The establishment of Region Management Organizations (RMOs) has progressed in rural Japan. In order to establish an RMO, a coordinator is needed to stand between the local government official and the community leader and provide support. However, the lack of coordinators to set up RMOs has become a problem. This study focuses on the initial establishment of an RMO in the Meiji district of Taketa City, Oita Prefecture. It aimed to present a new hypothetical model that will enable the establishment of a resident-led organization, based on a case study of intermediary organization with young, inexperienced coordinator. Interview surveys were conducted on community leaders, the coordinators of intermediary organization, and local government official to clarify the mechanism by which human resource development and the establishment of an RMO can be carried out simultaneously. We showed that the capacity of the young coordinator and community leaders develops simultaneously. Additionally, expert coordinators' support was found to directly and indirectly influence the capacity growth of young coordinator and community leaders, respectively. Based on those finding, we have proposed a new hypothetical model for building an RMO in which community leaders, young coordinators, and expert coordinators repeat the Plan, Do, Check/ Support, Action cycle to learn from each other. The key to proceeding this model is that all concerned understand the young coordinators are still in training and development.

This study aims to uncover the structure and board membersʼ sentiments within a neighborhood association where out-migrants assume the role of chairperson. The study also discusses important considerations when residents embrace out-migrants as chairpersons, by focusing on the case of Nakae, Keihoku, Ukyo Ward, Kyoto City. We interviewed three out-migrants who served as chairpersons in Nakae in 2001, 2015, and 2021, and nine residents who had experience as board members during these years. The questions focused on tasks assigned to each board member, mutual assistance among board members, selection process for board members, response of the association to disasters, and sentiments as board members. In addition, we collected some relevant documents pertaining to the association. Findings from our research highlighted following important points : 1） Board members share tasks and authority within the association ; 2） When the chairperson faces challenges, other board members step in ; 3） Residents involve some veterans on the board ; 4） In times of emergencies, the neighborhood association collaborates with the regional fire company, and the board members, except out-migrants, make decisions and respond accordingly ; 5） The board members have feelings of help, compassion, and gratitude toward out-migrants ; and 6） Residents foster a spirit of mutual help and openness toward board members and their work. It is important that rural communities facing population decline engage with non-residents such as out-migrants in order to sustain their communities, by referring to the abovementioned key points.

Kinjiro Ninomiya is known as the developer and implementer of the Hotoku-Shiho, a representative method for restoring devastated farming villages that were widespread at the end of the Edo period. Kinjiro created a new planning system using objective and rational methods and significantly influenced the efforts of his contemporaries. Hotoku-Shiho is a comprehensive planning project that integrates civil engineering projects and economic and social measures, with the aim of increasing the number of people by creating employment through the development of wasteland and rebuilding the territory and finances by rotating income from the developed land. The Hotoku-Shiho-Hinagata (HSH), the subject of this study, is a handbook that focuses on the economic and social means and strategies of the Hotoku-Shiho and contains ideas and methods by Kinjiro. In this paper, I organized and introduced the structure and contents of the HSH and then discussed the characteristics of ideas and methods by Kinjiro from the perspective of Hotoku-Shiho as a rural planning method, focusing on the following two aspects. First, to expand the number of independent middle-class farmers, which is the basis of the rural reconstruction of the Hotoku-Shiho, the HSH carefully prepared measures to support the livelihood reconstruction necessary for struggling farmers to continue farming. Second, tabulation of the mathematically predicted values enabled to concretely set goals and evaluate the degree of achievement.

This study focused on monitoring and enhancing individualsʼ psychological resources and developed a psychological capital scale applicable to rural communities in Japan. Psychological capital encompasses an individualʼs positive state, composed of four elements, namely hope, efficacy, resilience, and optimism. Previous studies have demonstrated its correlation with individual and organizational performance. We first created a provisional version of the scale, considering previous studies on psychological capital primarily utilized in the workplace and its relevance to rural planning in Japan. Then, we assessed its construct validity and finalized the scale using data from a questionnaire survey. The respondents were 300 rural residents from 43 prefectures, selected and gathered through an online survey. We devised two types of scales : a standard type consisting of 12 questions and a shorter version with eight questions, both reflecting the four facets of psychological capital. We named these scales Psychological Capital Scale for Rural Community : PCR-12 and PCR-8. Both scales demonstrated reliability and construct validity across content, substantive, and external aspects, indicating their ability to capture the concept of psychological capital and describe and predict attitudes and activity levels toward rural development. Employing this scale in empirical studies or rural planning initiatives alongside other capital types such as human capital and social capital could enhance both rural planning efforts and the refinement of this scale.

This study aims to clarify the 40-years process of residents-led rural community development, which began with the introduction of agricultural and rural development projects. We examined the developing and declining processes of the community development based on a societal system hypothesis that changes in the activities are caused by the relationships among various societal factors ; and discussed the issues for succession of the residents-led community development. Literature and interview survey were conducted in Koura Town, Shiga Prefecture, Japan. As the results, the 40-years community development process was divided into four phases : Germination Phase (GP), Public-works-oriented Phase (PP), Ordinance-oriented Phase (OP), and Succession Phase (SP). Each phase was lasting about 10 years. From GP to OP, we identified that the community development system factors were formed in the order of [Awareness] of residents, [Partnerships] of diverse entities, [Organization] of residents, [Planning] by local organization, and [Rules] defining the mechanism. From OP to SP, the system declined in a complex manner, triggered by the decline of [Partnerships] and [Planning]. As issues for the succession of the community development system, our suggestion included following points : 1) verification of the current situation of the system factors based on the formulated [Rules] and 2) empowering the [Organization] by utilizing [Partnerships] and administrative support to the maintenance works of the agricultural facilities developed by the projects. These results support our hypothesis, which provides a novel perspective on community development planning theory.

In the latter half of the Meiji period, two young and ambitious wealthy farmers residing in Funakawashin, which is a rural village in Asahi-machi, Shimoshinkawa-gun, Toyama Prefecture, reorganized the land use of the village by relocating the village and consolidating the farm land ; additionally, they constructed various communal facilities necessary for production and living. In this study, we reproduce the actual conditions of land use and facility construction in Funakawashin based on field surveys and documents and then clarify their characteristics. In addition, we clarify the novelty and pioneering nature of the installed facility, as well as consider the factors that elicited such attempts. A comprehensive project such as that in Funakawashin is extremely rare and should be regarded as a pioneering example of Japanʼs physical planning in rural areas. The settlements in Funakawashin are relocated to reorganize the scattered settlements into rows along a new, straight main road. Dwellings are relocated from the road, thus creating an open road space and ordered land use. The joint use facilities include communal bathhouse, convening place, firefighting facility, purchasing facility, joint shipping facility, nunnery, and cemetery, which are established in the central region of the residential area to provide convenience to the residents. Funakawashin features modernized and rationalized customs in agriculture and life. Additionally, it is characterized by a comprehensive organization that includes not only physical planning, but also economic and social measures.

This paper examines the relationship between characteristics of action groups receiving the Multifunctionality Payment Grants and the action groupsʼ engagement in conservation activities for the rural environment, based on the nation-wide data consisting of 20,000 action groups in 2019. We found that action groups involving non-farmers such as local community associations, schools/parent-teacher associations, and NPOs, were more likely to engage in activities related to ecosystem conservation, such as nature surveys, eradication of invasive species, and habitat protection. Specifically, action groups consisting of NPOs were the most likely to engage in these activities. NPOs may attract members with more biological knowledge and experience regarding natural resources, or they may play a greater role in enhancing the partnership between action groups and organizations with expertise in conservation. Commitments of such NPOs and organizations could promote biodiversity conservation. Action groups located in Shiga, Kanagawa, and Tochigi prefectures were more likely to implement ecosystem conservation activities. There used to be a requirement by the prefectural government to commit to ecosystem conservation in Tochigi and Shiga. Tochigi Prefecture also established the system which provided ecosystem specialists to action groups as advisors for nature survey. These requirements and system could enhance action groupsʼ engagement in ecosystem conservation.

This study examines the inequalities in population structure across small communities in mountainous areas and identified the features of small communities with stable populations in the Kyushu mountainous area. First, the study focused on identifying differences in population in eight mountainous regions with a significant share of agriculture and forestry activities, by analyzing the population pyramid form using census data. Second, the ethnographic method was used to study and document the features of the population-stable areas in the Kyushu Mountains. This involved intensive fieldworks, including participant observation and interviews. The study analyzes the data from observation and interview surveys to understand the perceptions, meanings, and behaviors of individuals living in remote rural communities. It utilized the modified grounded theory approach（M-GTA）, a qualitative research method, to analyze the process of returning to live in the rural community. The study, then, illustrated the “theory of sustainable rural community”, which elucidates how stable populations can be sustained in rural communities facing remote and uneasy situations. The mechanism is found to be based on a cyclically interactive relationship among concepts related to “protecting and accumulating communityʼs capital”, a system of “circulating time with psychological and physical aspects”, and the foundation of “agencies embedded in the community”.

In recent years, the government has actively promoted smart farming to address the shortage of agricultural labor. Academic studies have examined both the positive and negative societal impacts of smart farming, yet it is the broader and more diverse parliamentary discussions that significantly shape administrative policies. This study investigates whether parliamentary debates on smart farming policies account for their varied impacts on rural communities. This is the first study to focus on parliamentary discussions to address both the positive and negative social impacts of smart farming policies. We employed text mining techniques on both national and local parliamentary proceedings related to smart farming, followed by a data classification and its relevance to rural issues. The results reveal that while many statements emphasize the link between smart farming and agricultural production, few address rural issues, and even fewer discuss the potential negative impacts on agriculture and rural areas. Moreover, the limited discussions on these negative impacts tended to be biased. This study highlights the lack in parliamentary debates regarding the societal implications of smart farming policies.

With growing interest in entomophagy (the practice of eating insects) as a new eco-friendly alternative protein, household-level and small-scale insect farming is expanding in Thailand, a country with rich entomophagy culture. However, few studies have assessed the value of insect farming in terms of livelihood diversification. This study investigated the value of cricket farming and its utility in relation to other livelihoods through semi-structured interviews and participatory observations in cricket farms in central Thailand, where cricket farming is becoming more popular. The results revealed that insect farmers valued the high economic efficiency, low workload, low risk, and high well-being associated with insect farming. Furthermore, it was also found that insect farming resulted in lean and well-organized systems with other livelihoods by reusing waste or side products between livelihood components. This study highlighted that cricket farming was chosen for a variety of reasons including age, religion, and prior experience as immigrant labor. Insect farming is expected to contribute to long-term rural development.