Nuclear Power Politics in Japan, 2011-2013

( Jeff Kingston ) 경남대학교 극동문제연구소 2013 ASIAN PERSPECTIVE Vol.37 No.4

Large antinuclear demonstrations in 2012 and significant expansion of renewable energy have sparked a degree of euphoria about the prospects for phasing out nuclear energy in Japan. But Prime Minister Abe Shinzo is pronuclear and favors restarting Japan`s idled reactors. His Liberal Democratic Party now controls both houses of the Diet and is a key pillar of Japan`s nuclear village, comprising influential government, business, and political institutions that advocate nuclear energy. The nuclear village retains veto power over national energy policy, and citizens will not get to decide the outcome even if public opinion polls indicate that a vast majority favor phasing out nuclear energy. By ignoring many of the lessons of Fukushima and fast-tracking reactor restarts, the government and utilities continue to downplay risk, leaving Japan vulnerable to another nuclear accident. KEYWORDS: Japan, nuclear, politics, energy, Abe Shinzo, Fukushima, TEPCO, Nuclear Regulation Authority.Large antinuclear demonstrations in 2012 and significant expansion of renewable energy have sparked a degree of euphoria about the prospects for phasing out nuclear energy in Japan. But Prime Minister Abe Shinzo is pronuclear and favors restarting Japan`s idled reactors. His Liberal Democratic Party now controls both houses of the Diet and is a key pillar of Japan`s nuclear village, comprising influential government, business, and political institutions that advocate nuclear energy. The nuclear village retains veto power over national energy policy, and citizens will not get to decide the outcome even if public opinion polls indicate that a vast majority favor phasing out nuclear energy. By ignoring many of the lessons of Fukushima and fast-tracking reactor restarts, the government and utilities continue to downplay risk, leaving Japan vulnerable to another nuclear accident. KEYWORDS: Japan, nuclear, politics, energy, Abe Shinzo, Fukushima, TEPCO, Nuclear Regulation Authority.

Toyota’s Fall from Grace, Japan’s Moment of Truth

Jeff Kingston 동아시아재단 2010 Global Asia Vol.5 No.1

Abe Leaves Behind a Toxic Legacy

Jeff Kingston 동아시아재단 2022 Global Asia Vol.17 No.3

Molecular Characterization of Vibrio cholerae Isolates from Cholera Outbreaks in North India

Joseph J. Kingston,Kuruvilla Zachariah,Urmil Tuteja,Sanjay Kumar,Harsh Vardhan Batra 한국미생물학회 2009 The journal of microbiology Vol.47 No.1

Vibrio cholerae isolates recovered from cholera outbreaks in Bhind district of Madhya Pradesh and Delhi, Northern India were characterized. The O1 serogroup isolates from Bhind outbreak were of Inaba serotype whereas both Ogawa and Inaba serotypes were recovered from Delhi. PCR analysis revealed that only O1 serogroup V. cholerae isolates carried the virulence-associated genes like ctxA, tcpA, ace, and zot. Molecular typing by repetitive sequence based ERIC, VCR1, and VC1 PCR’s revealed similar DNA profile for both Inaba and Ogawa serotypes. A discrete VC1-PCR band identified among the El Tor strains had greater similarity (>97%) to the V. cholerae genome sequence and therefore has the potential to be used as a marker for the identification of the V. cholerae strains. Non-O1 strains recovered from Bhind region differed among themselves as well as from that of the O1 isolates. All the O1 serogroup isolates possessed SXT element and were uniformly resistant to the antibiotics nalidixic acid, polymyxin-B, furazolidone, cloxacilin, trimethoprim-sulfamethaxazole, and vibriostatic agent O129. Inaba strains from both Delhi and Bhind differed from Ogawa strains by their resistance to streptomycin despite sharing similar DNA patterns in all the three rep-PCRs. Though Delhi and Bhind are separate geographical regions in Northern India, Inaba strains from both these places appear to be closely related owing to their similarity in antibiogram and genetic profile.

The Role of Professional Development in Improving Quality and Supporting Child Outcomes in Early Education and Care

Iram Siraj,Denise Kingston,Cathrine Neilsen-Hewett 환태평양유아교육연구학회 2019 Asia-Pacific journal of research in early childhoo Vol.13 No.2

A skilled workforce that understands the needs of children and can deliver high quality curricula to children with diverse needs, is required in order to realise the wide-ranging benefits that could follow from public investment in ECEC provision (such as in-service Professional Development (PD)). It is well established in the literature that high quality ECEC is important for children’s outcomes, and that variations in quality can be explained, to a large extent, by variations in educator pedagogy and practice. We argue for a better understanding of how ECEC educators and services can achieve (and be supported to optimise) children’s development and learning outcomes. This paper argues for more rigorous PD designs, considered evidence-based content and delivery that are embedded within a rich evidence-base of practice, and that focus on educator effectiveness, practice change, and also on the benefits to children’s learning and development. The paper draws upon effective PD literature and describes lessons learnt, focussing on the ‘who’, ‘what’ and ‘how’ of evaluation of effective in-service PD design and delivery.

The Effect of Teacher's Business Knowledge Distributions on School's Academic Achievement

KOLANDAN Subramaniam,PALTHAMBURAJ Kingston,RETNAM R Kalai Vilanggum Kanimoli,BASRI Azizul Qayyum,MD YASIR5 Ahmad Shah Hizam 한국유통과학회 2023 유통과학연구 Vol.21 No.12

Purpose: Business education is in high demand whereas knowledge is critical for an individual's professional development in general, and for teachers in particular. In this research, the effect of the distributions of teachers’ business knowledge on schools’ achievement were investigated. Research design, data and methodology: This study employs a quantitative method to investigate the level of business knowledge distributions of teachers on schools’ achievement. 155 business studies subject teachers were categorised into 66 respective schools to measure the correlation and regression between teachers’ business knowledge distribution and schools’ achievement. Results: The results of the study show that there is a significant relationship between school achievement from the aspect of teachers’ business knowledge distributions, with the score of, r = 0.345, p < 0.05. The value of R2 shows a moderate relationship between the teachers’ knowledge distributions on school achievement but still plays a role in determining the measurement of the school's level of achievement. Conclusions: It is concluded that the relationship between teacher’s business knowledge and school achievement in the subject of Business Studies is significant. This study proves that the teacher's knowledge about business is very important in guaranteeing the success of students who took this subject.

Knowledge of Human Papillomavirus Infection, Cervical Cancer and Willingness to pay for Cervical Cancer Vaccination among Ethnically Diverse Medical Students in Malaysia

Maharajan, Mari Kannan,Rajiah, Kingston,Num, Kelly Sze Fang,Yong, Ng Jin Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2015 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.16 No.14

The primary objective of this study was to assess the knowledge of medical students and determine variation between different cultural groups. A secondary aim was to find out the willingness to pay for cervical cancer vaccination and the relationships between knowledge and attitudes towards Human Papillomavirus vaccination. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in a private medical university between June 2014 and November 2014 using a convenient sampling method. A total of 305 respondents were recruited and interviewed with standard questionnaires for assessment of knowledge, attitudes and practice towards human papilloma virus and their willingness to pay for HPV vaccination. Knowledge regarding human papilloma virus, human papilloma virus vaccination, cervical cancer screening and cervical cancer risk factors was good. Across the sample, a majority (90%) of the pupils demonstrated a high degree of knowledge about cervical cancer and its vaccination. There were no significant differences between ethnicity and the participants' overall knowledge of HPV infection, Pap smear and cervical cancer vaccination. Some 88% of participants answered that HPV vaccine can prevent cervical cancer, while 81.5% of medical students said they would recommend HPV vaccination to the public although fewer expressed an intention to receive vaccination for themselves.

Association of Herpesvirus Saimiri Tip with Lipid Raft Is Essential for Downregulation of T-Cell Receptor and CD4 Coreceptor

Cho, Nam-Hyuk,Kingston, Dior,Chang, Heesoon,Kwon, Eun-Kyung,Kim, Jo-Min,Lee, Jung Hee,Chu, Hyuk,Choi, Myung-Sik,Kim, Ik-Sang,Jung, Jae Ung American Society for Microbiology 2006 Journal of virology Vol.80 No.1

<B>ABSTRACT</B><P>Lipid rafts are membrane microdomains that are proposed to function as platforms for both receptor signaling and trafficking. Our previous studies have demonstrated that Tip of herpesvirus saimiri (HVS), which is a T-lymphotropic tumor virus, is constitutively targeted to lipid rafts and interacts with cellular Lck tyrosine kinase and p80 WD repeat-containing endosomal protein. Through the interactions with Lck and p80, HVS Tip modulates diverse T-cell functions, which leads to the downregulation of T-cell receptor (TCR) and CD4 coreceptor surface expression, the inhibition of TCR signal transduction, and the activation of STAT3 transcription factor. In this study, we investigated the functional significance of Tip association with lipid rafts. We found that Tip expression remarkably increased lipid raft fractions in human T cells by enhancing the recruitment of lipid raft-resident proteins. Genetic analysis showed that the carboxyl-terminal transmembrane, but not p80 and Lck interaction, of Tip was required for the lipid raft localization and that lipid raft localization of Tip was necessary for the efficient downregulation of TCR and CD4 surface expression. Correlated with this, treatment with Filipin III, a lipid raft-disrupting agent, effectively reversed the downregulation of CD3 and CD4 surface expression induced by Tip. On the other hand, Tip mutants that were no longer present in lipid rafts were still capable of inhibiting TCR signaling and activating STAT3 transcription factor activity as efficiently as wild-type (wt) Tip. These results indicate that the association of Tip with lipid rafts is essential for the downregulation of TCR and CD4 surface expression but not for the inhibition of TCR signal transduction and the activation of STAT3 transcription factor. These results also suggest that the signaling and targeting activities of HVS Tip rely on functionally and genetically separable mechanisms, which may independently modulate T-cell function for viral persistence or pathogenesis.</P>

Socioeconomic Impact of Cancer in Member Countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN): the ACTION Study Protocol

Kimman, Merel,Jan, Stephen,Kingston, David,Monaghan, Helen,Sokha, Eav,Thabrany, Hasbullah,Bounxouei, Bounthaphany,Bhoo-Pathy, Nirmala,Khin, Myo,Cristal-Luna, Gloria,Khuhaprema, Thiravud,Hung, Nguyen C Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2012 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.13 No.2

Cancer can be a major cause of poverty. This may be due either to the costs of treating and managing the illness as well as its impact upon people's ability to work. This is a concern that particularly affects countries that lack comprehensive social health insurance systems and other types of social safety nets. The ACTION study is a longitudinal cohort study of 10,000 hospital patients with a first time diagnosis of cancer. It aims to assess the impact of cancer on the economic circumstances of patients and their households, patients' quality of life, costs of treatment and survival. Patients will be followed throughout the first year after their cancer diagnosis, with interviews conducted at baseline (after diagnosis), three and 12 months. A cross-section of public and private hospitals as well as cancer centers across eight member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will invite patients to participate. The primary outcome is incidence of financial catastrophe following treatment for cancer, defined as out-of-pocket health care expenditure at 12 months exceeding 30% of household income. Secondary outcomes include illness induced poverty, quality of life, psychological distress, economic hardship, survival and disease status. The findings can raise awareness of the extent of the cancer problem in South East Asia and its breadth in terms of its implications for households and the communities in which cancer patients live, identify priorities for further research and catalyze political action to put in place effective cancer control policies.

The Socioeconomic Burden of Cancer in Member Countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) - Stakeholder Meeting Report

Jan, Stephen,Kimman, Merel,Kingston, David,Woodward, Mark Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2012 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.13 No.2

The ACTION (Asean CosTs In ONcology) Study will be one of the largest observational studies of the burden of cancer ever conducted in Asia. The study will involve 10,000 newly diagnosed patients with cancer and will be carried out across eight low- and middle income countries within the ASEAN region (Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Myanmar, Viet Nam, Laos and the Philippines). Patients will be interviewed three times over 12 months to assess their health, use of health care services, out of pocket costs related to their illness, social and quality of life issues. The project is a collaboration between the George Institute for Global Health, the ASEAN Foundation and Roche. The aim of the study is to assess the health and socioeconomic impact of cancer on patients in ASEAN communities, and the factors that may impact on these outcomes.