In this report I will argue what technology and regional planning harmonized with the environment should be, based on a study of environmental problems that I was once concerned with in my position with the research administration.
First, I assert that non-physical factors affect environmental problems more than physical factors. In this sense, technology is as important as it ought to be. We should employ the technological innovations that are well-matched with the conservation of the environment and resources, rather than the technologies based solely on economic rationality. I also introduce the plan of the “Agropolice, ” (in which agriculture is the main industry but there are also factories and other urban facilities), and the plan of the regional agriculture system, a closed system which harnesses energy and resorces.
The contents are as follows:
1. Meaning of “Widow Erosion”
2. Environmental conservation and technology
3. Timber stealing from wood lots owned by others and mutual social aid
4. Development stages of technological innovations
5. Plan of the “Agropolice”
6. Model of a regional agriculture system
7. Rural planning in the information-oriented age
8. Measurement of the functions of environment

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This report discusses water use and aqueducts for paddy field developing rural areas, and considers methods of environmental improvement of watersides.
Brief contents of this reports are as follows;
1. In Japan, irrigation water and aqueducts have contributed to rural areas by means of three functions: rice productivity, environmental preservation, and welfare. However, in the modern ages after the Meiji Period, only the function of rice productivity has increased while other functions have receded. This has been caused by raising the yield and earningsfor rice production so it has become very important to improve aqueducts for increasing safety in water use.
2. If aqueducts and irrigation canal systems have been fundamentally harmonized with nature and land conditions, it may be possible to improve watersides by utilizing the above-mentioned functions. Its practical scheme is the “Improvement of Watersides with Greenbelts”. In this method, reasonable ideas utilizing accessible water and woods is especially important.
3. On the other hand, “Learning Existence of Regional Water” is indispensable in the development from water use to water accessibility. Moreover, in support of the above-mentioned learning, councils consisting of persons concerned with water, woods and inhabitants, should be organized. These councils should promote learning, make improvement plans and practice maintenance of aqueducts and greenbelts. In this process, it is importatiSto train engineers with traditional techniques and to secure land for green space.

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The theme of this lecture was “Environmental Conservation and Agricultural Planning in West Germany”. The lecture reviewed the situation of environmental conservation and agricultural planning after the 18th Century in the following way:
1) The conception “Landeskultur” was founded in the 18th Century and the agricultural planning began with this conception.
2) The Landscape Architects, who planned many parks and gardens between 1790-1850, invented the conception that rural landscapes should be made like a park.
3) The goals of “Landeskultur” were good agricultural business, and technical improvement. The goal of “Landespflege” was conservation, and preservation of the cultural landscape.
4) Through rural area consolidation (intensive farming, mechanized agriculture, etc.) small ecological structures and the natural “Biotop” disappeared.
5) The laws of land consolidation and the laws of nature conservation were revised in 1976. The landscape plan was placed in the law of land consolidation.
6) The best size of farm land is in ecological terms 5-10 hectares.
7) In agricultural planning, wild life areas, and natural vegetation (=natural “Biotop”) must be preserved and protected.
8) Through the Biotop-mapping was cleared the conservation of the area.
10 percent of the farm land in order to protect the natural “Biotop”. Finally, I emphasize that the ecological aspects (ex. the mutual relationship between ecosystems and engineering) must be considered by agricultural planners in the future.

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In regard to problems of the green environment in rural areas, the subject of this study are: the preservation of green areas which lie close to settlements, the use and preservation of open land which is affected by urbanization, and the agricultural land use system. Further, we refered to ideas and practical applications of green preservation measures of local, self governed bodies. The aim of preserving open land concerns not only inhabitants of rural areas but also the people of urban areas.
Looking at the present situation in Japan, it is of vital importance to dilineate the essential topics, to discover frame for planning, and to develop a new, systematic planning method.

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The study is concerned with the examination of rural spatial structure from a viewpoint of the relationships among settlements, and its goal is to suggest what should be taken into account in the process of planning rural living environments. This paper deals mainly with key settlements which link up circumferential settlements according to their functions.
Three study areas were chosen for investigation, each of which had different degrees of proximity to nearby towns. Using a questionnaire, information was collected concerning the spatial distribution of residents' activities and their attitudes toward key settlements.
The results can be summarized as follows:
1) Residents' activities tend to be centred around key settlements. Three types of key settlements were identified based on the centrality of residents' activities.
2) The centrality of a settlement can be measured from a number of key indices measuring such aspects as concentration of shops and public facilities, and the degree of remoteness of an area. But, residents tend to judge the centrality of a settlement by the location of public facilities such as village offices.
The idea of a key settlement should be introduced and developed as a planning concept bearing in mind areal attributes (e. g. proximity to town, spatial distribution of residents' activities, etc. ) so that the networks of social facilities can be improved.

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