Activities and roles of mosques in Japan after the recent major earthquakes: A comprehensive study

As minority groups, foreign nationals are considered vulnerable because of cultural, linguistic, and religious differences; however, some may work as critical stakeholders in disaster risk reduction (DRR). In Japan, some mosque communities (mainly composed of foreign nationals) were engaged in relief activities immediately after disasters; however, these reports were scattered and did not clarify long-term activities. Therefore, we aimed to summarize the activities and roles of mosques located in areas affected by recent natural hazard-related disasters in the short (that is, response) and long term (that is, recovery and mitigation). We targeted three mosques located in areas affected by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, and the 2016 Kumamoto Earthquake in Japan. We conducted a literature review and interviewed mosque administrators. The results showed that all mosques worked as distribution centers in the short term, receiving relief supplies from Muslims all over Japan and distributing them to affected people. The relief goods included halal foods that fit foreign minorities, but these goods were distributed not only to them but also to other people regardless of religion and nationality. Some mosques also functioned as evacuation shelters, soup kitchens, and accommodations for volunteers. Support for affected people was further facilitated by intermediaries (such as private organizations and key local individuals) between the mosques and local communities or governments. In contrast to the short term, we did not find prominent recovery and mitigation activities by the mosques. These comprehensive findings contribute to the promotion of inclusive and community-based DRR activities

Mosque as a Vaccination Site for Ethnic Minority in Kanagawa, Japan: Leaving No One Behind Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic

Ethnic minorities with different languages and religions are potentially vulnerable not only during natural hazard-related disasters, but also during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Their vaccination coverage may be lower, and vaccination strategies should prevent them from being left behind. This report presents the first case in Japan where a mosque, being the hub of foreign Muslims, was used as a vaccination site from the end of July 2021. The targeted mosque was Ebina Mosque in Kanagawa Prefecture, and most of the vaccine recipients were foreign Muslims. The mosque differed from other vaccination sites in that reservations could be made easily through the managers, and linguistic diversity (i.e., the mosque managers and mosque-related volunteers served as interpreters) and gender were considered. These efforts are likely to have removed some barriers to vaccination for ethnic minorities and contributed to “no one will be left behind.

Lymph Node Dissection in Curative Gastrectomy for Advanced Gastric Cancer

Gastric cancer is one of the most common causes of cancer-related death worldwide. Surgical resection with lymph node dissection is the only potentially curative therapy for gastric cancer. However, the appropriate extent of lymph node dissection accompanied by gastrectomy for cancer remains controversial. In East Asian countries, especially in Japan and Korea, D2 lymph node dissection has been regularly performed as a standard procedure. In Western countries, surgeons perform gastrectomy with D1 dissection only because D2 is associated with high mortality and morbidity compared to those associated with D1 alone but does not improve the 5-year survival rate. However, more recent studies have demonstrated that western surgeons can be trained to perform D2 lymphadenectomies on western patients with a lower morbidity and mortality. When extensive D2 lymph node dissection is preformed safely, there may be some benefit to D2 dissection even in western countries. In this paper, we present an update on the current literature regarding the extent of lymphadenectomy for advanced gastric cancer

COVID-19 vaccination at a mosque with multilingual and religious considerations for ethnic minorities: A case study in Kanagawa, Japan

During a disaster, such as a pandemic, ethnic minorities tend to be left behind due to linguistic and religious differences. In the COVID-19 vaccination process, measures to include them are necessary, including the utilization of their resources and networks. The functions and challenges of such measures should be explored in real-world cases. We targeted a case in Ebina, Kanagawa, Japan, where a mosque, being a hub of foreign Muslims, was used as a vaccination site. This was the first, and the only, case in Japan with the involvement of the local government. We aimed to detail (1) the linguistic and religious responses at the mosque, (2) the perceptions of vaccine recipients regarding linguistic and religious issues and considerations, and (3) the problems that arose when using the mosque. We conducted an e-mail survey of the local government and a field survey—field observations and interviews with relevant stakeholders (e.g., mosque managers and female vaccinees). The surveys found various linguistic (e.g., interpretation by mosque-related volunteers) and religious (i.e., separating vaccination spaces based on gender) considerations provided at the mosque, which the vaccinees favorably accepted. The measure likely promoted vaccination by increasing the intention to vaccinate and closing the intention-behavior gap. If some identified problems (e.g., complaints from the Japanese) are mitigated, the function of the mosque as a vaccination site would be further enhanced. The results also support the significant potential of mosques in Muslim-minority societies to approach ethnic minorities in disasters, including pandemics

Interstellar Extinction Law toward the Galactic Center II: V, J, H, and Ks Bands

We have determined the ratios of total to selective extinction directly from observations in the optical V band and near-infrared J band toward the Galactic center. The OGLE (Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment) Galactic bulge fields have been observed with the SIRIUS camera on the IRSF telescope, and we obtain A(V)/E(V-J)=1.251+-0.014 and A(J)/E(V-J)=0.225+-0.007. From these ratios, we have derived A(J)/A(V) = 0.188+-0.005; if we combine A(J)/A(V) with the near-infrared extinction ratios obtained by Nishiyama et al. for more reddened fields near the Galactic center, we get A(V) : A(J) : A(H) : A(Ks) = 1 : 0.188 : 0.108 : 0.062, which implies steeply declining extinction toward the longer wavelengths. In particular, it is striking that the Ks band extinction is \approx 1/16 of the visual extinction A(V) much smaller than one tenth of A(V) so far employed.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures, Accepted for publication in Ap

Radiotherapy for cancer using X-ray fluorescence emitted from iodine

Radiation treatment is popular and the apparatus is already available in many hospitals. Conventional radiation treatment by itself is not sufficient to achieve complete cure. Therefore, radiosensitizers have been developed to enhance the therapeutic effects of the treatment. The concept of radiosensitization with high-Z-elements was first considered many decades ago. However, radiosensitizers are not commonly used in the clinical setting. Here, we propose a radiotherapy method that utilizes fluorescent X-ray emissions from iodine. This approach should achieve a greater therapeutic effect than that of conventional radiotherapy treatments. In our radiotherapy, iomeprol was used as the iodine-donor. The X-ray apparatus with copper and aluminum filters could be used for the X-ray irradiation, the apparatus is not needed for exclusive use. The X-ray apparatus is only required to prepare the copper and aluminum filters. As proof-of-concept, we show that tumor growth was attenuated using this treatment with iomeprol