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This paper argues how the study of religion in Japan influenced the nation’s conduct during the Asia-Pacific War (1931–1945). Specifically, the paper addresses the wartime national indoctrination texts of Katō Totsudō 加藤咄堂 (a.k.a. Katō Yūichirō 加藤熊一郎, 1870–1949). Although Katō was not strictly a religious scholar, analyzing Katō’s texts is significant in understanding the influence of religious theory and religious studies discourse on Japanese society during the war. To illustrate this point, this paper introduces previous studies that have discussed the movements of religious scholars during the war. It then clarifies the significance of discussing Katō’s texts, followed by an introduction to what has been revealed about Katō so far. The paper then examines Katō’s wartime texts that discuss the relationship between war, faith and the readiness to die. The East–West comparison of views of life and death used by Katō was characterized as a wartime application of comparative religion. It was intended to emphasize Japan’s superiority over other countries. Such features agitated Japanese readers to proactively enter the fight to the death through spiritual mobilization in a total war system.

Cysteine hydropersulfide (CysSSH) occurs in abundant quantities in various organisms, yet little is known about its biosynthesis and physiological functions. Extensive persulfide formation is apparent in cysteine-containing proteins in Escherichia coli and mammalian cells and is believed to result from post-translational processes involving hydrogen sulfide-related chemistry. Here we demonstrate effective CysSSH synthesis from the substrate l-cysteine, a reaction catalyzed by prokaryotic and mammalian cysteinyl-tRNA synthetases (CARSs). Targeted disruption of the genes encoding mitochondrial CARSs in mice and human cells shows that CARSs have a crucial role in endogenous CysSSH production and suggests that these enzymes serve as the principal cysteine persulfide synthases in vivo. CARSs also catalyze co-translational cysteine polysulfidation and are involved in the regulation of mitochondrial biogenesis and bioenergetics. Investigating CARS-dependent persulfide production may thus clarify aberrant redox signaling in physiological and pathophysiological conditions, and suggest therapeutic targets based on oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction.

ObjectiveCompare efficacy and safety of vonoprazan and lansoprazole for secondary prevention of low-dose aspirin (LDA)-associated peptic ulcers in a 24-week study and long-term extension therapy in separate study.DesignDouble-blind, randomised, non-inferiority study; single-blind extension study at 104 Japanese sites, including 621 patients (439 in extension) with a history of peptic ulcers who required long-term LDA therapy. Randomised (1:1:1, computer generated) patients received lansoprazole 15 mg (n=217), vonoprazan 10 mg (n=202) or vonoprazan 20 mg (n=202) once daily for 24 weeks (double blind) and ≤2 years (extension). The following measurements were made: 24-week (primary outcome; double blind) and 12-week peptic ulcer recurrence rate, 24-week GI bleeding rate, cumulative incidences of peptic ulcer recurrence and GI bleeding, treatment-emergent adverse events, laboratory results, serum gastrin and pepsinogen I/II concentrations.ResultsThe 24-week peptic ulcer recurrence rate was 2.8%, 0.5% and 1.5% in the lansoprazole 15 mg, vonoprazan 10 mg and vonoprazan 20 mg groups, respectively. Vonoprazan was non-inferior (Farrington and Manning test: margin 8.7%, significance level 2.5%) to lansoprazole. In the post hoc analyses of the extension study, peptic ulcer recurrence rates were significantly lower with vonoprazan 10 mg (log-rank test, P=0.039), but not vonoprazan 20 mg (P=0.260), compared with lansoprazole 15 mg. GI bleeding rates were higher with lansoprazole compared with two doses of vonoprazan in both 24-week study and extension study.ConclusionVonoprazan (10 and 20 mg) was as effective as lansoprazole (15 mg) in preventing peptic ulcer recurrence during LDA therapy, had a similar long-term safety profile and was well tolerated.Trial registration numbersNCT01452763; NCT01456247.

ObjectiveTo assess the non-inferiority of vonoprazan to lansoprazole for secondary prevention of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID)-induced peptic ulcer (PU) and the safety of vonoprazan during extended use.DesignA phase 3, 24-week, multicenter, randomised, double-blind (DB), active-controlled study, followed by a phase 3, ≥28 week, multicenter, single-blind, parallel-group extension study (EXT) in outpatients (n=642) receiving long-term NSAID therapy who are at risk of PU recurrence. The patients received vonoprazan (10 mg or 20 mg) or lansoprazole 15 mg once daily. For DB, non-inferiority of the proportion of patients with recurrent PU within 24 weeks was analysed by Farrington and Manning test (significance level 2.5%, non-inferiority margin 8.3%; primary endpoint), recurrent PU within 12 weeks, bleeding and time-to-event of PU (secondary endpoint) and treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs). For EXT, TEAEs (primary endpoint), recurrent PU and safety (secondary) were assessed up to 104 weeks for patients in the extension study.ResultsThe non-inferiority of vonoprazan 10 mg and 20 mg to lansoprazole 15 mg was verified (percentage difference –2.2%,95% CI –6.2% to 1.8%, p<0.001; –2.1%,95% CI –6.1% to 2.0%, p<0.001, respectively). The proportion of patients with endoscopically confirmed recurrent PU within 24 weeks was 3.3%, 3.4% and 5.5%, for vonoprazan 10 mg, 20 mg and lansoprazole 15 mg, respectively. No significant safety concerns were identified.ConclusionThe non-inferiority of vonoprazan (10 and 20 mg) was verified in patients receiving long-term NSAIDs in DB; it was effective and well tolerated in EXT for longer than 1 year, with a safety profile similar to lansoprazole (15 mg).Trial registration numbers NCT01452750, NCT01456260; Results.

Abstract This article begins by providing an overview of research trends in the study of the commemoration of the war dead in modern Japan. Studies of the attitudes of the living towards the dead in Japan have mainly focused on ancestor worship performed by family members. The issue of the war dead and their treatment has been the subject of debate within Japanese society since the end of the Second World War. Those who were killed in action, unlike other war casualties in Japan, have been accorded privileged treatment and been enshrined in Yasukuni. Studies of the commemoration of war dead in Japan began with the Yasukuni shrine issue, but research has recently appeared that deals with various types of commemoration. The latter part of this article discusses the commemorative pilgrimages in the former battlefields in Southeast Asia by Buddhist priests during the 1950s and 1960s. By doing so it provides an alternative perspective to the overly Yasukuni-centered discussion of the commemoration of war dead and highlights the missing link between the religious sectors' engagement with the governmental project to recover the remains of the fallen and the later pilgrimages organized by each religious group that began in earnest after the lifting of restrictions on overseas travel in 1964.

Inborn errors of immunity (IEI) are caused by germline genetic mutations, resulting in defects of innate or acquired immunity. Hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) is indicated for curative therapy especially in patients with IEI who develop fatal opportunistic infections or severe manifestations of immune dysregulation. The first successful HCT for severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) was reported in 1968. Since then, the indications for HCT have expanded from SCID to various non-SCID IEI. In general, HCT for IEI differs from that for other hematological malignancies in that the goal is not to eradicate certain immune cells but to achieve immune reconstitution. European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation/European Society for Immunodeficiencies guidelines recommend reduced-intensity conditioning to avoid treatment-related toxicity, and the optimal conditioning regimen should be considered for each IEI. We review conditioning regimens for some representative IEI disorders in Japanese and worldwide cohort studies, and future strategies for treating IEI.

We diagnosed six cases of acute hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection at our hospital between October 2003 and December 2022. During the same period, we diagnosed 402 cases of chronic HCV infection and 636 cases of acute hepatic injury. Acute HCV infection cases accounted for 1.4% of all HCV infections and 0.9% of all acute hepatic injury cases. The acute HCV infection group was younger, had more severe hepatitis, and exhibited higher levels of bilirubinemia compared to the chronic HCV infection group. Two acute HCV infection cases achieved spontaneous viral clearance, while the remaining four cases progressed to chronic infection and were treated with direct-acting antivirals (DAAs). Liver enzyme elevation and liver function deterioration did not differ significantly between the acute HCV and other acute liver injury groups. Notably, DAA treatment was equally effective for acute and chronic HCV cases (75% vs. 90%, p = 0.34). Early DAA treatment in acute cases might contribute to interrupting viral transmission among high-risk populations, such as people who inject drugs or men who have sex with men. While there are currently no specific guidelines for acute HCV infection treatment in Japan, our findings suggest that DAA therapy should be initiated immediately following diagnosis. Further studies with larger patient cohorts are warranted to confirm these observations.

The aim of this study is to clarify the effect of doped metal type on CO2 reduction characteristics of TiO2 with NH3 and H2O. Cu and Pd have been selected as dopants for TiO2. In addition, the impact of molar ratio of CO2 to reductants NH3 and H2O has been investigated. A TiO2 photocatalyst was prepared by a sol-gel and dip-coating process, and then doped with Cu or Pd fine particles by using the pulse arc plasma gun method. The prepared Cu/TiO2 film and Pd/TiO2 film were characterized by SEM, EPMA, TEM, STEM, EDX, EDS and EELS. This study also has investigated the performance of CO2 reduction under the illumination condition of Xe lamp with or without ultraviolet (UV) light. As a result, it is revealed that the CO2 reduction performance with Cu/TiO2 under the illumination condition of Xe lamp with UV light is the highest when the molar ratio of CO2/NH3/H2O = 1:1:1 while that without UV light is the highest when the molar ratio of CO2/NH3/H2O = 1:0.5:0.5. It is revealed that the CO2 reduction performance of Pd/TiO2 is the highest for the molar ratio of CO2/NH3/H2O = 1:1:1 no matter the used Xe lamp was with or without UV light. The molar quantity of CO per unit weight of photocatalyst for Cu/TiO2 produced under the illumination condition of Xe lamp with UV light was 10.2 μmol/g, while that for Pd/TiO2 was 5.5 μmol/g. Meanwhile, the molar quantity of CO per unit weight of photocatalyst for Cu/TiO2 produced under the illumination condition of Xe lamp without UV light was 2.5 μmol/g, while that for Pd/TiO2 was 3.5 μmol/g. This study has concluded that Cu/TiO2 is superior to Pd/TiO2 from the viewpoint of the molar quantity of CO per unit weight of photocatalyst as well as the quantum efficiency.

The purpose of this study is to understand the impact of the thickness of Nafion membrane, which is a typical polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) in Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFCs), and relative humidity of supply gas on the distributions of H2, O2, H2O concentration and current density on the interface between a Nafion membrane and anode catalyst layer or the interface between a Nafion membrane and cathode catalyst layer. The effect of the initial temperature of the cell (Tini) is also investigated by the numerical simulation using the 3D model by COMSOL Multiphysics. As a result, the current density decreases along with the gas flow through the gas channel irrespective of the Nafion membrane thickness and Tini, which can be explained by the concentration distribution of H2 and O2 consumed by electrochemical reaction. The molar concentration of H2O decreases when the thickness of Nafion membrane increases, irrespective of Tini and the relative humidity of the supply gas. The current density increases with the increase in relative humidity of the supply gas, irrespective of the Nafion membrane thickness and Tini. This study recommends that a thinner Nafion membrane with well-humidified supply gas would promote high power generation at the target temperature of 363 K and 373 K.

The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of the separator thickness on not only the heat and mass transfer characteristics, but also the power generation characteristics of a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) with a thin polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) and thin gas diffusion layer (GDL) operated at higher temperatures of 363 and 373 K. The in-plane temperature distributions on the back of the separator at the anode and cathode, which are the opposite sides to the GDL, are measured using a thermograph at various initial cell temperatures (Tinit), relative humidity (RH) levels, and supply gas flow rates. The total voltage corresponding to the load current is measured in order to evaluate the performance of the PEMFC. As a result, it is revealed that the effect of the RH on the power generation characteristics is more significant when the separator thickness decreases. It is revealed that the power generation performance obtained at high current densities decreases with the increase in Tinit with thinner separator thicknesses. According to the investigation of the in-plane temperature distribution, it is clarified that the temperature decreases at corner positions in the separator with the separator thickness of 2.0 mm, while the temperature gradually increases along with the gas flow with separator thicknesses of 1.5 mm and 1.0 mm.