Researchers explored the long-term effects of preschool expansion in Japan in the 1960s, revealing significant reductions in risky behaviors amongst teenagers. By analyzing regional differences in the rollout of the program, the study identified links between early childhood education and lower rates of juvenile violent arrests and teenage pregnancy. The findings suggest that improved noncognitive skills played a key role in mitigating risky behaviors, highlighting the lasting benefits of early-education policies.

Japan’s Ryukyu Islands, which includes Okinawa, are the exclusive home to two rare mammals, the Amami rabbit and Ryukyu long-furred rat. These animals are hard to observe, but conservationists wish to find out specific details about their diets. So researchers, including those from the University of Tokyo, inspected the teeth from deceased specimens to find out what the animals were eating, and at different times. Their findings show the rabbits have consistent diets, whereas the rats’ change with the seasons.

Illiberal pro-China narratives serve as sharp power tools, influencing democratic societies. Researchers analyzed Twitter (now X) data and conducted experiments on political ideology and aversion to protests. Findings show both left- and right-wing groups engage with these narratives. Notably, right-wing individuals, despite criticizing China, accept illiberal narratives when triggered by protest aversion. Further experiments confirm that those strongly averse to protests resist liberal narratives, revealing a key vulnerability in Japan’s political discourse.

Large-scale multidisciplinary ecological survey reveals long-term changes in the eastern Indian sector of the Southern Ocean

An Osaka Metropolitan University researcher investigated the impact of the group work environment on motivation in English as a second language classes. The study revealed that the group work environment plays an important role in motivating students.

Koun Shirai from The University of Osaka gives an answer to a long-standing question in theoretical glass physics: what does it mean to be an order parameter for an inherently out-of-equilibrium system? Starting from first principles, Shirai reexamines what it means to be in equilibrium and arrives at the conclusion that order parameters of glass are merely time-averaged positions of atoms. 

Researchers from the NCVC discover that ATF3 expression in cardiomyocytes triggers the transition to heart failure in mitochondrial disease patient.