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In a bid to cope with moves toward the maturity of Japan's economic society, the Ministry of Transport is pushing ahead wiht the development of ports and harbors under the 7th 5-year Ports and Harbors Development Program, for the basic purpose of "creating port and harbor space on a comprehensive basis" and "furthering the mutual networking of ports and harbors."
To ensure the progress of internationaland information-orientedness, it
is urged that a great variety of functions, including services, commerce and
information communications, should be deployed in waterfront areas which have
great development potential. And at present, various waterfront development
projects are under way in inner harbors, waterfront industrial zones, and the
littoral areas of major urban areas through a combination of public projects
and projects that exploit private sector vitality. Again, demands for the creation
of an excellent environment continue to grow, hance the Ministry of Transport
is currently forging ahead with the creation of high-quality waterfront environments
by executing a project to build historic port and harbor environments, a model
project for the development of hometown coasts, and a "sea blue" project. Furthermore
the ministry, in response to rising demand for marine recreartion, is planning
to build marinas for about 280,000 yachts by 1999, while proceeding, at the
same time, with the development of terminals for passenger vessels to meet demands
for cruising, high-quality green-belt areas and man-made beaches (Table
8).
Responding to diversified demands for waterfront development, the ministry
is also pushing forward with the construction of man-made offshore islads and
floating recreational facilities, while forging ahead, at the same time, with
surveys for the systematic utilization of beaches and coastal areas.
Today, the domestic demand-led economy has taken a firm hold while the industrial
structure, including the international horizontal division of labor, is going
through rapid transformation. In view of this, the ministry is now pushing ahead
with the development of container terminals that meet the needs of the changing
transportation structure, including increased imports of finished goods (Fig.
15). In addition, in order to underpin the stable growth of the Japanese
economy, the ministry is proceeding with the construction of bases for the transportation
of energies and rew materials, and the establishment of shipping routes and
the construction of ports of refuge to ensure the safety of meritime transportation.
In parallel with this, the ministry is vigorously implementing steps to revitalize
local port and harbor activities through the deployment of ports and harbors
of international standing to localities, and the "Marine Town Project," frome
the standpoint of achieving a well-balanced development of national land.
In order to meet demand for the sophistication and diversification of ports
and harbors, there is a need to introduce private sector vitality plus conventional
public projects in the development of a variety of high-quality facilities.
To this end, the Ministry of Transport has so far upgraded various systems for
the utilizatio of private sector vitality through offering tax incentives and
financial assistance. At present, private sector projects for the development
of ports and harbors have been launched in many parts of the country, using
such systems.
With respect to the technology which supports the development of ports and
harbors, and maritime facilities, the Ministry of Transport will aggressively
tackle their improvement by supporting technological development at private
sector levels and upgrading technological standards for the construction of
ports and harbors in addition to the furtherance of technological development
by the government.
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