Ken'ichi Ikeda

Political Communication and Disagreement Among Citizens in Japan and the United States

Patterns of interdependence among and between citizens add an additional level of complexity to a comparative analysis of democratic politics. In this article we examine communication and disagreement among citizens in Japan and the United States. We argue that a majoritarian bias in political communication operates in both settings, but it tends to perpetuate a system of one-party dominance in Japanese politics. Comparative studies of democratic citizenship have focused generally on the variation across national contexts in the political beliefs and values held by individuals. Our argument is that citizenship and the alternative cultures of democratic politics have less to do with the idiosyncratic beliefs and values that individuals carry with them and more to do with the contextually embedded nature of political communication. We address these issues using two community-based studies, one conducted in South Bend, Indiana, in 1984 and the other in Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo, in 1997.

SELECTIVE EXPOSURE IN POLITICAL WEB BROWSING

The effect of Internet use on political information exposure is investigated using representative survey data from Japan and the USA. Internet users can simply choose political information that is consistent with their political attitudes. This selectivity in information exposure via the Internet might have serious consequences on the democratic social system, such as fragmentation of shared information and a decrease in political tolerance. Three research questions were empirically investigated as to the presence of selective exposure in political web browsing, the effect of political web browsing on political tolerance, and the contingencies on which selective exposure occurs. Multivariate quantitative analyses show that web browsing, as a form of Internet use for seeking political information, facilitates exposure to arguments that are consistent with ones attitudes. However, selective avoidance, which suppresses exposure to heterogeneous arguments, is not empirically supported. Moreover, although Internet use as a source of information facilitates exposure to homogeneous arguments under certain conditions, it does not have a negative effect on political tolerance. This is because selective exposure to homogeneous arguments takes place if and only if the perceived issues importance is high. That is, even if selective exposure has an effect on a few issues perceived as highly important, there is no such bias in other less-important issues, which attenuates the effect of selective exposure on the homogeneity of the information environment surrounding each person. It is concluded that the fear of a fragmented society due to selectivity in using the Internet seems to be empirically groundless.

Two Decades of Change in Cultural Values and Economic Development in Eight East Asian and Pacific Island Nations

In a 1982 publication, Ng et al. surveyed the cultural values of select East Asian and Pacific Island nations. In 2002, this study repeated their work, using the same sampling frame, questionnaire, and collaborators, where possible. The authors also reclassified the 1982 and 2002 survey results using Schwartzs cultural-level value dimensions. Submission versus Dionysian values that differentiated the nations in 1982 continued to do so in 2002. Furthermore, nations that endorsed Mastery (and rejected Harmony) in 1982 experienced greater subsequent economic growth than did the other countries. Moreover, economic development in 1982 predicted ensuing changes in Submission versus Dionysian and Hierarchy versus Egalitarianism values. Richer nations tended to endorse Dionysian, Autonomy, and Egalitarianism, whereas poorer nations tended toward Submission, Embeddedness, and Hierarchy values. Overall, the results support both economic and cultural determinism and imply two opposing directions of cultural change.

Multiple Discussion Networks and Their Consequence for Political Participation

Social capital studies have provided some evidence that discussion networks increase political participation. However, a counterargument is that discussion with heterogeneous networks may instead decrease political participation. We examine the empirical validity of this claim using multiple discussion network data collected through the 2003 Japanese General Social Survey. We find that talking about politics positively affects political participation, irrespective of whether politics is the main subject of conversation or merely a by-product of conversation about other topics. Further, our results do not support the somewhat controversial claim that interacting with others holding opposing political views decreases political participation. To the contrary, we find a positive link between political heterogeneity and political participation in a variety of discussion networks.

The Impact of Diversity in Informal Social Networks on Tolerance in Japan

Scholars often incorrectly categorize informal social networks as homogeneous and dismiss their potential for exposing members to diverse opinions. Recent research in the United States, however, shows that diversity in informal social networks exists and has a positive influence on political tolerance. Whether exposure to a politically heterogeneous network also increases tolerance in socially homogeneous Japan is tested here. To do this, two new Japanese national sample surveys that utilize name-generator methodology were created and administered to a sample of respondents, as well as a new measure of network political diversity in a multi-party system. Also, an additional type of tolerance, moral tolerance, was tested. The conclusion is that diversity in informal social networks has a positive influence on political and moral tolerance in Japan.

Roles of transient receptor potential canonical (TRPC) channels and reverse-mode Na+/Ca2+ exchanger on cell proliferation in human cardiac fibroblasts: Effects of transforming growth factor β1

Expression of transient receptor potential canonical channels (TRPC) and the effects of transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) on Ca2+ signals and fibroblast proliferation were investigated in human cardiac fibroblasts. The conventional and quantitative real-time RT-PCR, western blot, immunocytochemical analysis, and intracellular Ca2+ concentration [Ca2+]i measurement were applied. Cell proliferation and cell cycle progression were assessed using MTT assays and fluorescence activated cell sorting. Human cardiac fibroblasts have the expression of TRPC1,3,4,6 mRNA and proteins. 1-oleoyl-2-acetyl-sn-glycerol (OAG) and thapsigargin induced extracellular Ca(2+)-mediated [Ca2+]i rise. siRNA for knock down of TRPC6 reduced OAG-induced Ca2+ entry. Hyperforin as well as angiotensin II (Ang II) induced Ca2+ entry. KB-R7943, a reverse-mode Na+/Ca2+ exchanger (NCX) inhibitor, and/or replacement of Na+ with NMDG+ inhibited thapsigargin-, OAG- and Ang II-induced Ca2+ entry. Treatment with TGF-β1 increased thapsigargin-, OAG- and Ang II-induced Ca2+ entry with an enhancement of TRPC1,6 protein expression, suppressed by KB-R7943. TGF-β1 and AngII promoted cell cycle progression from G0/G1 to S/G2/M and cell proliferation. A decrease of the extracellular Ca2+ and KB-R7943 suppressed it. Human cardiac fibroblasts contain several TRPC-mediated Ca2+ influx pathways, which activate the reverse-mode NCX. TGF-β1 enhances the Ca2+ influx pathways requiring Ca2+ signals for its effect on fibroblast proliferation.

Interpersonal Environment Effects on Political Preferences: The “Middle Path” for Conceptualizing Social Structure in New Zealand and Japan

The effect of interpersonal environment, as measured by the degree of heterogeneity or homogeneity of political party preferences among important others in an individuals social network, was investigated using a national probability sample in Japan and regional sample in New Zealand. In both cultures, the interpersonal environment exerted significant and consistent effects on individual voting preferences. Those who reported inhabiting relatively homogeneous interpersonal political environments (IPEs) displayed a strong tendency to vote for the same political party as the important others in their social network. This effect was robust even after controlling for party identification, attitudes, media exposure, and objectively defined group memberships. Importantly, this tendency was not predicated on the frequency of talk about politics with significant others. Implications are discussed for both micro-level and macro-level theories of social structure and political behavior; an argument is made for the importance of a “middle path”—the psychology of enduring relationships between people.

Warning of disaster and evacuation behavior in a Japanese chemical fire

Abstract On October 1, 1980 (Wednesday), at Ohbu city in Aichi Prefecture in Japan, a large warehouse facility storing a great quantity of chemical materials caught fire, and the city authorities were forced to evacuate the populated area around the warehouse. Ohbu city has a population of 66,000 and adjoins Nagoya city, one of the largest in Japan. The burnedout warehouse was only 1000 m from the center of Ohbu city. What factors determine human behavior in such a crisis situation? In order to begin answering this question, this paper assesses the effects the warning information transmitted to the threatened public had upon compliance with an evacuation order.

Cardiac rehabilitation decreases plasma pentraxin 3 in patients with cardiovascular diseases

Background: Inflammatory markers such as serum C-reactive protein (CRP), serum amyloid A (SAA), and plasma pentraxin 3 (PTX3), which belong to the pentraxin superfamily, increase due to various inflammatory diseases. Some studies demonstrated that serum CRP and SAA are predictors of cardiovascular diseases, and cardiac rehabilitation (CR) induces anti-inflammatory effects. In the present study, we investigated the effects of CR on pentraxins (serum CRP, SAA, and plasma PTX3) in patients with cardiovascular diseases. Methods: Fifty patients with cardiovascular diseases [61 ± 13 (mean ± SD) years old, male/female 44/6] participated. Each subject performed CR using aerobic bicycle exercise two or three times per week for 3–6 months. We measured resting serum high-sensitivity CRP (hsCRP), SAA, and plasma PTX3 before and 3 and 6 months after CR, and compared them with VO2peak determined using a standard increment cycle ergometer protocol, B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP), and other biochemical data such as HbA1c. Results: There was a significant positive correlation between hsCRP and SAA (r = 0.92, p < 0.001), but no relations between these parameters and PTX3. Plasma PTX3 significantly decreased time dependently during CR (at baseline 3.2 ± 2.0 ng/ml, at 3 months 2.3 ± 0.8 ng/ml, at 6 months 2.1 ± 0.7 ng/ml; all p < 0.05). Serum hsCRP tended to decrease, but not statistically significantly. At baseline, plasma PTX3 was negatively correlated with the percentage of the predicted values of VO2peak and positively correlated with BNP. CR significantly increased the percentage of the predicted values of VO2peak and decreased BNP. Conclusions: Plasma PTX3, an inflammatory marker, which was quite different from CRP and SAA, decreased during cardiac rehabilitation with an improvement of exercise capacity in patients with cardiovascular diseases.

Consumer Behavior Modeling Based on Social Psychology and Complex Networks

Service innovation necessitates the acceptance by customers. The evaluation of the acceptance is problematic as word-of-mouth type of advertising becomes popular. We developed a consumer behavior modeling framework that consists of consumer agents and consumer network, using snowball sampling technique. The differentiating technologies are social psychology and complex networks. Our data analysis and multi-agent simulations proved the feasibility of this framework.