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Advances in perinatal and paediatric medicine have led to an increase in children requiring ongoing medical care while living within their local communities. This study aimed to identify challenges in enabling children with medical needs to enrol in local schools and participate fully in school activities. A literature review was conducted, analysing 20 peer-reviewed academic papers published in Japan between 2015 and 2025. The results revealed that challenges concerning the enrolment and participation in school activities of children with medical needs can be categorised into the following five domains: diverse circumstances of children with medical needs, systems concerning enrolment and support, teachers’ expertise, parental burden, and coordination within and outside the school and shortage of nursing staff. These challenges are interrelated and suggest they may constrain school attendance and participation in local schools.

This study aims to examine the educational effects of collaborative field-based learning in the professional training of social workers. Since 2017, the authors have participated with students in community-based activities, including a dementia café organized by the Yamaguchi Prefecture branch of the Alzheimer’s Association Japan, and have explored the educational significance of experiential learning in real-world settings. With the implementation of a new curriculum in 2021 and the launch of the Mental Health Social Work Course in the Faculty of Social Welfare in 2022, the need arose to review and analyze these ongoing initiatives. Accordingly, group interviews were conducted with students who had participated in the dementia café, with the cooperation of the host organization. The analysis revealed that students learned, through direct interaction with people with dementia, their families, staff, and local residents, the attitudes and understandings required of social work professionals. Furthermore, observing and engaging with on-site staff functioned as a form of live supervision, deepening their learning. These findings suggest that field-based experiential learning is effective in cultivating human resources capable of fulfilling social roles within the community. Strengthening collaborative learning support systems between universities and practice settings will be essential for future educational development.

Outcomes and Challenges of Community Care Conferences as Perceived by Care Managers This study aimed to clarify the outcomes and challenges of community care conferences from the perspective of care managers, who play a central role in community-based integrated care systems. A self-administered anonymous questionnaire survey was conducted among care managers in A Prefecture who had experience participating in community care conferences focused on individual cases, yielding 155 valid responses. The results indicated that community care conferences functioned as opportunities to review care management processes and to deepen understanding of other professionals’ roles. However, participants reported limited perceived effects on service users and their families, as well as limited impacts on motivation for continued participation and job retention. Furthermore, the quality of conference facilitation and the nature of interdisciplinary collaboration were found to be associated with care managers’ evaluations of community general support centers. These findings suggest that community care conferences should be redefined and reconstructed not as one-time discussion forums, but as continuous support processes encompassing pre-conference, conference, and post-conference phases. In particular, it is important to clarify the responsibility of community general support centers in providing post-conference follow-up and practical support, in order to ensure that agreed care plans are effectively translated into practice.

This study examined the provision of public social welfare—specifically, disability welfare services— for individuals with severe behavioral disorders and the outcomes of such welfare provision. This study identified an increase in the abuse of persons with disabilities—specifically those with severe behavioral disorders—in the context of welfare service provision. There is also a growing need for dignified support in which physical restraints are not used as a tool for management. Among individuals with severe behavioral disorders, needs have remained unmet because prior barriers embedded in public disability welfare provision have resulted in service delivery that diverges from the standard that allows the individual to lead the life they wish. These unmet needs, in turn, give rise to irreversible outcomes. The social welfare provision system must clearly define the responsibility for welfare provision and ensure its reliable implementation. Social welfare policies are required that ensure reliable service provision while enhancing responsiveness to the needs of the individual, their family members, and the entities responsible for social welfare provision.

This paper examines the practice of social independence support in children’s homes and considers future challenges from the perspective of “ independence support staff “ who play a role in supporting independence in children’s homes. An interview survey was conducted with independence support staff assigned to children’s home in Prefecture A, and a qualitative analysis was conducted focusing on the nature of collaboration within the institution and independence support. The results showed that there was ideological consistency in the view of independence among independence support staff at children’s home, and that the forms of collaboration between independence support staff and care workers were categorized into three types. In addition, challenges were identified from multiple aspects in the practice of aftercare and the support provided by independence support staff.

This study investigates the formation process, operational characteristics, and practical functions of a privately initiated network of housing support organizations (the Network Council) in Area B of Prefecture A. Focusing on a network established by certified housing support organizations, it analyzes how inter-organizational collaboration has developed in response to the limitations of single organization housing support. Employing a qualitative research design, semi-structured interviews were conducted with two key informants, the chairperson and the secretary-general, who played central roles in the establishment and management of the network. The findings demonstrate that contemporary housing support increasingly involves complex and interrelated needs that exceed the capacity of individual organizations. In this context, the Network Council functions as a practical mechanism for information sharing, collective decision-making, and coordination with external agencies. Furthermore, the network reframes housing support as a continuous process encompassing post-move-in support and the maintenance of everyday life. At the same time, challenges related to operational burden, role visibility, and long-term sustainability were identified.

A Quest for the Depths of“ Yuragi” I have reflected on my trajectory in social work education, practice, and research through the lens of“ yuragi,”. In the fields of social work and social work education, there are many moments when one encounters unspoken emotions, hesitation, and uncertainty that cannot be fully put into words. I have sought to understand such experiences by conceptualizing them as yuragi, and by exploring them through both poetic expression and academic inquiry. In addition, in my research on the community-based integrated care system, I have proposed the hypothesis that diverse forms of yuragi also arise in the process of interprofessional collaboration. I believe that these forms of yuragi can become opportunities to deepen relationships among professionals. Looking ahead, I hope to give words to the yuragi experienced by people working in care settings. I am convinced that the core of social work lies in the stance of continuing to stand beside clients, even while wavering and wandering within uncertainty.

The aim of this research is to provide translations and annotations of all the poems written by the High Tang poet Gao Shi. This study (Part 1) contains translations and annotations of eight of his poems.

A transcribed letter from Maruyama Oryu to Ozu Yoemon(a merchant of Edo period), held in the Mie Prefectural Library.

A Transcription of Ozu Hisatari's “Yanagisakura Nikki”. Ozu Hisatari was a merchant of the Edo period. “Yanagisakura Nikki” is a travelogue of his visits to Kyoto and other places.

This report describes the establishment and first year of the Department of Information Society, Faculty of Intercultural Studies, Yamaguchi Prefectural University, along with its purpose and progress. The Department of Information Society was planned and established as a liberal arts department. It was developed for literature and social sciences, and to address, society’s digitalization and structural transformation. The author describes the difficulties at the time of the department’s establishment, and the issues it may face in the future.

Yamaguchi Prefectural University students will identify information they deem necessary, utilize digital signage to organize and analyze campus information from a student perspective, and strive to create an environment for disseminating highly convenient information. The purpose of this research is to improve content through practical activities and, by leveraging user experience, aim to realize an information-sharing environment that is easy to understand and actively utilized.

This paper analyzes the ancient mountain castle (built in the latter half of the Seventh Century) at Mt.Iwakisan(Hikari City, Yamaguchi Prefecture). It first draws on traditional research findings in the fields of archaeology, history, and folklore. It then combines these findings with cutting-edge analytical methods using GIS to measure visual range and water flow paths, presenting the results of a multifaceted analysis.

The purpose of this study is to identify the social actors who sustained the Kokkuri-san boom that emerged in the late nineteenth century. Previous studies on Kokkuri-san have predominantly taken one of two approaches: either treating Kokkuri-san as self-evidently belonging to children’s culture, or focusing on its popularity during the Meiji period and interpreting it as a form of adult entertainment. Drawing on materials related to Kokkuri-san up to the end of the nineteenth century, this study analyzes how children and adults were involved in Kokkuri-san from a relational perspective. The analysis demonstrates that the practice of Kokkuri-san was deeply embedded in everyday life and widely shared, without a clear separation between children and adults. At the same time, among members of the educated classes, an emerging tendency can be observed to downgrade Kokkuri-san by reclassifying it as a children’s game.

This joint study discusses how to implement STEAM education in the current curricula of the Faculty of Intercultural Studies. First, we propose that through instructional design and subject matter development based on the mathematical modeling process, it is possible to foster a more favorable attitude toward mathematics subjects. Paper folding crafts are effective tools of STEAM education, with focus on mathematics. Second, we consider it to be important for students to gain a sense of self-efficacy through STEAM education in order to envision specific STEM careers and actually perceive them as viable career paths. This sense of self-efficacy cannot be acquired merely through occupational experiences alone. Universities are now required to determine whether they can cultivate students who develop genuine interest and engagement in educational content, while maintaining curriculum diversity and clearly demonstrating how it connects to careers.

This study examines cafe culture as one of the keywords for understanding contemporary Korean society. Cafes have become an important space for many Koreans in their daily lives. As a first step in understanding its characteristics, this paper focuses on the period from the 1860s, when coffee was introduced, to the 1950s, when ‘Dabang’(Korean-style cafe) became established. The analysis revealed that from the perspective of users, it was found that coffee and dabangs during this period were a culture shared by certain groups of people. Also, it has been confirmed that instant coffee from the U.S. military PXs, and the Korean War had a significant impact on the popularization of coffee and dabangs.

In recent years, university-based Japanese language teacher training programs have faced a range of complex challenges, including a mismatch between the practical competencies required in educational settings and existing curricula, the need to maintain professional expertise while responding to increasingly diverse educational demands, limitations in faculty and institutional resources, difficulties in securing sufficient practicum opportunities, the provision of career support after program completion, and the integration and effective use of educational technologies such as ICT. In addition, given that not all individuals who complete such programs pursue careers as Japanese language teachers, it has become increasingly important to consider training approaches that remain meaningful even for practicum students whose primary career paths lie outside the teaching profession. This paper examines a case study of a Japanese language education practice implemented at Yamaguchi Prefectural University, a university where Japanese language education is not offered as a primary major. Focusing on an initiative that includes online Japanese language instruction for children with foreign backgrounds, the study investigates the outcomes and challenges of an educational approach aimed at fostering civic-mindedness and developing generic competencies in a multicultural society. Data were collected through a questionnaire survey administered to practicum students, consisting of five-point Likert-scale self-assessment items and open-ended responses. The analysis was conducted from multiple perspectives, including practicum students’ attitudes toward the practice, foundational skills for working adults, awareness of multicultural coexistence, reflections gained through teaching practice, and changes in future career outlooks. The findings suggest that this educational practice has educational significance not only in terms of acquiring Japanese language teaching skills, but also in fostering attitudes necessary for engaging with others as members of a multicultural society and in cultivating generic competencies related to interpersonal support. At the same time, several issues were identified that warrant further consideration, including program management, the articulation between theory and practice, and the development of collaborative frameworks with partner schools.

By 2060, approximately one in every 2.5 people in Japan is expected to be elderly, and there is an urgent need to establish a sustainable system of collaboration and cooperation based on human networks involving diverse stakeholders, organizations, and facilities, including local residents. However, many local governments still face challenges in establishing comprehensive community care systems, such as a shortage of people to support such systems and difficulties in providing services. The purpose of this study is to clarify the actual state and issues of collaborative partnerships in community-based integrated care systems. In particular, we focus on the roles of professionals and the nature of collaboration in urban and rural areas, and through a comparison of the two regions, we present insights that will contribute to the future operation of community-based integrated care systems. In Chapter 1, we conducted a literature review on the policy background and contemporary issues of the community-based integrated care system, clarifying the research questions and analytical perspectives of this study. In Chapter 2, we outlined the research methods and definitions of terms, and organized the research framework. In Chapter 3, we analyzed the narratives of professionals in urban and rural areas using text mining to clarify the actual state of collaboration and cooperation. In Chapter 4, we examined the operational challenges and future directions of the community-based integrated care system through a comparison of the two regions. The analysis revealed that urban areas faced issues such as a shortage of informal service providers, one-way communication due to the vertical structure of government, and a lack of facilities. Meanwhile, rural areas faced a combination of issues, including a shortage of professionals and social resources, poor transportation, a decline in community activities, and a lack of learning opportunities. Additionally, in rural areas, it became clear that many elderly people and their families desire long-term care in residential facilities due to the fragility of caregiving capacity. This means that in urban areas, there aren't enough professionals to handle the number of people who need their help, so they can't do their jobs properly. This shortage also leads to a vicious cycle where it's hard to keep up quality and hold training sessions and study groups to maintain standards. In rural areas, there are even fewer professionals to begin with, and there aren't enough offices, so each professional has to take on a wider range of responsibilities. In other words, it became clear that in urban areas, although systems and services exist, there is a problem in that human resources and operations are not keeping pace, while in rural areas, there is a lack of systems and social resources to begin with, and geographical and demographic barriers are significant obstacles to collaboration and cooperation.

In advance care planning (ACP), there are cases where it is difficult for patients to express their intentions for various reasons. In this study, we discussed the difficulties and countermeasures for the implementation of ACP in the cases of children and the elderly, involuntary hospitalization for psychiatric care, and the choice of end-of-life nutrition, as cases in which it is difficult for the patients to express their intentions. Internal difficulties caused by the individual, external difficulties such as non-provision of appropriate information and social difficulties such as the absence of significant others were considered to be the factors that make ACP implementation difficult. It is important for supporters to understand these difficulties and to implement ACP according to the individual patients. It is hoped that discussions on the promotion of ACP will be further enhanced in the future.

Excessive use of social networking services (SNS) is known to have a significant negative impact on mental health in university students. In this study, we conducted an online questionnaire survey of university students and analyzed 146 responses in order to clarify the relation between SNS addiction and self-compassion among university students. As a result, it was found that there was a significant negative relationship between SNS addiction and self-compassion in the university students. In addition, the subscales of "self-judgment," "isolation," and "over-identification" were significantly associated with SNS addiction. These results suggest that selfcompassion education may help reduce the deterioration of mental health caused by SNS addiction.

We developed a lifestyle reflection sheet for preventing and treating metabolic syndrome. Our tool aimed to help local residents identify their risk factors for metabolic syndrome, recognize areas for improvement in their lifestyle habits, and proactively engage in health promotion. We enrolled 1,146 patients, consisting of 715 men and 431 women, aged 18 to 92 years. Inclusion criteria were those who underwent health checkups at Mine City Hospital and answered a lifestyle questionnaire. We hypothesized that individuals with conditions related to metabolic syndrome have undesirable lifestyle habits. To test this hypothesis, we conducted logistic regression analysis to examine the probabilities of metabolic syndrome, hypertension, hyperglycemia, and dyslipidemia. The results were displayed as similarity percentages, reflecting how closely the daily behaviors of individuals with these conditions aligned with the behaviors of those who had these specific health issues. Eight specific behaviors were selected for preventing and improving metabolic syndrome: diet-related (eating behaviors that do not lead to obesity, avoid snacking, consume vegetables, reduce salt), physical activity-related (physical activity/ exercise, avoiding prolonged sitting), health-related (maintaining a sense of coherence), and alcohol-related (amount of alcohol consumed). The scores for these factors were calculated using a validated factor analysis. Each item was visualized by displaying a graph showing the standard deviation for all survey subjects. The lifestyle reflection sheet was printed on special paper and returned to individuals after their health check. The sheet served as a reference tool for health guidance. By utilizing this sheet, individuals could be individually notified of their risk of developing metabolic syndrome and the benefits of healthy behaviors. Behavioral changes for health were encouraged through a review of lifestyle habits.

The dissemination of knowledge and awareness regarding mental health promotion is an important issue in the mental health and welfare policies of local governments. In order to clarify the relationship between the social life situation of local residents and their mental health, we analyzed 1,139 people who underwent health checkups at Mine City Hospital and answered a lifestyle questionnaire about their psychological state (Kessler 6 Scale [K6]), social interaction (Lubben Social Network Scale-6 [LSNS6]), sleep (Athens Insomnia Scale [AIS]), economic situation, household composition, and residential area by sex and age group (youth: 20-39 years old, middle age: 40-64 years old, elderly: 65 years old or older). In men, K6 score decreased as the age group increased; however, there was no change in women across all age groups. Furthermore, when comparing by age group and sex, elderly men had the lowest K6 score. Analysis of the data for all subjects revealed that K6 score was negatively correlated with LSNS6 score (r = -0.219, P < 0.01) but had a significant positive correlation with AIS score (r = 0.495, P < 0.01). The "difficult" economic situation group had higher K6 scores than the "average" and "affordable" groups. These findings suggest that people with a poor psychological state have less human interaction and tend to suffer from insomnia and that improving one's subjective economic situation may contribute to a good psychological state.

The purpose of this study was to examine the advantages and problems of the mutual nomination method from the viewpoints of both teachers and children, in order to introduce the method more appropriately and effectively in the classroom. In order to understand from the children's standpoint, we asked university students to reflect on their classroom situations at elementary, junior high, and high schools, and conducted a questionnaire survey using both face-to-face and web-based surveys. The subjects consisted of 138 university students. To understand from the position of the teachers, elementary, junior high, and high school teachers were interviewed. Eleven teachers were elementary school teachers, nine were junior high school teachers, and five were high school teachers. The method of analysis was content analysis for both the children's and the teachers' standpoints. The results are presented initially from the children's perspective, followed by the teachers' perspective. First, from the children's perspective. Regarding experience with the mutual nomination method, in elementary school, the number of respondents with and without experience was 88 and 29, respectively, in middle school, 37 and 77, and in high school, 28 and 102, respectively. Five categories of advantages of the mutual nomination method were obtained, including [active and motivated participation in class], [ease of raising hands and speaking up], and [bright and peaceful atmosphere]. On the other hand, four categories were obtained for problems such as [bias and fixation of nominated/non-nominated students], [classroom relationships revealed by bias of nominated/non-nominated students], and [creation of rules for effective implementation of the mutual nomination method]. Next, from the teachers’ perspectives, regarding their experience with the Mutual Nomination Method, elementary school teachers implemented the method according to the subject matter and learning objectives, and according to the condition of the children and the classroom. Junior High and high school teachers implemented the method only slightly. Five categories of advantages of the mutual nomination method were obtained, including [active and motivated participation in class], [deepening of learning], [ease of raising hands and speaking up, and confidence gained from the experience of giving presentations]. Six categories were obtained as problems and innovations of the mutual nomination method, including [introduction of the method in consideration of the situation of the children and the classroom], [bias and fixation of those who are nominated/not nominated], and [creation of rules for effective implementation of the mutual nomination method]. Based on the above results, and considering both the children's and teachers' standpoints, the mutual nomination method seems to have the advantage of making it easier for children to actively and enthusiastically learn, raise their hands, and speak up. However, there are also problems such as the bias of children who speak up, the fact that some children experience not being nominated even if they raise their hands, and the fact that relationships in such classes become more visible. To introduce the mutual nomination method, it is necessary to have a supportive classroom climate and good classroom discipline as a foundation. It was shown that it is important for teachers to fully assess the classroom situation and implement the method under management, such as by applying rules according to the situation.