Yujiro Kuroda

Fukushima Medical University · Department of Public Health

Environmental decontamination after a nuclear disaster not only contributes to reducing the public’s exposure to radiation, it also introduces waste disposal issues arising from the decontamination process. In addition to that issue, the optimisation of decontamination efforts necessitates the consideration of various environmental, economic, and s...

Following the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident in 2011, many radiation experts directly experienced a vast gap between ideal and real public understanding (PU) of radiation in risk communication. Therefore, this study collated and reviewed information about PU activities for radiation and its risk that six Japanese academic societies—...

Background: From 2018 to 2020, the Expert Study on Public Understanding after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident (the Expert Study Group) identified and analyzed activities designed to promote public understanding of science and radiation since the Fukushima accident, and held discussions on how to achieve public understanding in th...

We examined the relationship between social support and psychological variables, and investigated the status of social support among villagers whose evacuation order had been lifted. The survey used for the analysis is the data of FY 2018 and 2019. In fiscal year 2018, a written questionnaire was posted to 4828 registered residents of Iitate Villag...

This study analyzed the suicide mortality rate in 12 municipalities in Fukushima Prefecture designated as evacuation areas following the 2011 nuclear disaster. Changes in suicide rates were examined using an exponential smoothing time series model. In the evacuation areas, the suicide rate of men increased immediately after the disaster and then de...

Abstract – The article presents the different stages of the co-expertise process, which took place in the community of Suetsugi located about 30 km South from the Fukushima nuclear power plant, to improve radiological protection and the living conditions of the residents. The originality of the process lies in the fact that it was initiated and led...

This paper explores how health concerns of populations living in contaminated areas following radiological accidents can be considered in developing health surveillance. The research was performed in the framework of the SHAMISEN project, and aimed at identifying the impacts on, and challenges associated with, living and social conditions of affect...

This paper, the last in the Special Issue (SI) on the SHAMISEN project, presents an overview of the SHAMISEN Recommendations for Preparedness and Health Surveillance of Populations Affected by a Radiation Accident. The recommendations are based on the lessons learnt from previous nuclear accidents, and the engagement activities with different stake...

The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident caused radioactive contamination of the surrounding area. In addition to annual health checkups, a survey of the effects of low-dose radiation exposure on health among Fukushima Prefecture residents after the accident has been conducted. Despite health literacy (HL) being recognized as essential to...

After the Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan, a number of practical activities related to public understanding (PU) of radiation risks were implemented inside and outside Fukushima Prefecture. The various noteworthy approaches and strategies behind those practical activities have not been organized and made explicit thus far. In this study, we hav...

This study was designed to examine how teachers in Fukushima Prefecture have shaped radiation education and gained consensus on radiation-related issues since the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident. We interviewed teachers and external experts who have been conducting radiation education since the nuclear accident, ascertaining their fo...

We examined the relationships among social support and psychological variables and investigated the status of social support among villagers whose evacuation order had been lifted. A written questionnaire was posted to 4828 registered residents of Iitate Village; 1405 valid responses were received. The main finding (in joint assessment by local and...

Background: Japan Environmental and Children's Study (JECS) was under way in Fukushima at the time of the triple disaster. It was initially to assess the effects of environmental factors on children's health, but given the situation particular to the accident, it could also offer an additional source of material with which to examine the psycholog...

The 2011 nuclear disaster in Fukushima was not only a health disaster, but also an information disaster. Although media can promote health communication following disasters, studies have revealed associations between media information and negative psychological reactions. To clarify the relationship between media utilization and current health anxi...

Feedback experiences from Fukushima and Chernobyl situations have clearly shown the importance of involving local stakeholders living in contaminated territories for the rehabilitation of their daily life. In this context, this paper aims to better address the role of radiological protection experts in the recovery phase of post-nuclear accident si...

Following the March 2011 accident at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, many residents of Fukushima have faced anxieties about the health impacts of radiation exposure. Considering that source of information may influence resident anxiety, this study aimed to elucidate the correlation between the two. In addition, a health literacy query was in...

Objective This study examined (1) the current status of posttraumatic growth (PTG) and (2) the relationship between recovery from radiation anxiety and PTG among community dwellers five years after the nuclear disaster in Fukushima. Design This was a cross-sectional study with 796 residents of Fukushima Prefecture (367 men and 429 women). A questi...

Aim In general, physically activity contributes to better subjective well‐being (SWB) in the elderly. However, the physical activity level of older people who experienced relocation after the Great East Japan Earthquake has been reported to be low, possibly leading to low SWB. This study aimed to examine the efficacy of group intervention involving...

Following the accident at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant in March 2011, both experts and the national government provided insufficient information on radiation, leading to widespread distrust in the community. This study aimed at clarifying the association between anxiety about radiation and health literacy among residents in evacuation and non-...

Objective: The aim of this study is to assess the risk factors for incident functional disability among long-term evacuees of Iitate village after Great East Japan Earthquake and nuclear disaster (GEJE). We also investigated the effectiveness of exercise classes as an intervention measure in this situation. Methods: 1159 subjects (75.2 ± 5.8 yea...

Background The US National Cancer Institute (NCI) has developed the Patient-Reported Outcomes version of the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (PRO-CTCAE) to capture patients’ self-reported symptomatic adverse events in cancer clinical trials. The aim of this study was to develop and linguistically validate a Japanese translation of PR...

Purpose This study examined the incidence of depression and associated factors among elderly persons from Iitate village after the March 2011 earthquake. Method This was a prospective cohort study. As a baseline survey, in May 2010 a self-assessment Basic Checklist (BCL) was distributed to 1611 elderly villagers, of which 1277 responded. Of these...

After the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident in 2011, Iitate village was placed under an evacuation order because the level of radioactive materials drifting from the nuclear plant to the village were above a government-set level for allowing residents to live in the area. The evacuation advisory for most of the village was lifted on Ma...

This study aimed to investigate views on life and death among physicians, nurses, cancer patients, and the general population in Japan and examine factors affecting these views. We targeted 3,140 physicians, 470 nurses, 450 cancer patients, and 3,000 individuals from the general population. We used the Death Attitudes Inventory (DAI) to measure att...

The Fukushima nuclear accident in March 2011 posed major threats to public health. In response, medical professionals have tried to communicate the risks to residents. To investigate forms of risk communication and to share lessons learned, we reviewed medical professionals’ activities in Fukushima Prefecture from the prefectural level to the indiv...

The Great East Japan Earthquake and subsequent TEPCO Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster occurred on 11 March 2011, which caused the leakage of radioactive materials into the environment. In this study, we report public concerns about radiation in Fukushima and Tokyo almost one year after the nuclear disaster. We examined the public concerns by anal...

Objective: This study investigates the views on death among cancer patients in Japan and examines how these views are related to age, sex, and physical condition. We also investigate how these views are related to where patients would like to spend their final days and whether or not they would like to be told how long they have left to live. Met...

Background: The objectives of this study were to compare the importance of components of a good death among cancer patients, the general population, oncologists, and oncology nurses, and explore which patients preferred "fighting against cancer." Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional anonymous self-reported survey of cancer patients who visite...

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to pilot test the effectiveness of using recently developed clinical guidelines from Australia for conducting palliative care family meetings in Japan. Methods: Palliative care family meetings were conducted using clinical guidelines with 15 primary family carers of cancer patients who were admitted to an ac...

We reported that doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide (DC) followed by weekly paclitaxel is an active and manageable preoperative regimen for breast cancer patients. However, as one of the side effects of paclitaxel, neuropathy was noted in up to 30% of patients. Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and its derived prostaglandins play a role in stimulating angioge...

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) is one of the main strategies for patients with locally advanced breast cancer. In our previous study, biological markers such as estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PgR), and HER2 were essential predictors of the effectiveness of NAC to help individualize treatment. This study examined the effect of NAC on...

Management and treatment options for lymphoedema in Japan have traditionally varied between different healthcare institutions. The authors of this article have developed guidelines to standardise treatment of lymphoedema patients, based on scientific evidence. Consensus methods based on the Delphi technique were used when formulating the guidelines...

S-1 is an orally administered fluorinated pyrimidine with high activity in metastatic breast carcinoma (MBC) and in chemotherapy-pretreated metastatic breast carcinoma. Forty patients with MBC who did not respond to capecitabine-based chemo-therapy and then received S-1 were identified from our data base of records between 2006 and 2008. The clinic...

e19568 Background: Cancer patients frequently experience multiple and co-occurring problems due to their illness and therapies. Only few studies have suggested the contribution of specific psychological factors during cancer therapy. We have focused on trait anxiety, which is a general tendency to exhibit anxiety, as an important factor when consid...

Chemotherapeutic agents are rarely used for symptom management in patients under palliative care setting. This is because chemotherapeutic agents not only have limited efficacy in palliative treatment but are also known to exert severe adverse effects. We describe our experience with a patient with metastatic breast cancer who was successfully trea...

e11587 Background: The objective of this multi center Phase II clinical study prove the benefit of neoadjuvant combination therapy using anthracycline based AC therapy (doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide), which is useful as a standard therapy, followed by weekly PTX(paclitaxel) in patients with early stage breast cancer. Methods: Forty-seven patient...