Economical impacts of IT on industries in Japan

Investment of IT (Information Technology) came to be positively advanced in various industries after 1980. However, in the late 1980s, as for the improvement in the productivity by the investment of information systems, the economist Robert Solow developed the "paradox of productivity theory" which claims that the introduction of information systems does not lead to higher productivity. On the other hand, as a result of good strategy on the development of IT industries, the U.S. economy after 1991 was in good condition over a span of 10 years, until 2001. The Federal Reserve Bank Chairman Alan Greenspan came to suggest "the New Economy theory", which is caused by the investment of IT. It posed a problem in the1980s about investment of IT in the industries and the companies; it is not clear whether or not it made a good impact on corporate management. In this paper, we have measured the economical effects of IT investment by industries in Japan. Consequently, in Japan, the effect of IT investment in most industries will be low or minus in the first half of the 1990s, compared with the second half of the 1980s. However, the effect of IT investment is again changed to a rise or plus after 1995. This has a big relation to the advancement of IT, such as evolution of an information network, and there is also change in the management of IT itself. These results will support our objective which is to consider the directions of more effective IT investment, as well as to give the right direction of corporate management for the future in Japan

Fostering A Data Infrastructure for The Humanities and Social Sciences: A Case Study in Japan_20220915

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住宅の質を考慮した小地域の帰属家賃推計方法の検討: 住宅・土地統計調査データを使用したケーススタディ

金沢大学人間社会研究域経済学経営学系出版者および共著者の許可を得て登録査読済み論

住宅の質を考慮した小地域の帰属家賃推計方法の検討: 住宅・土地統計調査データを使用したケーススタディ

金沢大学人間社会研究域経済学経営学系出版者および共著者の許可を得て登

Formation and collapse of gas hydrate deposits in high methane flux area of the Joetsu Basin, Eastern Margin of Japan Sea

A number of extensive methane plumes and active methane seeps associated with large blocks of methane hydrates exposed on the seafloor strongly indicate extremely high methane flux and large accumulations of methane hydrate in shallow sediments of the Umitaka spur and Joetsu knoll of the Joetsu basin 30 km off Joetsu city, Niigata Prefecture. Crater-like depressions, incised valleys, and large but inactive pockmarks also indicate methane activities over the spur and knoll. These features imply strong expulsions of methane gas or methane-bearing fluids, and perhaps lifting and floating-up of large volumes of methane hydrate to the sea surface. \u2003High heat flow, 3c100 mK/m, deposition of organic-rich strata, 3c1.0 to 1.5%TOC, and Pliocene-Quaternary inversion-tectonics along the eastern margin of the Japan Sea facilitate thermal maturation of organic matters, and generation and migration of light-hydrocarbons through fault conduits, and accumulation of large volumes of methane as methane hydrate in shallow sediments. Microbial methane generation has also contributed to reinforcing the methane flux of the Joetsu basin. Regional methane flux as observed by the depth of the sulfate-methane interface (SMI) is significantly high, < 1 m to 3 m, when compared to classic gas hydrate fields of Blake Ridge, 15 to 20 m, and Nankai trough, 3 to 15 m. \u3b413C of methane hydrate and seep gases are mostly within -30 to -50\u2030, the range of thermogenic methane, while dissolved methane of the interstitial waters a few kilometers away from seep sites are predominated by microbial with \u3b413C of -50 to -100\u2030. \u2003Seismic profiles have revealed fault-related, well-developed gas chimney structures, 0.2 to 3.5 km in diameter, on the spur and knoll. The structures are essential for conveying methane from deep-seated sources to shallow depths as well as for accumulating methane hydrate (gas chimney type deposits). The depth of BSR, which represents the base of gas hydrate stability (BGHS), on the spur and knoll is generally 0.20 to 0.23 seconds in two-way-travel time, whereas the BSRs in gas chimneys occur at 0.14 to 0.18 seconds, exhibiting a sharp pull-up structure. The apparent shallow BGHS is due to the accumulation of large volumes of high-velocity methane hydrate in gas chimneys. \u2003The depth to BGHS is estimated to be 115 m on an experimentally determined stability diagram, based on an observed thermal gradient of 100 mK/m. Then the velocity of the sediments on the Umitaka spur is calculated to be 1000 m/s, which is anomalously low compared to normal pelagic mud of 1600-1700 m/s. This exciting finding leads to the important implication that sediments of the Umitaka spur contain significant amounts of free gas, although the sediments are well within the stability field of methane hydrate. The reasons for the existence of free gas in the methane hydrate stability field are not fully explained, but we propose the following possible mechanisms for the unusual co-existence of methane hydrate and free-gas in clay-silt of the spur. (i) High salinity effect of residual waters, (ii) degassing from ascending fluids, (iii) bound water effect and deficiency of free-waters, and (iv) micro-pore effect of porous media. All of these processes relate to the development of gas hydrate deposits of the Umitaka spur.Peer reviewed: YesNRC publication: Ye