In the Heisei merger, requirements for city formation were relaxed, and 135 new cities were created across the country. This study focuses on Unnan City, which was created in 2004 through the merger of five towns and one village. This paper summarizes the status of municipal mergers, the population trends, and the status of the establishment of public utility facilities before the Heisei merger. Furthermore, we will examine the wide-area cooperation, financial situation, and merger discussions in the Unnan region, and clarify the issues faced by the mountainous region before merger as well as the reasons for the wide-area merger.
