Ministry of Land, Infrastrucutre and Transport
The 5th Comprehensive National Development Plan "Grand Design for the 21st Century"

PART I

Basis of the Planned National Land Development

Chapter I

Grand Design for the 21st Century

We are now entering the 21st century. Although it is not clear what new aspects of civilization will mark the new century, there are strong expectations for a society to create new civilization suitable for the new century and to lead the bright future.

Japan is one of the front runners in the global community, and has accomplished the process to catch up with Europe and the United States. The new century will undoubtedly bring with it an increased consciousness of nature and the limited resources on the globe, and raise people's hopes of leading comfortable and dignified lives in which they can enjoy both economic wealth and intellectual satisfaction. As a prerequisite to providing this kind of life, a national land plan is necessary to lead the country toward the following goals: maintaining socioeconomic vitality as the sources of affluence; conserving and recovering the natural environment in order to soothe and heal the human spirit by its blessings; creating the basis for a culture that brings fulfillment and significance to human activities; and providing its citizens with the capability to choose their own lifestyles from various possibilities. In this document, we propose such a plan; we have called it the "Grand Design for the 21st Century."

Section 1
Significant changes in the conditions of the national land

The 20th century's civilization has brought quantitative expansion in economy and unprecedented improvements in living standards, but now people confront the limitation of nature and global resources. At the same time, however, they are finding new possibilities with the progress of advanced informatization. The 20th century has seen Japan eagerly advancing to catch up with other countries-a movement that has resulted in the unipolar concentration in Tokyo. As we move towards the close of the century, however, significant changes are taking place in national consciousness as well as in the trend of times as a whole. In creating a socioeconomic structure for the 21st century, the social and economic features in Japan and its regions will differ greatly from the infrastructure that has prevailed during the fifty years from World War II.

1. Significant changes in national consciousness

Although Japan has achieved remarkable quantitative expansion in economy in the 20th century, it is facing a whole range of problems related to people's lives, the environment, culture and industry. In these circumstances, sense of values and lifestyles are diversifying; these facts have indicated that Japanese socioeconomic should start to pursue not merely efficiency but also qualitative improvements including a balance between human activities and nature. Economically, Japan has accomplished the process to catch up with Europe and the United States. In parallel with this economic maturity, people are beginning to place a higher value on mental fulfillment such as human interaction rather than on material fulfillment. Some elderly people are able to live without being financially dependent on their children, and thanks to improved medical standards, the health of these elderly has much improved. The participation of the healthy and affluent older citizens in society puts more importance on "quality" and "maturity" in every aspect of the socioeconomic.

The systems and customs that were established to make an efficient society that would be able to catch up with Europe and the United States placed importance on uniformity and equality, but they cannot correspond to the change of the times; they have sometimes placed limits on people's freedom to choose in their lives, and have hindered the development of new industries. To correct this situation, deregulation is presently underway to give consumers and entrepreneurs more opportunities to choose at their own risk. Traditional ways of doing things are being reviewed; decentralization is giving local governments more autonomy and helping them to become more independent. More and more volunteer and NPO activities are being conducted, and the systems to support these activities are being studied closely. In the educational field, the focus is shifting toward respect for the individual and specialization to encourage the development of creativity. Significant changes are taking place also in the employment field, including institutional reforms for easier entry to and greater mobility of the labor force.

As a result of urbanization and decreased opportunities to enjoy nature in daily lives, more importance is now being attached to contact with nature than to living convenience. As a result, the number of people is increasing, who place a higher value on nature-rich areas as a place where they spend their free times, bring up their children, etc. They are demanding clean water and air, and have clearly seen the fundamental importance of a natural environment in their lives. For them nature is not something to be conquered, and they are searching for a new relationship with nature. More attention is being placed on being able to respond flexibly to natural disasters, in addition to safeguards and preventive action.

With the increase in the number of women participating in social affairs, the diversified lifestyles regardless of sex are increasingly being called for. There is a trend towards dismantling the barriers that hinder full female participation in the social affairs. Traditionally, women have been expected to take on household duties and bring up children and take care of the elderly. The conditions necessary to make women full partners in the economic society have yet to be established. Facing a falling birthrate and the resultant decrease in population, there is a movement to establish a system in which children can be brought up by society as a whole. There is also great concern over how to manage the care of the rapidly-increasing number of elderly people in the population.

The changes in people's values described here can be summarized:

1) People are placing more value on quality than on quantity, on comfortable living than on higher income, and on relaxation than on novel experiences and new stimuli.

2) More importance is now being placed on freedom to choose and on self-responsibility.

3) People have realized that nature is a precious part of life and are placing more value on a natural environment.

4) Equal opportunity and equal responsibility for men and women in society are causes that are supported by increasing numbers of people. People are beginning to transcend the traditional gender-based roles and responsibilities.

With this change in values, people are seeking for new cultural experiences and new lifestyles, and desire for the kind of national land development that will enable them to choose how to live, and they want to play a major part in that development process.

2. Global age

The world is moving towards a single global zone in various senses. The environment may suffer further damage from global warming and other factors, and it is highly likely that supplies of food, resources and energy will be restricted on a global scale. In response to such concerns, international systems are being strengthened to preserve the global environment and to promote the circulatory use of resources. In these circumstances, the efforts to conserve the natural environment as a common asset of the future generations and the global community are being undertaken.

More and more, companies are selective in choosing which countries are the best place for their business activities. Also at an individual level, it has become the norm for people to work on an international scale. This means that regional competition will intensify beyond national boundaries. To survive the competition, each region needs to have its own many-sided attractions, including a high quality of life environment, richness in nature and culture, substantiality of the intellectual resources, efficiency of industrial infrastructure, a high-quality transportation infrastructure, and especially accessibility to the global network. For regions to develop in the right way, drastic reforms must be made to the socioeconomic system to change the existing high-cost structure.

As a result of economic growth in China and the ASEAN countries, it is expected that exchanges between Japan and other Asian countries will increase dramatically in the 21st century. Accordingly, Japan's international exchange system that now focuses on exchanges between large cities with countries that are far away in Europe and the Unites States will be restructured into a system that enables wider forms of exchange including direct exchange with neighboring countries.

3. Decreasing population and the aging society

Japan's population growth has been slowing rapidly mainly because the birthrate is falling. At the beginning of the 21st century, the population will reach a peak and then will almost certainly come into the decrease phase. Concurrently, the number of elderly will all the more increase. As a result of a decrease in the number of people who will shoulder the future development of the regions and an increase in the number of elderly people in the whole country, regional society will change markedly. In the aging society of the 21st century, the economic growth rate will fall off and availability of investment will decrease. To counteract these trends, Japan is now promoting economic efficiency and technical innovation, and pursuing well-focused and more efficient investment in the infrastructure, etc.

With a stagnant population growth, the necessity to transform into urban land use style in order to support an increasing population, will decrease as a whole country. Instead, there is possibility that the land will be developed from a long-term viewpoint. It must also be remembered that there are good sides to an aging society. An aging society is one with a larger number of people who are highly motivated to participate fully in society, and who are content and established in their lives.

4. Highly informatized society

From the beginning of the 21st century, restrictions caused by time and distance will be overcome on both national and global scales, and two-way communications almost "face-to-face," will be possible. As a result, information and communications will take on dramatically greater roles, in various socioeconomic aspects.

If the limitations imposed by distance and transportation are overcome, people will have more freedom to choose where to live, where to work, where to study, etc. At the same time, all regions will have equal access to knowledge and information; barriers on access to information will not be due to distance, but to the capability and determination of the individual. If information on the attractiveness of each region such as richness in nature and culture is readily available, mobility of people may be increased.

Teleworking (working in a remote site using information and communications networks) will reduce the need of traffic and electronic media will replace printed matter. If these steps are taken properly, they will lead to savings of resources and energy and reduce the load on the environment.

New industries will appear in the field of information and communications. Access to global information resources that are indispensable in many industrial fields will be possible nationwide. Under these circumstances, companies will be able to select the locations of their offices more freely, including the site of their head offices where the managerial decisions are made.

As a result, Japan will become a free and open society. Regional communities, which has suffered from disadvantages that include limited accumulation, and the distance from the large cities, will have greater opportunities to develop themselves. In order to lead regional development, the efforts to utilize global information networks will be one of the significant factors.

Section 2
Necessity for changes in the national land structure

So far, Japan has been structured in a way that has led to an overconcentration of population and function in the Pacific belt, and control emanating from the single polar that is Tokyo. This structure reflects the historical development of the country's economy in this century, in catching up with Europe and the United States within the shortest possible period. Japan's current high economic standard is a result of focusing everything on quantitative growth in economy. At the same time, however, the country has grown around the single polar, Tokyo, and with a single national axis that is called the Pacific belt. This structure is at the root of numerous problems including lack of vitality in rural communities, the lack of comfortable living in large cities, destruction of the natural environment, loss of much of Japan's beautiful scenery, and the country's vulnerability to local disasters.

(The process toward the formation of the unipolar, uniaxial national land structure)

The unipolar, uniaxial national land structure of today's Japan was initially formed under the supervision of the pre-war centralized government to build up heavy chemical industries for the production of materials for the war. Because the Pacific coastal areas provided good locations for importing resources, factories and infrastructures for industries were constructed in those areas. The industrial facilities were devastated during World War II but recovered after the war. Because the infrastructure for heavy chemical industries was already in place, both the government and private companies invested heavily in the areas to catch up with Europe and the United States. With the buildup of industry in these areas, more and more people moved there searching for jobs. The development of urban areas soon followed, with the whole zone eventually forming an axial one that is known as the "Pacific belt." The region led Japan's high economic growth, but also suffered from the problems of overpopulation. Areas outside of the Pacific belt also played their role in production and in environmental conservation. However, the population quickly moved away from those areas that did not provide urban conveniences, resulting in serious depopulation. This process led Japan into its uniaxial national land structure and emphasized the disparity between regions.

Around the end of the period of high economic growth, heavy industries started to decentralize, induced by government policies and motivated by serious problems related to overpopulation and pollution within the Pacific belt. This trend, however, was brought to a halt during the first and second oil crises. In the period of stable economic growth, industries producing basic materials suffered from structural depression, while processing and assembly industries prospered, leading to unbalanced development within the Pacific belt. Along with the developing service economy, the central managerial functions of companies and financial sectors have been more and more concentrated in Tokyo. This process has resulted in the uniaxial concentration of all important functions around this single polar.

Recently, however, the uniaxial national land structure, which is one of the nation's biggest problems, seems to begin to change. In rural areas, high-speed traffic networks including expressways have been constructed. As a result, the province and prefecture center cities are functioning much better as hubs for their region, and this is having a good result on surrounding communities. However, concentration on Tokyo metropolitan area is still high.

(Numerous problems in the national land)

There are factories in regions outside the Pacific belt, but most are simple production facilities without advanced managerial or R&D functions. More and more these regions are facing severe international competition from the global economy and production facilities in these regions move overseas. Both for international and domestic exchange, these regions depend in the main upon the international exchange functions and the advanced urban functions of the metropolitan areas, relying on cultural knowledge and information that originates from Tokyo via the media. The regions are still far from making full use of histories of their own culture and interactions. People living in the regions are also far from enjoying the riches of their natural environment. Within a prefecture or regional block, there are places where functions are concentrated all in one area. Problems of depopulation and aging are becoming more noticeable, mainly in regions where there is a lack of urban conveniences from province and prefecture center cities. Especially in the hilly and mountainous areas that cover most of the nation and that have played various roles in people's livelihoods, young people who would normally form the core of the community workforce are leaving for the cities, and the population is falling drastically. As a result, it has become difficult for these areas to keep the communities running smoothly. This threatens the safety and security of people's livelihoods, because farmland, forests, etc., which form a large part of the land management, cannot be managed properly, leading to numerous problems related to environmental conservation, disaster prevention and food productivity.

Within the Pacific belt where there is an overconcentration of population and functions, especially in large cities, there are many problems including degradation of the living environment, traffic jams, increased load on the environment bringing more air and water pollution, and tight supplies of water. In the process towards urbanization, farmland and forests areas have decreased drastically. The water quality in rivers and coastal areas has fallen and embankments have been built that prevent people from approaching easily. As a result, people have few opportunities to enjoy nature in their daily lives. As a result of the formation of modern but sterile and uniform regions, there is no diversity of culture and lifestyle between regions. No progress has been made in solving the overpopulation problem, while in the centers of large cities including Tokyo, the population is decreasing and communities of the areas are being destroyed. In the industrial zones, because of changes in the industrial structure and logistics, vacant lots around the coast where factories or railroad loading yards used to be are sometimes left unused or are not used fully.

Tokyo is the capital of Japan and companies concentrate their central management and international exchange functions in the Tokyo metropolitan area. These functions are becoming an important part of business, and other regions rely on Tokyo to provide these functions. If a major earthquake or some similar disaster befalls Tokyo and the city can no longer function, the whole nation will be paralyzed. In addition, some of Japan's main transportation channels converge on a very narrow area to respond to the concentrated traffic demands within the Pacific belt, and this could result in traffic throughout the nation grinding to a halt if these channels are damaged by disaster such as a major earthquake or flood.

It is clear that if Japan continues with this unbalanced national land structure, the socioeconomic prospects for the future are grim.

(Restructuring the national land structure for the 21st century)

National land structure in Japan has undergone numerous changes reflecting the characteristics of the age. In keeping pace with socioeconomic development, the factors that determine national land structure have been diverse and complicated; in the beginning, natural conditions such as geographic and climatic, and also political systems, industrial and traffic systems, cultural considerations, and interactions with foreign countries. Viewed from an overall historical perspective, the current national land structure that is concentrated on Tokyo and the Pacific belt is only 100 years old, and should not be thought of as a fixed national land structure. Urbanization fed by the rapid growth in population and industrialization has now reached a turning point, under the circumstance; a decreasing population and changes in the industrial structure. In these circumstances it is well within our capabilities to restructure the national land structure.

The nation's uniaxial, unipolar national land structure must be changed if we are to rebuild national land structure that will fit for the 21st century civilization, in order to keep pace with changes in national consciousness and with current global trends.

Section 3
Creating multi-axial national land structure

(National land development for the 21st century)

To lead the new land structure, the following concept will be realized.

First, the hierarchical inter-city structure with Tokyo at the top has created a "hub and dependent satellites" relationship. This hierarchy needs to be flattened to create one based on independence and mutual support. In other words, instead of pursuing a scale merit through concentration of cities, another merit will be pursued through interregional cooperation and interactions of cities over the wide range.

Second, comfortable living conditions must be supported by more efficient production, distribution and consumption. Each region should be developed to provide wide-ranging functions including protecting and restoring the natural environment and creating new cultures and lifestyles.

Third, each region should have the facilities to conduct international exchange and be able to provide the most advanced urban functions, not only according to their role within the regional structure of Japan, but also as a member of the Asian Pacific region and of the global society.

From this viewpoint, regions located outside the Pacific belt have certain advantages. They have not been greatly influenced by the urbanization and industrialization of the 20th century, and thus they are still surrounded by a rich natural environment and many residents still live a traditional lifestyle. Some regions have a long history of international exchange because of their geographical position. These regions will be positioned at the frontier of the evolution of new cultures for the 21st century. The Pacific belt and adjacent areas will be rebuilt to improve the quality of life, making use of all that has been accumulated so far.

(Direction of formation of national axial zones)

By changing the idea to restructure the country, the leading roles played by concentrations of population and industries in the nation's development in the 20th century will decrease, and the roles played by the following elements will be increased. They are: climate (basic conditions determining culture and lifestyle), the natural environment network including the ecological and water systems, historical experience of exchange and cultural heritage, and geographical features that position them in the Asian Pacific region. If Japan continues with efforts to formation of multi axial national land structure consistently through the 21st century, individual and unique regions will form into zones based on common factors. The zones will gradually establish their own distinctive features and the country will enjoy regional differences and diversity based on mutual support and cooperation between these unique regions.

There are currently, activities to form long north-south axial zones are underway in several areas in Japan under the "Plans of National Axial Zone." These areas are called "national axial zones." Through mutual cooperation of several national axial zones, the uniaxial land structure will be transformed into a multiaxial one.

Based on following four plans proposed by the regions, formations of three national axial zones are currently expected.

1) "North-Eastern National Axial Zone", which covers the central highlands, the north part of the Kanto area, the Pacific side of the Tohoku area and Hokkaido, and their peripheral areas

2) "Japan Sea Coastal National Axial Zone," which covers the north part of Kyushu, the Japan Sea side of Honshu, the Japan Sea side of Hokkaido and their peripheral areas

3) "New Pacific Ocean Coastal National Axial Zone, " which covers Okinawa, central and south parts of Kyushu, Shikoku, the Kii Peninsula, coastal areas around Ise Bay and their peripheral areas

4) At the same time, pacific belt and its peripheral is expected to be reconstructed in Western Japan national axial zone.

These national axial zones will gradually develop their own specific features through national and regional efforts.

In the national axial zones that will be formed outside the Pacific belt, features of daily living, working environment, cultural exchange and contact with nature will be qualitatively different from those in the Pacific belt that played a role as a model during Japan's modernization efforts. In these zones, small but well-organized urban communities will flourish based on two different networks: a network of multiple urban communities, which are linked by efficient and environmentally friendly transportation, and information and communications systems, and a nature network including beautiful fields, forests, rivers and coasts. Individually attractive urban communities and rural communities within the zones will cooperate so that residents will be able to enjoy lives that are both comfortable and convenient. Each zone will develop new cultures and lifestyles based on its historic and climatic characteristics and will build unique and intellect-intensive value-added industries. To respond to the expected increase in exchanges involving people, materials and information, it will be necessary to develop new and highly flexible transportation systems and information and communications systems based on regional characteristics.

In the Pacific belt, the current decrease in population growth will give an opportunity to solve the problems related to overpopulation in the large cities. At the same time, the Pacific belt will be made a more attractive place to live as new urban cultures and lifestyles come to maturity, with urban scenery made more attractive, and by restructuring industries and protecting and restoring the natural environment.

With the advent of an advanced information-oriented society, people will be able to make global interactions beyond the limits of time and space wherever they live in Japan. Under the situations, each of the zones will be open to unlimited interaction with the rest of the world, and will actively interact with the countries in the Asian Pacific region that are their geographical neighbors.

The Pacific belt was built up over the more than 100 years since the Meiji era. Taking a similar long-term view, the basic direction of the national land policy for the 21st century is towards well-balanced land development that will give people the freedom to follow diverse lifestyles by changing the unipolar, uniaxial national land into a multi-axial one. Renovating the Pacific belt and peripheral areas, and promoting mutual support and cooperation between the new national axial zones, will transform Japan into an attractive country that provides its citizens with diversified opportunities to live and work comfortably regardless of gender or age. This "garden island" will be a country that we can rightfully be proud of; one in which people can evolve new cultures and lifestyles based on the historic and climatic characteristics of each individual region. This will be Japan's new identity in the global age.

Section 4
The four national axial zones

Each of the four national axial zones is expected to use its potential to develop itself and to involve itself in international interactions with neighboring countries as explained below.

In the North-Eastern National Axial Zone, two layers of networks will be established; a network of cities and towns on a scale suited to coexistence with nature in the 21st century, and a network of rich green mountains, wide river valleys and basins. The zone will make further exchanges with the Asian Pacific region and northern regions overseas. Especially in Hokkaido, which covers a vast area, an international exchange base will be established to promote exchange with the northern regions overseas.

In the Japan Sea Coastal National Axial Zone, two layers of networks will be established: a network of historical and traditional cities and towns, and a network of snowy highlands, rivers and small- and medium-sized coastal plains. The zone will cooperate internationally with areas on the Korean Peninsula, the north-eastern part of China and coastal areas in Russia for environmental conservation of the Japan Sea. The zone will also make further economic and cultural exchange with the areas located around the Japan Sea.

In the New Pacific Ocean Coastal National Axial Zone, two layers of networks will be established: a network of advanced cities, where oceanic resources can be utilized for urban development while protecting the environment, and a network of the Kii Peninsula that is swept by the Kuroshio Current, small islands and inland seas characterized by their warm climate. The zone will make further exchanges with the rapidly-developing Asian Pacific region. Because of its geographical and historical features, an important international exchange base will be established in Okinawa.

In the Western Japan National Axial Zone, attractive residential areas will be created by linking highly urbanized areas, areas of water, and peripheral areas in which the natural environment has been restored by planting and managing forests and farmland. It is expected that the areas within the zone will share roles with the world's other megalopolises in the Asian Pacific region, while also competing with them.

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