National Spatial Planning Law and the Formulation of an Autonomous Wide-Area Bloc

Abstract

A system for a wide-area regional planning was introduced following the establishment of the National Spatial Planning Law in 2005. This resulted in the establishment of an institutional base that enables for the formulation of a new national land structure that incorporates a two level system in developing Japan's national land plan from a national level and a wide-area bloc level.

Meanwhile, the National Land Planning Council, responsible for the conducting of studies and deliberations on the national spatial plan from a nation wide perspective, declared that as a future model of a new national planning, the realignment of a new national land structure should be conducted by pushing forward the formation of an autonomous and diverse wide-area bloc.

By examining the policy discussions related to the objective and the development of the wide-area bloc approach, this paper hopes to contribute to the efforts by relevant institutions involved in the development of an autonomous wide-area strategy, which has become the central theme of national and regional land planning policy in recent years.