Starting with the history of apocalyptic tradition in the West and focusing on modern Japanese apocalyptic science fiction in manga, anime, and novels, Apocalypse in Contemporary Japanese Science Fiction shows how science fiction reflected and coped with the devastation in Japanese national identity after 1945. The structure of apocalyptic science fiction reveals what is at stake in Japanese society - cultural continuity, tradition, politics, ideology, reality, communities, and interpersonal relationships - and suggests ways to cope with these crises and visions for the future, both positive and negative. By looking at the postwar period, Motoko Tanaka observes how Japanese apocalyptic discourse has changed in its role as a tool according to the zeitgeists of various decades.

Journal bearings, which are used in all kinds of rotating machinery, do not only support static loads, such as the weight of rotors and load caused by transmitted torque of reduction gears, but are, in addition almost the only machine element that is able to suppress various exciting forces acting on the rotating shaft. As rotating machines have become large and multi-staged, while compactness, high speed, and high output have also been realized in recent years, not only has the bearing load increased, but also the magnitude and variety of exciting forces. Therefore, the role and importance of journal bearings have increased tremendous ly. In particular, for the design of rotating machines with low vibration levels and high reliability, knowledge of the exact characteristic data of bearings, and especial ly of the stiffness or spring coefficients and the damping coefficients of oil films in bearings, is essential. However, the amount of reliable data now applicable to practical design is limited. Through the activity of the Research Subcommittee on Dynamic Charac teristics of Journal Bearings and Their Applications (designated as PSC 28), estab lished and organized in June 1979 through May 1982 within the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers (JSME), these coefficients, together with static characteris tics, have been calculated and also measured on a number of new test rigs.

Starting with the history of apocalyptic tradition in the West and focusing on modern Japanese apocalyptic science fiction in manga, anime, and novels, Motoko Tanaka shows how science fiction reflected and coped with the devastation in Japanese national identity after 1945.