Abstract
Problem : In many public-sector sports facilities in the Kanto area, in addition to the direct damage from the Great Eastern Japan earthquake and tsunami disaster of 2011, various challenges occurred regarding operations and management.
On the other hand, public-sector sports facilities have been progressing rapidly toward privatization with the introduction of the “Designated Administrator System” .
We reached two important conclusions from this study regarding operation and management of public-sector sports facilities.
Purpose : The purpose of this study was to elucidate the administrative problems that public-sector sports facilities experienced following the disaster, as well as the problems arising between local governments and designated managers, and thus to contribute to enhanced Public-Private Partnership in providing public services.
Materials and methods : A questionnaire survey was conducted at indoor sports facilities in the Kanto area (253 facilities responded, the response rate was 60.0%) and an interview survey was carried out at 4 sports facilities that provided temporary shelters.
Results and discussion : The key findings of the surveys were as follows:
1) When the earthquake occurred, 84.3% of the facilities implemented safety measures to protect the users.
2) Damage due to the earthquake was found in 44.8% of the facilities. A correlation was found between the age of the building and the amount of damage occurrence.
3) In the restricted electricity situation, 95.5% of the facilities kept providing services while making power-saving efforts.
4) 39.8% of the facilities provided some form of support, such as a temporary shelter, to the evacuees.
Conclusion : The study indicated the following two important implications for Public-Private Partnership:
1) Contribution to the “realization of welfare of residents,” which is one of the fundamental roles of public facilities
2) Establishment of business continuity plans for public facilities
