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Article History

Received: 16 June 2026

Accepted: 23 July 2026

First Online: 12 August 2026

Declarations

Ethics approval and consent to participate: This study was conducted in accordance with relevant Japanese laws and research ethics guidelines. Ethics committee approval was not required for this study according to the Japanese government’s Ethical Guidelines for Medical and Biological Research Involving Human Subjects (jointly issued in 2021 by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry) [40]. The survey was anonymous and collected only respondents’ opinions and attitudes concerning the preservation and research use of historical records; it involved no biomedical intervention, biological samples, or clinical records, and collected no health or medical information about respondents or any identifiable individual. The study adhered to the Code of Ethics of the Japan Sociological Society [38] and the Marketing Research Code of the Japan Marketing Research Association [39], with attention to voluntariness, confidentiality, and data protection. The survey was conducted by INTAGE Inc., which handled respondent recruitment and panel management; the authors received only anonymized data and had no access to directly identifying personal information. Before beginning the questionnaire, participants were informed of the study purpose, the voluntary nature of participation, confidentiality, and data handling. Informed consent was obtained electronically; completion and submission of the anonymous online questionnaire was taken as consent to participate.

Consent for publication: Not applicable.

Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.