Abstract
There is growing interest in the protection of the natural environment and ecosystem, better landscaping, and multifunctionality of agriculture and rural areas. The interest has been expanding stakes in agriculture and rural areas, which, in turn, has been changing the nature of planning administration. Under these circumstances, we need to involve various stakeholders more than ever to deliberate issues at stake and to build consensus among them. In order for us to choose appropriate stakeholders who take part in planning process in an appropriate manner, we need to clarify bases for the participatory planning process. In this study, through reviews of previous research and literature, especially in the field of administrative laws, the authors clarified three critical ideas that underlie participatory planning: 1) to control the discretionary power of the government in the planning process, 2) to protect the rights and interests of the stakeholders and 3) to improve democratic decision making in the planning process.
