Research & reports

Mitsuhito HOSAKA, Takeshi Sato · JOURNAL OF RURAL PLANNING ASSOCIATION · Japan

This paper reviewed research trends on urban farming in Tokyo, focusing on public benefits of Tokyo's agriculture and farmland, agricultural business management, and the effects of urban farmland policies like the Amendment of Productive Green Land Act. The research identified the necessity for sustainable academic research, improved databases for quantitative analysis, and economic evaluation of intensive agricultural production technology.

Francesco Letteriello · · Japan (Nishi-Tokyo)

This research focuses on the role of urban agriculture within the UN New Urban Agenda, noting that 54% of the world's population lived in urban areas in 2015, projected to rise to 66% by 2050, leading to urban overcrowding. Nishi-Tokyo's municipality is interested in revising its Master Plan to protect "Productive Green Zones" which will lose their status in 2022. The study aims to analyze the importance of multifunctionality in urban agriculture as a driver for resilient cities, comparing urban agriculture in Italy and Japan, and deepening the context of Nishi-Tokyo through literature, interviews, and field analysis.

M. Tsuruta, Kyo Itoyama · Japanese Journal of Applied Entomology and Zoology · Japan (Kawasaki City)

This study investigated the seasonal occurrences and species composition of Orius spp. in an okra field in Kawasaki City, Japan. Orius spp. were found on okra plants from early-summer to early-autumn, with peak occurrences advancing with earlier flowering times. The initial occurrence was not associated with the seasonal prevalence of thrips on okra plants, suggesting that the main factors influencing Orius spp. occurrence are prey-independent.

賢二 徳田, 春霞 李 · Institutional Repositories DataBase (IRDB) · Japan (Kawasaki City)

This study examined the current state of urban agriculture in Kawasaki City and the effectiveness of its multifaceted agricultural innovation policies. In Kawasaki City, while urban farmland is decreasing due to population growth and urbanization, there is a movement towards high-value-added agriculture utilizing ICT, as well as promoting local production for local consumption through new variety development, improved distribution channels, market mechanisms, and collaboration with local retailers. The city aims to improve agricultural management and enhance value creation as an industrial policy, and to ensure appropriate use and conservation of urban farmland as a social policy, thereby building a high-value-added supply chain.

Benjamin N. Klaiman, Clayton LeRoy Besch, Connor Robert Lepage, Sean Patrick Duffy · Digital WPI · Japan

This student project focused on the Gojo Rakuen area in Shimogyo Ward, Kyoto, recording the function of each building, interviewing business owners, and producing a map of streets, buildings, greenery, and pedestrian flow. It concludes that changes such as increasing lighting, attracting more shops and services, and repurposing underutilized lots into bike parking or community gardens could help draw people back to the area.

Kimisato Oda, Christoph Rupprecht, Kazuaki Tsuchiya, Steven R. McGreevy · Sustainability · Japan (Kyoto)

A study in Kyoto City, Japan, examined agricultural land use from 2007–2017 to assess urban agriculture as a sustainability strategy for shrinking cities. Analysis revealed a 10% decline (209 ha) in agricultural land use over ten years, with main post-agricultural uses being residential (40%) and vacant land (28%). The findings indicate that Kyoto City is not currently positioned to benefit from population decline through localized food production.

Kota OGUCHI · The Annals of Japan Association for Urban Sociology · Japan (Saitama City)

This article studies the impact of coordinators for Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs, using the Kome Mame project in Saitama City, Japan, as a case study. The Kome Mame project is a collaborative effort involving organic farms, a for-profit company, and an NPO, where the NPO coordinates matchmaking between farmers and companies, builds mechanisms for distribution channel development, and facilitates human-resource exchanges and stakeholder relationships. The study suggests that the coordinator's role as a manager of the relationship between food and agriculture will become increasingly important, and the challenge is whether this role can be established as a socially recognized profession.

マリコ ソヤ, ミチコ コバヤシ, Mariko Soya, Michiko KOBAYASHI · Institutional Repositories DataBase (IRDB) · Japan (Niiza)

In Niiza City, the development of processed local vegetables is not advanced. This research matched the needs of Niiza City with the seeds of a university, leading to the industry-government-academia collaboration for the development of a "carrot dressing" using Niiza City's certified autumn-winter carrots. Students from the Department of Food and Nutrition were involved from cultivation to prototyping and design, resulting in manufacturing in March 2017 and sales in April through collaboration with local companies.

Ryo Kawabe, Hiroshi Sakazume · Institutional Repositories DataBase (IRDB) · Japan (Nagakute City)

This paper analyzes the importance of social capital in the sixth industrialization of urban agricultural areas, using a case study from Nagakute-cho (now Nagakute City), Aichi Prefecture, Japan. The study found that the sixth industry is an efficient strategy for managing and demonstrating the multiple functions of urban agriculture, farm villages, and agriculture itself, with social capital being a crucial driving force. Nagakute City's initiatives, based on the "Countryside Valley Initiative," were successful, leading to the emergence of an integrated form of social capital combining government-led bonding with bridging among various local residents.

Mattia Scarpellino · · Japan (Tokyo)

This architectural design thesis proposes a redesign of a peripheral area of Tokyo, specifically Nishi-Tokyo, which exhibits both urban and rural characteristics. The study explored how to integrate agri-food production activities in a large metropolitan suburb, its potential social role, and the dynamics generated in relation to contemporary living. Through literature review on living, urbanization, functional nomadism, and digitalization, analysis of urban agriculture aspects focusing on community gardens, and participation in a Tokyo workshop, design scenarios were simulated.

国土交通省 · 国土交通省 · Japan

MLIT's national survey of rooftop and wall greening construction results for FY2017, aimed at mitigating the urban heat island effect and lowering urban carbon emissions, recorded about 23.1 hectares of new rooftop greening (roughly five Tokyo Domes) and 5.5 hectares of new wall greening that year, bringing cumulative totals since FY2000 to about 498 hectares of rooftop greening and 90 hectares of wall greening. Average project area was 261 m2, with a growing trend toward large-scale mixed-use projects.

内閣府地方創生推進事務局 · 内閣府 地方創生推進事務局 · Japan

A November 2018 briefing prepared by the Cabinet Office's Regional Revitalisation Secretariat. The Regional Revitalisation Promotion Grant supports self-directed, pioneering work by local authorities, requiring KPIs and a PDCA cycle and targeting projects that cut across traditional departmental silos. Its initial budget was ¥100 billion a year (¥200 billion on a project-cost basis) in each of fiscal 2016, 2017 and 2018, alongside supplementary grants such as ¥100 billion for acceleration in FY2015 and ¥90 billion for base development in FY2016. Under the Regional Revitalisation Act (Act No. 24 of 2005) that underpins it, 5,796 regional revitalisation plans had been approved by this point.

内閣府地方創生推進事務局 · 内閣府 地方創生推進事務局 · Japan

An April 2018 guideline from the Cabinet Office's Regional Revitalisation Secretariat on designing and improving projects funded by the Regional Revitalisation Promotion Grant. The general part sets out the grant's aims and six 'pioneering elements', explains what a KPI is, from which angles to set one and the pitfalls to avoid, then walks through the project cycle stage by stage under Plan-Do-Check-Action. The sector-specific part covers local innovation, agriculture-forestry-fisheries, tourism, migration to the regions, working-style reform and placemaking, each with worked examples of KPIs.

Christoph Rupprecht · Land · Japan

This study analyzed residents' perceptions, use, and management preferences for informal urban green spaces (IGS) in four major shrinking Japanese cities (Sapporo, Nagano, Kyoto, and Kitakyushu) using a large online survey of 1000 residents. Residents viewed IGS as a common element of the urban landscape, but their evaluation was mixed. Recreation and urban agriculture were preferred over redevelopment and non-management, and for participatory management, residents emphasized the need for city administration to mediate usage and liability, along with financial and non-financial support. Approximately 10% of residents expressed willingness to participate in management activities.

肇 石原, Hajime ISHIHARA · Institutional Repositories DataBase (IRDB) · Japan

Since 1990, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, has seen a decrease in agricultural land area and the number of farm households, particularly in Nagoya City and its surrounding municipalities. While the reduction in productive green space and full-time farmers was moderate, engagement in agriculture-related businesses, excluding direct sales, was not extensive. A polarization was observed between municipalities active and inactive in designating productive green spaces, posing a challenge for future land use planning.

肇 石原, Hajime ISHIHARA · Institutional Repositories DataBase (IRDB) · Japan

This study examined changes in urban agriculture in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, since 1990, finding a weakening of the agricultural management base. While the decline in productive green space and full-time farmers was limited, engagement in agriculture-related businesses, excluding direct sales, was not widespread. The preservation of productive green spaces in some cities remains a challenge for future land use planning.

肇 石原, Hajime ISHIHARA · Institutional Repositories DataBase (IRDB) · Japan

Since 1990, the weakening of agricultural management foundations has been observed in urban areas of Nara Prefecture, though the decrease in productive green space and the number of full-time farmers remained at a certain level. Rice cultivation was the main crop in many areas, and engagement in agriculture-related businesses, apart from direct sales, was not extensive. Regarding the designation of productive green spaces, many cities were reluctant during the initial designation following the revised Productive Green Space Act and also during the Heisei mergers, which is identified as a challenge for future land use planning.

Shingo Yoshida, Hironori Yagi · JOURNAL OF RURAL PLANNING ASSOCIATION · Japan (Tokyo)

This study conducted a questionnaire survey targeting existing farmers in Tokyo to investigate the determinants of diversification and farm performance among urban farmers. Results showed some differences between mass-marketing farmers, direct-marketing farmers, and indirect-marketing farmers in terms of farm size, customer relationship capability, farm objectives, and farm performance.

肇 石原, Hajime Ishihara · Institutional Repositories DataBase (IRDB) · Japan (Osaka)

This study analyzed changes in green space components (parks, agricultural land, forests) across Osaka Prefecture, Japan, from 1970 to 2010. While forest area decreased slightly and park area increased, the increase in park area was insufficient to offset the significant reduction in agricultural land. Consequently, the overall green space ratio in Osaka Prefecture showed a declining trend, particularly noticeable in Osaka City and its surrounding areas.

Kento Takano, Noriko Akita · Journal of The Japanese Institute of Landscape Architecture · Japan

This study clarified requirements for community-based allotment gardens as a land use management strategy in urbanization control areas in Japan. A questionnaire survey of metropolitan area municipalities revealed over 60% established allotment gardens in these areas to utilize farmland. An interview study of "Genki Nouen" in Ushiku City, Ibaraki Prefecture, found it was proactively managed by neighborhood associations, promoting effective use of abandoned cultivated land and bamboo forest management. The study concluded that creating an environment for social capital formation is necessary for land use management by community-based allotment gardens.

肇 石原, Hajime ISHIHARA · Institutional Repositories DataBase (IRDB) · Japan

This study analyzed changes in green space components (parks, agricultural land, forests) across Aichi Prefecture, Japan, from 1970 to 2010. While forest area decreased less significantly than agricultural land, and park area increased, the increase in park area was insufficient to offset the reduction in agricultural land. Consequently, the overall green space ratio showed a declining trend in most areas, particularly in Nagoya City and its surrounding regions.

Ryozo YANAGIDA · Journal of Architecture and Planning (Transactions of AIJ) · Japan

This study investigated the planning principles of urban formation during Hokkaido's pioneering period (Meiji and Taisho eras) by analyzing six prototypes of city formation. The research identified seven planning principles, including the selection of town sites from a bird's-eye view, the use of a basic axis and point for area space formation, the existence of rural-urban planning, and the importance of riverports or railway stations as cardinal points. Other principles involved the scale of urban areas (600-900 ken), the placement of hills as mental footholds, and the adoption of a grid pattern for town division.

KIKUCHI Toshio, TABAYASHI Akira · E-journal GEO · Japan

A case study of the Sunagawa area in Tachikawa City, in the Tokyo metropolitan fringe, analyzed the mechanism sustaining urban farming through the relationship between the siting of farm-product direct-sale stands and the commodification of rural space. Urban farming's persistence in the area depends heavily on the location of these direct-sale stands: because the stands sell directly to urban residents and are maintained to meet their needs, agricultural production continues. As a result, not only the rural landscape and agricultural land use but also the rural community itself are sustained, and as urban residents visit and buy from the stands, the rural space comes to be understood as both a production space and a consumption space.

国土交通省都市局 · 国土交通省 都市局 · Japan

This MLIT Urban Bureau document explains 2016-era amendments to the Productive Green Zone Act following the May 2016 cabinet decision on the Basic Plan for Promoting Urban Agriculture. It lowered the minimum area requirement for designating a Productive Green Zone from 500 m² to as low as 300 m² by municipal ordinance, allowed multiple adjacent parcels (each at least 100 m²) to be treated as one contiguous zone, and eased building restrictions within zones to permit processing facilities, direct-sale stands, and restaurants using produce grown on site.

農林水産省 · 農林水産省 · Japan

This implementation manual from Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries sets out procedures and eligible expenses for programs supporting urban agriculture's functions, including welfare farms and a program for disaster-collaboration farmland. To qualify as disaster-collaboration farmland, a plot must be roughly 500 square meters or larger and located within a densely inhabited district as defined by the most recent census; the program also funds 'disaster-dual-use agricultural facilities' meant to protect residents' safety and livelihoods during emergencies such as earthquakes.