubs and tennis racquets modes of transport such as autonomous cars and trains I have also engaged in joint research with automakers and railroad companies to help them determine what their product development goals should be Let me give you an example of joint research I conducted with an automaker into how autonomous vehicles brake there is a divergence in human preferences—that is to say what is comfortable for each person differs with modes of braking Some people feel more at ease when the brakes are engaged slowly and smoothly; but others feel a sense of anxiety unless there is an element of suddenness in the braking we used motion capture to make detailed measurements of how the human body moves under braking and also measured the subjects’ lines of sight to better understand how these subjects felt toward different braking methods it was thought that there was a huge range of human preferences when it came to braking; but when we actually compared the motion-capture measurements of how the body moves with the results of the questionnaires we found these preferences fit a small number of patterns When mapping out future paths for product development companies often attempt to take human needs and feelings into account; however simply taking the average results from questionnaires rarely leads to success we learned it was possible to incorporate human needs and feelings into product development by first classifying their range of preferences An example of research that ultimately led to a product launch is my collaboration with the home furnishing products company to design a school bag that prioritized child comfort With this product we took a Kansei engineering approach to define “comfort” for a child Our investigations revealed that a high degree of friction between the school bag fabric and the child’s back—in other words the school bag stayed in place and was less prone to sliding around—was key to the child’s perceived comfort The school bag was launched to market in March 2020 and was a recipient of the Good Design Award in fiscal 2019 Although mechanical engineering research has a tendency to focus on objects my own research is motivated by an interest in people—specifically Clues to manufacturing better products can be found in the people that use them If we wish to manufacture highly usable objects we must scientifically quantify and visualize the movements—and even the sensations—of the people they are intended for I believe this will become the new guiding philosophy for manufacturing and contribute to the development of more comfortable products “How to win friends and influence people” by Dale Carnegie This book offers hints for how we should live our lives I have felt blessed with the people around me I developed a habit of thinking about the backgrounds of the people I interact with—and this has helped me build positive relationships with many people The Knot- Nexus of Knowledge by Sophia Professors Product development and the scientific analysis of comfort Northwest Asian Weekly March 5, 2024 By Pasado’s Safe Haven announced that Mark Takehara is its new executive director The nonprofit organization based out of Sultan Washington advocates for animal rights as well as provides a sanctuary for rehabilitating animals that have suffered abuse and neglect Takehara previously was the executive director for Serendipity Center Inc in Portland and Boys & Girls Clubs of Bend He was president of Hope Chinese Charter School in Beaverton and led Community for Youth in Seattle He brings his background of building community partnerships and fundraising to Pasado’s Safe Haven Pasado’s Safe Haven was named after a popular 21-year-old donkey He was killed by three teenage boys on the night of Apr The death stunned the community and the organization continues on to advocate for tortured Volume 14 - 2020 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2020.554147 The prefrontal cortex plays a key role in emotional state Electroencephalography (EEG) studies have reported relationships between frontal asymmetry in the alpha band The current study investigated whether the positive or negative valence of emotional stimulation or the behavioral intention to either facilitate or suppress one’s facial expression in response to these stimuli is reflected in relevant changes in frontal EEG asymmetry EEG was recorded while participants either produced a facial expression that was in accord with positive or negative feelings corresponding to image stimuli The laterality index of frontal alpha power indicated greater relative right frontal activity while participants suppressed facial expression compared with facilitating facial expression during emotional stimulation there was no difference in frontal asymmetry between the presentation of image stimuli showing facial expressions corresponding to positive vs These results suggested that frontal asymmetry was related to the control of facial emotional expressions rather than the perception of positive vs microstate analysis revealed that the appearance rate of microstate class B with polarity in the left frontal area increased during the suppression of facial expressions The present results suggested that frontal asymmetry reflects the control of facial emotional expressions which supports the motivational direction model with technological progress in machine learning and measurement instruments new techniques for estimating emotion have been developed Psychophysiological studies estimating emotion are employed in various fields such as neuromarketing and the development of communication tools for people with physical disabilities To examine the neural mechanisms of emotion brain function imaging devices such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) have been widely used to measure whole brain activity electroencephalography (EEG) has also been used in psychophysiological studies because EEG measurement involves a relatively small burden for participants with the development of analytical technology is now capable of examining cortical neuronal networks the relationship between frontal EEG asymmetry and emotional state has been investigated for a relatively long time Frontal EEG asymmetry is assumed to be present when there are differences between the left and right frontal regions in alpha band (8–13 Hz) power. Higher alpha band power is used as an index to indicate cortical activity suppression (Pfurtscheller et al., 1996; Klimesch, 1999; Coan and Allen, 2004) Activation of the frontal region is considered to be caused by decreased alpha band power values Several studies have focused on alpha band power and examining the relationship between frontal asymmetry and emotional state The affective valence model and the motivational direction model are subject to ongoing debate regarding whether frontal EEG asymmetry reflects emotional state or motivations related to approach–withdrawal behavior The results revealed that positive stimuli elicited greater relative left frontal activity elicited greater relative right frontal activity These findings support the affective valence model Conversely, the motivational direction model predicts that relative frontal asymmetry reflects motivational direction. Motivational direction distinguishes approach motivation to move toward a stimulus from withdrawal motivation to move away from a stimulus (Harmon-Jones et al., 2013) the affective valence model and the motivational direction model predict the same result because positive emotions are associated with approach and negative emotions are associated with withdrawal the experimental results described above can be explained not only by the affective valence model but also by the motivational direction model participants with higher levels of detachment showed EEG responses indicating more relative activation related to withdrawal and less relative activation related to approach relative frontal asymmetry reflected personality traits as motivational direction rather than just reflecting anger or sadness This finding indicated that the two models can be compared by focusing on motivational direction for emotions other than anger Papousek et al. (2018) interpreted their results in a social–emotional context we paid attention to emotional control in communicative situations people sometimes exhibit facial expressions that are contrary to their actual feelings These facial expressions are important for positive communication and in clinical applications we focused on the control of facial emotional expressions as motivational direction These findings indicated that high approach positive emotion caused greater relative left frontal activity compared with low approach positive emotion in accord with the motivational direction model the suppression of facial emotional expression may be related to withdrawal motivation we directly compared affective valence using affective images (positive vs negative) and motivational direction using the control of facial emotional expressions (facilitation vs we sought to test the following two hypotheses: (1) if PFC asymmetry reflects the perception of positive and negative emotional states relatively greater activity of the left compared with right PFC would be expected following stimulation with positive compared with negative images; and (2) if PFC asymmetry reflects the control of facial emotional expressions of facilitation and suppression relatively greater activity of right than left PFC would be expected following emotional stimulation with instructions to suppress emotional expressions regardless of the valence of the emotional stimuli Characteristic EEG activity related to emotional state or the control of facial emotional expressions was investigated by comparing the appearance rate of microstate maps and the sequences of microstate maps between conditions 25 undergraduate or graduate students (10 females age range 19–26 years) participated Participants reported their handedness based on the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory All participants had normal or corrected-to-normal vision and no participants reported any neurological or psychiatric problems Written informed consent was obtained from all participants prior to participation in the experiment All experimental procedures were approved by the ethics committee of Hiroshima International University (No These 90 images were used as image stimuli in this study The content of the positive images included smiling children and similar subjects and was intended to elicit positive emotions The content of negative images included the scene of a robbery and an accident scene and was intended to elicit negative emotions Neutral images were objects and landscapes A facial expression task was used to manipulate the control of participants’ facial emotional expressions while the image stimuli were presented The facial expression task had two conditions: facilitation and suppression the participant was instructed to produce a facial expression that was in accord with each image stimulus (positive or negative) the participant was instructed to not change their facial expression regardless of the image stimulus being presented Both conditions were performed for all participants the participant performed facial control according to the experimental condition After a blank screen was presented for 1 s subjective rating of the image stimuli was performed (see “Measurements” section) This trial was repeated for all 90 image stimuli The image stimuli were presented in a random order at a visual angle of 11.64° on a 20-inch LCD monitor (2007FPb USA) approximately 1.5 m in front of the participants Protocol for stimulus presentation and facial expression responses The three labeled images show examples of the image stimuli from international affective picture system (IAPS) and open affective standardized image set (OASIS) that were presented in the experiment (positive: IAPS The two images of the woman show the facial expression task that was performed by participants during presentation of the image stimuli Participants evaluated the image stimuli by rating them on a nine-point scale for the following three items: positive–negative (valence) and elicited facial expression—did not elicit facial expression (facial expression strength) the emotions elicited by the stimuli were selected from six categories: sadness EEG and electromyography (EMG) were continuously recorded throughout the experiment using a Neurofax device (EEG-1100 EEG was sampled at a rate of 500 Hz and amplification of 0.05–120 Hz according to the International 10-20 system EEG was recorded from 25 scalp sites using an EEG cap with Ag–AgCl electrodes and was re-referenced from the average of earlobe measurements Electrode impedances were below 10 kΩ EMG was sampled at a rate of 500 Hz and amplification of 5–250 Hz The electrodes were attached to the right sides of the face over each corrugator supercilii (CS) and zygomatic major (ZM) muscle region EMG of the CS and ZM was recorded using the same filter as the EEG and was used as an index during the facial expression task EEG data analysis was performed with independent component analysis (ICA) using EEGLAB 15 (Delorme and Makeig, 2004) in the MATLAB platform (2017b; MathWorks Independent components that were considered to arise from eye blinks epochs were discarded if they included extreme amplitude values (exceeding −100 or +100 μV) the average numbers of trials for each condition after removing invalid components and epochs were as follows The facilitating facial expression condition had an average of 29.64 trials for the positive condition The suppressing facial expression condition had an average of 29.48 trials for the positive condition The following preprocessed EEG data were analyzed following EEG data collection Spectral analysis: The power spectrum of each site was computed for every 6 s (one trial) of EEG data using a fast Fourier transform (FFT) for 25 scalp sites The Hamming window was used for smoothing; the window size was 2 s For the computed power spectrum of the alpha band (alpha power) the standard deviation (SD) was calculated for each participant and any epochs that included extreme alpha power (exceeding three SD) were removed from further analysis For the corresponding right and left regions the laterality index was calculated using the following formula: (left side alpha power − right side alpha power)/(left side alpha power + right side alpha power) × 100 Greater alpha band power was used as an index of the suppression of cortical activity; positive values on the laterality index indicate greater relative right regional activity while negative values on the laterality index indicate greater relative left regional activity EEG microstate analysis: EEG microstate analysis was performed using Cartool (Brunet et al., 2011) an alpha band filter was applied to all EEG waveforms and the global field power (GFP) at the local maxima was detected EEG topographies were obtained from detected GFP peaks Cluster analysis was performed using the k-means clustering algorithm the appearance rate of microstate classes and the sequence of microstate classes were computed The EMG data were analyzed to confirm whether the participant made a facial expression consistent with the experimental condition EMG amplitude was averaged with 6 s epochs while presenting image stimuli for each condition mean EMG amplitude values of 3,000 points data for 6 s were calculated for each trial These amplitudes were averaged for each image stimulus and facial expression condition in the CS and ZM regions Two-way repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to compare the subjective evaluation of image stimuli and post hoc testing was then performed using the Bonferroni correction The Greenhouse–Geisser correction was used to adjust the degrees of freedom The appearance rates of microstate classes computed by microstate analysis were compared using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test and nonparametric statistics A paired t-test was also performed to compare the doublet sequence of map patterns in the microstate analysis Statistical significance was defined as p < 0.05 for all analyses Analyses were performed using SPSS 24.0 (IBM Data for the subjective rating scores were analyzed using two-way repeated ANOVA with 2 levels of control (facilitation vs. suppression) × 3 levels of emotion (positive vs. neutral vs. negative). Figure 2 shows the results of the subjective rating scores for the image stimuli there was a significant interaction (F(1.17,28.30) = 5.45 there was a significant difference between positive and negative images in the two facial expression conditions (p < 0.001) there was a main effect of the emotion condition (F(1.22,29.45) = 9.25 Post hoc testing revealed that the scores for negative images were significantly higher than those for positive (p < 0.05) or neutral (p < 0.001) images The interaction was significant for facial expression strength (F(1.60,38.51) = 28.57 there was a significant difference for positive (p < 0.01) and negative (p < 0.001) images between the two facial expression conditions in the facilitating facial expression condition scores of facial expressions for positive (p < 0.001) and negative (p < 0.001) images were significantly higher than that those for neutral images in the suppressing facial expression condition the scores of facial expressions for positive (p < 0.05) and negative (p < 0.01) images were significantly higher than those for neutral images Mean subjective rating scores for valence (A) **p < 0.01 and ***p < 0.001 In addition to the subjective ratings, the EMG responses of the CS and ZM were analyzed using two-way repeated ANOVA. Figure 3 shows the mean amplitude of EMG responses for each region The interaction was significant for the EMG amplitude of the CS (F(1.21,29.11) = 6.94 there was a significant difference between the two facial expression conditions for positive (p < 0.001) the CS EMG amplitude for negative images was significantly greater than those for positive (p < 0.01) and neutral (p < 0.05) images in the facilitating facial expression condition The interaction was significant in the EMG amplitude of the ZM (F(1.07,25.69) = 21.14 the ZM EMG amplitude for positive images was significantly greater than that for neutral (p < 0.001) and negative (p < 0.001) images Mean electromyography (EMG) amplitude for CS (A) and ZM activity (B) in each condition The laterality index of F3/4 and FC1/2 did not show any significant differences and FC5/6 all exhibited significant differences in the laterality index The main effect of the facial expression condition was significant at Fp1/2 (F(1.00,24.00) = 4.31 Laterality indices of the pairs of electrode sites at the frontal region (A) and for each image stimulus (B) The main effect of emotion was significant at F7/8 (F(1.72,41.48) = 5.39 ɛ = 0.86) and FC5/6 (F(1.81,43.47) = 6.72 Post hoc testing revealed that the laterality index in the neutral condition had a larger negative value than that for negative images (p < 0.01) These results indicate that the facilitating facial expression condition was associated with greater relative left frontal activity whereas the suppressing facial expression condition was associated with greater relative right frontal activity We observed that the appearance rate of the microstate classes did not differ between the emotion conditions but differed between facial expression conditions To analyze the difference in appearance rate between facial expression conditions the Wilcoxon signed-rank test was performed The appearance rate of microstate class B (from right occipital to left frontal areas) was significantly higher in positive (Z(24) = −2.65 r = −0.47) images in the suppressing facial expression condition compared with the facilitating facial expression condition Microstate class maps (A) and the appearance rates of microstate classes for positive (B) to examine the relationship between the order of the appearance pattern of microstate classes and emotional state the numbers of doublet sequences of each microstate class were compared between the facilitating and suppressing facial expression conditions for each emotion using a paired t-test The doublet sequences of the microstate classes were calculated as follows: the number of transitions from each microstate class to another microstate class normalized by the fraction of the total number of microstate class transitions of participants the AA sequence means that microstate class A appears after microstate class A and the AB sequence means that microstate class B appears after microstate class A The BB sequence was significantly higher for positive (t(24) = −3.43 r = 0.54) images in the suppressing facial expression condition compared with the facilitating facial expression condition the EB sequence was significantly higher for positive (t(24) = −2.25 r = 0.41) and negative (t(24) = −2.09 r = 0.39) images in the suppressing facial expression condition compared with the facilitating facial expression condition the BE sequence was significantly higher for only positive (t(24) = −2.07 r = 0.38) images in the suppressing facial expression condition compared with the facilitating facial expression condition The present study directly compared affective valence and motivational direction in PFC asymmetry by manipulating the presentation of affective images (positive and negative) and facial expression tasks (facilitating and suppressing facial emotional expressions) We hypothesized that PFC asymmetry would support: (1) the affective valence model if PFC asymmetry reflected the perception of emotional state and relatively greater activity of the left than right PFC would be expected following stimulation with positive compared with negative images; or (2) the motivational direction model if PFC asymmetry reflected the control of facial emotional expressions and relatively greater activity of the right than left PFC would be expected following emotional stimulation with an instruction to suppress emotional expressions It is noteworthy that the level of arousal was higher in the negative condition than in the other conditions the arousal rating scores were still relatively low and there was no difference between the two facial expression conditions these results suggest the validity of the manipulation of emotion induction and facial control in the present study the current results suggest the involvement of an asymmetrical model We first examined the laterality index of the alpha power alpha power was greater in the left frontal area during suppression of facial expression compared with when facial emotional expression was facilitated during emotional stimulation Because greater alpha power is used as an index to indicate suppression of cortical activity these results indicate that greater relative left PFC activity was exhibited in the facilitating facial expression condition and greater relative right PFC activity was exhibited in the suppressing facial expression condition negative images elicited greater relative right PFC activity compared with neutral images Applying these results to the affective valence model right PFC activity was consistent with negative emotional stimulation but inconsistent with positive emotional stimulation PFC asymmetry appeared to be caused by facial control rather than emotional state This result supports the hypothesis that PFC asymmetry reflects the control of facial emotional expressions of facilitation and suppression This result is inconsistent with our findings of right frontal activity while suppressing facial expression the experimental conditions included suppressing facial expression for positive images as well as negative images It is possible that suppressing facial expression for positive images is more strongly related to withdrawal behavior the positive suppression condition might have effectively induced right frontal activity while suppressing facial expression participants performed facilitating facial expressions producing facial expressions according to their own emotional state and suppressing facial expressions that conflicted with their own emotional state asymmetry in the frontal pole area appeared to reflect participants’ choice of facial control for emotional stimulation and/or responses when suppressing emotional facial expressions Although both of these studies used facial expression images the greater relative right frontal area activity in negative images was caused by the perception of emotion elicited by controlling facial expressions because positive images are associated with approach motivation relative left frontal activity would be expected in response to positive images The right frontal activity mentioned above for facial control may have canceled out left frontal activity related to approach motivation the laterality index for positive images may not have differed between neutral and negative images microstate classes similar to these were also found although the experimental conditions were different to those reported in previous studies Focusing on the appearance rate of each microstate class revealed differences between the facial expression conditions there were no differences between the emotion conditions microstate class B showed a difference in the appearance ratio and this was significantly higher in the suppressing facial expression condition than the facilitating facial expression condition microstate analysis showed an increase in the appearance rate of microstate class B (from the right occipital to left frontal areas) This finding is consistent with the laterality index results our model supported the notion that (2) PFC asymmetry reflects the control of facial emotional expression of facilitation and suppression based on the results of the microstate analysis These findings may be related to the increase in the appearance rate of microstate class B in the suppressing facial expression condition in the current study in terms of the doublet sequence of the microstates the BB sequence was increased for all image stimuli in the suppressing facial expression condition This result was interpreted as indicating that the appearance rate of microstate class B was higher in the suppressing facial expression condition than in the facilitating facial expression condition the BE sequence in the positive and negative images and the EB sequence in the positive images only were greater in the suppressing facial expression condition than in the facilitating facial expression condition Although there was no evidence of a relationship between emotion or facial control and the specific sequences of microstate maps the results suggested that a sequence from microstate classes B to E may be related to the suppression of emotion This conclusion was supported by the greater appearance rate of microstate class B in the suppressing facial expression condition and the finding that these sequences were different for positive and negative images in the suppressing facial expression condition the aim of the present study was to examine traditional PFC asymmetry models as the affective valence model and the motivational direction model by directly comparing the combination between affective images and the control of facial emotional expressions The results suggest that PFC asymmetry reflects the control of facial emotional expressions These findings supported the motivational direction model it is possible that the sadness elicited by the affective images may have included anger and this may have influenced the results of PFC asymmetry PFC asymmetry was observed both in the laterality index and in the EEG microstate no neutral condition for facial expressions was included in the current experimental design If PFC asymmetry during facial expression was contrasted with an appropriate neutral condition the activation of frontal asymmetry could be confirmed more clearly facial control was manipulated by instructing participants to change their facial expressions the observation of asymmetry in the frontal region (F7/8 and FC5/6) might be related not only to the motivational direction but also to the function of producing facial expressions Emotional regulation should therefore be investigated using a form of manipulation other than facial expression in future studies EEG microstate analysis suggested the existence of map sequence patterns that are related to positive and negative emotions during suppressing facial expression including studies examining cognitive processing in the emotional state and emotional regulation as well as studies focusing on temporal dynamics are needed to construct a more robust frontal asymmetry model The raw data supporting the conclusions of this manuscript will be made available by the authors The studies involving human participants were reviewed and approved by the ethics committee of Hiroshima International University The patients/participants provided their written informed consent to participate in this study and TI contributed to the conception and design of the study HT performed the EEG and statistical analysis and wrote the first draft of the manuscript TI contributed to the interpretation of data and assisted in preparing the manuscript All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version This work was supported by a KAKENHI Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C) (18K12022) The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a 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social emotional behavior Prototypes are attractive because they are easy on the mind Ishihara S and Iwaki T (2020) Comparison Between Facilitating and Suppressing Facial Emotional Expressions Using Frontal EEG Asymmetry Received: 21 April 2020; Accepted: 03 September 2020; Published: 09 October 2020 Copyright © 2020 Takehara, Ishihara and Iwaki. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited in accordance with accepted academic practice distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms *Correspondence: Tatsuya Iwaki, dGl3YWtpQGtvbWF6YXdhLXUuYWMuanA= Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher 94% of researchers rate our articles as excellent or goodLearn more about the work of our research integrity team to safeguard the quality of each article we publish one recently minted nomad returned to van life this summer native Stuart Takehara started living life on the road about 2 years ago remotely managing his businesses while exploring the country But driving a 40-foot RV while towing a Jeep comes with challenges Takehara decided to ditch his “big ol’ machine” for a Mercedes Sprinter Louis on June 24 for the van’s owner to arrive from North Carolina the 43-year-old and van lifer reflected on his decision “A lot of it is cost savings,” Takehara said I don’t have to spend money on campsites and places to stay … In the rig I could expect 16-18 miles per gallon with the van I can cover more ground and save more money.” as economic pressures pump the brakes on the cherished tradition of the American road trip Travellers Autobarn has campervans for hire We drove one on a road trip through California to check it out Gas prices spiked in March, surpassing $5 a gallon, and have continued to climb. In mid-June AAA recorded the highest-ever average prices for both regular unleaded and diesel fuel which reached $5.01 on June 14 and $5.81 on June 19 For both full-time van-dwellers and families on RV road trips the result will likely be the same: less traveling and prolonged stays in the same place — usually close to home “Nobody is really getting out of the lifestyle from what I’m seeing,” Takehara said “I’ve talked to other RVers about their travel habits and what they’re doing differently What I’ve found is that people are just traveling less and staying in one spot longer.” Observed statistics bear out Takehara’s take. A June survey from RV Trader asked 1,800 shoppers if they planned on traveling in an RV within the following 3 months 57% admitted to changing their plans as a result of unprecedented gas prices Those adjustments include traveling fewer miles (50%) About 11% said they would consider buying a more fuel-efficient vehicle “We expect local and hyper-local travel to increase,” said Rachel Heseltine “Travelers looking to shed gas costs might tighten their travel range opting to move into locations closer to their original departure location.” Schmechel spent every summer tent-camping in the American West to escape the Texas heat His “COVID pandemic project” involved buying and converting a Dodge Ram ProMaster he and his girlfriend wanted to drive up the East Coast to Maine the price tag for the East Coast trip comes to about $1,400 Instead of using the converted ProMaster himself he’s now considering renting it out to others “I’m thinking about staying in Austin and just staying in the air conditioning,” he said “My potential pivot now is destinations I can fly to … I can make it down to Mexico City and visit friends for a couple hundred bucks.” gas was cheap and remote work motivated many Americans to reassess their lifestyle Social media remains a hotbed for sales of recreational vehicles and tips on how to convert them for long-term trips. While interest in the lifestyle hasn’t slowed much, the pages now feature more conversations about fuel costs and places where you can prolong your stay “It might shift the relationship with vanlife,” Schmechel said about the increased economic pressures “People who live full-time in a given city in a vehicle won’t have as much trouble The people who treat it as a luxury will be impacted a bit more.” For some of those living full-time on the road the rise in gas prices still hasn’t impacted the lifestyle’s advantages Whimsical Cyn has been living with her partner in a Ford E450 shuttle bus Yet paying more for gasoline has still affected them less than the increased cost of rent — or campgrounds “Even campgrounds are still half the price of an apartment but without the security deposit and pet rules and crappy neighbors,” Cyn said we would spend more time in each area before moving on and then not go super far.” five-star hipster aesthetic and luxury upgrades KOA encourages you to try a new way of glamping this summer mainly because of vehicle maintenance issues they’ve decided to opt for a travel trailer and cargo van setup “I’ve done a trailer and truck in the past and it worked out okay,” Cyn said we can do a basic conversion inside that and go on excursions from any campground we’re parked at and get probably double the gas mileage which would be nice.” While gas prices have certainly impacted how people travel those committed to the lifestyle will find ways to make it work He’s made a new community of friends across the country and he’s not willing to give that up “There’s still things on my list to do I’m going to keep living on the road.” Consider the rougher side of life on the road Andrew McLemore is a staff writer at AllGear Digital Andrew has more than 10 years of experience covering a range of beats including government with specializations in criminal justice and investigative journalism working for nonprofit organizations including the Texas Access to Justice Commission and Texas RioGrande Legal Aid Andrew brings his writing experience to outdoor gear and adventures throughout the Americas 2023 shows ruins of the largest existing former poison gas storage depot on Okunoshima Island  As Japan's historical education focuses on the victim's narrative while neglecting its past as a perpetrator most visitors are aware of "rabbit island" but remain oblivious to the dark history of the "poison gas island," said Masayuki Yamauchi director of the Poison Gas Island Historical Research Institute 19 (Xinhua) -- Nestled within the serene waters of Japan's Seto Inland Sea lies Okunoshima Island a seemingly idyllic island with bouncing rabbits and cartoon bunny icons at every turn but history unveils a much darker truth: the island was once a major hub for the production of chemical warfare agents Known as "poison gas island," Okunoshima is also where poison gas used to be manufactured for Japan's invasive war against China the 78th anniversary of Japan's unconditional surrender during World War II (WWII) A 10-minute boat ride from Tadanoumi Port in Takehara City brings visitors to Okunoshima where children can be seen gleefully chasing rabbits and feeding them Little did they know that rabbits were once victims of a war of invasion Japan produced a significant amount of chemical agents in defiance of international bans with nearly 90 percent of them originating from Okunoshima The island housed around 200 rabbits used for testing the efficacy of poison gases In an attempt to cover up their chemical warfare crimes after their defeat Japan exterminated all experimental rabbits Rabbits seen on the island nowadays were later introduced to attract tourists is director of the Poison Gas Island Historical Research Institute a civic group that gives tours of the poison gas facilities He has been sharing the history of the "poison gas island" for 25 years shows the map of the poison gas factory on Okunoshima Island As Japan's historical education focuses on the victim's narrative while neglecting its past as a perpetrator most visitors are aware of "rabbit island" but remain oblivious to the dark history of the "poison gas island," Yamauchi told Xinhua Records indicate that the Japanese Imperial Army established a chemical gas factory on Okunoshima in 1927 producing poison gas that was transported continuously to the Chinese battlefields Documented instances of Japanese chemical gas warfare on Chinese soil numbered more than 1,241 resulting in over 200,000 casualties among the Chinese military and civilians the Japanese government wiped Okunoshima off maps to protect its secrecy and banned entrance to the island without the permission of the military minister This suppression of its aggressive history somehow persists to this day The Poison Gas Museum was established on the island in 1988 built through grassroots efforts and fundraising by peace advocates The museum displays equipment for poison gas production and documents ordering the use of gas in China Visitors are strictly prohibited from taking unauthorized photographs within the museum Sources familiar with the matter told Xinhua that permission from the mayor of Takehara City is required for photography a majority of Japanese visitors remain unaware of the island's sinister history "This essentially shifts the responsibility of reflecting on the war to the public while granting the government the power to conceal history," remarked Chinese Consul General in Osaka Xue Jian only tens of kilometers away from the city of Hiroshima with convenient transportation receives drastically different treatment from the Japanese government and society compared to Hiroshima 2023 shows storage tanks for toxic agents at the Okunoshima Island Poison Gas Museum on Okunoshima Island has been carefully crafted as a symbol of war victims and the site of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima has been carefully protected as a world cultural heritage the historical legacy of the "poison gas island" just a short distance away is rarely visited bad politicians in Japan will wipe out what's left of this place," Yamauchi said worriedly Yamauchi also pointed out that the Japanese government enacted laws to compensate victims of the atomic bomb after the war but those who suffered from the after-effects of the production of poison gas on Okunoshima were not compensated because the Japanese government did not want to disclose the dark history of the "poison gas island." President of Fukuyama City University Toshiyuki Sato said that Japanese people should not only know the history of suffering from the atomic bombing but also must not forget the history of Japanese victimization similar to the "poison gas island." the "poison gas island" has not completely become history The chemical weapons produced here and abandoned by the Japanese army are still endangering the Chinese people the Japanese army buried or abandoned a large number of unused chemical weapons on the spot in order to cover up their crimes and avoid accountability These chemical weapons were found in over 120 locations across China in 18 provinces abandoned chemical weapons have caused more than 2,000 Chinese casualties the Japanese government always avoided addressing the issue of abandoned chemical weapons in China under pressure from China and the international community that the Japanese government signed a memorandum of understanding with China on the destruction of abandoned chemical weapons in China 2023 shows the Okunoshima Island Poison Gas Museum on Okunoshima Island due to Japan's lack of sense of urgency and insufficient human and financial input the destruction of abandoned chemical weapons has been delayed and overdue four times the Japanese government decided to significantly delay the completion of the work to 2027 "We once again strongly urge the Japanese side to earnestly fulfill its responsibilities and obligations clean up and completely eliminate the poisoning of Japanese abandoned chemical weapons at an early date return a piece of pure land to the Chinese people and ease the war pain of the Chinese people," said Xue.■ 2017 - Fluorescence microscopy gives researchers incredible power to illuminate the tiniest structures and capture the real-time activities of live cells by tagging biological molecules with a veritable rainbow of fluorescent dyes This power comes at a cost: The technology can be expensive and time-consuming and with the introduction of microfluid chip-based platforms One such newly developed platform has been developed by a team of Japanese researchers Their system enables scientists to rapidly image fluorescent cells grown inside the chip using a CMOS image sensor the same technology found in the camera of a smartphone has numerous potential uses in biomedical research "Conventional tabletop-type optical microscopes are powerful tools for researchers but they are not truly adequate for fully automated systems because of the expense and the necessity of well-trained technicians," said Hiroaki Takehara who researches automated cell processing devices at the University of Tokyo and is one of the study's authors he teamed up with co-author Jun Ohta of the Nara Institute of Science and Technology Other groups have developed chip-based fluorescent microscopy systems previously but those setups required the sample to sit directly on the image sensor chip which introduces the risk of cross-contamination These systems cannot be truly high-throughput because the sensor chips must be washed in between use Takehara and colleagues developed disposable chips to overcome these limitations The chip contains microfluidic channels specially designed for culturing cells and the introduction of culture media The chip has an ultra-thin glass bottom that minimizes the distance between the cells and the contact sensor below A CMOS image sensor detects the fluorescence emitted by the cells turns it into an electronic signal and then reconstructs the image To demonstrate the effectiveness of their system the researchers grew cells containing fluorescent dyes in their nuclei within the microchannels When they exposed cells to endothelial growth factor (EGF) the cultures gave off a more intense fluorescence signal than cultures that were not treated with EGF indicating that the sensor detected cell growth The authors acknowledge that the on-chip fluorescence microscopy platform yields images with poorer spatial resolution than those of conventional fluorescence microscopes but offers the advantage of being compatible with fully automated systems The platform's small size and affordability also make it attractive for use in implantable devices for measuring glucose or even brain activity Takehara plans to explore the use of the platform for monitoring stem cell production for use in regenerative medicine and for screening new drugs "The excessive cost of developing novel pharmaceutical drugs and the urgent requirement for [affordable] screening technology has become a pressing issue," Takehara said without the necessity of well-trained technicians is a key technology and serves a pivotal role in the development of cell-based cost-effective screening." AIP Advances is a fully open access, online-only, peer-reviewed journal. It covers all areas of applied physical sciences. With its advanced web 2.0 functionality, the journal puts relevant content and discussion tools in the hands of the community to shape the direction of the physical sciences. 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To learn more see our FAQ Sponsored contents planned and edited by JT Media Enterprise Division. ご指定のページは移動したか、削除された可能性があります。恐れ入りますが、「トップページ」または「サイトマップ」から再度お探しください。またはページ上部のサイト内検索をご利用ください。 過去のページは国立国会図書館の「国立国会図書館インターネット資料収集保存事業」ホームページに保存されている場合がありますのでご利用ください。※検索ページへジャンプします。キーワード検索欄にお探しのページのURLまたはキーワード項目に「国際協力機構」と入力し、検索してください。 but the file you have requested either does not exist or has moved Copyright © Japan International Cooperation Agency Okunoshima Island in Hiroshima is home to around 700 wild rabbits making it an extremely popular location for both Japanese and foreign tourists Takehara City is a common point of departure for the island and soon visitors will be able to enjoy the bunny experience even more thanks to the city's Rabbit Lunch Cafe & Souvenir project This project will see rabbit-themed souvenirs and more being offered at three of the city's shopping districts Why not check out each of the cafes and send a Rabbit Lunch Photo to your friends The Rabbit Lunch Cafe & Souvenir project is part of the Stimulation of Consumption Through Inbound Tourism Promotional Plan Implementation Project which utilizes Prime Minister Abe Shinzo's regional revitalization strategy Check the following links for further details about the Rabbit Lunch Cafe & Souvenir project:・Kiteminsai Takehara・Takehara City Homepage Adorable Rabbit-Themed Lunches and Cafes Are Appearing in Three of Takehara's Shopping DistrictsFrom Saturday and cafes inspired by rabbits will be on offer at 16 stores located around three of Takehara's shopping districts (the Tadanoumi area Pay a visit and enjoy the cute and elaborate menus created by each restaurant The Rabbit Shop in Front of Tadanoumi Station Is a Treasure Trove of Rabbit ProductsTadanoumi Station is the entrance to Okunoshima Island and a pop-up shop dealing in all kinds of bunny-related products and souvenirs is opening right in front of the station there'll be a corner where you can take photos in front of huge panels with rabbit designs or even get your face painted Tasty treats like "Kawaii Usagi no Okashi" ("Cute Rabbit Sweets") and "Shiawase o Hakobu Okome" ("Happiness-Bringing Rice") have been prepared in anticipation of the shop's grand opening and it's a great spot for visitors to Okunoshima Island to get in the bunny mood while waiting for their ferry or train Hiroshima◆ Opening Hours: 9:30 am to 5:00 pm on weekends and national holidays from Saturday Source: @Press Relive the magic of Shinkai Makoto's masterpiece at this wonderful collab cafe This lazy little egg has gotten the moe treatment from @home cafe A visit to these furry friends will not disappoint These places might not appear in your usual guide books but they are absolutely gorgeous - take your trip to Japan up to the next level please disable the ad blocking feature and reload the page This website uses cookies to collect information about your visit for purposes such as showing you personalized ads and content By clicking “Accept all,” you will allow the use of these cookies Users accessing this site from EEA countries and UK are unable to view this site without your consent By Sayaka Watanabe / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer Hiroshima — Okunoshima Island in the Seto Inland Sea is widely known as “rabbit island,” home to about 500 rabbits living in an area rich with nature many tourists board a ferry to visit the small island that has a circumference of 4 kilometers in Takehara locals are trying even harder than usual to promote the island’s appeal gestures and everything about them is cute and lovely,” said Takayuki Nakamura as he directed a camera toward brown rabbits in a square near the Kyukamura Okunoshima hotel the couple came to the island on holidays and became captivated by the rabbits Now the couple work together as photographers that mainly specialize in pet rabbits The island is a special place for the pair They visit the island almost every month and take pictures of the rabbits early in the morning and around sunset when the bunnies are most active trying to capture the best moments to show how the furry animals are living their life to the fullest Sometimes they come across rabbits fighting over territories they find something new about the furry creatures name them and warmheartedly watch over them There were many other visitors on the February day “It is fun when the bunnies come near me and sniff,” said a 9-year-old boy from Hyogo Prefecture Why did Okunoshima become a rabbit-friendly island The island used to have other monikers: “Poison gas island” and “the island erased from maps.” it was hidden from the public because the island hosted a factory where the Imperial Japanese Army produced toxic gases There are still ruins of former gas storage units and other related facilities as well as a museum that tells the history to this day the island was designated in 1950 as part of a national park The Kyukamura hotel opened in 1963 for school trips and school circles No one lives on the island except employees of the hotel and most of the island is under the management of the Environment Ministry The rabbits on the island are believed to be European rabbits that were kept outside the island After being brought to the island around 1970 their presence became widely known through social media posts by international tourists visiting Japan more than 400,000 people visited the island Locals are working hard to revitalize tourism on the island and the surrounding areas to recover from the pandemic Students of Takehara High School joined together with the city government to make a calendar using photos of the rabbits “Please come to the island and watch rabbits in seasonal landscapes — hydrangeas in June The coffee shop of the Kyukamura hotel has begun serving a weekday-only lunch set with rabbit-shaped slices of white bread “A trip here starts with a welcome by cute bunnies There are also grand views of the Seto Inland Sea and its islands and you can also go fishing or stroll about,” said the hotel’s manager “I hope visitors will enjoy their stay at this rabbit island resort.” the number of tourists coming to the island surged and a great deal of food they brought for the rabbits caused adverse effects to the environment and a health hazard for the rabbits the Takehara municipal government and local residents worked together to think up solutions — for example they encourage people to take home the food that the rabbits do not eat — so that the coexistence of many tourists and adorable rabbits can continue into the future An old town in central Takehara was designated by the government as an Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings in 1982 which used to flourish due to the production of salt and sake retains an atmosphere redolent of the 17th-18th century The district fascinates tourists with characteristic decor on merchants’ houses and mansions such as paneling that look like paper cutouts and heart-shaped woodwork The island is located about 3 kilometers from Tadanoumi Port in Takehara It takes about 15 minutes to reach the island on the Omishima Ferry or the Kyukamura hotel’s boat One to two vessel services are available every hour during the daytime The Tadanoumi Port is about a five-minute walk from Tadanoumi Station on the JR Kure Line The train station closest to the preservation district is Takehara Station on the same line which is the third stop from Tadanoumi Station Hiroshima : Rabbit lovers, rejoice! Okunoshima island is just hopping with furry friends Rabbit Island residents face threat from natural enemies Our weekly ePaper presents the most noteworthy recent topics in an exciting © 2025 The Japan News - by The Yomiuri Shimbun View the discussion thread. Please view the main text area of the page by skipping the main menu. The page may not be displayed properly if the JavaScript is deactivated on your browser Japanese version Please upgrade to a more modern version to fully experience JapanToday site and for security reasons While Hiroshima usually conjures images of the atomic bomb, this is only one of the prefecture’s many identities. Alongside the difficult yet necessary displays at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum Hiroshima Prefecture offers plenty of nature Hiroshima Prefecture has mountains to the north and the sea to the south the area is abundant in agricultural produce and fresh seafood Hiroshima has historically been a nexus point of culture and commerce connecting the Asian mainland and eastern Japan From Hiroshima’s famous foods to the best spots to see cherry blossoms Continue reading for our list of the 10 best things to do in Hiroshima Okunoshima is famous for its dark history and being home to over 1,000 wild rabbits The island once served as a chemical weapons production center during WWII Okunoshima’s main attractions are the hundreds of adorable rabbits that roam freely around the island The island also has magnificent views of the Seto Inland Sea and surrounding islands Okunoshima is a one-of-a-kind experience and probably the only place you can sunbathe next to rabbits on the beach Tadanoumicho, Takehara, Hiroshima - Map Take a ferry ride to the island from Tadanoumi Port rabbit-island.info Onomichi is a port town well-known for its Temple Walk It features 25 temples and can take up to a few hours to complete The temple was built around 1200 years ago and overlooks Senkoji Port The temple’s main hall has striking vibrant red lacquering seen on postcards and photographs 15-1 Higashitsuchidocho, Onomichi - Map Nearest stations: JR Shin-Onomichi or JR Onomichi You can access the temple via the Mount Senkoji Ropeway www.senkouji.jp Takehara Townscape Conservation Area is a historical district capturing life in Japan’s feudal era the old provincial name of Hiroshima Prefecture Walk the recreated streets of Takehara and explore restored merchant houses 3 Honmachi, Takehara - Map www.takeharakankou.jp/en Click here to read more Use your Facebook account to login or register with JapanToday you will also receive an email inviting you to receive our news alerts Join the leading Asian tourist attraction to assist our diverse range of customers A mix of what's trending on our other sites VietNamNet Bridge – Former world boxing champion Shinji Takehara of Japan will take part in friendly matches against Vietnamese boxers on December 29-30 Former world boxing champion Shinji Takehara of Japan (left) The event will be held at Hoa Lu Stadium in HCM City Takehara was the first boxer from Japan to capture the world middleweight title he landed a shot at becoming the World Boxing Association middleweight champion against Jorge Fernando Castro of Argentina and won The event is part of Viet Nam-Japan Sports and Culture Festival KIZUNA which aims to celebrate the 45th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries fans will have a chance to enjoy cultural and musical performances of the two countries Singer Sakai Nariko and actor and former pop idol Mikio Osawa will also attend the event By Hitoshi Ishida / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer Hiroshima — A battle is brewing on so-called Rabbit Island rats and other natural enemies of the furry feral denizens that give the island its nickname are increasing as a result of overfeeding by tourists These enemies have grown in number as they feast on food uneaten by the rabbits The island in the Seto Inland Sea is properly known as Okunoshima and is part of the city of Takehara The reason there are hundreds of wild rabbits on the island has been blamed on the release in the 1970s of a few rabbits raised at an elementary school off the island When Okunoshima was developed by the central government as a recreational site the rabbits gained fame as a symbol of the island Thanks to successful promotional activities by the municipal government the island became a major tourist destination As tourists posted about the island on social media using the moniker in Japanese for “Rabbit Island,” the number of visitors swelled from about 125,000 in 2013 to 289,000 in 2019 the Imperial Japanese Army had a poison gas factory on the island war-related remnants are seen in various parts of the island But the adorable image of Rabbit Island has taken hold so visitors bring vegetables and other food this feeding has probably been what keeps the rabbits alive give pastries and other snacks people usually eat that are not good for the rabbits’ health There is often too much food for the rabbits to gobble up leading to the leftovers being eaten by crows Witnesses have seen crows poking rabbits in the eyes when stealing the food given to them and preying on weakened rabbits An information center on the island under the jurisdiction of the Environment Ministry has made leaflets asking visitors not to leave food behind the center recommends giving them a little at a time and watching over them until they finish eating “Leaving food behind means telling the crows where rabbits are,” reads a flyer on the island to disseminate these feeding habits to all visitors the ministry’s local bureau and other local entities have decided to deploy “supporters,” special staff who will be responsible for educating tourists More than 50 people applied to be a supporter and training of applicants is planned before the start of activities in summer