Authoritarian states increasingly use persuasive narratives to shape public opinion in democracies. A new study finds that Japanese voters are broadly susceptible to illiberal narratives from China and Russia, which exert a stronger influence than democratic messaging. Surprisingly, susceptibility was widespread across the population, regardless of political knowledge or beliefs. The findings highlight Japan’s vulnerability to foreign influence operations and underscore the urgent need for countermeasures to protect democratic discourse from manipulative, cognitive warfare.

Plate temperature and water release can explain the occurrence of different types of earthquakes in Guerrera, Mexico. The Kobe University simulation study also showed that the shape of the Cocos Plate is responsible for a gap where earthquakes haven’t occurred for more than a century. The results are important for accurate earthquake prediction models in the region.

“The Kansai area will never experience a major earthquake.” That was how many people felt before the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake. But if we examine history, most areas in Japan have records chronicling the devastation caused by earthquakes, and Kobe is no exception. Project Associate Professor MATSUSHITA Masakazu leads the division promoting regional cooperation in education at the Office for Promoting Regional Partnership, and his activities are focused on making it easier for residents to be aware of past disasters, based on information provided by memorial stones and historical documents that remain in local areas. We asked him about the importance of learning from local records and passing on the culture of disaster preparedness to future generations.

Researchers develop innovative phospholipids that improve the functional delivery of mRNA via lipid nanoparticles, paving the way for advanced therapeutic applications.  

An Osaka Metropolitan University historian has found that the Ottoman Empire’s seeming religious tolerance stemmed from suspicions of non-Muslim communities in the wake of the 1821 Greek revolt.

Associate Professor GOTO Masashi of the Research Institute for Economics and Business Administration (RIEB) is conducting research on the system of “tōji,” the traditional sake brewers, and the transmission of knowledge. At the same time, “traditional brewing,” including sake, has attracted attention as it was registered as an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO in December 2024. We asked Goto about the current state of the sake industry as revealed by his research to date, the prospects for future research, and his vision for the future of specialized jobs that are changing with the evolution of artificial intelligence.

The Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake of 1995 prompted the government to establish a nationwide network to monitor seismic activity, and this unparalleled and sophisticated observation system is making it possible to instantaneously detect the changes occurring underground. Professor YOSHIOKA Shoichi of the Research Center for Urban Safety and Security is an expert in seismology and analyzes the data obtained from the network as he takes on the challenge of shedding light on the mechanism of major earthquakes. We asked him about his research which aims to unravel the mystery of how earthquakes occur by focusing on subsurface temperature structures and slow slip events that happen at the boundary between tectonic plates.

Over time, plants have evolved various strategies to defend against herbivores. A new study uncovers how these plant defense strategies can be linked to genetic repurposing. Instead of evolving new genes for defense, plants in the Brassica family repurpose existing genes—originally involved in gas exchange—to regulate the production of defense cells. This remarkable discovery could pave the way for advanced agricultural developments.