Urban Food Deserts in Japan

This book introduces the Japanese urban food desert (FD). Currently, Japan has the most rapidly aging society in the world, with a shrinking population and food desert issues in connection with the isolation of the elderly people from their families and local communities. The types of food deserts that Japan is currently facing are likely to occur in many other countries under similar circumstances in the near future. This book serves as a valuable resource for researchers and policymakers who are working on FD issues in Japan as well as in other countries. The book consists of 8 chapters, with each chapter covering a different aspect of FD, and it also includes case studies, one of which is the FD in Tokyo. Preface The Purpose of This Book Definition of the Food Desert Issue An Elderly Lady’s Eating Habits Disadvantaged Shoppers’ Support Services Improvements on Our Previous Book Development of New FD Maps The Structure of This Book References Contents About the Authors 1 The Definition of Japanese Food Desert Issues 1.1 What Are Food Desert Issues? 1.1.1 Isolated Elderly People Who Live in Big Cities 1.1.2 The Definition of ‘Food Deserts’ 1.2 The Structure of Food Deserts 1.2.1 Declining Nutrition of Elderly Residents 1.2.2 The Increasing Number of Socially Vulnerable People 1.2.3 The Expansion of Spatial Holes (Spatial Factors) 1.2.4 The Expansion of Social Holes (Social Factors) 1.2.5 Regional Differences in the Main Causes of FD Issues 1.3 Kaimono-Nanmin (Shopping Refugees) and Food Desert Issues 1.4 Overseas Research on Food Desert Issues 1.5 The Dimensions of Urban Food Desert Studies References 2 The Background of Japanese Food Desert Issues 2.1 Background of the Japanese Food Desert Issue 2.1.1 The Increasing Elderly Population 2.1.2 Environmental Changes Associated with Retailing and Distribution 2.1.3 The Expansion of Poverty 2.1.4 The Weakening of Families and Local Communities 2.1.5 The Diversity of Residents 2.2 Population Aging and the Diversification of the Population Structure in Central Tokyo 2.2.1 Changes in the Population Structure with a Declining Birthrate and an Aging Population 2.2.2 Aging and the Dilution of Family Relationships in the Generation of Demographic Transition 2.2.3 Diversity of the Population Structure in the City Center References 3 Food Access and Social Capital 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Measurement of Food Access and Making Food Access Maps 3.2.1 Measuring Food Access and Mapping People with Limited Access to Shopping Facilities 3.2.2 Comparison of Maps Created by Different Methods 3.2.3 Summary—Toward the Utilization of Food Access Maps 3.2.4 What Is Social Capital? 3.2.5 The Fear of a ‘Muen-Shakai’ (Isolated Society) 3.2.6 Relationship Between Local Social Capital and Health 3.2.7 Measurement Method for SC: Measuring Respondents’ Interactions with Neighbors 3.2.8 Measurement Method for SC: Comprehensive Measurement 3.2.9 Summary—SC Research Considerations 3.3 Conclusions References Part I The Shopping Environment in Edinburgh, UK 4 Case Study 1 (Central Tokyo) 4.1 Introduction 4.1.1 Characteristics of Food Desert Area in Central Tokyo 4.1.2 Organization 4.1.3 Food Diversity 4.2 Distribution of Urban Food Deserts in Tokyo and Minato Ward’s Characteristics 4.3 Residents and Elderly Persons’ Poverty 4.4 District A Case Study 4.4.1 Method 4.4.2 District A Outline 4.4.3 Questionnaire Survey Results (Simple Totaling) 4.4.4 The Relationship Between Elderly Persons’ Eating Habits and Group Participation (E.g., Club Activities, Neighborhood Associations) 4.4.5 The Relationship Between Eating Habits and Social Networks 4.4.6 Unfavorable Factors for Elderly Persons’ Eating Habits 4.4.7 Living Environment for Elderly Persons in District A 4.5 District B Case Study 4.5.1 Method 4.5.2 District B Outline 4.5.3 Questionnaire Survey Results (Simple Totaling) 4.5.4 Elderly Persons’ Unhealthy Eating Habits 4.5.5 Living Environment in District B 4.6 Summary References 5 Case Study 2 (A Prefectural Government City) 5.1 Introduction 5.1.1 The Purpose of This Chapter 5.1.2 Outline of This Chapter 5.2 The Survey Method 5.2.1 The Process of the Survey 5.2.2 The Food Diversity Investigation 5.2.3 The Outline of Questionnaire Survey 5.3 The Living Environments of Old People in City Center of City C 5.3.1 The Outline of the City 5.3.2 Food Access Analysis 5.3.3 Questionnaire Responses and Map of Low Dietary Diversity Scores 5.4 Analysis of Factors That Disrupt Healthy Eating Habits 5.4.1 Analysis Procedures 5.4.2 Direct Effects Model 5.4.3 Interaction Model 5.4.4 Summary of Multilevel Analysis 5.5 The Geography of FD Areas and Their Characteristics 5.5.1 The Survey Method 5.5.2 The Grouping of the Neighbourhood Associations 5.5.3 The Characteristics of Each Cluster and the Identification of Food Desert Districts 5.6 Summary of This Chapter References 6 Case Study 3 (A Small City) 6.1 Introduction 6.1.1 Purpose of This Chapter 6.1.2 An Outline of This Chapter 6.1.3 The Survey Method 6.1.4 An Outline of the Questionnaire Survey 6.1.5 The Survey of Mobile Selling Vehicle Service 6.1.6 An Outline of City D 6.1.7 Food Access 6.2 The Factors Which Impede Old People’s Healthy Eating Habits 6.2.1 Questionnaire’s Responses 6.2.2 Investigation of the Factors Which Impede Old People’s Healthy Eating Habits (Logistic Regression) 6.2.3 The Verification of the FDs in City D 6.3 The Evaluations and the Tasks of Mobile Selling Vehicle Service 6.3.1 Outline of the Service 6.3.2 The Usage Condition of the Mobile Selling Vehicle Service 6.3.3 The Distribution of High Malnutrition Risk in the Elderly and the Outline of the Mobile Selling Vehicle Service 6.3.4 The Evaluation to the Mobile Selling Vehicle Service in City D 6.4 The Outline of This Chapter References Part II FD Risk in the Affected Areas of the Great East Japan Earthquake 7 Measures to Address Food Desert Issues 7.1 Support Services for Disadvantaged Shoppers 7.1.1 The Classification of Support Services for Disadvantaged Shoppers (FD Measures) 7.1.2 Classification by Management 7.2 Remarkable Case Studies 7.2.1 [EB/CIGSLC] a Mobile Sales Vehicle Service Operated by an Alliance of Local People, Retailers, Government, and Scholars: Co-Op Hureai-Bin (Ushiku City, Ibaraki Prefecture) 7.2.2 [EDI] a Railway Company Mobile Vending Vehicle at Tama New Town 7.2.3 [RV] Grocery Shop Managed by Residents—The Kurashi-Kyodo Kan Nakayoshi NPO (Hitachi-Naka City, Ibaraki Prefecture) 7.2.4 [WB] an Innovative Approach by a Mobile Supermarket Business: Adachi Company (Hino Town and Kofu Town, Tottori Prefecture) 7.2.5 [NB] a Personalized Delivery Shopping Service Business Expanding Across Urban Areas of Japan: Family Network Systems Co., Ltd. (Osaka City, Osaka) 7.2.6 [NB] Travel for Elderly People on a Free Shopping Bus Service: Kurukuru Bus (Fukushima City, Fukushima Prefecture) 7.2.7 [NB]a New Business Type: Co-operation Between a Local Shopping Centre, Local People, and a Transfer and Support Company to Create a Sustainable Community Space for Elderly People (Izumisano City, Osaka Prefecture) 7.3 The Possibility of Volunteer Taxi Passenger Transportation by Private Vehicle 7.3.1 The Expansion of Areas with Poor Public Transportation and Volunteer Taxi Passenger Transportation 7.3.2 The History and Outline of Volunteer Taxi Passenger Transportation 7.3.3 Examples of Volunteer Taxi Practices in Depopulated Communities References About the Book The Elderly Population of Urban Areas and the Risk of Isolation from Local Society Have Increased (Chapter 2) The Dimensions of Social Capital in Food Deserts (Chapter 3) The Conditions of Urban Food Deserts (Chapers 4–6) Districts A and B in Central Tokyo (Chapter 4) The Central Area of Prefectural Capital City C (Chapter 5) Regional City D (Chapter 6) New Food Desert Maps Based on Food Access and Social Capital (Chapter 5) The Introduction of Noteworthy Countermeasures Against Food Deserts (Chapter 7) Future Countermeasures Against Urban Food Deserts The Necessity of Paying Attention to Urban Areas Share a Common Recognition That Food Desert Countermeasures Are Unprofitable and Improve Their Sustainability Methods of Supplying Fresh Food (Co-operation with Local Residents, Private Companies, and Local Governments to Promote Healthy Dietary Education) Sharing of the Database by Industry, Government, and Universities Future FD Problems (FD in New Lifestyles After the New Corona Virus Pandemic) References