In response to an increasing emphasis on creating walkable cities, construction of condominiums has surged in central Takasaki since 2000. Large condominiums, each comprising over 200 units—a scale that never existed before—have been built near the railway station, with some properties priced over 100 million yen. Conversely, relatively inexpensive detached houses have been developed in suburban areas, gaining popularity among families with children who are in the process of asset accumulation. These homes compete with centrally located condominiums. As regional cities face population declines, some municipalities are relaxing location restrictions in suburban areas and developing new housing sites to sustain current population levels. The challenge remains how to craft a living environment that supports demographic shifts and an aging population without excessively dispersing residential functions to the suburbs.

(Photograph & Explanation: Hideto SATOH)

 At the outer fringes of local cities in Japan, many farm households continued to cultivate small rice fields as part-time farmers with expectations of increasing property values brought about by farmland conversion potential, while earning a livelihood through off-farm employment. In recent years, however, there has been an increase in uncultivated paddies in these areas, and the percentage of abandoned farmland is higher than the national level. The status of rice paddy farming at the outer fringes of local cities is analyzed and the current behavior of farm households within a changing environment is sketched. An analysis of national and Oita statistics shows that the outward expansion of urban areas has generally stagnated, and expectations of farmland conversion in urbanization control areas receded in the 2010s. On the other hand, former expectations of future conversion delayed land improvement projects to consolidate unevenly shaped and dispersed farmland. This delay has created difficulties for the efficient use of machinery and in selling and leasing farmland to other farmers. In addition, the number of part-time farmers who had been responsible for local agriculture has decreased drastically. In District A in Oita, the case study area, most of the paddy fields were cultivated in 2010, but more than half were uncultivated by 2022. Although many of sons and daughters of farmers are living in the same district because commuting is easy, most of the farm households ceased to cultivate their own paddies after the 2010s due to a lack of interest in farming among succeeding generations. Some rice paddies have been leased to farmers outside the district, but narrow and unevenly shaped paddies have been left uncultivated because farm machinery cannot be used efficiently. However, in consideration of the residential environment of nearby residents, farm households who own farmland have been managing uncultivated land, such as by mowing grass. At the fringes of local cities, albeit to different degrees, households are reproducing but rice paddies are being abandoned at the same time, which is becoming a problem, especially for non-farming residents, who will be forced to bear the burden of managing the land.

 The duality of housing demand and supply with mixed concentration and diffusion is studied in Takasaki city, which is located in the northern Kanto plain. Takasaki is classified as a core city (one of the major cities in the Kanto region). In 2014, the Act on Special Measures concerning Urban Regeneration was revised in order to address Japan's declining population. To maintain a certain population density and rebuild the hub-and-spoke urban structure, Takasaki city government formulated its own location normalization plan, the Compact Plus Network, in 2020. At the center of Takasaki, in addition to business and commercial functions, the city government is actively attracting residential functions, such as high-rise condominiums. Together with the transition to a society having a declining population, there is a growing drive toward a pedestrian-oriented city that does not depend on private cars for daily life. The population of central Takasaki doubled from1995 to 2020. The survey conducted for this study indicates that condominiums in downtown Takasaki are sold at higher prices than detached houses in the suburbs, so it can be presumed that the income levels of downtown residents are higher than those of suburban residents. According to the national census, many downtown residents are office workers who moved in from outside Gunma Prefecture, and a high percentage of them work outside the prefecture. If downtown residents commute by Shinkansen (bullet train), their commuting time to central Tokyo would be about 60 minutes. Therefore, taking into account the convenience of a Shinkansen commute, it is reasonable to consider that downtown residents would purchase condominiums within walking distance of Takasaki station. In contrast, in the suburbs, the supply of detached houses is booming. Land that had been used for agricultural purposes is being developed for residential purposes. However, housing supplied in the suburbs, unlike that supplied in the downtown area, is less convenient for public transportation such as buses and trains. The census shows that many suburban residents are workers in manufacturing industries who moved from Takasaki, and a high proportion of them work in and around it. Therefore, their means of commuting is exclusively by private car. Originally, manufacturing industries, including factories, were located in the suburbs of Takasaki. This forms the main place of employment for these workers. Among suburban housing with poor access to public transportation, detached houses are being built after removing older houses. Furthermore, new houses are also being built on agricultural or waste land that had never been used for housing. Detached houses are being built on land with a high risk of flooding, such as pre-improved channels and floodplains. This is a matter of concern, taking into account the rate of frequent natural disasters, such as typhoons and earthquakes, in recent years.

 Urban areas of prefectural government cities in non-metropolitan areas expanded continuously after World War II. Cities required outer areas to have various functions, such as residential, industrial, and logistics, in order to sustain development. Conversely, populations have been declining, with urban areas shrinking recently. The national government and some prefectural government cities introduced Compact City policies to reduce administrative costs and to revitalize city centers. Their outer areas have now become frontiers and focal points of areal dynamics. To illustrate these dynamics, the Morioka urban area is selected as a study area. Morioka City is the prefectural capital of Iwate and is the core of its economic, administrative, and cultural functions. The territory of the Morioka municipality is small and is constrained by physical features such as the Kitakami-gawa river and mountains. After World War II, the Morioka urban area spread beyond the territory of Morioka City. Besides, space for the urban functions mentioned above was required. Morioka City had to search for such space outside its territory. Tonan village, south of Morioka City, chose to accept an amalgamation offer from Morioka City in 1992. In return, Morioka City invested heavily in Tonan after the amalgamation. Consequently, the urban infrastructure (such as sewage and land readjustment projects) of Tonan developed rapidly, and Morioka was able to utilize areas for development, such as the area surrounding the Morioka-Minami IC. Tonan now plays a more important role in the economic and social functions of Morioka's urban area. Takizawa village, north of Morioka City, rejected Morioka's proposal for amalgamation in 2004 and decided to become an independent city. The social-economic status of Takizawa inhabitants is relatively low, and its industries have been inactive despite rapid population growth. Therefore, the tax base of Takizawa is not strong. The most important reason for rejecting amalgamation was minimal prospects for public investment from Morioka City due to fiscal austerity, partly caused by heavy investment in Tonan. The case of Takizawa suggests deepening political fragmentation in prefectural government city urban areas such as Morioka. Not only affluent neighboring municipalities, but also modest suburbs such as Takizawa are unwilling to amalgamate with prefectural governmental cities because their populations and fiscal conditions are on downward trends. This situation is leading to difficulties in executing effective policies for integrating urban areas under the Compact City policies and economic development.

 A community-based integrated care system established through broad cooperation among municipalities in a rural setting, focusing specifically on Uwajima area, Ehime Prefecture, is investigated. The study adopts the perspective of multilevel governance and finds that the organization of community care conferences and consultative bodies is tailored according to each municipality's distinct features. Uwajima City, having a larger population, implements a three-tiered structure, whereas smaller towns in Uwajima area adopt a simpler, single-tiered model. Long-term care insurance services and rights protection facilities are initiated through extensive intermunicipal collaboration. Thus, the community-based integrated care system in the Uwajima area is established using a multilevel governance approach, involving both horizontal and vertical networks. Within each municipality's vertical network, the overarching governance of the local comprehensive community support center facilitates the scaling of local issues into policy. In contrast, in horizontal networks among municipalities, Uwajima City stands at the core, wielding significant influence. At present, no vertical network between community care conferences and consultative bodies facilitates broad cooperation. However, when vertical networks arise, a new multilevel governance framework is needed. The multilevel governance facet, as described above, is commonly observed in rural areas, where limited local resources available for community-based integrated care systems necessitate intermunicipal cooperation.

 This study examines the relationship between employment structure and net migration in Japan's peripheral areas. The first objective is to clarify the regional characteristics of changes in industry-specific employment in Japan since 2005. Subsequently, three municipalities in the San'in region are used as case studies to analyze the relationship between changes in industry-specific employment and net migration in peripheral areas. From the perspective of the industries with the most employees, the employment structure in Japan since 2005 has differed by region: the major metropolitan areas around Tokyo and Osaka, the central part of the country surrounding the two metropolitan areas, and the peripheral areas outside these regions. In the major metropolitan areas, the proportion of workers in the knowledge-intensive sector is increasing, accompanied by net migration gains, leading to the formation of new industrial structures in a post-industrial society. The central part of the country, excluding the metropolitan areas, still maintains an employment structure heavily dependent on manufacturing and positioned within the spatial division of labor with the metropolitan areas. However, they are facing slight net migration losses, reflecting a decline in the number of manufacturing workers. In contrast, medical and welfare industry has become the industries with the most employees in the peripheral areas, including the San'in region. In terms of regional structure, it is noteworthy that medical and welfare dominates both in central cities within prefectures or smaller regions and in rural municipalities of mountainous or remote island areas. The primary shift to medical and welfare as the main employment industry in peripheral areas can be understood as a result of the decline of other industries. The decline of traditional industries such as wholesale, retail trade and manufacturing, coupled with the lack of knowledge-intensive sector and the weak employment absorption capacity of sectors such as tourism, have contributed to net migration losses in peripheral areas. However, even in the San'in region, the number of workers in the IFRSs (Information, Finance, Real estate, Scientific research and Professional services) is increasing, albeit slightly, in most municipalities. It is noteworthy that in Ama Town, the most disadvantaged area, there is a gradual link between net migration gains and an increase in the number of workers in IFRSs. There is a positive correlation between the composition ratio of the IFRSs workforce and net migration gains. Even in peripheral areas, it is crucial to promote a knowledge-intensive sector that can attract people from other areas.