NATURE, MARKETS AND STATE RESPONSE: THE DROUGHT OF 1939 IN JAPAN AND KOREA
Large areas of Northeast Asia experienced drought in 1939. Agricultural production in Korea decreased significantly, but the drought did not cause famine in Japan despite its dependence on rice imports from Korea. The paper analyses the impact of the 1939 drought on the markets for rice and electricity in Japan. The authorities were ill-prepared for such a disaster but willing to use it for the purpose of covering for other problems. The drought thus accelerated the move of Japan's economic system towards a managed economy. A lower total rainfall in Japan in 1940 did not generate similar problems, suggesting that the broader political, economic, and social context is crucial to the identification of short-term climatic fluctuations as crises.
An Increasing Annual Rainfall in Japan and Its Possible Causes
An increasing annual rainfall in Japan is statistically discussed. This variation in rainfall was paralleled with hydroelectric potential output data and flood damages in Japan, in the long run. Finally, a relationship between the rainfall and the eleven-year sunspot cycle is tested, although it is concluded the eleven-year sunspot cycle is of little importance. A hypothesis of an inerease trend of water vapour in the atmosphere for a possible cause of the generally warm and rainy years on the world-wide scale is suggested. From tremendous materials, the author [1] deduced the existence of a recent tendency of generally warm rainy years in the Far East. The late Dr. E. BRUCKNER, formerly Professor of Geography at the University of Bern, also pointed out a long succession of cycles a series of generally warm and dry years alternating with a series of generally cool and rainy years. So far as the Far East is concerned, the recent decade is characterized by warm and rainy years. At first, the average of the annual totals of precipitation at six representative weather stations over Japan (Nagasaki, Kyoto, Tokyo, Niigata, Miyako and Hakodate) in the 69 years, 1886 to 1954, has been computed for each year. Then the averaged annual totals of precipitation have been taken as a measure of the annual totals of precipitation over Japan. By means of 10-year running averages of precipitation, the climatic changes in precipitation have been illustrated in Fig. 1. The average annual volume of precipitation decreased at about 1890 and at about 1940. The recent gradual increase of annual precipitation is really of great practical value for economical life in Japan [ARAKAwA [1], TAKAHASHI [2]]. Table 1 shows the hydro-electric potential output (in KWh) over Japan in chronological order. This variation in potential output was paralleled with an increasing annual rainfall, as shown in Fig. 1. The correlation coefficient between the annual totals of precipitation and the annual hydro-electric potential output is +0.833. The required regression equation is put into algebraical forms,
Organic geochemical characteristics and depositional setting of Tertiary organic-rich sediments from onshore Penyu Basin , eastern Chenor , Pahang , Malaysia
Poor knowledge of the organic facies characteristics of the eastern Chenor Pahang has made it remain an untapped potential in the Penyu Basin. Therefore, detailed geochemical and petrographic characterization of the Tertiary organic facies of the eastern Chenor area of the Penyu Basin was carried out to characterized its organic matter (OM) source input. Towards achieving the goal, this study focuses on determination of organic matters richness, type and origin as related to their paleoenvironmental conditions of the carbonaceous mudstone and shale using organic petrography combined with organic and inorganic geochemistry. The sedimentary succession is characterized by fine to coarse grained sandstone occurring in association with carbonaceous mudstone and shale in a predominantly fining upward sequence within a lacustrine environment. These facies are generally enriched in organic matter as indicated by the TOC results, hydrocarbon yield (S2) and extractible organic matter (EOM), suggesting significant hydrocarbon generation potential for the area.