Development of high-resolution future ocean regional projection datasets for coastal applications in Japan

In this study, we developed two high-resolution future ocean regional projection datasets for coastal applications in Japan, in which we made use of dynamical downscaling via regional ocean models with atmospheric forcing from two climate models (i.e., MIROC5 and MRI-CGCM3) participating in Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) under historical, representative concentration pathway (RCP) 2.6, and RCP8.5 scenarios. The first dataset was an eddy-resolving 10-km resolution product covering the North Pacific Ocean area and ranging continuously from 1981 to 2100, in which the Kuroshio current and mesoscale structures were reasonably resolved. The second dataset was a 2-km resolution product covering the regional domain surrounding Japan and comprising 10–15-year time slices, in which the coastal geometry and current structure were resolved even more realistically. An important feature of these datasets was the availability of reference datasets based on atmospheric and oceanic reanalysis data for cross-validation during the historical run period. Using these reference datasets, biases of regional surface thermal properties and the Kuroshio states during the historical run period were evaluated, which constitute important information for users of the datasets. In these downscaled datasets, the future surface thermal responses were generally consistent with those of their original data. Utilizing the high-resolution property of the downscaled data, possible future impact analyses regarding coastal phenomena such as strait throughflows, coastal sea level variability, and the Kuroshio intrusion phenomenon into bays (“Kyucho” phenomenon) were demonstrated and the important role of the Kuroshio state representation was indicated, which had proved difficult to analyze using the low-resolution projection data. Given these properties, the present datasets would be useful in climate change adaptation studies regarding the Japanese coastal region.

Are Japanese Consumers Concerned with Brand Commitment

In this research, we study factors such as brand commitment in order to understand the affect of loyalty and satisfaction on continuance intention with mobile wallet applications in Japan. We developed a research model, based upon previous research constructs, where we propose and examine the four constructs. The main research question in this research is: what is the extent that brand commitment affects satisfaction, loyalty, and continuous intention of Japanese consumers with respect to mobile wallet applications? Two recent data collection efforts yielded a total sample of 513 consumers using mobile wallet apps. While we expected to find brand conscious Japanese consumers to be satisfied and loyal, as well as continuous users of certain mobile apps, our data shows that brand commitment is only statistically significant with satisfaction. This means that brand does not predict consumer loyalty or continuous intention. This finding is interesting, as Japanese consumers have long been known to be brand conscious consumers. There are several potential explanations for this finding, one of which the Japanese consumer mindset is changing. We found supporting literature showing that consumers in Japan are becoming more price conscious. Additionally many of the consumers in our sample were younger in age and might be more price-sensitive.