Lessons from Japan's Regional Revitalization Cases: From Remote Backwaters to Attractive Towns and Countrysides
In 2019, the Executive Yuan promoted the "National Strategic Plan for Regional Revitalization" and declared 2019 the inaugural year of regional revitalization, developing local economies based on local characteristics and attracting young people to return to their hometowns to create opportunities for rebirth in remote areas. From November 1 to November 7, the "Regional Revitalization Exhibition" was held at the Songshan Cultural Park, with selected local teams from 19 counties and cities across Taiwan (excluding Taipei City and Kaohsiung City, which did not participate) taking part in the curation.
Since Japan's development trajectory is similar to Taiwan's, and its problem of depopulation in remote areas is even more severe than Taiwan's, the Regional Revitalization Exhibition specially invited Japanese teams from Niigata, Fukui, and Hida City in Gifu Prefecture to participate. On the opening day of November 1, Japanese case representatives Shinya Onami, director of Green Valley in Kamiyama Town, Tokushima Prefecture, and Tatsu Yamada, chairman of Tamagawa-do, the organizer of the Tsubame-Sanjo Factory Festival in Niigata Prefecture, were invited to share Japan's revitalization experience.
From the self-congratulation of remote backwaters to attractive towns and countrysides that young people aspire to
The secret of the Kamiyama Town miracle: from the self-congratulation of a remote backwater to an attractive town and countryside that young people aspire to
Kamiyama Town is a mountain village in the center of Tokushima Prefecture on Shikoku, once a village on the verge of decline. After residents moved away, more and more vacant houses appeared in the settlement, and the hollowing out of the area began to see a turning point thirty years ago.
Green Valley, the incorporated body operating the citizens' hall, began to devote itself to local revitalization, starting by tidying up old houses and introducing an art village and cultural concepts, providing accommodation for professionals and entrepreneurs. Gradually, young designers living elsewhere noticed Kamiyama Town and proposed cooperative ideas to strengthen the energy of local revival.
Terada Chikahiro, head of the well-known company Sansan, saw the work in Kamiyama Town and hoped to provide a freer entrepreneurial environment. Thanks to the conditions of remote work via the internet, he came to Kamiyama Town to set up a satellite office. At first only a few employees came to Kamiyama Town for short-term work, but unexpectedly, after settling in, their families and children loved it so much they were reluctant to leave, and then more and more employees sought transfers, and vacant houses became fewer and fewer.
This was the first time short-term workers became long-term migrants, beginning to fill the vacant houses in the settlement. Under this trend, the expanding new residents began to tidy up and renovate idle spaces into office spaces. After industry and residents moved in, some young people from outside saw Kamiyama Town as a space full of charm. Besides high-tech talent, some office ladies tired of Tokyo's urban life, like Ikuko Saito, came to Kamiyama Town to open a Southern French cuisine restaurant.
Strange shops appeared one after another in Kamiyama Town
Ikuko Saito and her business partner came to Kamiyama to start a business not to desperately make money, but to give themselves ample time: 228 days a year of training and vacation to carry out personal projects. Ms. Saito, who loves hot springs, set herself the plan of developing a small hot spring pool shared with close friends as a local secret spot, and raising a herd of horses.
Wonderful connections led one to another, and more and more people came to Kamiyama Town. Strange shops opened one after another: a pizza shop, a custom shoemaker, and a Japanese designer who had lived abroad for many years brought back an Irish son-in-law from Europe to open a brewery in Kamiyama. Now Irish-brewed beer has become a specialty beer that the people of Kamiyama are proud of.
Shinya Onami: The essence of regional revitalization is not to find a big boss to open a factory, but to cultivate young people's ability to dream
Mr. Onami stated that the premise of seeking all possibilities is to respect the individual. If everyone develops according to their own personality, all kinds of possibilities will be found. Whether they are young people who have newly arrived or young people willing to return, they must be given space to do things.
Shinya Onami believes that every small thing must be done well. Besides ideas, "the thoughts generated by connections between people" are also important, and he believes it is necessary to "connect creative talent." To connect everyone, Kamiyama Town also launched a new festival: the Veranda Tanabata Festival, on which day everyone dines together under the corridor of the first office that was originally renovated from an old house.
"Regional revitalization is not about creating something new again; there is no need to add new things, but rather to see the value of old things and give them new meaning. And outsiders will notice even more those beautiful things that locals usually overlook." Mr. Onami interpreted it this way.
As for the economic aspect, as long as the people who come begin to show diversity, as the area's visibility increases, a circulation cycle of the local economy will also form.
Shinya Onami mentioned that some people might think they have a large budget, but actually they do not. Green Valley is an incorporated body, and aside from the operating funds of the citizens' hall and the project subsidies given by the local migration center, the budget they need is not much. After they propose things, people gradually follow along afterward; spontaneous action means they do not need much funding. "All Green Valley needs is to create an atmosphere," and what they do has never changed.
"For the same travel time from Tokyo, everyone chooses to go to Kyoto, not Niigata"
"Niigata Prefecture is two hours from Tokyo by Shinkansen, but for the same time everyone goes to Kyoto, not Niigata Prefecture!" Tatsu Yamada, chairman and planner of the Tsubame-Sanjo Factory Festival, joked.
Mr. Yamada introduced that "Tsubame" and "Sanjo" are two cities under Niigata Prefecture, but these two cities have been at odds since ancient times, competing over everything, and their common point is that they are the largest birthplace of the metalworking region.
Although Niigata is a production area for high-quality rice, it is also the birthplace of metal alloys. This originated because floods were once very severe, and farmers growing rice could not make a living. At that time, the adults found ways to have farmers take up side businesses. Because there were metal ore deposits, they started with forging rivets for building houses.
Guiding visitors to hands-on experience on site to understand metal craftsmanship
For example, at Tamagawa-do, where Yamada works, the current president is the seventh generation, and the first generation also started out making teapots. During the second and third generations, they encountered the World Expo held in Osaka and began making more ornate metal ornaments that were more marketable and had value, and thus became a refined craft workshop.
Now Tamagawa-do hammers a sheet of copper into a teapot. Handmade traditional crafts are priced somewhat high; one pot costs about 600,000 Japanese yen in Japan. Its artistic value exceeds its practical value, so the price is also raised. Even Japanese people find this price too expensive to afford. In this era when a press of a button online brings things to your door, everyone is increasingly unable to see the value of craftsmen.
When everyone discusses together, what we think about is guiding the audience to the workshop, to experience it on site, so they can understand why the pricing of metal crafts is so expensive.
The five principles of the "Tsubame-Sanjo Factory Festival": connecting people in the workshop
Tatsu Yamada stated, "When we first started doing this festival, it was a bit difficult. Workshops are not a well-known tourist attraction, or there is the impression that workshops are dangerous, and they are not places people normally go to see." Therefore, they discussed and formulated the beliefs of the "Tsubame-Sanjo Factory Festival," with the aim of "connecting people in the workshop." The five principles are, in order:
One: In the workshop, one must be full of confidence and go all out.
Two: In the workshop, let people actually experience the essence of making products.
Three: Through the vitality of the workshops, contribute to regional employment.
Four: Work in the workshops can also become children's aspirations and dreams.
Five: Build the workshops of Tsubame-Sanjo into a holy land for making products
The benefits created by the Factory Festival: "Manufacturers gain a market, craftsmen gain a sense of work achievement, and the area gains visitors"
The workshops participating in the open program ranged from a scissors workshop with a single master craftsman to large factories making rice transplanters, letting visitors enter the factories and use their five senses to feel the labor, hearing the sound of metal being struck and the skilled movements.
End consumers generally do not have much opportunity to come into contact with the craftsmen inside the workshops. It is wonderful when these skilled craftsmen can interact with visitors; for these craftsmen who work in the workshops day after day, hearing praise from the outside also greatly boosts their morale.
There are also some fans who admire handsome craftsmen, and some who like to photograph the hands of honest men concentrating on their work. Different people can all find their own interests inside the workshops, and the Factory Festival is about finding these ways to appreciate the workshops.
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