Investment Behavior and Business Sentiments of Small and Medium Enterprises

This paper uses survey data to investigate how subjective perceptions of business conditions affect the investment behavior of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Japan. Using panel data, we show that while positive perceptions of business conditions induce investment, long-term improvements in business conditions are required for manufacturing firms to invest. We also find that perceptions of financial conditions affect investment: firms invest if it is easier to borrow money and if interest rates are lower in the current period. However, if firms expect a decrease in future interest rates, they may delay investment and are unlikely to invest in the current period. Finally, firms suffering a shortage of labor are likely to invest. This is because unlike large firms, SMEs may face some difficulty in employing the labor force required, and thereby substitute capital for labor

Memorandum for ""SME Policies in 1990\u27s Japan""(<Special issue>Rethinking of Japanese economy in 1990s)

戦後日本の中小企業政策史を振り返ってみると,3つのエポックがあった.第1が1948年の中小企業庁の設立,第2が1963年の中小企業基本法の成立,そして第3が1999年の中小企業基本法の抜本的改正である.1990年代の中小企業政策史は,「業種」を政策の切り口として「組合」を政策の主たる助成対象とする1963年の中小企業基本法が,政策の切り口を「業種」から「地域」又は「集積」へ,政策の主たる助成対象を「組合」から「個別企業」へと変容していった過程ととらえることができる.本稿は,この変容の過程に政策立案の当事者として政策立案に関与した筆者が,それぞれの場面でどのようなことを考えながら政策の立案及び実施に当たっていたのかについての主観的な記述であり,将来において「1990年代の中小企業政策史」を議論するための覚書である.Three evnts mark the development of post-war Japan\u27s SME policy. First is the founding of Small and Medium Enterprise Agency in 1948. The second is the passage of the Small and Medium Enterprises Basic Law (the ""old basic low"") in 1963, followed by enactment of the ""new basic low"" in 1999. This article analysed the history of SME policy in 1990\u27s as changing process of elements of the ""old basic low""-form ""industry"" to ""region"" or ""industrial district"", and from ""cooperative"" to ""individual enterprise""

Seismic refraction and wide-angle reflection exploration by JARE-43 on Mizuho Plateau, East Antarctica

The 43rd Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition (JARE-43) carried out seismic exploration experiments on Mizuho Plateau,East Antarctica,in the austral summer season of ,2001-2002. The exploration was composed of seven large explosions and 161seismic stations distributed along the 151 km-long seismic line.The first arrival time data are analyzed by a refraction method.It is found that the ice sheet is composed of two layers:the upper layer with P wave velocity of 2.7-2.9 km/s has thickness of 35-45 m,and the lower layer with P wave velocity of 3.7-3.9 km/s continues to the bedrock.Lateral velocity variation in the upper-most crust is revealed:P wave velocity for the upper-most crust in the southern and central parts is 6.1-6.2 km/s and that in the northern part is5.9 km/s. This result implies that the geological boundary observed along the coast in the Lu tzow-Holm Bay and Prince Olav Coast regions possibly continues to the inland area.The S wave velocity is also obtained to be roughly 3.5km/s for the whole upper-most crust.Travel time analysis of two distinct reflection phases shows two horizontal reflecting planes located at 19 and 40km depth; the latter corresponds to the Moho discontinuity

The novel heart-specific RING finger protein 207 is involved in energy metabolism in cardiomyocytes

A failing heart shows severe energy insufficiency, and it is presumed that this energy shortage plays a critical role in the development of cardiac dysfunction. However, little is known about the mechanisms that cause energy metabolic alterations in the failing heart. Here, we show that the novel RING-finger protein 207 (RNF207), which is specifically expressed in the heart, plays a role in cardiac energy metabolism. Depletion of RNF207 in neonatal rat cardiomyocytes (NRCs) leads to a reduced cellular concentration of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and mitochondrial dysfunction. Consistent with this result, we observed here that the expression of RNF207 was significantly reduced in mice with common cardiac diseases including heart failure. Intriguingly, proteomic approaches revealed that RNF207 interacts with the voltage-dependent anion channel (VDAC), which is considered to be a key regulator of mitochondria function, as an RNF207-interacting protein. Our findings indicate that RNF207 is involved in ATP production by cardiomyocytes, suggesting that RNF207 plays an important role in the development of heart failure

MiRNA-205 modulates cellular invasion and migration via regulating zinc finger E-box binding homeobox 2 expression in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma cells

Background: Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is often diagnosed at later stages until they are incurable. MicroRNA (miR) is a small, non-coding RNA that negatively regulates gene expression mainly via translational repression. Accumulating evidence indicates that deregulation of miR is associated with human malignancies including ESCC. The aim of this study was to identify miR that could be specifically expressed and exert distinct biological actions in ESCC. Methods: Total RNA was extracted from ESCC cell lines, OE21 and TE10, and a non-malignant human esophageal squamous cell line, Het-1A, and subjected to microarray analysis. Expression levels of miR that showed significant differences between the 2 ESCC and Het-1A cells based on the comprehensive analysis were analyzed by the quantitative reverse transcriptase (RT)-PCR method. Then, functional analyses, including cellular proliferation, apoptosis and Matrigel invasion and the wound healing assay, for the specific miR were conducted. Using ESCC tumor samples and paired surrounding non-cancerous tissue obtained endoscopically, the association with histopathological differentiation was examined with quantitative RT-PCR. Results: Based on the miR microarray analysis, there were 14 miRs that showed significant differences (more than 2-fold) in expression between the 2 ESCC cells and non-malignant Het-1A. Among the significantly altered miRs, miR-205 expression levels were exclusively higher in 5 ESCC cell lines examined than any other types of malignant cell lines and Het-1A. Thus, miR-205 could be a specific miR in ESCC. Modulation of miR-205 expression by transfection with its precursor or anti-miR-205 inhibitor did not affect ESCC cell proliferation and apoptosis, but miR-205 was found to be involved in cell invasion and migration. Western blot revealed that knockdown of miR-205 expression in ESCC cells substantially enhanced expression of zinc finger E-box binding homeobox 2, accompanied by reduction of E-cadherin, a regulator of epithelial mesenchymal transition. The miR-205 expression levels were not associated with histological differentiation of human ESCC. Conclusions: These results imply that miR-205 is an ESCC-specific miR that exerts tumor-suppressive activities with EMT inhibition by targeting ZEB2.Kayoko Matsushima... Gregory J Goodall... et al