2024 年 15 巻 2 号 p. 81-90
This study aimed to elucidate the expectations of local governments regarding the recruitment of Local Vitalization Cooperators (LVC) in Japan. The LVC, a project supporting rural regeneration, was initiated by the Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, in FY 2009, with a goal to prevent mismatches in expectations between local governments and cooperators during the recruitment phase of the project. The research methodology involved collecting 5443 pieces of recruitment information from a portal site where LVC’s recruitment details were posted by 1086 local governments from FY 2009 to 2024. Activities described in the recruitment information were classified into clusters, creating an activity database for analyzing annual changes utilizing cluster analysis. Key findings revealed seven activity clusters. Cluster 1, which expected a broad range of rural community activities, decreased from 40% in 2009 to 16% in 2024. Cluster 1’s decline was attributed to ambiguity in expectations, suggesting a trial period for effective alignment Clusters 2-7 predominantly expected information dissemination, migration support, agriculture, urban-rural interchanges, tourist facility management, and others. Clusters 2 and 7 exhibited an increasing trend, reaching the highest percentage of 41% in FY 2024 despite being 20% and 0% in FY 2009, respectively. The local governments specifying narrow activities increased expectation clarity, emphasizing the need to avoid recruiting unqualified applicants even with a limited number of applicants. These findings underscore the importance of transparent expectations and suggest strategies for improving the alignment of communities and cooperators in rural revitalization projects.
