"The Bank of Japan's Monetary Policy and Bank Risk Premiums in the Money Market"

This short paper shows that under the Bank of Japan's Zero Interest Rate Policy and Quantitative Monetary Easing, not just the levels of money market rates but also the dispersion of rates across banks have fallen to near zero. Using the data on individual banks' Negotiable Certificate of Deposit rates, we first show that the dispersion of the rates among banks has fallen since 1999, the year of the adoption of the Zero Interest Rate Policy and has reached almost zero by 2004. We next show that the fall in the dispersion of the rates is not explained by a corresponding fall in the dispersion of the credit ratings of the banks. Rather, credit risk premiums seem to have disappeared in the money market. We also discuss possible relationships between this result and the Bank of Japan's monetary policy.

The Bank of Japan's Monetary Policy and Bank Risk Premiums in the Money Market

Using the interest rates on negotiable certificates of deposit issued by individual banks, we first show that under the Bank of Japan's zero interest rate policy and quantitative monetary easing policy, not just the levels of money market rates but also the dispersion of rates across banks have fallen to near zero. We next show that the fall in the dispersion of the rates is not fully explained by a fall in the dispersion of credit ratings of the banks. We also present some evidence on the role of the Bank of Japan's monetary policy in reducing risk premiums.Monetary policy; Zero Interest Rate Policy; Quantitative Monetary Easing Policy; Negotiable Certificate of Deposit; Credit Risk Premium

The Bank of Japan's Monetary Policy and Bank Risk Premiums in the Money Market (Subsequently published in "International Journal of Central Banking", March 2006, Vol.2, No. 1, 105-136. )

This short paper shows that under the Bank of Japan's Zero Interest Rate Policy and Quantitative Monetary Easing, not just the levels of money market rates but also the dispersion of rates across banks have fallen to near zero. Using the data on individual banks' Negotiable Certificate of Deposit rates, we first show that the dispersion of the rates among banks has fallen since 1999, the year of the adoption of the Zero Interest Rate Policy and has reached almost zero by 2004. We next show that the fall in the dispersion of the rates is not explained by a corresponding fall in the dispersion of the credit ratings of the banks. Rather, credit risk premiums seem to have disappeared in the money market. We also discuss possible relationships between this result and the Bank of Japan's monetary policy.

The Bank of Japan's Monetary Policy and Bank Risk Premiums in the Money Market (subsequently published in "International Journal of Central Banking", March 2006, Vol.2, No. 1, 105-136. )

Using the interest rates on Negotiable Certificate of Deposit issued by individual banks, we first show that under the Bank of Japan's Zero Interest Rate Policy and Quantitative Monetary Easing Policy, not just the levels of money market rates but also the dispersion of rates across banks have fallen to near zero. We next show that the fall in the dispersion of the rates is not fully explained by a fall in the dispersion of credit ratings of the banks. We also present some evidence on the role of the Bank of Japan's monetary policy in reducing risk premiums.

"The Bank of Japan's Monetary Policy and Bank Risk Premiums in the Money Market"

Using the interest rates on Negotiable Certificate of Deposit issued by individual banks, we first show that under the Bank of Japan's Zero Interest Rate Policy and Quantitative Monetary Easing Policy, not just the levels of money market rates but also the dispersion of rates across banks have fallen to near zero. We next show that the fall in the dispersion of the rates is not fully explained by a fall in the dispersion of credit ratings of the banks. We also present some evidence on the role of the Bank of Japan's monetary policy in reducing risk premiums.

Temporal and Spatial Variations of Magnetic Susceptibility of Cretaceous to Neogene Igneous Rocks from the Central and Western Chugoku Province, Japan

Magnetic susceptibility is measured on powdered specimens of about 1100 volcanic rocks and 600 related plutonic rocks of the titled area. The results show systematic variation in magnetic susceptibility with age, geographic location of the rocks, and geologic units. When volcanic and plutonic rocks of the same cycle of activity are compared, their magnetic susceptibility resemble each other. The most prominent temporal change in magnetic susceptibility of igneous rocks occurred between Cretaceous and Paleogene. Cretaceous igneous rocks comprise both the magnetite-series (magnetic susceptibility, higher than 50 x 10-6 emu/g) and ilmenite-series (lower than 50 x 10-6 emu/g), the latter is predominant in volume, while the Paleogene and Neogene igneous activities are characterized by the rocks of only magnetite-series. As for the geographic distribution, the ilmenite-series rocks are developed throughout the studied area, whereas the magnetite-series rocks are restricted to the Sea of Japan side, overlapping over the area of the older ilmenite-series rocks. The two series of igneous rocks are considered to have resulted from the different oxygen fugacities during evolution of the magma. The oxygen fugacity must have been controlled directly or indirectly by many factors such as differences in source material, the effect of buffering agents such as water and crustal carbon, mode of magma emplacement and tectonic setting. Based on the comparison of the tectonic history of this area and the measured magnetic susceptibility, it is argued that the conspicuous temporal change in magnetic susceptibility between the Cretaceous and Paleogene along the Sea of Japan was probably due to the temporal change in tectonic environment related to the formation of the Sea of Japan. It is also suggested that the classification of igneous rocks based on the magnetic susceptibility provides essential information in considering tectonic environment, for it is known that igneous rocks of the two series exhibit systematic distributions in time and space in the circum-Pacific regions

Epitope Analysis of Cerebrospinal Fluid IgG in Japanese Multiple Sclerosis Patients Using Phage Display Method

To investigate the antigen recognized by cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) high affinity IgG in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), the phage display method was applied to the CSF from 15 MS and 10 control patients. Peptide sequences recognized by MS and control CSF IgG were individual specific, and no common motif was found. Peptide sequences frequently showed homology to various kinds of amino acid sequences of ubiquitous viruses such as epstein barr virus (EBV) and herpes simplex virus (HSV), although the frequency was not specific to MS patients. MS CSF IgG may recognize various types of ubiquitous viral antigen and may be increased by a bystander response

Gender differences in sleeping hours and recovery experience among psychiatric nurses in Japan

In their attempts to balance sleep routines with service schedules, nurses working in shifts are at risk for developing sleep disorders. Furthermore, nurses often experience considerable stress. In recent years, research has acknowledged the importance of activities other than work, and in particular recovery experiences. Therefore, the current study aimed to explore gender differences in sleeping hours and recovery experience of psychiatric nurses from a 16-hour shift to two days off duty. We found that males went to bed late and that females rose slightly early on days where they worked night shifts. On average, the sleeping hours of males were about 2 hours longer than were those of females. Furthermore, sleeping hours was positively related to mastery in males, while in females working hours was negatively related to psychological detachment and relaxation. Before the night shift, females engaged more housekeeping and used short sleeping hours during rest to compensate for the lack of sleep. Thus, recovery experience had different relationships with various life activities between male and female nurses. The results highlighted the need for health management intervention