A Study on the Elements Required for Building Relationships with Kankei Jinkou (Non-Residents Who Are Not Family Members) in Rural Communities

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to determine the elements required for the reception of non-residents who are not family members into rural communities using interview data and some documents, and to reveal whether the elements reflect an actual situation by considering the case of Nishiotaki in Iiyama City, Nagano Prefecture. A total of 49 elements were extracted. Around 2015, non-residents who were not family members started to participate in community activities in Nishiotaki. This study focuses on the processes of receiving three people in Nishiotaki. During the processes, the residents invited them to dinner and drinking parties so that they could establish close relations with the residents, and participate in community events and associations such as the traditional festival in August, the cultural festival in November, the winter sports festival in March, as well as the youth association in order to discover their own roles in the community. By investigating the processes of receiving them and checking these processes against the 49 elements based on the interview data and participant observation data, it was found that Nishiotaki satisfies almost all the elements. Therefore, Nishiotaki can indeed receive non-residents who are not family members. In addition, it was revealed that the 49 elements do reflect the actual situation. It is important that rural communities facing population decline involve the power of outsiders by using these 49 elements.