Paper short abstract:

Against nationwide ageing and depopulation, this paper focuses on four small-sized municipalities that were selected as SDGs Future City in 2018 by the Government of Japan to explore new discourses on revitalisation that, instead of pro-growth strategies, bring sustainable paradigms to the front.

Paper long abstract:

Nationwide ageing and dramatic depopulation threaten the survival of many Japanese small-sized towns and villages. To address this challenge—which is not unique but that in Japan is compounded by uneven urbanization patterns and increasing ruptures within the socioeconomic order—the Government of Japan is encouraging municipalities to adopt a pro-growth agenda to halt decline. Notable examples include bills such as the “Long-term Vision for Overcoming the Population Decline and Vitalizing Local Economy in Japan” and the “Comprehensive Strategy,” both approved in 2014 as part of the third arrow of the so-called “Abenomics”. These strategies aim at curbing migration to large cities while promoting the regeneration of rural communities by facilitating, for instance, conventional notions of work, marriage, and parenthood. The “SDGs Future City” (SDGs mirai toshi) initiative was launched in 2018 to simultaneously support the revitalisation efforts of local governments and the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Even though this programme remains anchored in a pro-growth narrative, some municipalities are turning to sustainable development principles to manage their shrinkage process and transition towards new scenarios.

This paper focuses on four small-sized municipalities that were selected as SDGs Future City in 2018 to explore the emergence of new discourses on revitalisation that bring environmental sustainability to the front. By reflecting on the cases of Shimokawa, Hokkaido; Suzu, Ishikawa Prefecture; Kamikatsu, Tokushima Prefecture; and Oguni, Kumamoto Prefecture, this paper investigates the role played by sustainable paradigms—such as the circular economy or the promotion of Satoyama and Satoumi landscapes—in reimagining the future of Japanese shrinking municipalities. It argues that sustainable principles help to answer Japan’s ongoing dilemma regarding how to achieve a soft landing on a smaller population while maintaining social vitality. This paper raises questions about the tacit departure from pro-growth strategies by an increasing number of Japanese shrinking municipalities and how they plan for a sustainable future with fewer people.

Paper short abstract:

Two initiatives to realize society 5.0 in Okayama, Japan are presented. Both cases reveal the significant role of the existing politico-spatial units and the emerging power relationship among these units in its actual policy process. These cases points to a structural change in regional governance.

Paper long abstract:

Since its announcement in 2016, the new model of society -i.e., society 5.0, which points to ‘a human centered society where its system highly integrates cyberspace and physical space, through which economic growth and resolution of societal issues are balanced’, gradually came to be considered as the central goal of Japanese regional governance. The ongoing ‘digital garden city nation plan’ of PM Kishida indeed situates society 5.0 as an envisioned future of Japan situating smart city (SC) as a designated method of its realization. Internationally, the idea of SC points to an initiative that makes use of digitally informed solutions and advanced technologies to increase efficiency in its urban management. Japanese initiatives, on the other hand, actively targets societal issues of rural communities and its management; be it rural or urban, smartification of the existing communities across various sectors including mobility, health care, administration as well as agriculture has become a significant strategy for Japanese domestic governance. Among the international scholarship, there is a growing consensus to consider SCs as a glocal phenomenon; the existing studies have documented unique characteristics of ongoing effort of SC building worldwide. However, thus far, its historical aspect has often been neglected. Against this ground, this paper situates Japanese SC initiatives in the policy history of regional governance. After establishing this point, this paper studies two SCs from Okayama prefecture: Maniwa city and Nishi-Awakura village. Both cases deal with local effort in smart energy transition for regional vitalization. The empirical studies reveal not only the locally unique characteristics of a given SCs but also a common spatial pattern of transformation in their policy processes. Neo-liberal decentralisation of Japanese regional governance proceeds while taking advantages of existing spatially differentiated socio-political units; while, its hierarchical relationship among the relevant politico-administrative units of governance -i.e., national, prefectural and local governments and neighborhoods, seems to have been gradually altered. This may point to an emerging relationship between centre and periphery in Japan.