This thesis tries to demonstrate the important role that the partnership system between farmers and developers led by the former has played in realizing the land consolidation project for enlarged paddy field, above all building a consensus among the parties concerned. The land consolidation project so realized has two types, the one involves developers and the other is of purely agricultural sector. The case I chose is Inbanuma Land Improvement District in Chiba Prefecture.
Among the areas in that district, Yachiyo area and Sakura area are the ones where the land consolidation projects for enlarged paddy field that involve developers are in progress. And of the two, the parties in Sakura area have realized the more appropriate project for making rice farming more productive.
In Sakura area, where the farmers are engaged in the progressive land consolidation projects for enlarged paddy field, those projects have been realized in larger units. The reason for this is that the famers in Sakura are effectively making use of the partnership system between farmers and developers which is achieved and kept effective in Inbanuma Land Improvement District.
What makes the farmers in Sakura area make use of that system is the fact that the system enables people other than farmers to participate in those projects and so exempts farmers from payment for construction.
In my Opinion, to promote the land consolidation projects for enlarged paddy field in present Japan, farmers must cooperate with those engaged in other industries. In Inbanuma Land Improvement District, a committee is organized for discussing land consolidation projects for enlarged paddy field so that farmers will be exempted from the burden of paying the construction cost by those engaged in the construction sector. Sakura area is an area where farmers are utilizing this committee effectively, and, due to this fact, land consolidation projects for enlarged paddy field which disburdens farmers of payment for construction are being promoted.

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Large scale retail stores (LSRS) increased fast during the high economic growth period in Japan. From 1970's they started to locate even in small local towns and affected small scale retail stores in adjacent rural areas. By the 1980's their impact was very significant. This study examined this phenomena in Tottori Prefecture in 1979 and 1991. The objective is to examine changes in spatial structure of retail by analysing retail sales and sales floor area (SFA) in relation to location characteristics at local goverments level.
First, Correlation Analysis (CA) was used to analyze the relationship between characteristics of cities and towns and sales of 3 types of commodities, i. e. food, cloths, and others. It was observed that the degree of urbanization and degree of commerce has strong correlation with sales, but the correlation was stronger in 1991 than in 1979. There is no big differences among the commodities examined. Parameters obtained with the CA were then used as variables in Principal Component Analysis (PCI.) . Three principal component (PC) were obtained, representing 97% of the original information. PC 1 is the correlation between degree of urbanization and sales. PC 2 is the correlation between degree of commerce and sales, and PC 3 is the correlation between degree of centrality of cities and towns, and sales. For PC 1, at both periods, food experienced decrease in sales, while the sales of other commodities increased. This means, sales of commodities other than food concentrated in the urban area, while food sales are distributed in wider area. For PC 2 all commodities' sales increased. All commodities' sales decreased in PC 3. It means sales are strongly correlated with degree of commerce and level of centrality of cities and towns. For the cities and towns which had high degree of urbanization, high degree of commerce and high level of centrality showed increasing trend in retail business and the reverse of the above is true. In the objective region cities and towns can be grouped into those with increasing and that with decreasing retail businesses.
An equation to predict the size of the small scale retail store was formulated as follows:
M3_j = λP_j - μΣ_iM1_i/d^b_ij - vΣ_iM2_i/d^b_ij
where λ, μ, v, b are parameters. P_j is population of city or town j. d_ij road distance from city or town i to city or town j. M1_i is SFA of LSRS type 1 in city or town i. M2_i, is SFA of LSRS type 2 in city or town i. M3_j is SFA of small scale retail store in city or town j. Along the classical Huff model, the b parameter was fixed as 2. Regression was used to calibratie the equation. R2 obtained with 1979 and 1991 data of O. 993 and O. 989, indicates relialiability of the model. Thus the scale of small retail store in a city or town is mostly proportional to the population of the city or town in which it is located, the floor areas of LSRS and the distances to the other cities or towns.

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Asuka Village is a rural area where many people visit from urban areas to enjoy historical landscape. The landscape is provided by the harmony of the traditional farm land and historical inheritances. In order to preserve the landscape, the government applied the scheme preserving farm land from urbanization. On one side the scheme restricts land-use, on the other side the scheme prepares the system of public purchase of such land. The scheme has been worked successful. However, in recent years, devastated farm land is increasing, and farm land consolidation project is progressing. These are posing a threat to landscape. The objectives of this study are therefore to: (1) assess whether the benefits accruing from the present scheme exceed the costs (public expenditure arising from the scheme) ; (2) consider the application of new schemes preserving farm land from devastation or consolidation on the basis of the benefits accruing from these schemes . This study adopts contingent valuation method and travel cost method to estimate these benefits in terms of use values to visitors. The results of this study are summarized as follows.
(1) The annual benefits accruing from the present scheme are estimated 12.6-11.6 hundred millions yen, which are 2.8-2.5 times the costs. Thus the present scheme appear to be justified. (2) The annual benefits of preserving farm land from devastation are estimated 12.6-10.0 hundred millions yen, which are close on the benefits accruing from the present scheme. It means that the new scheme preserving farm land from devastation is necessary in addition to the present scheme. The annual benefits of preserving farm land from consolidation are estimated 10.7-6.3 hundred millions yen. It means that the farm land consolidation project leads to serious social cost, and necessity of careful thought for the cost where these projects are executed.

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It is a important problem that the adjustment of a rural settlementas a unit of rural community, and manynumber of researcher tackled its.
The aim of this paper is to verificate the process of rural con-struction, that is applied the regional resources, and to introduce the situation of attending inhabitants, and their employments as a results of this planning.
We chose Odaira hamlets in Oomama town, it is located in Gunma prefecture as an object of this study. Odaira is a small village in the mauntain, and it is composed only 135 families. Odaira is an underpopulated hamlet. It is engaged no lively farming and forestry. Most of inhabitants are commuting to the cities around here.
Inhabitants of Odaira who are conscious of the conditions of declining hamlet organized a group to improve it.
This group have investigated all around the hamlet as a system of workshop. And they found the resources for sight-seeing, crops as the regional products, and other resources for rural planning under three keywords ; resources for the sight-seeing, the rigional products, and theimprovement of environments.
In many resources, most important thing was the existens of a stalactite cave come down as a legend from old time. Local government of Oomama town and the inhabitants tried to explorate of stalactite cave and succesed to excavate it.
They have constructed two facilities for management, parkaround the stalactite cave and these have been a new place of work for inhabitants.
Arrangement of the rural constructions developed to other items schemed acording to the master plan, like as a camping ground, bungalows, a wet botanical garden, and a park beside a river. These also produced the new places of work for 54 people as a result of this rural planning.
The most of them were the aged peoples and the women of farmer. The highest age was 83 years old, he is working at the camping ground.
In the employment system at Odaira, people who desire to work and desire to employ both registrate to a commission of management of Odaira. and this commission arrange them in case of needs.

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