Tomoki Nakaya

Tohoku University | Tohokudai · Graduate School of Environmental Studies

Abstract For an effective interpretation of spatio-temporal patterns of crime clusters/hotspots, we explore the possibility of three-dimensional mapping of crime events in a space-time cube with the aid of space-time variants of kernel density estimation and scan statistics. Using the crime occurrence dataset of snatch-and-run offences in Kyoto Cit...

Using the recently developed D GIS (Geographic Information System) and related visualisation technologies, we have created a digital diorama of an entire historical city, which can be used to virtually travel through different realistic landscapes at different times in the history. The digital diorama called Virtual Kyoto is the virtual geographic...

There is no abstract for this paper.

This new health atlas of Japan presents a series of maps about the health of the contemporary Japanese population, i.e. detailed maps of health indicators in small areas using cartograms. This is the first comprehensive small-area based health atlas about contemporary Japan using vital statistics from 1995-2014. Each map is supplemented with concis...

Background Few studies have shown that relatively younger children and adolescents (those born later in the same school year) were less likely to engage in physical activity in a phenomenon termed the relative age effect. Although these studies mainly targeted elementary and middle school students, no study has reported on the relative age effect o...

To control the COVID-19 epidemic, the Japanese government and the local governments have repeatedly implemented non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) throughout 2020–2022. Using Bayesian state-space mediation models, we examined the effect of repeated NPIs on infection spread mitigation, mediated by human mobility changes in each prefecture durin...

Parks are important urban design settings to promote physical activity within urban areas. However, existing park audit tools often do not address the unique challenges of high-density areas, especially in Asian contexts. This study presents the development and testing of the audiT tool for Activity-friendly Parks in denSe urban areas (TAPS) that s...

This paper describes the specification of spatially varying coefficient (SVC) regression models using Generalized Additive Models (GAMs). The GAMs include Gaussian Process (GP) splines (smooths) for each covariate parameterised with observation location and generate SVC estimates that capture spatially varying relationships. The ability of the prop...

Background The cumulative impacts of COVID-19 on hospitalization and mortality were not uniformly distributed across New York City (NYC). To better understand potential drivers of this observed geospatial disparity, we explored the associations between community-level sociodemographic characteristics and cumulative COVID-19 hospitalizations and mor...

Background A few studies have shown that relatively younger children and adolescents (those born later in the same school year) were less likely to engage in physical activity in a phenomenon termed the relative age effect. Although these studies mainly targeted elementary and middle school students, limited studies have reported on the relative ag...

Quality of life in geography and urban planning has mainly been examined from its social aspect by using objective and perceived environmental indicators in Japan. However, the psychological aspect of quality of life also needs to be assessed by subjective well-being of residents. Therefore, in this study, structural equation modelling （SEM） was co...

Studies have shown that migrants and ethnic minority groups were unevenly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, with most evidence coming from Western countries. This study explores the experience of migrants in Japan during the COVID-19 pandemic, examining the association between social environment (i.e., population density, neighborhood deprivation,...

Geographically-Weighted Models

The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly affected internal migration patterns worldwide. Most previous studies have reported on pandemic-induced changes in internal migration using data from 2020 and 2021. Therefore, little is known about the pandemic’s medium-term impact. To address this gap, this study investigated an annual series of migration patte...

Background: The decline in measles vaccination coverage is a global concern. In Japan, coverage of the first-dose of measles vaccine, which had exceeded the target of 95.0% since fiscal year (FY) 2010, fell to 93.5% in FY 2021. Vaccination coverage increased to 95.4% in FY 2022 but varied by municipality. Few studies have focused on regional dispar...

Media release: https://www.jaist.ac.jp/whatsnew/press/2024/05/31-2.html

Media Release: https://www.jaist.ac.jp/english/whatsnew/press/2024/05/31-2.html

工作场所是人们花费大量时间的地方，因此在我们的生活中具有重要意义：工作场所可以影响我们的健康和工作效率。但，究竟工作场所如何影响我们的健康呢？本次将就该话题展开讨论。 https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/Z1D5M7fCpf3p_D4_lBZb-g

Insufficient physical activity and excessive sitting time among office-based workers have been linked to various health risks and economic consequences. While health promotion interventions are essential, the role of workplace design in encouraging active behaviours is increasingly recognised. However, significant gaps exist in knowledge about how...

This study aimed to understand the age-specific internal migration patterns in Japan where more than a quarter of the population is aged ≥65 years and the national population is on the decline, focusing on the urban hierarchy. Demographic efficiency, which is the ratio of net to gross migration, was calculated for each migration flow between the le...

Mental disorders affect many different groups around the world, and disadvantaged groups are often more severely affected. Neighbourhood green spaces (GS) can improve mental health, especially in disadvantaged groups. Many countries address social inequality and inequity through GS interventions. However, current evidence shows inconsistencies, whi...

Spatiotemporal data on ambient populations have recently become widely available. Although previous studies have indicated a link between the spatial patterns of crime occurrence and ambient population distribution, more detailed information, such as the population most likely to be victims by gender and age group, could better predict the risk of...

Background: In the 3rd Healthy Japan 21 and the 4th National Cancer Plan, the government focused on reducing health inequalities. However, current monitoring of socioeconomic inequalities in cancer is still insufficient to set the targets for the plan. To prioritize strategy aimed at reducing socioeconomic inequalities in cancer mortality, we estim...

Urbanization represents a significant population trend, and a longer life expectancy increases the number of older people living in cities. Aging can intensify urbanization and urban design challenges. Parks or public open spaces are settings within the neighborhood that can support older people to live an active lifestyle. This study examined asso...

图表简讯：建成环境设计对抑郁症的作用 https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/B9ENl60r99mEDTGk557xcA An inforgraphic of this paper: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/365687179_Depression_among_middle-aged_adults_in_Japan_The_role_of_the_built_environment_design

图表简讯：建成环境与久坐行为的关系 https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/UbPY02_bjT1N9O8-b_oVJA An inforgraphic of this paper: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/340686244_Environmental_attributes_and_sedentary_behaviours_among_Canadian_adults

图表简讯：养狗、遛狗与社会资本 https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/a--g-V7Sljpvsy4YUPPTeA An infographic of the paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41599-021-00804-y

An infographic of the paper below: Koohsari, M. J., McCormack, G. R., Nakaya, T., & Oka, K. (2020). Neighbourhood built environment and cardiovascular disease: knowledge and future directions. Nature Reviews Cardiology, 17(5), 261-263.

Objectives: Changing the mode of commuting from nonactive by car or motorcycle to active by walking, cycling, or public transport is expected to benefit health. However, the proportion of nonactive commuters who can change their commute mode to active forms remains unclear. The aim of this study was to determine the proportions of nonactive commut...

Background It has been pointed out that eye-level greenery streetscape promotes leisure walking which is known to be a health -positive physical activity. Most previous studies have focused on the total amount of greenery in the eye-level streetscape to investigate its association with walking behaviour. While it is acknowledged that taller trees c...

Are street networks today dependent on history? This question is significant when considering the determinants of street connectivity and the potential for intervention toward walkable street networks. This study investigates the associations of two historical events—castle town origination and war damage during World War II (WWII)—with the street...

Press release https://www.jaist.ac.jp/whatsnew/press/2023/08/31-1.html

Press release https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1000185

Media release: https://www.jaist.ac.jp/whatsnew/press/2023/07/25-1.html

Press release https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/07/230725123117.htm

There is evidence that higher street connectivity and availability of destinations can support walking behavior. However, the availability of data and comparability between previous studies remains a challenge. Based on a large Canadian adult sample, this study examined the associations between street layout and walking behaviors and explored wheth...

The design and quality of the neighbourhood built environment can encourage health-supportive behaviours and support cardio-metabolic health. However, despite relationships between demographic and behavioural risk factors of metabolic syndrome being investigated by many studies, only some studies have directly estimated the associations between the...

This chapter reports on the transitions in the urban structure of 109 cities in Japan based on the constituent municipal population of their functional urban regions from 1980 to 2015. The cities consist of central and suburban municipalities and are categorized based on changes in the population of each of these two types of municipalities by appl...

https://www.jaist.ac.jp/whatsnew/press/2023/06/09-1.html

Press release: https://www.jaist.ac.jp/english/whatsnew/press/2023/06/09-1.html

Accumulating evidence suggests that the built environment may be associated with cardiovascular disease via its influence on health behaviours. The aim of this study was to estimate the associations between traditional and novel neighbourhood built environment metrics and clinically assessed cardio-metabolic risk factors among a sample of adults in...

Although geographically weighted Poisson regression (GWPR) is a popular regression for spatially indexed count data, its development is relatively limited compared to that found for linear geographically weighted regression (GWR), where many extensions (e.g., multiscale GWR, scalable GWR) have been proposed. The weak development of GWPR can be attr...

Although geographically weighted Poisson regression (GWPR) is a popular regression for spatially indexed count data, its development is relatively limited compared to that found for linear geographically weighted regression (GWR), where many extensions (e.g. multiscale GWR, scalable GWR) have been proposed. The weak development of GWPR can be attri...

We aimed to determine whether neighborhood socioeconomic characteristics are associated with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) incidence in elementary school children and, if so, the associated characteristics. We obtained data on the number of infected children from 282 public elementary schools and the socioeconomic characteristics of each...

A causal relationship between mesothelioma and the occupational asbestos exposure is well known, while few studies have shown a relationship to non-occupational exposures. The aim of this study was to quantify the risk of mesothelioma death associated with neighborhood asbestos exposures due to a large-scale asbestos-cement (AC) plant in Amagasaki,...

Walkability has been the focus of much attention in recent urban policy. In order to quantitatively verify the effects of walkability on local economies, residents’ health, and other aspects of daily life, it is highly desirable to develop an objective walkability index covering a large geographical extent based on consistent criteria and release i...

Press release at JAIST Uni https://www.jaist.ac.jp/english/whatsnew/press/2023/04/21-1.html

https://www.jaist.ac.jp/whatsnew/press/2023/04/18-1.html

The urban design features of a location are important for facilitating people’s attachment to places. Attachment to particular places, such as residential neighbourhoods, may encourage people to adopt and maintain physical activity routines. Moreover, the ways in which people perceive the built features in their neighbourhood (e.g., walkability) ma...

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was first identified in Wuhan, China and has since become a pandemic. Thailand’s first lockdown started in the middle of March 2020, restricting anthropogenic activities and inter-provincial traffic. There are few studies on the association between nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels and human activity, primarily becau...

Media release: https://www.jaist.ac.jp/english/whatsnew/press/2023/02/21-1.html

https://www.jaist.ac.jp/whatsnew/press/2023/02/21-1.html

There has been a growing interest in the “metaverse,” and discourse about how this platform may contribute to different fields of science is already beginning to emerge. In this paper, we discuss key opportunities and uncertainties about how a metaverse might contribute to advancing knowledge in the interdisciplinary field of the built environment...

Worldwide, research based on geographic information of official statistical data, including cancer registries, is utilized for cancer control and public health policies. The National Cancer Registry of Japan was launched in 2016, making it possible to use data on cancer incidence systematically. Given the nature of this comprehensive survey, the us...

This study explored the differences in COVID-19 vaccination readiness based on the 7C model and its association with vaccine acceptance among foreign-born immigrants, Japan-born immigrants, and locals in Japan. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in October 2021 (n = 3,690). Our results show that COVID-19 vaccination readiness, acceptance, and t...

Little is known about information seeking and its influence on preventive behaviors among immigrants in Japan, despite their vulnerabilities during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This study investigated information seeking about COVID-19, and examined differences with compliance with preventive measures between immigrants and the...

Background: Inequalities in opportunities for primary lung cancer surgery due to socioeconomic status exist. We investigated whether socioeconomic inequalities exist in net survival after curative intent surgery at a tertiary university hospital, in Japan. Methods: Data from the hospital-based cancer registry on primary lung cancer patients who...

Introduction Cross-sectional studies consistently find that the neighborhood built environment (e.g., walkability) is associated with walking. However, findings from the few existing longitudinal residential relocation studies that have estimated associations between changes in neighborhood built characteristics and walking are equivocal. The study...

Source: https://www.jaist.ac.jp/english/whatsnew/press/2022/12/19-1.html

Source:https://www.jaist.ac.jp/whatsnew/press/2022/12/19-1.html

Despite regional differences in residents' physical activity, large-scale data that account for urban characteristics are limited. This study described the association between the composition of main transportation modes used in each city and residents' average walking time. An online survey was conducted in December 2021 among residents of 70 citi...

Background: After the first-round (Preliminary Baseline Survey) ultrasound-based examination for thyroid cancer in response to the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in 2011, two rounds of surveys (Full-scale Survey) have been carried out in Fukushima Prefecture. Using the data from these surveys, the geographical distribution o...

Background: Social contact data in Japan have not been updated since 2011. The main objectives of this study are to report on newly collected social contact data, to study mixing patterns in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, and to compare the contact patterns during and after mass events like the 2020 Olympic Games, which were held in 2021....

Recently, various neighborhood indicators have been used to examine geographical variations in the perceptions and behaviors of urban residents in relation to the physical forms of their neighborhoods.However, the characteristics of a streetscape as a comprehensive neighborhood environment, which can only be determined by combining such indicators,...

There has been considerable interest in the effect of the built environment design on depressive symptoms. However, there are still few empirical studies on this topic, and there is a dearth of evidence among middle-aged adults. The present study examined the associations of built environment attributes with depressive symptoms among a sample of mi...

With the advent of spatial analysis, the importance of analyzing crime patterns based on location has become more apparent. Previous studies have advanced our understanding of the factors associated with crime concentration in street networks. However, it has recently become possible to assess the factors associated with crime at even finer spatial...

Source: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-11-couch-potato-risky-business-remedies.html https://www.jaist.ac.jp/english/research/outcomes/globalpublicity.html

Understanding the correlates of sedentary behavior among children is essential in developing effective interventions to reduce sitting time in this vulnerable population. This study aimed to identify correlates of domain-specific sedentary behaviors and objectively assessed sedentary time among a sample of children in Japan. Data from 343 children...

In the past 10 years or so, there have been growing concerns in Japan that migration trends, such as large in‐migration to the Tokyo metropolitan area (TMA) at the national scale and large movements from the suburbs to the centres at the metropolitan scale, have widened the core–periphery disparities at each scale under national population decline....