To members of the press
January 23, 2024
Nomura Real Estate Development Co., Ltd.

Nomura Real Estate and Chiba University Joint Research“Seascape Relaxes the Human Body”
Elucidation of Relaxation on Brain and Autonomic Nervous Activities
Nomura Real Estate Development Co., Ltd. (Head office: Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; President andRepresentative Director: Daisaku Matsuo; hereinafter the “Company”) conducted joint research on thephysiological effects of visual stimulation of a seascape from the Hamamatsucho Building with theCenter for Environment, Health and Field Sciences, Chiba University (Emeritus Professor Yoshifumi
Miyazaki; hereinafter “Chiba University”) from June 2022. The research has concluded that watchingseascapes has relaxation effects on brain and autonomic activities.
The results were released at the 25th Annual Meeting of the Japan Society of Kansei Engineering held
in November 2023.
1.The background of the joint research for the Shibaura ProjectIn the Shibaura Project (hereinafter the “Project”), the Company has been promoting the developmentof large-scale mixed-use facilities to create an international business and tourism hub as a new symbolof the Tokyo Bay area. The Project proposes a new work style “TOKYO WORKation,” which enables
office workers to feel nature while enjoying urban convenience, commanding great views of the sky,sea, and newly developed green spaces stretching as far as the eye can see.
The number of people living in urban areas is on the increase globally due to urban development.
Meanwhile, urban residents are unable to enjoy the affluence of nature in their daily life. As such, there
are high expectations for the use and utilization of the natural environment in urban areas. Given thisbackground, in February 2020, the Company commenced promoting joint research on natural
therapies using physiological indices related to brain and autonomic activities, and the research hasscientifically elucidated the effects of the characteristics of seaside locations on office workers andother people in modern urban areas. The details of the results are shown on the following page.

Shibaura Project (image)

Seascape from the Hamamatsucho Building

Key points in this release
1. Joint research with Chiba University on the physiological effects of visual stimulation of the seascape from theHamamatsucho Building
2. Joint research revealed that watching seascapes has the following effects:(1) Increased psychological comfort and relaxation as well as improved mood(2) Physiological relaxation effect among individuals with a Type A behavior pattern, which is an intense Type ofbehavior

2.Results of the joint research on seascapes
In July 2022, an experiment involving 25 participants was conducted on the 29th floor of theHamamatsucho Building. The relaxation effect of watching the seascape was analyzed using objective
physiological and subjective psychological indices. The results showed that, on average, watchingseascapes enhanced psychological comfort and relaxation and improved mood of all study participants.
Furthermore, a detailed analysis of the physiological relaxation effects of seascapes on the Type A
behavioral pattern (*1), which includes extroverted and intense behavioral characteristics, revealed thatseascapes brought about significant physiological relaxation effects, as shown in the figure. The left figure
shows the difference between right and left prefrontal activities. The left–right difference in the brain’s
prefrontal activity reflects the “stress state.” Seascapes have a “lower stress state” than urban landscapes.
The parasympathetic activity is shown on the right figure. Parasympathetic nervous activity reflects a“relaxation state,” and seascapes have a “greater relaxation state” than urban landscapes.

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-0.40
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⊿ln(HF) (lnms2)

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Stress state⊿Right － ⊿left oxy-Hb
concentration (µM)☨Parasympathetic nervous activity(reflecting a relaxation state)
Relaxation increased

*

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Relax state

Left–right difference in prefrontal cortex activity(reflecting a stress state)0.00

Stress decreased

Seascape

Urban-landscapeN = 10, Mean ± SE, *Statistically significant difference

Physiological relaxation effect of seascapes in participants
with a type A behavior pattern☨⊿Right － ⊿left oxy-Hb concentration (μM): unit of index indicating a stress state

Source: Modified from Ikei H, Miyazaki Y, et al., The 25th Annual Meeting of Japan Society of Kansei Engineering, P2-01, 2023

*1: Type A behavior pattern
The Type A behavior pattern, a concept proposed by Friedman and Rosenman in the 1950s, is a common
behavioral trait observed in patients with heart disease. It is considered common among various types ofleaders who are extroverted, intense, and always enthusiastic about their work and are considered to be ina chronic state of stress.

About Chiba University co-researchers
Yoshifumi Miyazaki, Professor Emeritus, Chiba University
Specialty: Nature Therapy
Born in 1954, Ph. D. (Medical Science). He completed his master’s program at Tokyo University ofAgriculture and Technology in 1979 and worked as an assistant professor at the Faculty of Medicine,Tokyo Medical and Dental University. In 1988, he became a researcher at the Forestry and Forest
Products Research Institute. He, then, became a professor at Chiba University from 2007 to 2019. Heis currently a Professor Emeritus and Grand Fellow of Chiba University. He had received the Ministerof Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries Award in 2000 and the Japanese Society of Physiological
Anthropology Award in 2007. In 2019, his work “Shinrin-yoku” was published in 17 countries after its
publication in the United Kingdom. In 2022, his other work “Waldbaden (German, forest bathing)” waspublished in Switzerland.
Harumi Ikei, Assistant Professor, Center for Environment, Health and Field Sciences, Chiba University
Specialty: Nature Therapy
Born in 1990, Ph. D. (Agricultural Science). She completed her master's degree at the Graduate
School of Horticulture, Chiba University, in 2015. In 2017, she joined the Forestry and Forest Products
Research Institute as a tenure-track researcher upon entering the doctoral course at the Graduate
School of Horticulture, Chiba University. She has been in her current position since October 2019. She
has been in her current position since October 2019. She had received the Japan Wood ResearchSociety Progress Award in 2019 and the Japan Prize in Agricultural Science, Achievement Award forYoung Scientists in 2021. Her work “Wood Therapy” was published in 2022.
Reference: The Blue Spaces (waterside) Study (UGBS) in the world
In September 2023, the manuscript “Advancing urban green and blue space contributions to publichealth, R.F. Hunter et al.” was published in The Lancet, which is one of the five most highly regarded
medical journals worldwide. Regarding the importance of urban green and blue spaces (UGBS), theauthors mentioned, “much of the research to date has focused on green space. Blue space research
indicates that public health is only considered indirectly in urban blue space regeneration, and thepotential to use urban blue space regeneration as a community-based health intervention has yet to berealized.” The importance of water spaces is now attracting worldwide attention.

▶ Shibaura Project[Project area][Exterior image]

Daimon Sta.

Hamamatsucho Station
West Exit Area CommunityDevelopment
Kyu-Shiba Rikyu
GardenHamamatsucho Sta.

Tokyo Portcity TakeshibaTakeshiba PierShibaura Project

N Tower

S Tower

Hinode Pier

Tokyo Bay
Hinode Sta.

This is a large-scale mixed-use redevelopment project to rebuild the Hamamatsucho Building (Toshiba
Building, 1-1-1 Shibaura, Minato-ku, Tokyo) into two towers—the S Tower and the N Tower: theconstruction of the S Tower commenced in October 2021 and will be completed in February 2025, andthe construction of the N Tower will commence in FY2027 and will be completed in FY2030. With asite area of approximately 4.7 hectares and a gross floor area of approximately 550,000 square
meters, the almost ten-year project includes offices, a hotel, commercial facilities, residential units, andother spaces, thereby creating an international business and tourism hub that will become a newsymbol of the Tokyo Bay area. Through this project, the Company aims to develop a community thatcan make people and society happy both in the present and in the future. By taking advantage of theShibaura area’s spectacular atmosphere with panoramic sky and sea views, the Company will provide
a new way of spending time, contributing to the development of a sustainable society for the future.
Primary operators

Nomura Real Estate Development Co., Ltd.
East Japan Railway Company

Builder

S Tower: Shimizu Corporation; N Tower: undecided

Designers

Maki and Associates, Shimizu Corporation
Ove Arup & Partners Japan Ltd., Nikken Sekkei Ltd.

Location

1-1-1 Shibaura, Minato-ku, Tokyo, etc.

Site area

Approx. 47,000 m2

Gross Floor area

Approx. 550,000 m2

Main purpose of use
Building height
No. of floors

Commencement/S Tower

N towerHotelResidence

OfficeOffice

Office, commercial facility, hotel, residence, parking
Approx. 230 m

S Tower

43 floors above ground, 3 basement floors

N Tower

45 floors above ground, 3 basement floors

S Tower

Commencement: Oct 2021; completion: Feb 2025

Completion (planned) N Tower[Purpose of use]

Commercial facility, etc.
Parking lot, etc.

Commencement: FY2027; completion: FY2030

This material is an English translation of Japanese announcement made on December 25, 2023, by Nomura Real Estate Development Co., Ltd.

*The 25th Annual Meeting of Japan Society of Kansei Engineering, P2-01, 2023
(English translation of excerpts from the abstract)

Physiological effects of seascapes viewed from a skyscraper on young male participants: a study using behavioral characteristics
Harumi Ikei (Chiba University), Hyunju.jo (Chiba University), Yoshifumi Miyazaki (Chiba University)
hikei@chiba-u.jp(Keywords: Nature therapy, Physiological relaxation, Type-A behavior pattern)− ⊿left oxy-Hb concentrations, which reflects the state ofmental stress, and with significantly increased ln(HF) (an indexof parasympathetic nervous activity), which reflects the state ofrelaxation. Seascape viewing produced physiological relaxation
effects but these effects varied depending on the behavioral
characteristics of the participants.
Conclusions
This study showed that (1) a seascape viewed from the 29th floorof a high-rise building in Tokyo enhanced subjective comfort,
promoted relaxation, and improved mood states relative to those
associated with viewing an urban-landscape control and (2) an
examination of behavioral characteristics revealed that in theType-A group with extroverted and intense behavioral
characteristics, seascape viewing was associated withsignificantly decreased ⊿ right − ⊿ left oxy-Hb
concentrations and significantly increased ln(HF) values,
resulting in physiological relaxation.

(A)(B)
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⊿ln(HF) (lnms2)⊿Right－⊿left oxy-Hb
concentration (µM)

Results and Discussion
On psychological measures, seascape viewing was subjectively
rated as more comfortable, relaxing, and natural; as improvingmood; and as decreasing anxiety relative to those after viewing
the urban-landscape control (p < 0.05, Wilcoxon signed-rank
test, N = 25).
On physiological measures, seascape viewing
significantly increased left prefrontal oxy-Hb concentrations
relative to those in the controls (p < 0.05, paired t-test, N ＝ 25).
No significant differences were found in the right prefrontal
oxy-Hb and ⊿right − ⊿left oxy-Hb concentrations. There
were also no differences between the seascape viewers andcontrols in ln(HF) and ln(LF/HF), which are measures ofautonomic nervous activity.
To examine individual differences in the effects ofseascape viewing, the data were divided and rearranged
according to behavioral characteristics. In the Type-A
behavioral pattern group with extroverted and intense
behavioral characteristics (Type-A group, N = 10), ⊿right −⊿left oxy-Hb concentrations was −0.26 ± 0.17 µM in theseascape viewers and 0.51 ± 0.20 µM in the controls, indicatinga significant decrease caused by seascape viewing relative tocontrol-scene viewing (p < 0.05, Fig. 2A). Heart rate variability⊿ln(HF) was 0.39 ± 0.14 lnms2 in the seascape group and 0.06
± 0.07 lnms2 in the control group, which showed a significant
increase associated with seascape viewing (p < 0.05, Fig. 2B).
In contrast, in the Type-B behavioral pattern group withintroverted and calm behavioral characteristics (Type-B group,
N = 15), there were no significant differences between seascapeviewing and control viewing in all physiological indices,
including ⊿right − ⊿left oxy-Hb concentration and ln(HF).
Considering the psychological measures, seascape viewing wassubjectively rated as more comfortable, relaxing, and natural; as
improving the mood; and as decreasing anxiety relative to thoseafter control-scene viewing in both the Type-A and Type-B
groups (p < 0.05).
In the present study, in the Type-A group withextroverted and intense behavioral characteristics, seascapeviewing was associated with significantly decreased ⊿right

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Seascape

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Urban-landscapeFigure 1. Effects of seascape viewing on physiological indicesof the Type-A group. (A) (⊿right oxy-Hb concentration) −(⊿left oxy-Hb concentration), (B) Heart rate variability ⊿ln(HF), N = 10, mean ± standard error, *p < 0.05, paired t-test.
Acknowledgment
This study is the result by joint research conducted with theNomura Real Estate Development Co., Ltd. on “PhysiologicalEffects of Visual Stimulation of Seascape Views from High-riseFloors.”