1999 Volume 5 Pages 166-182
In Japanese, we sometimes use the words “jimoto” and “yosomono” in relation to regional development problems. “Jimoto” means local residents or the area where they live. The term is frequently used as grounds for justifying a party’s concern with regional development problems. In contrast, the term “yosomono” refers to an outsider participating in a local environmental movement, sometimes with a stigmatizing connotation.
This paper considers the strategic use of the term “local resident” (jimoto) by both government and protestors through a case study of a land reclamation project in Lake Nakaumi and the environmental movement opposing it. National and local governments define “local residents” as those living within the administrative district where a project is situated, not as all those affected by the project.
The environmental movement uses the term “local resident” more diffusely, according to strategy. For example, opponents of the Nakaumi Lake project asserted that they represented the residents of Tottori or Shimane Prefectures (areas much larger than an administrative district) when they demanded the application of prefectural ordinances or submitted petitions to the national government. But when they regarded the immediate pollution effects of the project, they used the term “local resident” to refer to those living in the immediate area of the project (an area smaller than an administrative district).
Accordingly, I conclude that the concept of “local resident” (jimoto) is defined and used as a strategic resource for both supporters and opponents in order to justify their position. The variability of definition of jimoto may be an obstacle to achieving regional consensus and should be considered by planners when defining the area of a regional development project.
