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Japan Times
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Japan Times
Regional revitalization faces Tokyo-countryside divide
As prefectural governors in Japan seek closer collaboration with the central government to tackle rapid population declines, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government remains cautious about fully committing to the effort. Tokyo officials are pushing back against arguments that blame the dwindling national population partly on the concentration of people and businesses in the capital. Overcoming the "Tokyo versus local areas" divide appears to be a key factor in advancing regional revitalization. The National Governors' Association set up a population strategy headquarters last year to strengthen collaboration with the central government on addressing depopulation, particularly the outflow of young people from rural areas, which makes sustaining local communities increasingly difficult. At the association's meeting last summer, in which the decision to establish the headquarters was made, differences quickly surfaced over how to address population declines. The debate centered on the wording of a draft emergency declaration calling for urgent action to tackle the issue. Referring to a section that connected the heavy concentration in Tokyo with the overall population decline in Japan, Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike said the causal relationship remained unclear. In response, Fukui Gov. Tatsuji Sugimoto argued, "The outflow of young people from rural areas to urban centers where low birthrates are low, when they enter universities or take jobs, is a key factor accelerating the overall decline in childbirths across Japan." Prioritizing the unity of the association, the meeting adopted the emergency declaration as drafted, adding the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's opinion in a supplementary note. Still, Okayama Gov. Ryuta Ibaragi said after the meeting, "I don't think any governor was convinced by Gov. Koike's claim that the heavy concentration in Tokyo and the declining birthrate are unrelated." A source close to the association noted, "It left lingering resentment." The choice of an indicator for addressing the decline in childbirths has also become a point of contention. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is focusing on raising the marriage rate, defined as the number of marriages per 1,000 people annually, in which Tokyo has consistently led all prefectures. At a forum for consultations between the central and local governments in December last year, Yoshihiro Murai, chairman of the governors' group and governor of Miyagi Prefecture, proposed using a different metric: The proportion of married individuals among women in their 20s to 40s. In 2020, Fukui Prefecture had the highest share at 59.5%, while Tokyo had the lowest at 48.1%. Since the marriage rate covers all age groups, the association argues that it would be more effective to focus on the proportion of married women in the main childbearing age group. "We need to determine the most appropriate indicator to guide effective measures against the declining birthrate," another official close to the association said. Meanwhile, discussions aimed at correcting the imbalance in tax revenues between major cities such as Tokyo and rural areas have stalled, largely due to opposition from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, which fears a decline in its own revenue under a revised taxation system. In December last year, six local organizations and the central government held a meeting in Tokyo to exchange views on regional revitalization. According to sources familiar with the discussion, several local government leaders called for addressing the heavy concentration of people in Tokyo, while Murai urged the central government to consider the issue, including the imbalance in tax revenues. Yoshitaka Ito, minister for regional revitalization, described this as the most challenging topic, according to the sources. A decade after the launch of full-scale related efforts, Regional Revitalization 2.0, a cornerstone policy of the Ishiba government, aims to create a society in which residents of large cities and rural areas are mutually connected, moving beyond the binary divide between urban and rural. Still, despite agreeing on the general policy framework, the governor's association still faces challenges over specific issues that affect the interests of individual prefectures.
Japan Times
17-03-2025
- Business
- Japan Times
Hokuriku Shinkansen extension marks first anniversary
Events were held in the Hokuriku region Sunday to mark the first anniversary of the opening of the extension of the JR Hokuriku Shinkansen Line that connects Kanazawa and Tsuruga stations. At Kanazawa Station in Ishikawa Prefecture and Fukui Station in neighboring Fukui Prefecture, which is also on the extended section, the prefectural governors gave speeches and saw off departing trains. Sunday was also the first anniversary of the opening of the conventional railway line running in parallel with the shinkansen extension, operated by a local public-private joint company. In an anniversary ceremony for the parallel line at Fukui Station, Fukui Gov. Tatsuji Sugimoto said, "We'll do our best to make it a prefectural railway beloved by local communities." On the concourse, an event was held to let children wear mock station uniforms. Celebratory red and white steamed buns were handed out, which proved to be popular. "The number of visitors from Tokyo has clearly increased" since the extension opened, said Yasuhide Sugita, 60, who has run a Japanese restaurant near the station for about 30 years. However, he said that the number of passengers from the Kansai area is falling because it became necessary to change trains at Tsuruga Station in Fukui. He showed expectations for the planned extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen Line to Osaka. The line currently connects Hokuriku and Tokyo. This month also marked the 10th anniversary of the opening of the Hokuriku Shinkansen Line. At Kanazawa Station on Saturday, gojinjo-daiko, a traditional drum and dance performance of the Noto region, was staged. The region was hit hard by the January 2024 Noto Peninsula earthquake. "The number of visitors has increased dramatically" over the 10 years, said Masato Zenke, 54, of the Kanazawa city government's tourism policy division, who planned the event. "The brand power (of Kanazawa) has increased among visitors to Japan, who view it as a place where they can feel the real Japan," Zenke added.
Japan Times
15-03-2025
- Business
- Japan Times
Fukui enjoys visitor boost after shinkansen extension
Fukui Prefecture enjoyed a 20% increase in visitors over the 11 months since an extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen line opened in the region. Still, how to increase the number of tourists who stay at local hotels will remain a key issue in the second year of the new section, which opened on March 16 last year between Tsuruga and Kanazawa stations in the Hokuriku region. "The number of visitors from the Kanto and Shinetsu regions, viewed as a key task amid the weak yen and rising prices, is increasing. It's a big step forward," Fukui Gov. Tatsuji Sugimoto told a news conference in late January, emphasizing the impact of the extension. The line connects Hokuriku and Kanto, which includes Tokyo, via Shinetsu. About 6.42 million people visited Fukui between March 16 last year and Feb. 15 this year, up by about 1 million from a year before, according to the prefectural government. Popular tourist destinations include the Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum and Eiheiji temple. But the growth has not necessarily translated into an increase in overnight stays in the prefecture, which is sandwiched between the popular tourist areas of Kyoto and Kanazawa. According to Japan Tourism Agency preliminary data, the total number of overnight stays made in Fukui in 2024 was 3.45 million for Japanese visitors, up 8.5% from the previous year, the sixth-biggest expansion among all prefectures. But the growth in overnight stays by visitors from abroad was low. The number of such stays rose 37.2% to about 90,000, lower than the national increase of 38.9%. "There are few restaurants open until late hours and nighttime tourist attractions," a Fukui government official said. In addition to increasing night events featuring food and traditional performing arts, the prefecture is working to develop tours to attract foreign nationals visiting Japan for the World Expo in Osaka, which opens next month. Its partner in the project is West Japan Railway Co. (JR West), one of the operators of the Hokuriku Shinkansen. The Hokuriku Shinkansen line is due to be extended from Tsuruga to Shin-Osaka Station. But it is unclear when construction between the two stations will start, because of the huge construction costs local governments must bear and the impact of the construction work on groundwater. "While the connection between the Hokuriku region and the Tokyo metropolitan area is strengthening, effects of the extended section have not been seen in the Kansai or neighboring Chukyo region," JR West President Kazuaki Hasegawa told a news conference last month. "It is very important to connect the line to Kansai as soon as possible."
Japan Times
09-02-2025
- Business
- Japan Times
Kansai Electric to ship more spent nuclear fuel to France
Fukui – Kansai Electric Power is working to double the amount of spent nuclear fuel it will ship to France, increasing it by about 200 tons, informed sources said. The move comes as Fukui Prefecture, home to several nuclear plants, urges Kansai Electric to address shrinking storage capacity for spent nuclear fuel, the sources said. In 2023, Kansai Electric announced a plan to ship about 200 tons of the fuel from its Takahama plant in Fukui to France starting in fiscal 2027. Based on the Japanese government's policy, the spent fuel will be used for research on technology to reprocess uranium-plutonium mixed oxide, or MOX, fuel. At the Takahama plant, about 90% of the spent fuel storage capacity has already been used, and that amount is expected to reach the upper limit in about three years. About 200 tons of spent fuel will be generated if the No. 1 to No. 4 reactors at the plant are operated for about three years. Kansai Electric has restarted all of its seven nuclear reactors. The company initially planned to send spent fuel mainly to a reprocessing plant to be built in Aomori Prefecture, but the completion of the facility has been postponed. Last September, the company notified Fukui Gov. Tatsuji Sugimoto of its intention to review the plan, and said that it would halt three reactors in the prefecture if it fails to come up with a proposal that can win the understanding of officials there by the end of fiscal 2024.
