2012 年度

国内実地研修報告書
̶愛知県瀬戸市に学ぶ地場産業を生かした地域開発̶

Domestic Fieldwork Report 2012

Regional Development Reflecting the Values of the Local
Industry: Lessons Learnt from Seto City, Aichi Prefecture2013 年 3 月
March 2013名古屋大学大学院国際開発研究科
Graduate School of International Development
Nagoya University

はじめに名古屋大学大学院国際開発研究科（以下、GSID）では、1995 年以来毎年、本研究科博士課程前期課程カリキュラムの一環として、愛知県もしくは近県の地方自治体ならびに関係機関のご協力を得て、国内実地研修を実施してきました。国内実地研修は、現場での実践的な教育研究活動を重視する GSID にとって、フィールド調査を通して、日本国内における諸行政課題への地方行
政の取り組みや日本の開発経験を学ぶ機会を学生に提供する重要な教育活動であり、海外実地研修とともに研究科共通科目として位置づけられています。その主な目的は、１）「開発現場」を知ることの重要性を実感する、２）フィールド調査の基本的方法や姿勢、調査倫理などを習得す
る、３）日本の地域開発をめぐる諸問題を学ぶ、４）異なる社会経済的・文化的背景の学生によるグループ活動を通して、国際的環境における共同作業の経験を積む、の 4 点です。
2012 年度は、愛知県瀬戸市の協力を得て 10 月 24〜26 日に現地調査、11 月 26 日に結果報告会を行いました。実地研修には、博士課程前期課程 1 年生 16 名（日本人学生 4 名、留学生 12 名）が参加し、3 つのワーキンググループ（WG）に分かれて関係機関でのインタビュー調査、質問
紙調査、資料収集を行いました。教員 4 名が引率にあたりました。また、現地調査に先立ち、事
前学習の一環として、瀬戸市商工会議所の加藤滋樹氏に本研究科にお越しいただき、瀬戸市の文化、歴史、産業、社会、教育について講義をしていただき、多くの貴重な情報を提供していただ
きました。これらを通して、学生は各 WG の調査内容を絞り込み、さらに独自に文献・資料を収集して現地調査に備えました。
瀬戸市は、昭和 4 年に愛知県下 5 番目の市として誕生し、平成 21 年には市制 80 年を迎えました。人口 13 万人を超える都市です。2005 年に開催された日本国際博覧会（愛・地球博）を契機に広域交通網が整備されたこともあり、岡崎市、豊田市、春日井市などへのアクセスが良いこと
から、工業団地や住宅地の開発が進んでおり、人口も増加傾向にあります。
瀬戸市の産業別事業所数の割合を見ると、製造業が 25.４％、卸売・小売業が 24.4％、サービ
ス業が 14.8％、飲食店・宿泊業が 10.2％、建設業が 8.1％、その他が 17％（平成 18 年統計より）となっており、製造と卸売・小売業で半数を占めています。瀬戸市はやきもののまちとして全国的にも知られていますが、こうした瀬戸市全体の事業の割合からも「ものづくり」が盛んな市だということが分かります。
瀬戸市の名前を広めた瀬戸やきものは、平安時代から始まったと考えられていますが、時代とともに変遷し、窯業が市の主産業であった時期を経て、今日では観光資源としての位置付けを高めつつあります。近年は観光都市として各種イベントを積極的に行っていることもあり、2009
年には総観光客数が 200 万人を超えるほどになっています。やきものだけでなく新たな地場産業の発展を試みる様子もうかがえます。
こうした観光とも関連して 2011 年には「道の駅瀬戸しなの」がオープンし、地元で栽培された農作物を使用した料理を提供するなど、瀬戸市内外からの来訪客に地元の農作物を PR する場となっています。農業従事者の高齢化および減少、更に耕作放棄地の増加など、日本の多くの地域と同様、さまざまな問題に直面しながらも、市として農業塾の開講や市民農園の開設など、非1

農業従事者に農業への関心を持つための取り組みを行っています。
瀬戸市でさかんな「ものづくり」の精神は、「ひとづくり」にも生かされています。産業や農業を含め地場産業に従事する市民が学校の講師として迎えられ、街をあげて子どもの教育が行われています。児童にとっては、瀬戸市について知るとともに、自分のキャリアを考える機会となっています。また、瀬戸市の学校では、窯が備えられており、瀬戸やきものの実習が行われています。瀬戸の子どもたちは、やきものを通して瀬戸の歴史と現在について学ぶ機会にも恵まれています。
地域の特性を生かしつつ新たな試みを行う瀬戸市のご協力のもと、本年度の実地研修では、農業（WG１）、教育（WG２）、産業（WG３）をテーマに取り上げて調査を行いました。研修の企画・実施にあたっては瀬戸商工会議所および瀬戸市役所から多大なご協力をいただきました。実
地調査にあたっては、道の駅瀬戸しなの、個人農家の皆様、瀬戸養護学校、萩山小学校、本山中学校、陶磁器地元生産者の皆様、瀬戸陶磁器工業協同組合、訪問企業と農家の皆様、そのほか公的・民間機関の職員の方々に、ご多忙の中、多大なご協力とご高配を賜りました。DFW の実施には、訪問調査先との交渉・調整、移動手段の確保など、大変煩雑な作業を伴いますが、瀬戸商工会議所および瀬戸市役所の多くの方々の全面的なご協力のおかげをもちまして、非常にスムー
ズに、また短期間ながら大変有意義で充実した研修を実施することができました。参加学生、特に留学生にとっては、日本の地方行政の抱える諸課題と具体的な対応を学び、持続可能な発展に向けた施策等について理解を深める貴重な機会となりました。また、瀬戸市で開催されました結果報告会にも多数の関係者がご参加下さり、地域開発の現場において実際に政策立案・実施に携わる方々から率直なご意見と有益なご示唆を賜りました。この時の様子は中日新聞なごや東版に掲載されました。皆様のご協力に心から感謝の意を表します。

名古屋大学大学院国際開発研究科
2012年度国内実施研修委員長
西川

2

由紀子

At a pottery shop

Interview in the field

Gathering Photo during Findings Presentation

3

目

次

Contents

は じ め に ············································································································· 1
写 真 ······················································································································· 32012 年 度 国 内 実 地 研 修 の 概 要 ················································································· 5１．目的 ············································································································· 5
２．本年度を含む実施実績 ····················································································· 5
３．プログラム内容 ······························································································ 6
４．担当教員と参加学生の一覧 ··············································································· 8
５．本書の構成 ···································································································· 9

瀬 戸 市 の 概 要 ······································································································· 10

弟１章

Challenges and Revitalization Efforts in the Agriculture Sector of Seto City ……12

第２章

Career Development Program for Handicapped Students in Seto City……………34

第３章

The Collaboration between the Local Government and the Local Industry in
Enhancing the Marketing Strategies of the Seto City Pottery Industry….……….51

4

2012 国内実地研修の概要
１．目的
名古屋大学大学院国際開発研究科は、1995 年以降、正規のカリキュラムの一環として国内実地研修（Domestic Fieldwork、略称 DFW）を実施している。DFW は、1992 年以降本研究科で実施されている海外実地研修（Overseas Fieldwork、略称 OFW）をモデルに考案されたもので、これら二つのプログラムは本研究科が重視する実践教育の支柱となっている。
DFW の主な目的は、日本の地域開発をめぐる諸問題や町おこし・村おこしの取り組みについて現地調査を通じて学ぶことにある。本研究科の修了生の多くは国際開発・協力の実務や研究活動に携わっているが、将来、そうした職務に就く可能性の高い日本人学生や留学生にとって、日本国内での開発事例を学ぶことは発展途上国の開発問題を考える際にも非常に有益であると考えられるためである。そうした学習・調査活動を通して、参加学生が「開発現場」を知ることの重要性を実感すること、そして国際色豊かな構成員でのグループ活動を通して現地調査の基本的
姿勢や方法を習得することもまた DFW の重要な目的となっている。

２．本年度を含む実施実績
これまでの実施実績は下表の通りである。17 回目となる本年度の DFW は、愛知県瀬戸市に受け入れをしていただいた。現地調査は 2012 年 10 月 24-26 日に実施され、参加学生は 3 つのテーマ別に分かれて、それぞれの視点から瀬戸市について多面的理解に努めた。本年度も例年同様、調査終了
後に調査地を再び訪れ、結果報告をさせていただいた。それによって調査をお引き受けいただいた瀬戸市の方々に直接、調査結果のフィード・バックを行えたこと、そして商工会議所、市役所の方々を中心とする関係者の方々に貴重なご意見やご指摘を賜ることができ、大変貴重な機会となった。なお本年度の参加学生は日本人学生 4 名と留学生 12 名の計 16 名で構成された。

DFW の 実 施 実 績

■
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
(注)

年度
1995 年
1996 年
1997 年
1998 年
1999 年
2001 年
2002 年
2003 年
2004 年
2005 年
2006 年
2007 年2008 年2009 年
2010 年
2011 年
2012 年

研 修 場所
愛知県幡豆郡一色町
愛知県幡豆郡一色町
愛知県加茂郡足助町
愛知県加茂郡足助町
愛知県渥美郡渥美町
愛知県南設楽郡鳳来町
岐阜県郡上郡八幡町
岐阜県加茂郡東白川村
岐阜県加茂郡東白川村
長野県下伊那郡泰阜村
長野県下伊那郡泰阜村
長野県下伊那郡清内路村
長野県下伊那郡阿智村
長野県下伊那郡阿智村
静岡県浜松市
愛知県田原市
愛知県瀬戸市2000 年度は研修場所の諸事情により実施されなかった。

5

参 加 学生 数 （ 内 、 留 学生 数 ）
10（4）
13（8）
19（11）
25（14）
36（25）
23（14）
26（18）
36（16）
32（15）
31（17）
40（19）
25（20）
28（17）
20（15）
31（21）
21（19）
16 (12)

３．プログラム内容
DFW のプログラムは、事前研修、ワーキング・グループ（Working Group、以下、WG とする）ごとの調査準備、現地調査、結果報告会の 3 つの活動から構成される。

■

事前研修

日時
講師
5 月 30 日（水）16:30-18:00 名古屋大学＜必須＞
西川由紀子 准教授
6 月 6 日（水）16:30-18:00 瀬戸市商工会議所＜必須＞
主事 加藤滋樹 様
9 月 18 日（火）‐ 21 日（金） 日本パシイワ＜選択＞ 集中講義
会長 鹿野和子 様■

講 義 内容「日本の地方行政、瀬戸市の紹介」「瀬戸市の概要」
国内実地研修特論：「日本の地域開発経
験の途上国への導入可能性」

ワーキング・グループごとの調査準備

本年度は、参加学生各自の興味・関心に応じて、農業、教育、産業の 3 つの WG が設けられた。使
用言語は日本語及び英語の両方とし、主に参加学生同士で翻訳や通訳を行った。6 月から 10 月にかけて、各 WG は担当教員の指導の下、調査準備を重ねた。それぞれの調査課題の設定、調査時の希望訪
問先の選定、詳細な質問事項の作成や調査方法の検討作業を進めた。
グル ープ

調 査 課題

瀬戸市では 2011 年に道の駅瀬戸しなのがオープンし、ここでは地元の農作物の販売促進に力を入れている。しかしながら瀬戸市の主力産業である窯業に押され、農業は
W G1
農業

そこまで活発ではなく、農業従事者の減少、耕作放棄地の増加等の問題に悩まされている。本調査では、瀬戸市の農業セクターの問題点を検証し、それに対する解決策を考察していく。
瀬戸市は 2011 年 4 月、萩山小学校と養護学校（さくらんぼ学園）が併設された。そして、瀬戸市商工会議所が中核となり「瀬戸キャリア教育推進協議会」を組織して実

W G2
教育

施されているキャリア教育プログラムを通して自分の能力や将来の目標についての理解と、小中学校の段階から「働くこと」に触れ、職業意識を育む試みを行っている。
本調査は、瀬戸市の養護教育及びキャリア教育が児童にとってどのような学び場になっているのかについて考察する。
瀬戸市は、「焼き物のまち」として知られ、陶磁器産業が市の産業発展に大きな役割を果たしている。しかし、「せともの」という安価なイメージのため、「瀬戸焼」のブ

W G3
産業

ランドの構築が難しく、陶磁器産業は衰退を経験している。そこで、本調査は、瀬戸市の陶磁器産業における行政と関連団体・企業間のマーケティング面での連携について考察する。

6■

現調査

瀬戸市にて実施された 3 日間の現地調査の詳細は以下の通りである。
W G1

W G2

W G3

10 月 24 日 ・ 農業塾会場
・ 畜産農家（水）
・ 市役所農林係
11:00-17:00・ 道の駅せとしなの視察
・ 瀬戸市市教育委員会

・ 道の駅せとしなの視察
・ 瀬戸市商工会議所

10 月 25 日 ・ 野菜農家
（木）・ 道の駅せとしなの
10:30
・ 精肉店
-17:00・ 養護学校・ 本山工房・ 本山中学校・ （株）ワッビジョン

・ 市役所産業課
・ （有）竹堂園・ （有）喜多窯

霞仙

10 月 26 日 ・ NPO 法人アクティブシニ ・ キャリア教育推進協議会 ・ 愛知県陶磁器工業協同組（金）
アネット
・ 瀬戸市商工会議所
合：瀬戸蔵セラミックプ
9:30
・ 野菜農家ラザ-15:00■

結果報告会

結果報告会の詳細は以下の通りである。
項目

詳 細

日時

2012 年 11 月 26 日（月）14:00-16:00

場所

パルティせと出席者調査に協力してくれた関係者の皆様

報告者

国内実地研修参加学生
ご挨拶（加藤滋樹様

瀬戸市商工会議所

ご挨拶（西川由紀子准教授

主事）

DFW 実施委員長）

WG1 の報告（20 分間のプレゼンテーション）
質疑応答（約 10 分間）
内容

WG2 の報告（20 分間のプレゼンテーション）
質疑応答（約 10 分間）
WG3 の報告（各 20 分間のプレゼンテーション）
質疑応答（約 10 分間））
ご挨拶（西川由紀子准教授

DFW 実施委員長）

7

４．担当教員と参加学生の一覧
以下の通り、計 16 名の学生が参加した。男性 9 名、女性 7 名の内訳となっている。
グループ
担当教員

WG1
農業
（西川芳昭）

WG2
教育（西川由紀子）

WG3

No.

氏名

専攻

性別

国籍

1

Lagare Bimbo

*

DID

男

フィリピン

2

Veokham Sovipanya

DID

男

ラオ

3

Guevarra Lenard Martin P

DID

男

フィリピン

4

Lovely Merlicel G Quipot

DICOS

女

フィリピン

5

Ayano Nakazawa

DICOS

女

日本

6

Arfuddin, Muhammad Thaufan

DICOS

男

インドネシア7

Jin Wonsig

DID

男

韓国

8

Kusumawardana Rendra **

DICOS

男

インドネシア9

Sun Minling

DICOM

女

中国

10

He Hongxing

DICOM

男

中国

11

Peji Brelyn Avelida *

DID

女

フィリピン

12

Chhuor Sryneath

DID

女

カンボジア

13

Hiroshi Nishikawa

DICOS

男

日本

14

Sangay Chophel

DID

男

ブータン

15

Zaitu Kae

DICOS

女

日本

16

Noriko Suematsu

DICOM

女

日本

**

**

産業
（西村秀人）（注）** グループ・リーダー* グループ・サブリーダー

DID：国際開発専攻、DICOS：国際協力専攻、DICOM：国際コミュニケーション専攻

8

５. 本書の構成
本書は、調査地である瀬戸市商工会議所、瀬戸市市役所の調査協力者をはじめ、調査協力者にも送付されている。そして、当国際開発研究科のホームページからも閲覧可能となっている。日本の都市の先進的な開発事例の貴重な記録としても、本書が有効に活用されることが望まれる。
本書の構成は以下の通りとなっている。3 つのグループ別の報告書が農業、教育、産業の順に続く。英語報告書にはすべて和文要約が添付されている。
なお、本書に示された見解、提言、批判などは筆者である学生のものであり、本研究科または担当教員のものではない点にご留意いただきたい。
（文責

9

Ngov Penghuy）

瀬戸市の概要
愛知県瀬戸市は、濃尾平野に広がる尾張丘陵に位置し、中部経済圏の中心である名古屋市の20Km 圏内にあります。東西に 12.8Km、南北に 13.6Km に広がる総面積約 111.6 平方キロメート
ルの市です。瀬戸市は昭和 4 年 10 月に愛知県下 5 番目の市として誕生し、平成 21 年には市制 80
周年を迎えました。市制施行当時約 3 万 6 千人でスタートした市は、現在では 13 万人を超えるまでになりました。中心部を東西に瀬戸川が流れ、旧市街地や官公庁などが集中しています。北部、東部、南東部は山地で、特に南東部には「海上の森（かいしょのもり）」とよばれる里山と森林、公園、200 以上の小さな湿地がある自然豊かな地域が広がります。南部には市内最大の住宅地である菱野団地があり、北東部には水野団地があります。2005 年 3 月、2005 年日本国際博
覧会（愛・地球博）が長久手町（現・長久手市）と瀬戸市の 2 会場で開催されました。のちに瀬戸会場は瀬戸万博念公園 愛・パークとして開園しています。瀬戸市にはしょうゆ味のいわゆる瀬戸焼きそばがあるほか、五目ごはんの発祥地です。また、愛知県下で全市的にレジ袋を有料化にした最初の自治体でもあります。
瀬戸産のやきものを指す「せともの」はやきものの代名詞となっているように、瀬戸市は日本屈指のやきものの産地として知られています。瀬戸市の丘陵地帯の瀬戸層群と呼ばれる地層からは、良質の粘土やガラスの原料の珪砂が採取されることから、古くからやきもののまちとして栄えました。また、近郊の山林からは、やきものの燃料になる薪が入手できたことが瀬戸の窯業を発展させる要因の一つになったと言われています。窯業の隆盛とともに鉄道やバスなどの交通基盤の整備が進み、人口も増え、市制を施行するまでになりました。
瀬戸でやきものの生産が始まったのは平安時代の中頃と考えられていますが、昭和恐慌、第二次世界大戦を経て、今日へと至ります。瀬戸のやきものの最大の特徴は、時代時代の陶工たちが新しい技術を追い求め、さまざまな様式の上質なやきものを生み出してきたことです。これは今日にも引き継がれ、陶磁器界をリードし続けています。こうした古きに学び新しきを開拓するというマインドが、市のさまざまな取り組みにも生かされています。近年では、製造業としての窯業から、観光資源としての位置付けを高めつつあります。毎年 9 月の第 2 土・日曜日に開催される「せともの祭」は、全国最大級の陶器の廉売市が行われ、毎年約 50 万人の人出で賑わう瀬戸
市最大のイベントとなっています。近年は観光都市として各種イベントを積極的に行っており、街全体を博物館に見立て「せと・まるっとミュージアム」を展開しています。
こうした伝統文化を生かしつつ国際化の試みも行っています。「やきもの文化がつなぐ国際都市」を目指し、平成 8 年に中国景徳鎮市と友好都市提携を結び、平成 15 年にフランス・リモー
ジュ市、平成 16 年にチュニジア・ナブール市、平成 18 年に韓国・利川市と姉妹都市提携を結んでいます。瀬戸市の国際交流の窓口として「瀬戸市国際センター」（1997 年設立）を設けるなど、瀬戸市民の一人一人が国際人として国際親善と平和に寄与するための「情報センター」が設けられています。
瀬戸市の都市基盤は「愛・地球博」を契機に東海環状自動車道の開通や、愛知環状鉄道の複線化などの広域交通網の整備、「せと・まるっとミュージアム」の拠点施設と関連道路の整備が進10捗し可能性を広げてきました。今日の瀬戸市の行政は、市の約 8 千人を対象に行われたアンケー
トを基に策定された基本構想と基本計画を含む第 5 次瀬戸市総合計画に沿って運営されています。
この総合計画では、市の将来像を「自立し、助けあって、市民が力を発揮している社会」と定めています。基本計画では、7 つの分野（市民の交流と活力、市民の安全、市民の教育、市民の健康と福祉、都市の基盤、都市の環境と市民の生活、都市の経営管理）に分け、分野毎の目指す姿
や目標を定め、市民と行政が具体的な役割分担のもとで行動しています。
このように瀬戸市は、地域の特性・優位性を活かした地域づくりに努力し、時代の変化に対応している事例であるといえます。しかし、さまざまな行政課題も存在しています。例えば、日本全体に共通する課題でもある少子高齢化の問題です。瀬戸市の人口は増加傾向ですが、若年人口の割合は減少傾向にあります。就業者の減少や経済活動の縮小による税収の減少や産業への影響、
そして人口の逆ピラミッド化に伴う社会保障費の増大が懸念されています。また、福祉・医療に関する課題です。他の自治体とも共通する課題ですが、高齢化の進展により、今後、福祉・医療の一層の充実化が求められています。そこで瀬戸市は、市民が一生を通して健康で自立した生活が営めるように、予防に重点を置き、疾病の早期発見の為の各種検診を充実し、保健推進員や食生活改善員などの市民ボランティアを育成するなど地域ぐるみの健康づくりを支援しています。
高齢者福祉においても、介護予防や地域ケア体制の充実を押し進めています。
少子高齢化を反映し、瀬戸市では農業従事者の高齢化及び減少、さらに耕作放棄地の増加が問題となっています。こうした状況に対応するため、非農業従事者に農業への関心を持ってもらうための取り組みを行っています。2011 年 3 月に「道の駅瀬戸しなの」がオープンし、直売所コー
ナーや地元で栽培された農作物を使用した料理を提供する食堂も併設されて賑わいをみせており、瀬戸市内外からの来訪客に地元の農産物を PR する良い場になっています。
こうした日本の多くの地域が抱える問題に根本的に応えるべく、瀬戸市の教育における取り組
みでは、画期的な動きも見られます。学校教育で取り入れられているキャリア教育においては、地域の特性を生かす取り組みが行われています。また、瀬戸市立の肢体不自由児のための特別支援学校を瀬戸市立萩山小学校と併設し、校内のバリアフリー化、障害のある児童とない児童の交
流と共同学習の充実を図るなど、全国から見ても新しい試みを行っています。
窯業で知られる瀬戸市ですが、今日では、窯業で培われた「ものづくり」の精神を多様な産業へとつないでおり、独自の地域発展のモデルを提起しています。
日本の他の地方都市と同様に、瀬戸市も多くの構造的課題を抱えつつも、各行政分野において、地域の特性・優位性を活かして発展に向けたさまざまなまちづくりの取り組みを行っています。
今日の日本はもとより、途上国の地域開発を考えるうえで沢山の有益なヒントを提供しています。
本報告書が、日本の地域開発の経験と課題、そして今後の方向性の理解の一助となれば幸いです。

参考
瀬戸市役所『瀬戸‐市政要覧』（2008 年）．
瀬戸市ホームページ（http://www.city.seto.aichi.jp/）
文責：

11

西川

由紀子

Challenges and Revitalization Efforts in the Agriculture Sector of Seto City

第1章

Working Group 1

Challenges and Revitalization Efforts in the Agriculture
Sector of Seto City
和文要約
1. Introduction
2. Description of Current Situation of Agriculture in Seto City
3. Current challenges and problems
4. Current Revitalization Efforts
5. Conclusion and recommendations
6. Acknowledgements
7. References

Written by(Working Group1)
Ayano Nakazawa*
Lagare Bimbo**
Guevarra Lenard Martin P

Veokham Sovipanya

Lovely Merlicel G Quipot

Muhammad Thaufan Arfuddin

Group Advisor
Professor Yoshiaki Nishikawa**Group Leader*Sub Leader
12Challenges and Revitalization Efforts in the Agriculture Sector of Seto City

和文要約

今年度の DFW の調査地である瀬戸市は、陶磁器産業で全国的にも知名度が高く地方自治体としても陶磁器産業に力を入れている。一方で農業は今までその陰に隠れるような形であまり注目されてきていなかった。しかし、2011 年 3 月に瀬戸市に「道の駅瀬戸しなの」がオープンし、直売所コーナーや地元で栽培された農作物を使用した料理を提供する食堂も併設されており、非常に賑わいをみせており瀬戸市内外からの来訪客に地元の農産物を PR する非常に良い場になっている。
しかし、実際に農作物を栽培している現場の状況はどのようなものなのか、瀬戸市は農業を行うのにはどの点で続けやすく、どのような点で困難を伴うのかなどについて、上述の道の駅に関する事前調査で得た情報に対しての理解を深めていく上で疑問に上がった。そこで、瀬戸市の農業の現状、農業振興政策、また耕作放棄地について現地でインタビューを行った。しかしながら、本調査では時間の制約上、農業従事者の方へのインタビュー数の不足、また瀬戸市の農業協同組
合へのインタビューを行うことができなかったため、調査の内容は限られたものとなっている。
インタビューは半構造的インタビューを採用した。
インタビュー対象者は、現在瀬戸市が行っている農業振興事業を各視点から調査するために、
行政、NPO グループ、農家の異なる 3 つの立場の方々に行った。瀬戸市役所に行ったインタビュ
ーの回答から、瀬戸市に限らず農業や農地を守るために日本には国として様々な法律、規則が存在するということ、その範囲で可能な農業普及・振興のための対策を取っていることが明らかとなった。特に瀬戸市では現在、農業従事者の高齢化及び減少、さらに耕作放棄地の増加が問題となっている。それに対し、市として農業塾の開講や市民農園の開設を行い非農業従事者に農業への関心を持ってもらうための取り組みを行っている。しかし、NPO 法人と農家の方へのインタビ
ューから、瀬戸市は近隣自治体に比べて農地の貸し出しに対して厳しいため、新規に借りにくい、貸借面積に関しては適度な面積の農地の貸し出しを行っていない、他市では開始済みの農業支援
サービスの一環である、何時でも相談に乗ってくれるという農業専門相談員の不在等、新規に専業農家になりたい方々の参入が難しい実情があることが明らかとなった。また、上記同様に農家の方へのインタビューから、専業農家を目指す方向けへの農業塾のコースでは、栽培法のみならず、農業で生計を立てていくためのビジネスマインドを教授するクラスの導入も必要だとの声も聞かれた。道の駅の開設に関しては、どのステークホルダーからも瀬戸市で収穫された農作物、
瀬戸ブランドの瀬戸豚の絶好の PR 場となっているのと同時に、より多くの非農業従事者に農業への興味を持ってもらうための機能を果たしているとの意見が聞かれた。
以上の調査結果を踏まえ、私たちのグループは今後の瀬戸市のよりよい農業振興へ向けた提言として以下の点を挙げた。A)瀬戸市の農業振興を達成するために、耕作放棄地の所有者へのインタビューを行いどのような土地貸借の方法があれば良いか尋ねる。農業振興に力を入れている近13

Challenges and Revitalization Efforts in the Agriculture Sector of Seto City

隣自治体のモデルを参考とする B)農業専門指導員の導入 C)農業塾の授業回数及び内容の改良 D)道の駅以外で小規模農家の方の作物を出荷できる場（インターネット販売等）の提案、小規模農家と直売所の連携の強化 E)瀬戸豚の品質管理や農作物加工品等の商品開発に力を入れる F)農業関連
技能を農業従事者に伝授するためのセミナーの開催 G)瀬戸市の主要農作物の市内外に対する持続的な宣伝活動 H)道の駅に未だ農作物を卸していない農業従事者に対し、生産者の会への加入を促進し、道の駅での販売を可能にする
また、本調査では時間の制約上調査することができなかった、趣味として片手間に農業活動を行う方の参入及び彼らがもたらす瀬戸市の農業振興への効果についての調査を今後の課題として挙げたい。さらに、今回インタビューすることのできなかった農業協同組合（JA）を始めとする
他のステークホルダーへの調査も行いより深い考察を行っていきたい。
最後になりましたが本調査の実施におきまして、瀬戸市役所、NPO 法人アクティブシニアネット、
せきや精肉店、農家の矢野様、池田様、谷様、森田様、渡邉様には、お忙しい中ご協力頂きました。また、調査を設定して下さった先生方、特に顧問の西川先生のご指導のお陰で無事に調査を終えることができました。ここに感謝の意を表します。

14

Challenges and Revitalization Efforts in the Agriculture Sector of Seto City

1. Introduction
1.1 Background
The City of Seto is located in Aichi Prefecture in Japan. As of 12 October 2012, it has apopulation of 132,723 persons according to Seto City Hall. About 0.7% of employed people workin the primary sector, 37.1% in the secondary sector and 62.3% in the tertiary sector. The City isrenowned for its ceramic products known as Setomono. It is also considered as a sub-urban part ofNagoya City. In recent years, agricultural-related products, such as Seto Pork, have increased in
popularity and are served in many restaurants in the area.
The current situation of the agriculture sector in Seto City is no different than the nationalsituation of Japanese agriculture. According to Hori (2012:1), Japanese agriculture is on the decline
and is a major national issue at present because of its implications for the sustainability of rural
areas and for food security. He points out that cultivated farm land has decreased from 6.1 million
hectares in 1961 to only 4.6 million hectares in 2010 and that the number of farmers has also
declined from 14.5 million in 1960 to only 2.6 million in 2010. In addition, due to the phenomenonof ageing population, about 60% of Japanese farmers are over 65 years old (Hori, 2012:1).
Hence, it is important to study the current problems being experienced by the local agriculture
sector in Seto City, as well as the current revitalization efforts being implemented by the local
government, including the establishment of Michinoeki or road side stations. This will contributeto identifying better strategies and policies to revitalize the agriculture sector and rural areas in Seto
City.
1.2 Objective
This paper aims to identify the current challenges and revitalization efforts for the agricultural
sector of Seto City. The following are the specific objectives:
1. Describe the current situation of the agriculture sector in Seto City;
2. Identify challenges and problems;
3. Determine the current revitalization efforts for the agriculture sector;
4. Provide policy recommendations.

15

Challenges and Revitalization Efforts in the Agriculture Sector of Seto City

1.3 Methodology
In order to achieve the objectives of this paper, a three-day field survey was conducted on 2426 October 2012 in Seto City. A total of eight (8) respondents were interviewed in a semi-structureformat, including the following:
1. Members of the Office of Agriculture and Forestry Division in Seto City Hall
2. Seto farm class members
3. A livestock farmer
4. A vegetable farmer
5. Manager at the Michinoeki Seto Shinano
6. A butcher, Sekiya Seinikuten
7. Members at the NPO group called-Active Senior Net
8. An organic farmer
Clarification and additional information were obtained through follow-up interviews, with the
manager of the Michinoeki (through an email on 15, November 2012) and officer from Seto City
Hall (by phone conversation on 13, December 2012). Further, document survey was used to obtainbasic information on the sector, statistics and other agriculture-related events.
Some of the respondents or farmers interviewed were obliged to give a basic profile of theirfarming activity during the field survey as shown below:
Name

Years inAgricultur
e
1

Owned
land
area
360 ㎡

Distance
from
Michinoeki
6km

Number of
employees

40

30ha

6km

8

Vegetable farmer

3

6km

1

Organic farmer

10

3000
㎡
4500
㎡

Rice, sweet
potatoes, egg plant,
taro
20kinds

6km

120-30kinds

Farm school
member 1
Farm school
member 2

Source: Field Survey, October 201216

Kinds of vegetables

6

Challenges and Revitalization Efforts in the Agriculture Sector of Seto City

2. Description of Current Situation of Agriculture in Seto City
2.1 Value of agricultural sector
The value of the agriculture sector in Seto City has been described during the field survey asvery relatively small with an approximate value of about ¥ 1.0 billion (Michinoeki Manager).

2.2 Number and distribution of farm households in Seto City
The total number of farm households has declined from 711 in 2005 to only 654 in 2010 (SeeTable 1). The categories of farm households are full-time and part-time. It is interesting to notethat the distribution of full-time farm households and part-time farm households in Aichi Prefecture
is close to even at 51.9% and 48.1%, respectively. However, in the case of Seto City most are parttime farm households with a share of 80.1%, while full-time farm households have a share of only
19.9%.
Table 1. Number of Farm Households in Seto City and Aichi Prefecture, 2010
Prefecture/ City
2010
Total Farm Full‐Time FarmHousehold Household
Aichi Prefecture

84,067

43,632

Seto City
654
130
Source: Aichi Prefectural Government Homepage

2005% Change from Previous Census

Part‐Time Farm Total Farm Full‐Time Farm Part‐Time Farm Total Farm Full‐Time Farm Part‐Time FarmHouseholdHousehold Household
Household Household Household
Household40,43591,746

51,63840,108

‐8.4

‐15.5

‐0.8

524

711

154

557

‐8.0

‐15.6

‐5.9

2.3 Commercial and subsistence farm households in Seto City
It is also important to look at the number of farm households who are selling agriculturerelated products commercially from those farm households who are subsistence farming, since thishas implications for the kind of strategies and policies to pursue or implement. Based on Table 2,
the number of farmers selling products has decreased from 218 in 2000 to only 130 in 2010 with ashare of 27.4% and 19.9%, respectively. While the number of subsistence farm households isdecreasing in number from 578 in 2000 to only 524 in 2010, its share has increased from 72.6% in2000 to about 80.1 in 2010.
Table 2. Number of Farmers Selling Products and Subsistence Farm Households in Seto City, 2010Year
Total Number of
Number of Farmer Households
Farm
Farmers Selling% shareSubsistence Farm
% shareHouseholds
Products
Households
2000
796
218
27.4
578
72.6
2005
721
154
21.4
567
78.6
2010
654
130
19.9
524
80.1
Source: Basic Data from Agriculture Census

17Challenges and Revitalization Efforts in the Agriculture Sector of Seto City

2.4 Area of uncultivated land in Seto City
In terms of land area, the agricultural sector occupies about 844 hectares or 7.3% of the total
land area of 11,600 hectares (See Table 3). Out of the 844 hectares of agricultural land, about 29
hectares are considered as uncultivated farm-land. The said 29 hectares is about 3.4% of the total
agricultural land area of 844 hectares and 0.3% of the total 11,600 hectares land area of Seto City.
As a benchmark, the total area of uncultivated farm-land in the whole of Japan is estimated at
396,000 hectares in 2010 (MAFF, 2012:22).
Table 3. Area of Agricultural Land and Uncultivated Land in Seto City
Area (in hectares)
Item% ShareAgricultural Land844
7.3
Uncultivated Farmland
29
0.3
Total Land Area
11,600100.0
Source: Basic Data from Agriculture and Forestry Division of Seto City

3. Current challenges and problems
3.1 Declining number of farmers
A major problem for the agriculture sector of Seto City, and also throughout Japan, is thedeclining number of farmers in the agriculture sector. Even though farmland in Japan is moreproductive than developing countries, the declining number of farmers who operate the farms andkeep them productive will have a negative impact on the agriculture sector in the future. As shownin Table 1, the number of farmers in Seto City has declined from 711 in 2005 to only 654 in 2010.
There are two (2) major causes of the above-mentioned problem that were identified by the fieldsurvey.
A. Farmers in Seto City are getting old. First, as a consequence of the phenomenon of theageing population throughout Japan, most of the farmers in Seto City are elderly and their
number is declining. As they have become older, productivity has been declining andaccording to the field survey, some of the elderly farmers do not want to continue farming,
which contributes to the increasing amount of uncultivated land in Seto City (NPO). The
Seto City Office recognizes this situation and is attempting to increase the number of people
who are engaged in farming through such programs as Seto farm classes.
B. Low interest among young people for farming. Second, for young people the interest in
farming is low, leaving no next generation to help the agriculture sector remain sustainable.
18Challenges and Revitalization Efforts in the Agriculture Sector of Seto City

This low interest among the youth can be partly explained by the low amount of income
derived from farming. According to the Agriculture and Forestry Division of the Seto City
Office, if farming is the only source of income, it is not enough for daily life. The farmers
interviewed also shared this view, stating that as a full-time farmer, the income is very small.
3.2 Increasing number of uncultivated farmlands
As mentioned previously, the number of uncultivated farmlands was perceived to be
increasing by the farmers interviewed as a consequence of the ageing population and low interest
among young Japanese to pursue farming activities. The respondents discussed, at length, theproblem regarding uncultivated farmlands during the field survey by GSID, wherein seven (7) out
of eight (8) respondents agreed that it is a cause of concern in Seto City at present. After all,farmland is a resource that should be utilized and made productive to contribute to the growth of
economic output in Seto City.
According to the Agriculture and Forestry Division of the Seto City Office, their records
show that about 3.4% or 29 hectares out of the total 844 hectares of agricultural land areuncultivated or unutilized. The official statistic appears to be small, however, an interviewee fromthe field survey said that he feels there is a gap between the uncultivated land data published by
Seto City Hall and the real situation. This implies that the actual area of uncultivated land isprobably higher and that an updated farmland survey might be needed.
An interesting finding of the field survey is that most farmers have the desire to utilize thoseuncultivated farmlands. However, there is a higher demand to rent small-scale farms or what the
respondents called “Shimin Saien,” or Allotment Garden (small garden), rather than to rent large
farms. This is because large farms require more resources to maintain, such as the need formachines like tractors and other inputs. Even full-time farmers have less interest to rent large farms
because they are already preoccupied with their own. The size of small lands that was described by
the respondents ranges from about 16 square meters to 33 square meters. Because many people areinterested in cultivating Allotment Gardens, the Seto City Office has to draw lots to allocate them tointerested applicants. The average rental period is about three (3) years.
According to the Agriculture Land Act, originally people could only borrow land on a per
2,000 square meters basis (Seto City, 2012). The 2,000 square meters is also one criteria to obtain a
Farmer’s Certificate, which enables a person to buy and borrow farmland. Some land-owners oflarge farmlands are reluctant to rent their land because they consider it as inheritance from theirancestors. The City Hall has not been giving enough incentive for them to rent land to interested
persons.
19

Challenges and Revitalization Efforts in the Agriculture Sector of Seto CityThe Seto City Office can play an important role to facilitate the renting/leasing of
uncultivated farmlands and officers from the Agriculture and Forestry Division made it known
during the interview that lending uncultivated farmlands is part of their current activities torevitalize the agriculture sector. However, it was found out by the field survey that there is aperception among the farmers who were interviewed that the process of renting and leasing
uncultivated farmlands in Seto City Office is slow. The probable reasons: (i) lack of personnel inthe city offices who process applications, (ii) tedious requirements of a person who wants to rent
large farmland and (iii) a strict screening process that takes time to avoid renting the land to people
who may be irresponsible in operating and maintaining farmlands.
The practice of nearby cities, such as Toyota City, has also been cited as better than Seto City,
which gave the impression that the Toyota City Office is more proactive. As a specific case, thefield survey interviewed an organic vegetable farmer who said that he also farms in nearby Toyota
City because it is easier to rent farmland compared to Seto City. Farmers depend on a kind of “trust
system” in the community instead of going through the process at the city office. They directly
approach the owner and of course it helps if the owner knows their family in the community.
Further, some farmers who were interviewed mentioned that Seto City Office previously had noprogram to rent or lease uncultivated farmlands and it was only after the problem was brought to theattention of city office by some farmers that a program was enacted.
The establishment of a Farm Land Bank System was one option indentifies during theinterview. In this is a system, once the land-owner registers farmland that he cannot operate
anymore, another farmer who is able to apply to borrow the land for cultivation. However, Seto
City has not yet started this system because the Seto City Office is concerned with the amount ofadministrative work required. The city hall is acting as a middleman between the borrower andlender of the land, and therefore, need to be conscious about “responsibility.”
3.3 No agriculture specialist in Seto City office
The field survey also found that Seto City has no agricultural specialist or lecturer to provide
technical knowledge to farmers. As a result, even if local people wanted to join or start farming,
they have no person to ask regarding technical matters about agriculture. It is interesting to notethat some farmers are hoping to have an agriculture specialist in Seto City because they feel that itis helpful when a farmer wants to expand or diversify, such as trying new crops. The farmers who
were interviewed cited that nearby cities, such as Nagakute City, already has an agriculture
specialist. At present, farmers in Seto City look for other farmers who have specific expertise, likegrowing vegetables, and then ask them to give lectures or seminars. After a lecture, farmers usually20Challenges and Revitalization Efforts in the Agriculture Sector of Seto City

create a self-study group to disseminate the knowledge and eventually improve their agricultural
products.
3.4. Need to improve quality of agricultural products
The establishment of the Michinoeki is vital in the revitalization of the local agriculture sector
in Seto City. As discussed in Section IV, it gives small-scale farmers the opportunity to sell theirproducts and promote local brands, such as Seto Buta, to people within and outside Seto City. The
field survey found that there is a need to improve the quality of agricultural products sold at theMichinoeki. This is because there have been complaints from customers that there were insects
inside the packaging of products and there are pests/worms inside some fresh vegetables or fruits. It
was the manager of the Michinoeki who mentioned this to the GSID students and then spoke about
the current actions of his office to address the issue. The Michinoeki has organized seminars to
improve the quality of agricultural products being sold by farmers.

Within the Michinoeki

Producers Group, composed of about 180 farmers, older farmers, who have more experience, act as
leaders and take the initiative in their quality control project.
3.5 Need to enhance product branding
Seto City is known for its high quality ceramic products but they are now working on
promoting other local brands such as those from the agriculture sector. A local brand that is now
becoming popular is the Seto Buta which is a high quality pork product. It can be bought at theMichinoeki and other direct shops, and is served by many restaurants in the city. The field survey
found out that currently, Seto Buta has no specific definition or criteria. At present, it is considered
only as pork that is sold in Seto City. Even the feeds for the pigs are not standardized. The current
initiative mentioned by the livestock farmer during the interview is that consultation meetings arebeing conducted with universities and slaughter houses to improve the quality of Seto Buta andformulate the appropriate criteria.
Aside from Seto Buta, Seto City also wants to promote its vegetables as local brands, sincevegetables can be processed into many kinds of products, such as cakes and other processed food.
However, although many farmers cultivate their vegetables as organic, they do not have organic
certification because it is difficult and expensive to obtain.
3.6 Seto Farm Classes are not that effective
It was revealed in an interview, that the Seto Farm Class is not effective because classes areheld only once a week for the duration of six (6) months and students are not learning enough.
21

Challenges and Revitalization Efforts in the Agriculture Sector of Seto City

Moreover, when classes are given and/or sponsored by agricultural/seed companies, they feel theobjective becomes one to sell products and not really to help farmers.
As a background, the “Seto Local Agriculture Promote Committee,” which is composed of
Seto City officials and farmers, sponsor the Seto farm class. During class, they have two courses:(i) Vegetable Cultivation Course (for beginners) and (ii) Farmer Course (for people who wants tobecome farmers). The Vegetable Cultivation Course consists of two lectures plus four practicals
every Saturday and starts from mid-June of each year for a participation fee of ¥ 500. On the other
hand, the Farmer Course consists of one lecture plus three practicals per month and starts from midJune until December of each year with a participation fee of ¥ 5,000.
3.7 Other challenges identified
The field survey also identified the following other problems in the agriculture sector basedon farmer interviews:
A. Prices of inputs form JA are expensive so some farmers buy inputs, such as seeds andfertilizer, on the internet. Big seed companies in Japan, such a Takki or Sakata, provide
seeds that are aside from being expensive, also cannot be saved because they are hybrids.
B. The commerce section of city hall is currently supervising the business management of theMichinoeki and the Agriculture and Forestry Division is only doing project planning.
C. The Seto City office needs to improve the promotional activities to entice more people tojoin the agricultural classes.

4. Current Revitalization Efforts
The Seto City government launched a project that can help the city manage and decrease theamount of idle farmlands. It also rolled out a training program for those citizens who are interested
to go into farming that focuses on the declining number of agricultural work force. Lastly, to assist,
not just the agriculture sector but also other industries in Seto City, a number of stake holders, leadby the local community in partnership with the government and other industry players in the city,
worked together to build the Michinoeki Seto Shinano.
4.1 Michinoeki
Seto City opened its road station, “Michinoeki Seto Shinano,” in March 2011. It was madepossible by the Seto City government, land-owners, the association of pottery makers and sellers
22Challenges and Revitalization Efforts in the Agriculture Sector of Seto City

(Shinano Pottery Commerce and Industry Association), local banks, the Chamber of Commerce,
and the local community surrounding the site of the Michinoeki. These groups of people were
responsible in coming up with the Michinoeki plan and getting the Michinoeki infrastructure
subsidized by the Ministry of Infrastructure with the help of the Seto City local government.
The Michinoeki’s vegetable, fruit and flower areas
showcase Seto City’s agriculture produce in season.

Just right after lunch time, most of thefoodstalls in the Michinoeki are empty, showing that there is a vibrant market created by commutersplying the highway and residents of the neighboring area.

The Michinoeki’s restaurant serves the city’s special Seto Buta and the Seto Yakisoba, bothof which are getting popular.
The Michinoeki Seto Shinano is made up of a restaurant, a store, information center, comfort
areas (toilet), a small play area for children, parking areas and a pottery building where you can see,buy and experience how to make pottery. There is, the opportunity to experience glass blowing.

23

Challenges and Revitalization Efforts in the Agriculture Sector of Seto CityThe Seto City government owns the infrastructure of the Michinoeki Seto Shinano, while theland is privately owned and rented. Though the overhead and operational costs are subsidized by thecity, the day-to-day operational activities of the Michinoeki are independent.
As of October 2012, the Michinoeki had a membership of 190 farmers serving as agricultural
suppliers. Seto City accounts for 80% of these farmers while 20% are from nearby cities in theprefecture. To be able to supply agricultural products in the station, the farmers only need to register
as a member of the farmer suppliers group of the Michinoeki with a fee of ¥ 1,000 per year.
Farmers, especially small farmers opt to sell their produce in the Michinoeki because they
don't have to rent stalls to sell their produce but rather directly supply. The management employs aprofit sharing system of 85:15. The farmers take home 85% of the sales while Michinoeki gets theremaining 15% share. This is very beneficial as the farmers no longer have to pay or give fee cuts tomiddle-men.
Currently, the Michinoeki serves as a venue for small farmers to sell their produce and at thesame time, serves as a venue to showcase the agricultural products that Seto City has, like organic
vegetables. It also serves as an ambassador for “Seto Buta,” which is now becoming famous.
Occasionally, the farmers’ group of the Michinoeki will welcome experts who are willing to share
their agricultural know-how to the members, i.e. production know-how, through a seminar orworkshop, also held at the road station.
Table 4: Target number of Individuals to Visit Michinoeki Seto Shinano from 2012 to 2015
TargetMeasurement
Unit
Base (2010)
2012
2013
2014
2015
Number of customers ofPeople68,000170,000 170,000 170,000 170,000
Michinoeki
Source: The Fifth City Comprehensive Plan (April 2012‐2014)

Based on Table 4 above, Seto City endeavors to increase the number of customers visiting theMichinoeki from 68,000 persons in 2010 to 170,000 in 2015, according to the Fifth City
Comprehensive Plan. The value of sales in the Michinoeki is also expected to increase from thetarget of ¥ 127.0 million in 2012 to ¥ 136 million in 2015 (See Table 5 below).
Table 5: Target Sales Figure of Michinoeki Seto Shinano from 2012 to 2015
TargetMeasurement
Unit
Base
2012
2013
Thousand
Sales in Community Facility
n.a.
127,000 130,000
Yen(Michinoeki)
Source: The Fifth City Comprehensive Plan (April 2012‐2014)

24

2014

2015

133,000

136,000

Challenges and Revitalization Efforts in the Agriculture Sector of Seto City

4.2 Farmers of Seto City and the Michinoeki
Small farmers, especially organic farmers living near or whose farms are near the Michinoeki,
greatly benefit from the facility.
One of the farmers we interviewed has a farm 10 minutes away by car from the Michinoeki
and he sells 80% of his products there. He brings his produce every morning and it is sold out everyday. He also shared that he gets market information from the Michinoeki and stressed that theMichinoeki tries to connect the local farmers to agricultural companies. For example, one seed
company gave a seminar on how to grow tomatoes to the local farmers of Seto City through thecooperation of the management of the Michinoeki. This seminar, however, was not intensive, as thecontent was more of a marketing strategy of the seed company, rather than a technical seminar on
tomato growing.
Another farmer sells all his products at the Michinoeki. He informed us that his primarymarket is the Michinoeki because a lot of customers, especially those from the neighboring areas,go there and buy fresh vegetables. He also brings his produce to the Michinoeki everyday and sells
them out. When he has surplus produce, he takes it to Agrimura in Nagakute City because theMichinoeki's farm produce section is not big enough to accommodate large amount of produce.
Farmers living on the other end of the Seto City, find the Michinoeki geographically difficult
to get to. For example, members of the NPO group, Active Senior Net, do not sell their produce atMichinoeki because they are closer to the farmers’ market in Agrimura in Nagakute City and to thedirect shops in the Center such as Ginzadori and Suehiro shopping street.
It is interesting to note that the farmers selling in farmers’ markets or in direct sales shops
don't see any effect of the Michinoeki to their sales figures. The head of the NPO said that thecustomers are not divided because the Michinoeki cater a different clientele. Most of the customersof the Michinoeki are those from neighboring areas outside of Seto City. Also, since the Michinoeki
only has a small area for farm produce, customers go there to see what produce is available in Setoand proceed to the farmer’s markets or direct shops to buy in bulk.
The Michinoeki inspires young residents of Seto City to go into farming. One aspiring farmer
said that he enrolled in the farm school to learn how to cultivate popular vegetables and sell them at
the Michinoeki. He believes that people know that the vegetables are grown in Seto when they buy
there, like an assurance that the vegetable that they are buying are fresh because they are locally
produced. Besides, he said the vegetables in Michinoeki are 50% cheaper than the supermarket. He
added that the residents of Seto City are car users, thus going to the Michinoeki is not a problem.
Seto City has had farmers’ groups despite being prominently known as a pottery city and not
an agricultural city. The presence of the Michinoeki, according to Yano-san, strengthened the25Challenges and Revitalization Efforts in the Agriculture Sector of Seto City

farmers group in Seto. It provided a new venue for farmers to network through the suppliers groupof the Michinoeki. Also, now that the Michinoeki is around, farmers now have a partner for
disseminating information about the farm activities of Seto to neighboring areas.
The Michinoeki, adding to its role in advertising the Seto Buta brand, also has a fare share in
the success of the increased of sales of pork from Seto, not just within the city but with its
neighboring cities as well. According to the butcher, Mr. Tani, more and more people know about
Seto pork, lending to an increase in demand. The butcher that we interviewed added that theMichinoeki opened a new market for him, as he now delivers a monthly average of one ton of pork
to the Michinoeki.
4.3 Farm school
The Seto City government is providing a subsidized farming school to all residents who areinterested in farming. It runs for 6 months, and classes are held once a week. Student farmers only
have to pay a fee of ¥ 5,000 upon enrollment to the farm class.
Here, new farmers are taught basic vegetable cultivation in a farm demonstration area
provided by the city government.
Those who join the farm school are retired residents, those who want to make use of land theyown and those who want to do part-time farming with their small plots of land in Seto City. Stillothers want to farm to earn money and wish to be able to expand and rent farm-land for cultivation.

4.4 The farmers of Seto City and the farm school
The supervisor of the farm school in his interview expressed that he is hoping that more andmore young residents of Seto City will join and started that he tries his best to help the students
enjoy farming.
Unfortunately, enrollment in and graduation from the farm school is not a guarantee that thestudents and alumni will become practicing farmers. Currently, there are 16 individuals enrolled in
the farmer’s course, with 41 individuals who have already graduated. Meanwhile, 20 households areenrolled in the Vegetable Cultivation Course and 64 households have already graduated.
4.5 Land distribution
Land distribution in Seto City is administered in two ways. One is through allotment gardens
or small farmland parcels through the Seto City government hall, which consists of an area of 20
square meters (and 150 square meters). The second method is through the Agricultural Committee
26

Challenges and Revitalization Efforts in the Agriculture Sector of Seto Cityof Seto City, which is in charge of distributing larger areas of farmland of around 2,000 square
meters. The latter has to be administered under the Farmland Act.
The Agriculture Committee of Seto City serves as a facilitator between farmland owners andborrowers. Farmland owners register their uncultivated land to the committee. The owners may
request the kind of produce they would prefer to be cultivated, and to some extent, the kind offertilizer to be used (example, organic or chemical fertilizer). On the other hand, borrowers
approach the committee regarding the kind of farmland they would like to rent. If there is no match
between the farmland owners and the borrowers, the committee will lend it to the City Hall to be
divided into allotment gardens or to be used by the farm school.
As more and more residents are interested in farming, available lands that are the perfect sizefor small farmers to cultivate have become very popular. In Seto City, there are nine allotment
gardens, which are comparably few when considering neighboring Toyota City, which has 33
allotment gardens. Due to the limited number of farm-land to be distributed, they are distributed
through a lottery system.

27

Challenges and Revitalization Efforts in the Agriculture Sector of Seto City

Table 6 : List of allotment gardens in Seto City.

市 町 村 名Name of city

区
Name
ward

名
of

市 民 農 園Allotment garden

名 Name of

瀬 戸 市 Seto
City
瀬 戸 市 Seto
City

瀬 戸 市 市 民 菜 園 （ 穴 田 ） Seto
city allotment garden (in Anada)
瀬 戸 市 市 民 菜 園 （ 屋 戸 ） Seto
city allotment garden (in Yado)

瀬 戸 市 Seto
City

全 体 面 積

設

置

区
画
数
( ㎡ ) Total
Numberofarea
compartments

3,254

107

2,768

98

瀬 戸 市 市 民 菜 園 （ 新 田 ） Seto
city allotment garden (in Nitta)

2,943

76

瀬 戸 市 Seto
City

瀬戸市市民菜園（東本地） Seto
city allotment garden (in Higashihonji)

1,035

28

瀬 戸 市 Seto
City

特定農地（穴田）
farmland (in Anada)

8964

瀬 戸 市 Seto
City

特 定 農 地 （ 中 水 野 ） Special
farmland (in Naka-mizuno)

890

4

瀬 戸 市 Seto
City
瀬 戸 市 Seto
City
瀬 戸 市 Seto
City

特 定 農 地 （ 上 半 田 川 ） Special
farmland (in Kami-handagawa)
特 定 農 地 （ 東 本 地 ） Special
farmland (in Higashi-honji)
特 定 農 地 （ 駒 前 ） Special
farmland (in Komamae)

1,626

5

751

4

1,877

8

Special

Source: List of allotment gardens in Japan, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries

4.6 The farmers of Seto City and land distribution
There are two types of farmers in Seto City. Certified farmers and practicing farmers(hobbiest). To be certified as a farmer, an individual must have at least, a total of 2,000 square
meters of farmland. This requires a total area of farmland that is either owned or rented.
A certified farmer can easily buy or borrow land. However, hobbyists or uncertified farmers,
have a difficult time borrowing land because as the certificate is required by law when renting farmland. What uncertified farmers can do is borrow land directly from land-owners on a trust basis,
eliminating the need to go through city hall.

28

Challenges and Revitalization Efforts in the Agriculture Sector of Seto City

City Hall, as it promulgates the Act for Special Farmland Lending and Farmland Utilization
Method, lends land to uncertified farmers as long as the purpose of land cultivation is for
subsistence and not commercial.
4.7 Agricultural festivals
Big farmers in Seto City, especially those who are members of farmers groups, holdagriculture festivals from time-to-time. Recently, one group made up of six full-time farmers,
formed the “Rakuou-kai (Enjoy Farming Group)” and held a field mustard festival every year,
which was subsidized by the city government of Seto. Elementary pupils and junior high students
are invited among the residents of Seto City and its neighboring areas to experience mustard
farming. In addition, every year they hold harvest festivals of sweet potato and taro.
4.8 Livestock
The city government actively promotes Seto Buta, Seto City's pork brand. The city now has
three livestock farmers (hog raisers). These livestock farmers, together with the rest of their networkof hog raisers and the City Government of Seto, are currently trying to create criteria for certifying
pigs as Seto Buta.
According to one livestock farmer, now that the Seto Buta is becoming popular, more andmore attention is given to the quality of pork that they are producing to pass as Seto Buta. In his
farm, for example, he is keen on cleanliness, safety and quality of feed that he is giving his pigs. He
is also very supportive for the plan of having clear criteria for the certification of Seto Buta.
A butcher that was interviewed is also, looking forward to having proper criteria of Seto Buta.
He suggested that one-criterion could be ingredient in the feed, like canola oil.

5. Conclusion and recommendations
1. The major problems and challenges in the agriculture sector of Seto City mirrors what ishappening in the Japanese agriculture sector as a whole. The field survey confirmed thatthe number of farmers in Seto City has also been declining and is consistent with thenational trend. According to the respondents, the first reason is that farmers in Seto City are
getting old and they do not want to cultivate their farmland or produce agricultural products.
The second reason is that agriculture is not attractive to people, especially the young,because income from farming is low, even if you are a full-time farmer. Because there are29

Challenges and Revitalization Efforts in the Agriculture Sector of Seto City

few farmers to take care of farmland in Seto City, the amount of uncultivated farmland has
increased.
2. The local government of Seto City has existing strategies and interventions to revitalize
the agriculture sector and rural areas. The field survey was also able to identify thecurrent major interventions in Seto City to address the challenges and problems in the
agriculture sector. The first major intervention is the establishment of the Michinoeki in2011. Based on the answers of respondents, in general, the establishment of the Michinoeki
has contributed in revitalizing the agriculture sector because it has enabled small-scale
farmers to sell their produce and earn income. If we compare the income of the farmers
before and after the establishment of the Michinoeki, the answers confirmed an increase inincome.
The Seto City Hall has an existing program to encourage people to join farming suchas the conduct of the Seto Farm Classes and initiatives to rent and borrow uncultivatedfarmland. There are also agricultural festivals and the proactive promotion of agriculturalrelated products within and outside the city, such as Seto Pork or Seto Buta, which has
increased in popularity due to its high quality and taste.
3. Although there are existing interventions already to address the problems in the
agriculture sector, the findings of this field survey provides some new insights to enhancethose interventions. In line with this, the following suggestions are worth exploring:
A. Since some land owners are reluctant to rent their land for various reasons, the Seto City
government can encourage them to initially support the goal of the government in
reducing the number of uncultivated land through dialogue or meeting with landowners.
As a long-term suggestion, the government can conduct research on the appropriate
incentives to convince land owners to rent land and address the problem of increasing
uncultivated farm-land.
In Toyota City, they have established the Farmland Bank, which can be utilized forcommercial agriculture. This bank may serve as a model for Seto City to foster increased
lending of farmlands for cultivation.
The government should also try to formulate its own land lease program thatwould adhere to the needs of the farmers in the locality especially for small parcels of
farm- land. This local mechanism needs to be strengthened so that both land owners andborrowers may have the necessary guarantee and incentives that the property will beutilized accordingly.
30

Challenges and Revitalization Efforts in the Agriculture Sector of Seto City

B. With regards to the need for a professional lecturer or expert in the field of agriculture,
Seto City should hire one to address this concern. The farmers who were interviewed
hold the perception that the management of the agriculture sector in other cities, such as
Nagakute City, is better compared to Seto City because they have their own agriculture
professional. The expert in Nagakute City is very accessible and answers questions byphone or if needed, comes to teach.
C. The conduct of the Seto Farm Class can also be improved to address the infavourable
impression of the respondents during the field survey. Suggestions for improvement are:(i) enhance the contents of the class, (ii) explore increasing the frequency of classes tomore than once a week or introduce intensive classes to cater to the busy schedule ofinterested people who wants to engage in farming. In addition, they could add classes
about business management and marketing or business methods for the Farmers Courseand not only subjects on how to increase production since how to market a product isalso important.
D. Since the Michinoeki is located in the northern periphery of Seto City, small farmers
who are located at the center and southern part of the city will have difficulty intransporting their products to the Michinoeki.

As a suggestion, these farmers areencouraged to participate in selling their products on the internet, similar to the existing
practice of the vegetable farmer that was interviewed.

Another alternative is tostrengthen the link of these small farmers with direct shops that are nearer to their farms.
E. There should be efforts to develop new products in addition to ceramics and Seto Buta.
The suggestion of the Michinoki manager, to develop more agriculture-based products
such as cakes, cookies and juice from vegetables, is a good starting point.
F. The Seto City government should also be proactive in transferring agriculture-related
technical knowledge to farmers by inviting experts from nearby universities.
G. Sustain the advertisement showcase of major farm products of Seto City within andoutside the locality. Such products are Seto Buta, fruits and vegetables in season.
H. To welcome new farmers and appreciate their potential contribution to the local
agriculture sector, the Michinoeki can support these new farmers by enlisting them asmembers in the Producer Group to enable them to sell at the Michinoeki.
4. In this research, because of time limitations, we could only focus on the current challenges
and interventions in Seto City. For future research, we suggest to explore more the roles ofpart-time farmers in revitalizing the agriculture sector, given that they account for 80.1% of31Challenges and Revitalization Efforts in the Agriculture Sector of Seto City

the total farm households in Seto City. Moreover, we suggest interviewing other relevant
stakeholders, such as the JA.

6. Acknowledgements
We would like to express our thanks to the Graduate School of International Development(GSID), Nagoya University, for facilitating this Domestic Fieldwork Program in Seto City. Special
thanks to our group advisor, Professor Yoshiaki Nishikawa, for his supervision and support to ourgroup until the finish. Together, he and his colleague, Professor Ngov Penghuy, provided assistancefor the smooth completion of the fieldwork, which we deeply appreciate.
Our grateful thanks also go to the officials and farmers in Seto City listed below. We would
like to thank them for providing us a chance to hold interviews and hear their opinions. DFW was
an invaluable learning experience.
Occupation

Name

Vegetable Farmer

Mr. Masahiko YANO

Vegetable Farmer

Mr. Takahiro IKEDA

Livestock Farmer

Mr. Kazumasa TANI

Seto City Officer

Mr. Hiroyuki YAMADA

Vegetable Farmer

Mr. Koyo MORITA

Michinoeki Manager

Mr. Isao NAKAJIMA

ButcherMr. Masaki OZEKI

NPO leader

Mr. Masaru OAKIVegetable Farmer

Mr. Shinya WATANABE

32

Challenges and Revitalization Efforts in the Agriculture Sector of Seto City

7. References<English>
Chizu Hori (2012 November 1). Farm Land Policy and Agricultural Recovery after the Great East
Japan Earthquake. Mizuho Economic Outlook and Analysis, Mizuho Research Institute. Retrieved
November 21, 2012 from http://www.mizuho-ri.co.jp/publication/research/pdf/eo/MEA121101.pdf
Matsukate, Y. (2012 August 30). Retirees find new life farming Toyota fields, City provides all thetraining as baby boomers leave automaker. The Japan Times Online. Retrieved November 21,
2012, from http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120830f1.html
Ministry of Agriculture, Fishery and Forestry (2012). FY2011 Annual Report on Food, Agriculture
and Rural Areas in Japan.
UNCRD, 2012. Agrin Mura and Local Production for Local Consumption. Presented during the39th International Training Course in Regional Development, UNCRD, Nagoya, Japan 24 May
2012. Retrieved September 29, 2012 fromhttp://www.uncrd.or.jp/tr/doc/itc39_120524_agrin_mura.pdf<Japanese>
Seto City (2010), 第五次瀬戸市総合計画

3 カ年事業計画（平成 24 年度〜26 年度）

http://www.city.seto.aichi.jp/ (November 10, 2012)
http://www.pref.aichi.jp/ (November 15, 2012)
http://www.maff.go.jp/ (November 15, 2012)33

Challenges and Revitalization Efforts in the Agriculture Sector of Seto City

第2章

Working Group 2

Career Development Program for Handicapped
Students in Seto City

和文要約
1. Introduction
2. Career Education Program
3. Sakuranbo Gakuen Participation in CEP
4. Concluding Remarks and Policy Implications
5.

References

Written by(Working Group 2)
Kusumawardana Rendra**Jin Wonsig

Sun Minling

He Hongxing

Group Advisor
Associate Professor Yukiko Nishikawa**Group Leader

34

Challenges and Revitalization Efforts in the Agriculture Sector of Seto City

和文要約
瀬戸市では、全国の他の市町村と比べても非常に新しい取り組みを教育分野で行っている。その一つは、四肢に障害のある児童とそうでない児童が通う学校を同じ敷地内に併設し、障害をもつ児童とそうでない児童の交流及び共同学習の充実を図り、相互理解の促進に貢献している。
平成 22 年 4 月 1 日、瀬戸市立萩山小学校と養護学校（さくらんぼ学園）が併設された。萩山小
学校とさくらんぼ学園の教育目標の一つは、明るく心豊かに学校生活を送ることができる環境を整えるとともに、個々の教育的なニーズに応じた教育を実践することで、これにより、自立と社会参加に向けた職業教育の充実を通し、児童生徒一人一人が主体的に社会参加を目指す資質を育成することである。
この萩山小学校とさくらんぼ学園では、瀬戸市商工会議所が中核となり「瀬戸キャリア教育推進協議会」を組織して実施されているキャリア教育プログラムを通して自分の能力や将来の目標についての理解と、小中学校の段階から「働くこと」に触れ、職業意識を育む試みを行っている。
キャリア教育プログラムは、瀬戸市の人口高齢化の深刻化に対応するため、2005 年に開始された。
本調査は、こうした教育分野における瀬戸市の取り組みに注目し、瀬戸市の学校におけるキャ
リア教育プログラムに焦点を当てた。本調査では、萩山小学校で行われたキャリア教育の一つであるカイゼンセミナーが、さくらんぼ学園の児童にとってどのような学び場となっているのかについて調査を行った。本調査では、以下の調査課題を挙げた。
1. カイゼンセミナーを通じたキャリア教育プログラムは、さくらんぼ学園の児童にどのような学び場を提供しているか。
2. さくらんぼ学園の児童は、瀬戸市のキャリア教育プログラムからどのような経験を得ているのか。
3. 障害をもつ児童のためのキャリア・プログラムを開設する可能性はあるのか。

これらの課題を調査するため、日本の教育政策、障害者のための政策や現状に関する文献調査を行ったうえで、瀬戸市の教育政策について事前学習を行った。瀬戸市における実地調査では、瀬戸市の教育とキャリア教育に関わる行政、商工会議所、学校、企業を対象に聴き取り調査を行った。
瀬戸市における実地調査から、瀬戸市では学校や政府だけではなく、市民全てが子どもの教育に関わることを一つの教育理念としていることが明らかになった。教育委員会、学校、商工会議所、瀬戸市コミュニティーが同じ目標を掲げて協力し、瀬戸市の児童のためのより良い教育環境を創り出すための努力がみられる。たとえば、瀬戸市立本山中学校では、多くの児童がキャリア

35Challenges and Revitalization Efforts in the Agriculture Sector of Seto City

教育を通して地場産業に触れる機会を得ていることが分かった。こうした瀬戸市の産業や特色を生かした教育が瀬戸市のキャリア教育の一つの特徴であることが明らかになった。
また、 萩山小学校とさくらんぼ学園の児童のキャリア教育プログラムに参加に関しては、さくらんぼ学園の児童のために特別なキャリア教育プログラムは設定しておらず、通常の児童と同じ
キャリア教育プログラムに参加していることも分かった。さくらんぼ学園の児童は、キャリア教育で行われたカイゼンセミナーを通じて、仕事現場の流れや、効率的な仕事の行い方などを学習
している。

36

Challenges and Revitalization Efforts in the Agriculture Sector of Seto City

1. Introduction
1.1. Background
Sakuranbo Gakuen is a school for handicapped children located in Seto City. It wasestablished in 2010 and was joined with Hagiyama Elementary School, which is a school forcommon students. The combination allows handicapped students to intermingle with common
students in their daily activities, though their classes are separate. The school currently has 46
students, 30 of them are in elementary school, 10 in middle school, and 6 in the high school, alongwith 55 school staff. One of the main goals for Sakuranbo Gakuen is to provide academic andvocational education, as well as the social skills required by handicapped students to bemainstreamed into society in the future. The school conducts their activity with local government
support, particularly under the Regional Support Unit for Special School Affairs.
The Career Development Program was initiated in 2005 by the Seto City government as a
response to a demographic shift that is creating an ageing society. The program aims to provide
Seto youths with the opportunity to start preparation for their future career with hopes that they will
be able to find their future career around Seto City. The concept of the Career Development
Program is “When the Whole of Seto City Teaches,” and it implies the involvement of various
stakeholders in Seto City, including the the local government, schools, business society and the
local communities.
In line with the newly launched Career Development Program, the career education
coordinators facilitate activities such as the “Kaizen Seminar1” for the students attending Hagiyama
Gakuen. From 2010 until 2012 Students from Sakuranbo Gakuen had also been actively
participating in the seminar2 . It is interesting to examine the involvement of handicapped students
in Seto City Career Development Program through Kaizen Seminar, and whether it is beneficial forthem.
1.2 Research purpose
This research examines the involvement of handicapped students of Sakuranbo Gakuen in the
Kaizen Seminar, and to explore the possibilities to establish a specific Career Development
Program for handicapped students in the future.

1
2

Kaizen refers to the business philosophy that emphasize on the implementation of continuous improvement of oneself.
http://www.schoolweb.ne.jp/weblog/index.php?id=2310069&type=7&date=20110331&search_word=%B2%FE%C1%B1&search_option=0, Accessed 10th October 201237

Challenges and Revitalization Efforts in the Agriculture Sector of Seto City

1.3 Main research question
How are the handicapped students of Sakuranbo Gakuen benefitting from Career
Development Program in Seto City, specifically through the Kaizen Seminar?
Sub-research question:
1. What is the Career Development Program, what is its purpose and how is it conducted?
2. In the Kaizen Seminar, how is career development training provided for handicapped
students of Sakuranbo Gakuen?
1. What is the possibility of establishing a Career Development Program for handicapped
students in Seto City?
1.4 Provisional answer to research question
Through activities like the Kaizen Seminar, handicapped students in Sakuranbo High School
enjoy exposure to various job opportunities similar to their non-handicapped counterparts, creating
the possibility to establish specific career development training for handicapped students in Seto
City in the future.
1.5 Data Collection Method
Data was collected mainly through interviews with local government policy makers, officials
and parties involved in the Seto City Career Development Program. They were also held with theprincipal, teachers and students of Sakuranbo Gakuen. Further data was gathered through various
related websites. Initial data was obtained through a lecture held by Mr. Shigeki Kato at Nagoya
University on 5st June 2012, which gave an overview of the current situation of Seto City. The main
data gathering was conducted on October 24 – 26, 2012 in Seto City.

2. Career Education Program
2.1 Education policy in Seto City
The education policy in Seto City is mainly driven by a common situation among youths in
the cities located in the vicinity of a major city. During the last decade there has been a decline in
the number of Seto young people who are able find a career their area; most of them study in major
cities like Nagoya and decide to stay and work or move to other major cities to find work. The
effect of the urbanization is reflected in the decline of Seto’s traditional business, Setoyaki (pottery),the ceramic industry that has been Seto’s identity for almost 400 years. Another pressing issue is the38Challenges and Revitalization Efforts in the Agriculture Sector of Seto City

low rate of full-time employment for the youth in Japan overall. They prefer to be employed in parttime jobs instead of stable full-time work. Therefore, in 2001, Seto representatives and teachers
held a meeting to discuss the future of education in the city, particularly in order to tackle these
problems.
It was decided that the future Seto City policy for education was to create a city environmentthat can comprehensively educate and support students so they may find life in Seto preferable andbe able to find full-time career opportunity. In order to achieve such an environment, the whole of
Seto City must join hand-in-hand in the education process, thus the concept of “When whole Seto
City teaches” was born. Under this concept the wider community is involved in school education;
not only teachers, but also all adults, including parents, non-profit organizations and businesssociety may also contribute to the education system.
2.2 Career Education Program (CEP) as a national policy
The idea of the Career Education Program emerged as an answer to the current employment
trend among the Japanese youths. Nowadays, many young people do not seek full-time jobs
because they prefer to work part time. These people are commonly known as a “Freeter.” There isalso the concern of increasing number of young people that fall into the category of ‘NEET,’ (notinvolved in employment, education or training). These two phenomena have become a significant
problem for Japanese industry. The cause is said be attributed to the loss of their goals and dreams
due to high competition in the job market, leading many unable to realize their own potential.
As shown in Diagram 1, the number of students that have a dream or a career of preference
decreases at each level of education. In elementary school, over 80% of the students know what
they want to be and have plans for the future. However, as they grow older they are losing theirplans and goals. In addition, about 69% of students in elementary schools know their abilities andaptitude, but as they grow older, it seems that it becomes less clear for them. To tackle these issues,
the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry Japan designed a program to help children realize
their own potentials and options for future careers. From 2005 to 2008 they launched a program
entitled the Career Education Program (CEP) to be implemented by elementary and junior highschools across Japan. It is hoped that through the CEP, students can experience a working
environment and that it helps them to plan their future career.

39

Challenges and Revitalization Efforts in the Agriculture Sector of Seto City

Diagram 1:

The Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry in partnership with the Ministry of Education
appointed a coordinator in several cities as the implementing agency. These coordinators acts as a
hub between the schools and CEP partners, including the business society, local community,
Parents Teacher Association (PTA), and related Non-profit Organizations; the partners will provide
the expertise and resources required for the CEP activities in the schools (Diagram 2). As it isshown in Diagram 3, there were at least 28 different CEP models adopted during the 2005-2008,
each city developed their own based on each own uniqueness and tradition.
Diagram 2
Career Education Implementation Agency

Source: http://warp.ndl.go.jp/info:ndljp/pid/286890/www.meti.go.jp/main/siryou/seisaku01_01.pdf, accessed 3rd December 201240

Challenges and Revitalization Efforts in the Agriculture Sector of Seto City

Diagram 3
CEP Participants

Source: http://warp.ndl.go.jp/info:ndljp/pid/286890/www.meti.go.jp/main/siryou/seisaku01_01.pdf, accessed 3rd December 2012

2.3 Education policy and CEP in Seto CityThe Seto City Chamber of Commerce (CoC) initiated the Career Education Program (CEP) in
Seto City in 2005, earlier than most. This early inception was made possible due to the close
connection and coordination between the Chamber of Commerce and the Seto Board of Education(BoE). The Ministry of Trade initially funded the program for the first three years, but since 2009, it
has been fully funded by the Seto City Government and Chamber of Commerce. In general the CEP
is school oriented program, targeted at elementary and junior high schools, where students are given
the opportunity to experience different working environments available in Seto City. There are four
identifiable elements that compose the implementation of the CEP, and through their coordination,
the program is delivered to the students. These elements are: the government, represented by the
Board of Education; the business community, represented by the Chamber of Commerce; civilsociety; and the schools.

41Challenges and Revitalization Efforts in the Agriculture Sector of Seto City

Diagram 4:
CEP Agency in Seto City

2.4 Funding and organization
For the purpose of CEP, the Seto City government, through the Board of Education provided
a limited amount of subsidy from the public budget to each school in Seto City. The schools werethen able to use this funding to directly fund their activities, or as capital for fund-raising, as in thecase of Motoyama Gakuen. At Motoyama Gakuen, the students were given an opportunity to learn
how to create Setomono ceramics and then along with some made by the parents; then they may sell
it at their school or through the Chamber of Commerce, who organizes festivals for profit. These
profits, in turn, will be used to buy new equipment for CEP or to fund further CEP activities.
Schools may also produce a proposal for CEP activity to The Chamber of Commerce, whowill find the appropriate facilitator from the relevant industries to provide the requested skill andtraining. The Chamber of Commerce pays for the fees and required transportation costs for thesetrainers. In some cases, companies conduct the training program, as it is the case of Toyota’s
Kaizen Seminar. In order to support CEP, the Chamber of Commerce has also established the“Yume Tamago” Foundation as a source of funding. Funds collected by the Yume Tamago
Foundation will be used for trainers’ fees and transportation.
The schools in Seto were encouraged to draw inspiration from their local community about
what kind of activity they want to focus and specialize in; for instance, if the surrounding
community specializes in making ceramic crafts, then the school may likely also specialize in it.
42Challenges and Revitalization Efforts in the Agriculture Sector of Seto City

The schools may also be involved in the surrounding communities with the student’s parents getting
involved to share their knowledge and capacities. The CEP topics are not limited only theirsurrounding community specialty, but may also include other related business skills, such aspresentation skills, interview skills, market research, etc. The interaction between schools and thewider Seto community is well reflected in Seto’s CEP through the application of the philosophy:“When all adults in Seto City bring up children together.” Although there’s an agreement that theinclusion of Setomono in CEP may not be able to revive the business, it may enrich the education in
Seto and sow the seed of a sense of ownership for Seto City and its unique features. This in turns
contribute to the greater vision of Seto City Education, which is to make Seto City more likable toyounger generation.3
2.5 The implementation procedure
Commonly the schools decide what kind of CEP activity they want to carry out and may
utilize the subsidies to fund their activity or directly interact with the surrounding society, such as
parents or NPOs to participate. Alternatively, the school may submit a proposal to the Chamber ofCommerce, which will contact the relevant business members to provide expertise and training. In
this case, the Chamber of Commerce will pay for the fees and transportation costs for the trainers.
Certain businesses may also invite the students to visit their factories and sometimes will accept thestudents for internship programs. The relationship between stakeholders is illustrated in Diagram 5.
The schools may also participate in Chamber of Commerce facilitated events, which areusually held annually in Seto City. One of the schools that participate in these occasions is
Motoyama High School and they manage to utilize the subsidy as capital to expand their own CEP
activity. Motoyama Gakuen is one of the schools in Seto that possess the facility to make setomono
ceramics; the school provides their students a chance to experience pottery making inside the school.
With participation of some student’s parents, Motoyama Gakuen have been selling some of
products from the CEP activity annually at the Setomono Festivals, from which they earn a profit.
The profit is then used to buy better equipment and to fund other CEP activities (Diagram 6).

3

Interview with Yokoi-san, Director of Watts Vision, 25th October 2012.

43

Challenges and Revitalization Efforts in the Agriculture Sector of Seto City

Diagram 5:
CEP Implementation in Seto City

Diagram 6:
How Motoyama Gakuen Expand the Allocated CEP Budget

Career education activities at Motoyama Gakuen reflect the degree of independence enjoyedby the schools participating in CEP in Seto City. Other than pottery making, Motoyama Gakuen
also holds student exchange programs to Australia as their flagship program. The school also
provides internship opportunities at various companies and organizations for their students. 4
Motoyama is one of the schools in Seto that has successfully established and expanded their CEP
activities. A sense of ownership and a spirit of entrepreneurship are demonstrated by schools suchas Motoyama and are among the strong points of Seto City’s CEP policy that the sustainability ofthe program in the future.

4

Interview with Motoyama School Principal, 25th October 201244

Challenges and Revitalization Efforts in the Agriculture Sector of Seto City

3. Sakuranbo Gakuen Participation in CEP
3.1 Sakuranbo Gakuen
One of Sakuranbo Gakuen’s main goals is to provide academic and vocational education, as
well as the social skills required by handicapped students, to be able to join the society in the future.
The school conducts their activities with support from the local government, particularly under the
Regional Support Unit for Special School Affairs.
The school was initially established by the parents of handicapped students to resolve theproblem of having to take their children to the prefectural special needs school, which could often
take up to two hours in travel time. The decision was to establish the Sakuranbo Gakuen and joinwith Hagiyama Elementary School. It was a welcome decision since Hagiyama Gakuen was almost
closing due to a dwindling number of students. The merger manages to create an environment inwhich students from both schools are able to interact and support each other, as there are no barriersof interaction between them. It proves to be beneficial to both schools because the students of
Sakuranbo can experience regular social interactions while the students of Hagiyama learn how to
be kind and caring toward others.5 The philosophy of Sakuranbo Gakuen is to allow students toobtain as much experience as possible and make the best of their time as students. This way of
thinking is because many students, due to their various handicaps, may not be able to be verysocially active in the future.6
3.2 Japan’s national policy for special education
According to the survey done in 2006, currently there are about 3,483,000 handicappedpeople living in Japan, with 93,100 under 18 years old. The total number has increased by 7.3%
from 2001 (Diagram 6).7 As Japan aims to foster solidarity among its citizens, it is vital to ensurehandicapped people can live together along others in society in mutual respect without any
significant barriers. In addition, handicapped people should possess equal opportunities to fully
participate in the society, particularly under the current trend of the aging demography of Japan.

5Interview with Sakuranbo School Principal, 25th October 2012
Ibid.
7
厚生労働省社会・援護局障害保険福祉部企画課 2008 『平成18年身体障害児・者実態調査結果』
645

Challenges and Revitalization Efforts in the Agriculture Sector of Seto City

Diagram 7:

Number of disabled children and people<Number of disabled people (thousand) >Disabled children,93
18, 93Disabled children
Disabled people
Disabled
82 children,13, 82

3483
Disabled people,
18, 3483

Disabled
3245 people,
13, 3245(Year: Heisei)

Source: 厚生労働省社会・援護局障害保険福祉部企画課

2008『平成 18 年身体障害児・者実態調査結果』

For this purpose, Japan’s government conducted a series of long term plans to ensurehandicapped citizens can be integrated into the society without much difficulty. The first long term
plan was launched in 1982, and then renewed in 1992, before the Basic Plan for the Handicapped
People was established in Dec.,1992. Compulsory education for handicapped children began earlier
in 1956, through the ‘Special Laws for the Special Support Education Schools’ and a governmental
ordinance as a part of the enforcement date decision concerning compulsory school attendance andan established obligation in the Special Support Education School in School Educational Act of1973. In their implementation, the government also encourages the business society, NPOs, andevery citizen to actively create equal opportunities for handicapped people.
In recent years, the number of handicapped peoples that are applying for work has increased.8
This is due to the Handicapped Person’s Employment Law that requires companies to employ
handicapped persons at a level of at least 1.8% of their total workforce. Also under the Handicapped
People Employment Payment Systems, the government guarantees that they will enjoy equal salary.
Second, the government is also providing job training, seminars, and rehabilitation for the disabled8

厚生労働省 「障害者雇用対策」
http://www.mhlw.go.jp/seisakunitsuite/bunya/koyou_roudou/koyou/shougaishakoyou/index.html

46

Challenges and Revitalization Efforts in the Agriculture Sector of Seto City

people to be able to obtain jobs. In 2011, approximately 366,000 handicapped persons were
employed and the number keeps on increasing every year (Diagram 7).9 Finally, the government
also mandated the establishment of the Special Support Education Schools in each prefecture, inorder to ensure available education for all handicapped children and for every degree of severity.
Sakuranbo Gakuen is one of example of the public participating to fulfill the rights to education andopportunity for the handicapped children.
Diagram 8:

Number of disabled people who are employed<Number of disabled people (thousand) >
13
4

2
30

31

32

33

36

223

222

214

214

222

Mental disability

Source: 厚生労働省

2011

40

44

229

238

Intellectual disability「平成 23 年

251

54

6

266

Physical disability

10

8
57

61

69

268

272

284

(Year: Heisei)

障害者雇用状況の集計結果」

3.3. Career education in Sakuranbo Gakuen
There are differences in the level of disability among the Sakuranbo students. Some students
have minor disabilities and are able to do everyday activities without much adjustment, while otherstudents must be given a high degree of attention at all times. The students with lesser disabilities
may undergo many of the same activities with Hagiyama students, studying in the same class and
9

厚生労働省

2011

「平成 23 年

障害者雇用状況の集計結果」

47

Challenges and Revitalization Efforts in the Agriculture Sector of Seto City

having similar lessons. These are the students who have the opportunity to join career education
activities within Hagiyama Gakuen, and currently there are five of them in Sakuranbo.
Like other schools in Seto, Hagiyama also participates in CEP activities, one of which is the
Kaizen Seminar, conducted by Toyota Motor Corporation. This career education activity is also
held with the coordination of the Seto City Chamber of Commerce. During the activity, thesecapable Sakuranbo students have joined and have actively participated in the seminar. The seminar
itself was designed to teach the students about cooperation and management by asking them tobuild a series of boxes together in the most efficient manner possible. For this purpose, theSakuranbo students are grouped together with Hagiyama students and divide the tasks equally
among themselves. Although some of the Sakuranbo students stated that it is difficult, they learn thevalue of cooperation and experience important social interactions. They also said that they wereenjoying all the activities and look forward to join again in the future.10
However, the purpose for the participation of the Sakuranbo students is different than that of
the Hagiyama students. As it was mentioned before, the underlying principle of Sakuranbo
education is to allow the students obtain as many experiences as while they are attending school, in
contrast with the Hagiyama students that are preparing for their future careers. This is because someof them are medically assessed to have a short life expectancy, thus the reason Seto City does not
yet have a plan to include Sakuranbo Gakuen as a CEP participant, and currently there is no plan to
conduct CEP activities specifically for handicapped students.. 11

4. Concluding Remarks and Policy Implications
From our interviews we learned that CEP in Seto City is a program that is doing a notable job
in reflecting the “When whole Seto City teaches” philosophy. The CEP initiative in Seto is
promoted by the schools and enjoys full support from the Seto government, the business community,
and wider civil society. Ultimately, the key of CEP success in Seto is the strong sense of ownershipand willingness of all stakeholders to employ their resources for a common goal. This iscooperation may be useful in further policy studies and Seto City may also become a model forpolicy creation and implementation.
All interviewees stated that they believe the CEP is a policy that should be maintained for
future generations and for the sake of Seto City. However, we believe that the CEP program may be
improved in terms of the degree of benefits it delivers. One possible way to improve is to continue
the socialization and promotion of the program to the people of Seto City, as currently many parents
1011Interview with Sakuranbo Schools Students, 25th October 2012.
Interview with Seto City Board of Education, 24th October 2012.

48

Challenges and Revitalization Efforts in the Agriculture Sector of Seto City

in Seto did not see CEP as a unique and beneficial policy for Seto City.12 In addition, promotion to
the people outside Seto about the success achieved in career education may contribute to thepromotion of Seto City in general.
Concerning career education in Seto, to some extent the program allows the participation of
the students of Sakuranbo Schools and the students are not only able to gain knowledge and skills,
but also have the opportunity to interact with other students as equals. This provided a richeducation experience for both the Sakuranbo students and Hagiyama students. However, the goalfor Sakuranbo School’s participation in the CEP is not for their future, but to be able to make themost of, therefore Seto government and other stakeholders do not have any specific CEP programfor Sakuranbo students. While this is an unfortunate situation, we believe that the Sakuranbo School
still can contribute much more to the CEP and Seto City education.
We learned how the interaction between Sakuranbo students and Hagiyama students could
have a positive impact for all of them and we believe it is a good example of the spirit of the Seto
City educational philosophy. The environment that emerged from the Sakuranbo-Hagiyama
collaboration could be tapped into by the CEP, where if the opportunity to experience suchinteractions should be made available to the students of other schools in Seto, it would extend apositive influence to nurture kindness in students’ hearts. We believe such values, unique to
Sakuranbo and Hagiyama schools are possible to be incorporated in CEP in Seto through thesupport from both the city government and Chamber of Commerce.

5. References<Interview>
Head of Seto City Board of Education, 24th October 2012.
Sakuranbo School Principal, 25th October 2012.
Sakuranbo School Students Participating in Career Education Program, 25th October 2012.
Motoyama School Principal, 25th October 2012.
Motoyama School Students Participating in Career Education Program, 25th October 2012.
Director of Watts Vision Company, 25th October 2012.
Director of Career Education Program, Seto City Chamber of Commerce, 26th October 2012.

12

Interview with Seto City Chamber of Commerce, 26th October 2012.

49

Challenges and Revitalization Efforts in the Agriculture Sector of Seto City

Mr. Kato Shigeki and Mr. Taniguchi Toshihito, Chamber of Commerce, 26th October 2012.

<Printed Materials>
厚生労働省（2010）.「平成 22 年

障害者雇用状況の集計結果」.

厚生労働省（2011）.「平成 23 年

障害者雇用状況の集計結果」.

厚労働省（2012）.「障害者総合支援法」.
厚生労働省社会・援護局障害保険福祉部企画課（2008）.『平成 18 年身体障害児・者実態調査結果』.

<Homepages>
外務省:障害者の権利に関する条約：
http://www.mofa.go.jp/mofaj/gaiko/treaty/shomei_32.html, accessed 19th October 2012.
「公立養護学校整備特別措置法」: http://www.houko.com/00/01/S31/152.HTM, accessed 25th
October 2012.
障害者基本計画：http://www8.cao.go.jp/shougai/suishin/kihonkeikaku.html, accessed 20th
October 2012.
障害者雇用促進法：
http://d.hatena.ne.jp/keyword/%BE%E3%B3%B2%BC%D4%B8%DB%CD%D1%C2%A5%B
F%CA%CB%A1, accessed 20th October 2012.
瀬戸市萩山小学校：
http://www.schoolweb.ne.jp/weblog/index.php?id=2310069&type=7&date=20110331&search_wor
d=%B2%FE%C1%B1&search_option=0, accessed 20th October 2012.
瀬戸養護学校（さくらんぼ学園）：
http://www.city.seto.aichi.jp/docs/2011011300018/, accessed 20th October 2012.
養護学校全員義務化の政令(LD 資料館) ：http://cache.yahoofs.jp/search/cache?c=qrekqffDtAUJ&p=%E9%A4%8A%E8%AD%B7%E5%AD%A6%E6%A0%A1%E3%81%AE%E7%BE%A9%E5%8B%99%E5%8C%96&u=www.
amy.hi-ho.ne.jp%2Fyamaokash%2Fsiryokan%2Fgyosei%2Fgyosei225.htm, accessed 20th
October 2012.

50

第 3 章 Working Group 3
The Collaboration between the Local Government and the
Local Industry in Enhancing the Marketing Strategies of the
Seto City Pottery Industry

和文要約
1. Introduction
2. Career Education Program
3. Sakuranbo Gakuen Participation in CEP
4. Concluding Remarks and Policy Implications
5. Acknowledgment
6.

References

Written by(Working Group1)
Hiroshi Nishikawa **Sangay Chophel

Peji Brelyn Avelida *Zaitu Kae

Chhuor Sryneath
Noriko SuematsuGroup Advisor
Associate Professor Hideto Nishimura**Group Leader*Sub Leader
51

和文要約

瀬戸市陶磁器産業における市役所と関連団体・企業間のマーケティング面での連携

1.

調査背景

瀬戸市は、名古屋市の北東約 20km に位置し、「焼き物のまち」として発展した。瀬戸市は良質な陶土に恵まれ、陶磁器産業は、まちの発展に大きな役割を果たしてきた。しかし、時代を経て、安い外国製品の流入、生活スタイル変化に伴う陶磁器製品の需要の低下や「せともの」のイメージによる「瀬戸焼」のブランド化の難しさにより、瀬戸市の陶磁器産業は衰退を経験している。それを表すように、陶磁器産業に関わる事業所数と従業者数も、1978 年から減少し続けている。
このような状況において、瀬戸市は 2012 年 3 月に「瀬戸市地場産業振興ビジョン」を策定した。
このビジョンは、陶磁器産業の関連団体や企業が、陶磁器産業における現状と問題を踏まえ、産業振興政策を示すことで、瀬戸市の陶磁器産業における発展に向けての考え方の共有を試みることを目的としている。しかし、この「瀬戸市地場産業振興ビジョン」は、瀬戸市の陶磁器産業の発展のために、関連団体や企業が果たすべき役割や方向性について、具体的には明記していない。
そこで、本調査を通じて、陶磁器産業のマーケティングにおける関連団体や企業の役割や関係性を認識した上で、考えや意見の相違を明らかにする。また、最終的には瀬戸市の陶磁器産業の発展に貢献する提言を行う。

2.

調査目的

本調査を、以下のような四つの目的を持って、実施した。（1）陶磁器産業のマーケティング面
における瀬戸市役所と他の陶磁器産業関連団体や企業との関係性を明らかにする。（2）陶磁器産
業のマーケティングにおける市役所の政策を明らかにする。（3）陶磁器産業のマーケティングにおける陶磁器産業の関連団体や企業の活動を明らかにする。（4）陶磁器産業のマーケティングにおける市役所と他の陶磁器産業関連団体や企業間における相違点を明らかにする。

3.

仮説

上記で述べた目的を達成することを目的として、仮説を立てている。まず、調査全体の仮説は「陶磁器産業のマーケティングにおける市の政策と関連団体や企業の活動が、一貫性を欠いている」である。この仮説を検証するために、二つの小さな仮説も立てた。一つ目は「陶磁器産業のマーケティングの手法において、市の政策と関連団体や企業の取り組みの面で、役割や方向性の面
で相違や不一致が存在する。」という仮説である。二つ目は「陶磁器産業のマーケティング力を強化するための市の政策立案や実施の過程で、関連団体や企業の考えや取り組みは政策に反映されていない」という仮説である。本調査では、上記の三つの仮説を検証することを目的とした。
52

4.

調査方法

上記の仮説を検証するために、半構造的インタビューを使用し、調査を実施した。具体的なインタビュー対象者は、瀬戸市役所（交流活動部産業課）、瀬戸商工会議所、愛知県陶磁器工業協同組合（瀬戸蔵セラミックプラザ）、地元生産者（有限会社竹堂園、喜多窯

5.

霞仙）である。

調査結果

瀬戸市でのインタビュー調査により、以下の調査結果を得た。陶磁器産業の関連団体や企業が認識するマーケティング面での問題意識や今後必要となる手法に関しては、瀬戸市が作成した「瀬戸市地場産業振興ビジョン」に、しっかりと明記されている。その点を踏まえると、瀬戸市の政策に。関連団体や企業の意見が反映されていると考えることが可能である。しかし、一方で、陶磁器産業のマーケティングの手法や方向性の面で、関連団体や企業間の関係性において相違が存在していることが分かった。一つ目は、マーケティングに関する支援を提供する側と受け取る側の関係性において、受け取る側は支援の偏りに対する疑問を持つだけでなく、提供する側からの時代に即した支援の不足という問題を認識している。また、陶磁器産業従事者の高齢化が進んでいる状況において、マーケティング支援に関する情報の提供が、受け取る側の状況がしっかりと考慮されずに提供されているという現状がある。さらに、陶磁器産業の市場拡大の面で、市内の市場を強化するのか、市外の市場を強化するのかという点で、市役所、関連団体や企業間の関係性の中で考え方の相違が見受けられる。この結果を踏まえて、本調査では「陶磁器産業のマーケティ
ングにおける市の政策と関連団体や企業の活動が一貫性を欠いている」という仮説を肯定する結果
となった。

6.

提言

本調査を通じて判明した瀬戸市の陶磁器産業のマーケティング面における関連団体や企業間の相違を解消することを目的とし、ここでは 4 つの提言を行う。一つ目は、マーケティングに関する支援を、地元生産者に対して公平に行うことである。二つ目は、将来的に重要であると考えられるインターネットに関する支援の強化や生産者の高齢化という状況を踏まえた情報提供に関する支援の実施が必要である。三つ目は、瀬戸市の陶磁器産業が今後発展していくためには、市内の市場だけでなく、瀬戸市外への市場の拡大を積極的に行う必要がある。そして、最後に、後継者の問題を解決するだけでなく、海外市場への拡大を目的として、外国人を雇用することが必要である。これらの四点を、本調査の提言とする。

53

謝辞

本調査では、瀬戸市役所、瀬戸商工会議所、愛知県陶磁器工業協同組合、地元生産者（有限会社
竹堂園、喜多窯 霞仙）の方々に、ご協力いただき、誠にありがとうございました。皆さまのご協力により、本調査を無事に終えることができました。ここに感謝の意を表します。

名古屋大学大学院 国際開発研究科 国内実地研修

54

産業グループ一同

1. Introduction
1.1. Background
Seto City, which is located at about 20 km northeast of Nagoya City, has been well known as
one of the chief places of places of pottery production centers in the country, thus making it “a cityof pottery.” Since the area is blessed with excellent quality porcelain clay, the pottery industry
called, “Seto-yaki,” which literally means pottery products from Seto City, has played in a very
important role in the development of the city. The long standing history of the industry in the area,
which can be traced back in the 7th century, had made significant economic contributions to the cityand had served as backbone of the city’s industries until the end of 1970s.
However, the pottery industry that flourished in the 7th century has been confronted withvarious challenges recently.

According to “Seto-shi Jiba Sangyou Shinkou Vision,” the number ofbusiness facilities and persons engaged in the industry has been decreasing since 1978. In 2008, thenumber of facilities had been reduced to less than 40% of the number in 1978. In addition, thenumber of persons engaged in the business is 30% lower than that of 1978 [瀬戸市, 2012]. There
are various factors that contributed to such decline. First, many cheaper imported pottery products
were introduced to Japanese consumers and penetrated the market. Second, the demand for gifts has
decreased because the gift-giving culture of Japan, especially for the occasion of weddings, haschanged and has been scaled down.

Third, since the lifestyle of people has changed, the current

demand for pottery products is not as high as it used to be. The use of non-ceramic products is now
becoming more prevalent.
Seto City has revealed a promotion plan called “Seto-shi Jiba Sangyou Shinkou Vision” (planof promoting industries in Seto City) in 2012, which was created to share ideas for developing theceramic industry by suggesting the promotion of policy while understanding the present situationand issues for each stakeholder [瀬戸市, 2012]. Many stakeholders, including the city office,Chamber of Commerce and Industry, pottery associations, pottery business owners (crafts persons),
and the citizens will work together to implement the plan. However, the promotional plan does notdefine the specific role that each of the stakeholders has in promoting the industry. Hence, the role55and direction that each stakeholder has to take in the implementation of the project remains obscure.
In 2009, other areas like Obihiro City in Hokkaido have likewise designed a promotional plan
similar to that of Seto City’s, but much the same, the promotional plan of Obihiro City does notclearly define the roles of each stakeholder in promoting the local industries [植田 立見, 2009].
Given the aforementioned scenario, the implementation of such a plan or vision brings with it
the possibility that the stakeholders may have difficulty in carrying out their respective roles since
the plan does not provide a clear delineation of roles for each stakeholder. Further, inconsistency or
incompatibility of the directions of each stakeholder in promoting the industry may likewise be a
crucial issue that they have to face. These challenges, if not properly addressed, may cause
difficulties in coordination between and among stakeholders in terms of pursuing and implementing
the city’s marketing activities.
On this note, this study intends to focus on the relationship between each stakeholder inmarketing activities of the pottery industry in Seto City. In addition, this research seeks to identify
the gaps and the mismatches between and among stakeholders in terms of promoting the marketing
activities of the industry.

1.2 Research Objectives
This study seeks to achieve the following objectives:1.

to examine the relationship between the local government and local industry inenhancing the marketing strategies of pottery industry;2.

to identify the policies of the local government in marketing of the pottery industry;3.

to identify the activities of the industry in the marketing of pottery products;

4.

to identify the gaps between the local government and local industry in terms ofmarketing the pottery industry

56

1.3 Hypothesis
In this research, the group posits the following hypotheses:

1.3.1 Main hypothesis

There exist inconsistencies between the local government and local industry regarding how toenhance the marketing strategy of the pottery industry.

1.3.2 Sub-hypotheses

1. There exist some gaps between local government and local industry in terms of direction
and ways on how to market the pottery industry.
2. In the process of the local government’s policy-making activities concerning the marketingof pottery industry, the policies do not reflect nor envision the directions, ideas andactivities of the local industry.

1.4 Methodology
The group conducted semi-structured interviews for the collection of data for the study. The
respondents included management staff from the following offices:a. Local governmentb. Seto City Chamber of Commerce and Industry
c. Aichi Pottery Manufactures Associationd. Local producers (Chikudouen and Kitagama Kasen)

57

1.5 Limitations
Considering the limited number of days to do the fieldwork, some limitations must be noted.
First, at the level of local producers, the study only covered two cases of local producers who areboth doing well with their businesses and because of the time limitation; it prohibited the study
from including local producers who are not. Second, the perceptions or opinions of local consumers
were not included in this study.

2. Results of Field Work
2.1 Marketing activities and relationship among stakeholders
This section discusses the results of the interviews that were conducted with respondents fromthe five main stakeholders in the pottery industry in Seto City. The discussion focuses on the
involvement of each stakeholder in the marketing activities and their relationship with otherstakeholders.

2.1.1 Local Government (Seto City Office)The city office, particularly the industrial division, takes the lead in the development of thepottery industry in the city and plays important roles in promoting the industry, in providing support
to enhance marketing activities and in working or collaborating with other stakeholders.

2.1.1.1 Marketing Activities
The Seto City local government primarily provides support for marketing activities of local
producers of pottery products. The current support includes coordinating with other stakeholders inholding pottery events. The local government provides subsidies to local producers who will
participate in product exhibitions. The local government likewise disseminates information about
the festivals and other related activities. Seminars are also being conducted in order to meet andenhance the marketing potentials of the local producers. Moreover, the local government is trying totake full advantage of the Internet, particularly Facebook, to market the city’s pottery products.
58

Specialists have been assigned to do the online marketing, wherein two-thirds of the fee is charged
to the general event expenses, while the companies are shouldering the other one-third. However,most of the support provided is now limited to those companies that are doing well in business.
The local government also supports the retention of the pool of local workers in the city.
Since the industry is facing the problem of having a lack of manpower or skilled workforce, thelocal government is thinking of ways and means to keep the local workers in the city. Presently,
they are offering two-year training programs in pottery and glassworks to encourage youngsters toengage in the pottery-making business. These interventions of the local government, althoughregarded as an indirect form of assistance, enhance the marketing strategies of the local industry.

2.1.1.2 Relationship with other stakeholders
Various stakeholders, such as the Chamber of Commerce and Industry and some pottery
industry associations, also collaborate in holding special events, like tableware festivals, productexhibitions, and a large pottery festival called “Seto-mono Matsuri” that is held every September.
Hence, the local government is geared towards working closely with the stakeholders in theimplementation of the promotion plan called “Seto-shi Jiba Sangyou Shinkou Vision.” This vision
is implemented through a combined effort of the city, Chamber of Commerce and Industry, somepottery industry associations, pottery business owners and citizens.
Moreover, the local government conducts regular meetings to gather views and opinion ofvarious stakeholders about the policies that are to be implemented. All the members attend thegeneral meeting, which is held once a year. The representatives’ meeting, on the other hand, isbeing held 5-6 times a year.

In this meeting, the discussion is about concrete programs on how toenhance the marketing of the pottery industry and other matters relating to the business.

2.1.2 Chamber of Commerce and Industry
2.1.2.1 Marketing Activities
59

The Seto City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, although not directly engaged in themarketing of pottery products, is recognized to have provided some support to local producers andretailers. The main role of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry focuses on providing seminars
and advice to the local producers. For example, in the case of the producers who wish to sell pottery
outside Japan, the local government introduces JETRO (Japan External Trade Organization) as anorganization that can provide advice on what kind of products to produce and can provide
information about market demands. The Chamber of Commerce and Industry is also working toenhance the Seto brand and to make the products more appealing to the market by taking “Seto-yaki
Kentei.” The Chamber also produces a publication of newspaper or news articles on pottery
industry twice a year. Furthermore, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry organizes festivals
where pottery products are displayed for market promotion. The Chamber of Commerce andIndustry focuses on doing supplemental duties, leaving the selling of products to the pottery
manufacturing association.

2.1.2.2 Relationship with other stakeholders
In performing its role, the Chamber of Commerce is working closely with the local
government, pottery manufacturers associations and local producers, which is evident from themarket information and advice given to the producers.

2.1.3. Aichi Pottery Manufactures Association
The Aichi Pottery Manufactures Association is composed of about 350 companies that sell
Japanese and western tableware, novelty’s items, and so on; half of which are sold to retail shops.
To become a member, each company is required to have a potter in Seto City and must pay a fixedamount for the membership fee, which is decided according to the scale of the company.

60

2.1.3.1 Marketing activities
The association has some activities in marketing as well as in providing support to themembers. First, it provides a place to directly sell products made by potters to remove the middle
margin and also conducts market research to check how products are being sold. Second, it supports
a project to promote the branding of “Seto-yaki” by putting the “Seto-yaki” seal on pottery products
it has initiated. These activities are mainly conducted in “Seto Gura Ceramic Plaza,” which sells
only “Seto-yaki” made by producers. Third, the association provides information and support toassist producers to join in exhibitions and pottery events.

2.1.3.2 Relationship with other stakeholders
The association receives a subsidy from the local government to also organize a seminar.
These two stakeholders also cooperate in organizing events and festivals. In addition, theassociation plays an important role as a coordinator in disseminating essential information between
the Chamber of Commerce and the producers.
However, it was noted that there is not much cooperation and support in marketing activities.
Generally, the association conducts marketing strategies but the local government is not taking a
noticeable role in improving the strategies. In some cases, the local government may provide someassistance in the form of subsidies and support for seminars and exhibitions, but it does not get
directly involved in either marketing activities or strategies. Nevertheless, this does not necessarilymean that cooperation between the local government and the association has not materialized. The
association usually initiates ideas and ways to enhance the strategy and asks for support, though it is
not always needed.

2.1.4 Chikudouen
Mr. Shimakura, the owner of Chikudouen, believes that development of pottery products isneeded for the company to survive amidst the challenges brought about by globalization. He tried tocreate new products to help the business survive for 15 years, and this eventually led to a better
61management of the company. In terms of product distribution, the company employs various
channels. For instance, among total sales, 35% are from Internet Mall accounts, while sales throughwholesalers account for about 30%. The remaining 30% is a result of retail sales at the shop.

2.1.4.1 Marketing Activities
There are six main marketing activities done by Chikudouen. First, using the Internet Mall
managed by Rakuten is important for the company because of the aforementioned 35% of total
sales that it contributes. Further, the company is trying to open new shops in other Internet Malls
where there is the possibility of making large profits through limited production. Second, thecompany has a factory shop and sells products directly to consumers at a highly discounted pricecompared to shops in metropolitan areas. Third, leaflets of the company’s products are put atroadside stations. These stations have three goals: to function as a rest space for drivers, to provide
local information to visitors and local people and to give opportunities of generate income for local
enterprises (Parker, 2012). In addition, direct mails are sent to consumers who visit the company. At
the same time, the company also participates in events organized by various hotels and restaurants,
which are being held in urban areas.

2.1.4.2 Relationship with other stakeholders
Chikudouen, as a member of the Aichi Pottery Manufactures Association, attends meetingsorganized by the association to receive information and training, as well as to establish contacts or
networks with other producers.

It was noted, however, that limited interaction takes place amongproducers. Chikudouen also participates in business matching programs conducted by the Chamberof Commerce and Industry and in other similar venues that provide opportunities to establish a linkwith other industries.

622.1.5 Kitagama Kasen
Kitagama Kasen’s work is mainly divided into two parts. One is a pottery experience classand tour, which occupies about 40% of total sales; and the other are direct sales at exhibitions andto restaurants, which occupies about 30%. Mr. Kato, the owner of Kasen, has been aware of thelimitations of selling products as the only means of business, so he started teaching sessions about
pottery making to enhance profits, as well as to share his skills. The main aim of his company is toconvey local and historical products by creating a brand to keep his business because, although Seto
pottery has been famous for many years, there are few pottery brands in Seto City.

2.1.5.1 Marketing Activities
Kitagama Kasen has been using various marketing strategies to strengthen the value of the
products. Mr. Kato is not aiming to enlarge the scale of the company, but rather he hopes to keep
locality and preserve history. The most important strategy is marketing via the Internet, which hehas effectively used to expand his market through a homepage, blog and Facebook page, to generate
and broadcast a variety of information. The English homepage and Facebook page are helpful tomake his business known to the world, and this approach attracts foreign visitors to the company tolearn about pottery production. He also organized “Akatsu Kamamoto Mawashi Kai,” anorganization of 30 members that pay a 5,000yen per year fee. This organization, which has existed
for 11 years, creates a map and pottery tour. The company also exhibits products in Tokyo, Sendai
and Kyushu. Further, the company also tries to avoid using brokers or middlemen as much as
possible to eliminate the increased costs up to 30% or 40% higher than the original price.

2.1.5.2 Relationship with other stakeholders
Mr. Kato mentioned that the cooperation between local government and his company is quite
good because the local government provides some support such as subsidies and information, as
was the case when making the map of “Akatsuyaki Kamamoto Mawashi Kai.” There are also someexhibitions provided by the local government. The company also joins the Chamber of Commerce63and Industry as an established company and to take advantage of information sent from the Ministryof Health, Labor and Welfare, which is shared by the chamber. However, the company does not join
in any associations, such as Aichi Pottery Manufactures Association, as Mr. Kato perceives there isno merit in joining the associations with their high membership fees and old-fashioned views.

2.2 Issue AwarenessInterviews clearly show that each stakeholder in the pottery industry in Seto City has shared
the same level of awareness regarding issues concerning marketing activities. The issues that are
widely recognized by the stakeholders include marketing difficulties due to distribution systems,
lack of capacity for designing and selling, difference in motivation between producers, lack ofsuccessors and the decrease of workforce, and shrinking market for pottery products.
First, in terms of marketing difficulties due to distribution systems, traditionally, the system
entailed going from the producers to wholesale distributors and then to retailers, which heavily
relies on middlemen, resulting in a decrease in profits. The Aichi Pottery Manufactures Association
recognizes that selling products to consumers directly is important to expand businesses without
using distributors. However, the association also recognizes that direct selling will be challenging
for local producers since distributors have many networks, which enable them to sell pottery
products more efficiently. They have impressive catalogues of various pottery products.
Furthermore, Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) prevent the producers from making profits
because the right of the products belongs to the distributors who designed the products, thus, local
producers cannot sell their manufactured products due to tight control by the distributors.
Second, the lack of capacity for designing and selling can be related to the division of labor.
Local government officials mentioned that the producers suffer from lack of capacity for designing
products. This is because distributors historically were responsible for product design and most of
the producers just manufactured pre-designed products. Both producers and distributors consider
this division of labor as one of the most important issues concerning marketing activities and it has
been recognized as a crucial issue that has persisted for a long time. This system has generated a64

middle margin when producers use distributors to sell their products. The profits that producers earn
are significantly increased if they can sell products directly. As a result, producers are not able torecognize the real value of their own products since they could not use their own designs, thus
limiting their creative and marketing potential. This issue is causing the market of pottery products
to shrink because the producers lack proper knowledge of the right market and are unable to provide
the kind of products consumers need, thus preventing them from finding the end-users of theirpottery.
Third, the local government has reported that there is large difference in the level ofmotivation between local producers. Producers who do not have enough motivation to expand theirown businesses have experienced a decline because they are not introducing new marketingstrategies, such as the use of Internet for consumer connections. Despite such condition, the local
government mainly supports companies that have a positive motivation to expand their business.
Fourth, in terms of the lack of successors and decrease in workforce, these issues can also be
indirectly related to marketing activities. At present, stagnation of the industry has led to thedecrease of local workforce and difficulty to have successors who could take over the business as afull time job. In addition, the number of young people who want to engage in the pottery business isdecreasing. Unlike in "Arita-yaki," in Kyushu, where sons and other family members are being
employed in the pottery business, Seto City is facing the challenge of a lack of successors. Most of
the potters’ sons have an easy time finding employment outside of the pottery industry because
there are many factories near the city center. Others leave the city to work in neighboring areas andother cities in Japan, thus leaving the industry with an aging workforce. Hence, finding ways toencourage young people to work in the pottery industry needs a proper attention if the city is tocontinue the long tradition of the pottery making business.
Fifth, the changing lifestyles and importation of cheaper products has resulted in a shrinking
market. Lifestyle changes have reduced the demand for pottery products, and they have been
substituted with other products. Also, the influx of cheaper products from China and other countries
has greatly hampered the competitiveness of the local products, making them more expensive to65

buy. Shrinking markets is an issue that local producers have to resolve by enhancing marketing
activities.

2.3 Future Views
Each stakeholder shares almost the same future views related to marketing activities for the
pottery industry.

The interviewees noted that identification of consumer’s needs, necessity ofusing Internet, application of new designs and techniques, collaboration with universities and otherindustries, expansion of markets, improvement of the division of labor and distribution systems are
just some of the important aspects that must be taken into account to improve the marketing of thepottery industry.
First, the producers of pottery products should continuously identify the needs of theconsumers, and design and make products according to their preferences. The needs of today will
not be same as next year so it should be a continuous process.
Second, the Internet should be effectively used for selling and advertising their products, andalso for eliciting information regarding consumer needs. The Internet can act as a marketingstrategy for producers in that more people will come to know about their products. It will also help
to preserve and promote the rich traditional art of making pottery. Local government and local
producers share similar views on expanding their market by using the Internet. For example, one of
the local producers noted that it is very important to use marketing methods (referring to the use ofinternet) that are more practical and appropriate given the present situation.
Third, the local government should seek to employ new designs and techniques to make theproducts more environment-friendly, and to enhance the marketability of the products with theintention to enhance marketing strategies and boost the performance of the pottery industry.
Fourth, all stakeholders, especially the local government, should recognize that it is necessary
to collaborate with universities and other industries to promote of new technologies.
cooperating with other industries may possibly expand their potential market.
66

In addition,

Fifth, in terms of necessity of expanding market, the local government should underscore theimportance of spotlighting pottery production and realize that there is a need for an increase inrevenues for producers. Industrial tourism has been regarded as a viable means to achieve theseobjectives. Furthermore, the need to expand markets to other cities such as Tokyo and Osaka wereshared by all the stakeholders, especially manufactures associations and producers.
Sixth, all the stakeholders shared that there is a need to improve the situation of subcontracts
and the role of distributors because the profits of producers are reduced when wholesalers andretailers take their middle margin, Therefore, local producers should be given a chance to sell theirown products directly to consumers through improved systems.

3. Analysis of Research
3.1 Sub-Hypothesis 1
The local government, Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Aichi Pottery Manufactures
Association play important roles of supporting marketing activities for local producers engaged in
the pottery industry in Seto City. However, this support does not necessarily coincide with what theneeds of the local producers in terms of marketing activities. Hence, it is suffice to say that there
exists a gap between them and local producers in enhancing marketing activities. The gaps pertain
to three aspects (1) issue of assistance from the local government and Chamber of Commerce andIndustry: (2) issue of access to information and (3) issue of direction between each stakeholder toexpand market of pottery products.
In terms of issue of assistance from the local government and Chamber of Commerce andIndustry, the impact of assistance is limited because there exists a polarization of services and lackof assistance that occurs in the present time.
Polarization of assistance means that the local government is more inclined to support
marketing activities of local producers who do good management of businesses and have good
motivation. On the other hands, local producers do manage their business and lose motivation tocontinue business hardly receive assistance from local government. This polarization has risks of67

causing a negative impact on the whole pottery industry in Seto City. This is because the producers
who manage their business well and have good motivation recognize that they should expand theirbusinesses should be expanded by themselves without being largely dependent on assistanceprovided to them. In this situation, if the local government continues to support them after theirbusinesses achieves a certain level of success, further assistance it would be obstacle to prevent
their businesses from achieving independence. On the other hand, local producers who cannot
manage their businesses and have good motivation will continue to experience decline if there islimited support from the local government. Therefore, this may hinder development of the industry
in the future. In short, polarization of the assistance from the local government cannot necessarilyreflect the opinions of local producers who manage their businesses well.
Furthermore, another gap in assistance is a result of the lack of assistance occurring in thepresent time Local producers who manage their businesses well use the Internet as a marketingstrategy demonstrating that the Internet is an essential tool for local producers to expand theirmarket for the future. At present, most of the assistance from the local government and Chamber ofCommerce and Industry are subsidies and information, which have been provided for a long time.
On the other hand, assistance occurring in the present time has not been largely provided. There has
been some support by the local government such as creating a home page and advertising using
Facebook, however, this kind of assistance is limited, and can create a gap between opinions ofeach stakeholder.
Second, the issue of getting access to information has also been recent issue that relates to theaging of local producers. The average age of employees in more than 64% of all companies
engaging in the pottery industry in Seto City, is more than 55 years old [瀬戸市, 2012]. In addition,in 2011 in terms of the rate of adoption for the Internet, if the age is beyond 60, it decreases from
86.1% for age group 50-59 to 73.9% and further to 60.9% for the age group 65-69 [総務省, 2011].

68

Average Age of Employees (%)
under35,
destributers andretailers(N=46),
4.3
under35,
industrial
product
producers(N=47),0under35, 46 to 55, pottery
pottery product productproducers(N=10
producers(N=109), 1.89), 22.9

46 to 55,
destributers andretailers(N=46),43.5
46 to 55,
industrial
product
producers(N=47), 51.1over 56,
destributers andretailers(N=46),
30.4
over 56,
industrial
product
producers(N=47), 23.4over 56, pottery
product
producers(N=109), 64.2

46 to 55,
sum(N=202),
34.2

under35,sum(N=202), 2

over 56,
sum(N=202), 47

Source: 瀬戸市. 「瀬戸市地場産業振興ビジョン」. 2012

Internet Adoption Rate by Age(%)

whole

6-12

13-19

20-29

30-39

40-49

50-59

60-64

65-69

70-79

2009

78

68.6

96.3

97.2

96.3

95.4

86.1

71.6

58

32.9

2010

78.2

65.5

95.6

97.4

95.1

94.2

86.6

70.1

57

39.2

2011

79.1

61.6

96.4

97.7

95.8

94.9

86.1

73.9

60.9

42.6

Source: 総務省. 「平成 23 年度通信利用動向調査」. 2012

At present, the pottery industry in Seto City has been experiencing an aging of its workforce,thus the Internet adoption rate is very low. Moreover, Mr. Kato, owner of Kitagama Kasen, raised a
general concern that it is difficult for some of the elderly producers to have access to information
since some information has been provided only through the Internet. Therefore, some local
69

producers have difficulty accessing the same information as the younger local producers. The
access to information can be a gap, which can result in misunderstanding and miscommunication
between stakeholders.
Third, there exists a gap in vision between local producers. Based on the interview with Mr.
Shimakura of Chikudouen, it is noted that the company does not focus on selling “Seto-yaki”, butrather tries to create products, that can be mass-produce. On the other hand, Kitagama Kasen
focuses on the “Seto-yaki”, which is regarded as a traditional and historical product, therefore, notmass-produced. These gaps also show the difficulties of creating the “Seto-yaki” brand becausesome producers value its preservation while others do not.
Last, there is difference of direction to expand markets for pottery products between the
different stakeholders. For a long time, all stakeholders of the pottery industry in Seto City had been
focusing on the expansion of markets outside the city, but an influx of cheaper pottery products
from foreign countries, as well as factors caused a decrease in market opportunities for pottery
products that are made in Japan. Also, foreign markets for Seto City exports have also diminished.
Given these situations, the local government in Seto City shifted the market direction and focusedmore on the local and domestic markets. Therefore, the local government promotes industrial
tourism to attract many visitors to the city. It believes that by attracting many visitors, the pottery
industry will benefit. However, the impact of industrial tourism is limited and although the numberof tourists who visited has increased from 2.1 million in 2006 to 3.2 million in 2011, it does notlargely influence the market of the pottery industry because the increase has been caused by theestablishment of a roadside station. In addition, the market for the local Seto City area has been
experiencing decline, making it very difficult. On the other hand, local producers recognize that
expansion of markets outside Seto City is necessary and they need to direct sales to consumers
living in metropolitan areas. In short, the direction of expanding the market of the pottery industry
can be different between local government and local producers.
In conclusion, there exist gaps in the relationship between each stakeholder; gaps in assistancefor enhancing marketing activities and for accessing to information between local government,
70

Chamber of Commerce and Industry and local producers; and gaps in the thinking of what direction
to expand markets between local government and local producers.

3.2 Sub-Hypothesis 2
In terms of policies of the local government, they mainly reflect on the opinion and idea of
each stakeholder. This is because the “Seto-shi Jiba Sangyou Shinkou Vision”, published in 2012,
includes issue awareness and future views that are recognized by each stakeholder. Furthermore, thelocal government holds regular meetings to gather views and opinions of various stakeholders about
the policies that are to be implemented.
The “Seto-shi Jiba Sangyo Shinko Vision” not only shows the present issues but also ways toaddress these issues over the ten years from 2012 to 2021. By creating this vision, the local
government hopes to revive the pottery industry in Seto City. Each shareholders, such as the
Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Aichi Pottery Manufactures Association and local producers,
share common ideas on the present issues and how to address them.
Further, there is a regular assembly established in 1991 that was called "Seto-shi Shangyou
Shinkou Kaigi” and renamed the “Touto Seto Yakushin Kaigi” in 2012. This assembly is being held
once a year and serves as venue for granting permission of projects suggested by organizations suchas the Aichi Pottery Manufactures Association and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Furthermore, there are small meetings in the assembly like the representatives’’ meeting, which is
being held 5-6 times a year in addition to others. This assembly serves four important purposes: (1)to carry out the vision for promotion of the local industry, (2) to support the industries, (3) tocollaborate with academics and other industries, and (4) to facilitate vocational training andpromote employment [陶都瀬戸躍進会議, 2012]. There are 20 participants in this assembly andinclude the city office, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Aichi Pottery Manufactures
Association [陶都瀬戸躍進会議, 2012]. Stakeholders are expecting that the assembly clarifies thedivision of roles for each stakeholder and seeks for participation to discuss the Seto pottery industry
among other issues.
71

In short, the local government maintains a harmonious relationship with stakeholders,
particularly with regard to policy making. The local government encourages stakeholders to attend
and take part in meetings to ensure that their views, ideas and opinions are heard before certain
policies, activities and / or programs relating to the industry are put into action.

3.3 Main Hypothesis
The first sub-hypothesis proposed a gap in the ways and directions between the local
government and local industry in terms of the marketing of the pottery industry. We found that this,to be consistent with our findings because gaps between each stakeholder in terms availability ofassistance from the local government, access to information and direction to expand market of
pottery products exist. The second sub-hypothesis stated that the local government’s policy formarketing of the pottery industry do not reflect the directions, ideas and activities of local industry.
This can be rejected because the "Seto-shi Jiba Sangyou Shinkou Vision", created by the local
government, reflects the ideas of all the stakeholders of the pottery industry. In addition, the vision
mostly contained all the awareness issues and future views for marketing activities held by eachstakeholder. Hence, the main hypothesis, that there exists inconsistency between the ways of local
government and local industry to enhance the marketing strategy of pottery industry, cannot berejected entirely because there still exists small gaps in the relationship between each stakeholder.

4. Recommendations
In order address those gaps in relationships between each stakeholder, the following
recommendations are made.
First, the local government should provide equal and fair assistance for local producers andshould not limit assistance to only those who are motivated and manage their companies well.
However, it is also recognized that the producers acknowledge that they have to enhance theirbusinesses without being dependent on the assistance provided to them.
72Second, there is a need to enhance support to maximize the use of the Internet is for future
growth. At present, the use of the Internet is indispensable because by using the internet local
producers can expand the marketing activities and markets. According to the “Seto-shi Jiba
Sangyou Shinkou Vision,” the percentage of local producers utilizing homepages is lower than thatof the wholesalers and the retailers, accounting for about half of the wholesalers and retailers [瀬戸市, 2012].

Use of the Internet by Ceramic Producers (%)

Pottery
Producers, Page
in Websites of
Association andIndustry Support
Center, 20

Pottery
Producers,
Website createdwith otherproducers,
7.3
Pottery
Producers, Blog/
SNS(Facebook,mixi, Twitter),
10.9

Pottery
Producers, No
websites, 58.2

Pottery
Producers,
Website of thecompany, 26.4

Source: 瀬戸市. 「瀬戸市地場産業振興ビジョン」. 2012

In the present situation, the local government and other stakeholders are providing assistancefor online marketing, but it is still regarded to be limited. Therefore, the local government needs toimprove by providing new and more practical interventions, including providing assistance forcreating a homepage, making the market information more accessible to the public, teaching
techniques for online marketing, etc. Moreover, in terms of Internet assistance, the issue of
information illiteracy should also be addressed. As the employees in pottery industry in Seto city
become older, assistance is needed, for example, conducting sessions on how to utilize computer
systems to access online information. Furthermore, the local government and other stakeholders
73

should likewise provide printed information materials, which can be accessed by all those who needthem, even those without knowledge on how to use Internet.
Third, expanding markets outside of the city plays an important role of in developing thepottery Industry in Seto City. The local government and some stakeholders have promoted
industrial tourism to attract many visitors to the city, but the impact on pottery industry has beensmall. Thus, the pottery industry should expand to markets outside the local area. For the purpose of
expanding markets, channels of sales should be enlarged. For example, if local producers can create
marketing channels for consumers living in metropolitan areas, they can create satellite shops inplaces like Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya. It enables local producers to not only sell directly to theconsumer, but it also helps to identify the needs of consumers by monitoring sales in the shop.
Another way of expanding markets is by collaborating with other industries. Some local producers
established networks with restaurants, thus enabling them to sell their products, while promoting
consumer’s recognition their products, expanding markets further.
Last, improving the issue of lack of successors may contribute to introducing new marketing
activities. Local government and other stakeholders should accept trainees and people fromoverseas to address the issue and to expand to foreign markets. There is a case in Hida region of,Gifu, where a local liquor producer employed as foreign person, who has helped the company toexpand to foreign countries [島将之, 2012]. Employing foreigners may play a role in promoting
market expansion and addressing the issues of successors.
The aforementioned recommendations could possibly provide some solutions to address theidentified gaps in marketing activities of pottery industry in Seto City and it is hoped that they willcontribute to an improved situation for the local producers.

In addition to those proposedinterventions, strengthening the participation of local producers in assemblies and meetings must be
carefully taken into account, simply because they are the main stakeholders who play importantroles in determining the activities and policies that will advance and further develop the pottery
industry in Seto City.
74

5. Acknowledgments
The DFW Working Group 3 would like to express our great appreciation to all who made thisstudy possible. We are greatly indebted to our adviser, Professor Hideto NISHIMURA, whose help,
valuable and constructive suggestions and guidance enabled us to accomplish this task. His fervent
guidance and assistance, and his willingness to generously give his time very much appreciated. We
are also particularly grateful to professors Prof. Yoshiaki NISHIKAWA, Prof. Yukiko
NISHIKAWA and Prof. Penghuy NGOV who offered invaluable support and who motivated us togive our best.
Moreover, this study would not have been possible without the participation and kindassistance provided to us by our respondents.

We express our sincere thanks to Mr. Shigeki Katoand Mr. Toshihisa Taniguchi of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Thank you for providing
us valuable information and for the attention and time you have extended to us. A special thank islikewise extended to Mr. Kazuhiro Tomita of the Industry Division of Seto City for providing us thenecessary information and for his ardent support and commitment. We also like to thank Mr. Jun
Shimakura of Chikudouen Ltd., Mr. Hiroshige Kato of Akatsuyaki Kitagawa Kasen and Mr. Kousei
Ito of the Aichi Pottery Manufactures Association.
highly appreciated and valued.

The experiences you have shared with us are

Without the collaboration of our respondents this fieldwork would

not have been possible.
Also, we extend very special thanks to Ms. Tsukahara, who served as our interpreter during
the fieldwork. Thank you for the wonderful and commendable assistance you have given us.
We cannot thank you enough for all the encouragement and motivation you have given us andfor sharing your knowledge, experience, ideas and numerous views, all of which contributed in thecompletion of this study.

It has been a great learning experience for all of us.

75

6.

References<In Japanese>
植田浩史, 立見淳. (2009). 地域産業政策と自治体ー大学院初『現場』からの提言. 創風社.
瀬戸市. (2012). 瀬戸市地場産業振興ビジョン〜陶都瀬戸復活にむけて〜. 瀬戸市.
総務省. (2011). 平成 23 年年度通信利用動向調査. 総務省.
陶都瀬戸躍進会議. (2012). 陶都瀬戸躍進会議規約. 陶都瀬戸躍進会議.
陶都瀬戸躍進会議. (2012). 平成 24 年度陶都瀬戸躍進会議 事業計画. 陶都瀬戸躍進会議.
島将之. (2012). 世界に届け 日本の味. 中日新聞

<In English>
Parker, G. (2012). michi-no-eki - an oppurtunity for the rural economy. Town & Country Planning.

<Websites>
Seto City: http://www.city.seto.aichi.jp/
Seto Chamber of Commerce and Industry: http://www.setocci.or.jp/
Aichi Pottery Manufactures Association: http://www.aitohko.com/
Chikudouen: http://www.tohki.co.jp/
Kitagama Kasen: http://www.kasen-web.com/

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過去の報告書一覧『平成 6 年度国内実地研修報告書‐地域に根ざした開発事例の研究‐』『平成 7 年度国内実地研修報告書‐愛知県幡豆群一色町をフィールドとして‐』『平成 8 年度国内実地研修報告書‐愛知県幡豆群一色町における開発事例の多角的検討‐』『1997‐98 年度国内実地研修報告書‐愛知県東加茂郡足助町における多角的検討‐』『1999 年度国内実地研修報告書‐愛知県渥美郡渥美町における多角的検討‐』『2001 年度国内実地研修報告書‐愛知県南設楽郡鳳来町における多角的検討‐』『2002 年度国内実地研修報告書‐岐阜県郡上郡八幡町における多角的検討‐Domestic Fieldwork Report 2002:
An Interdisciplinary Approach to Development Issues in Hachiman-Cho, Gujo-Gun, Gifu Prefecture』『2003 年度国内実地研修報告書‐岐阜県加茂郡東白川村における村つくり計画の多面的調査‐Domestic
Fieldwork Report 2003: An Interdisciplinary Research on Rural Development Planning in
Higashishirakawa-Mura, Kamo- Gun, Gifu Prefecture』『2004 年度国内実地研修報告書‐岐阜県加茂郡東白川村の現状と村おこしの取り組み事例‐ Domestic
Fieldwork Report 2004: A Study on Socio-Economic Situation and Development Planning ofHigashishirakawa-Mura in Gifu Prefecture』『2005 年度国内実地研修報告書‐長野県下伊那郡泰阜村の地域開発へのこころみと自律への道について―
Domestic Fieldwork Report 2005 Rural Development Planning in Yasuoka Village, Nagano Prefecture andDetermination for Village Autonomy』『2006 年度国内実地研修報告書―長野県下伊那郡泰阜村地域開発へのこころみと自律への道についてⅡ―
Domestic Fieldwork Report 2006 Rural Development Planning in Yasuoka Village, Nagano Prefecture andDetermination for Village AutonomyⅡ』『2007 年度国内実地研修報告書―長野県清内路村に学ぶ住民と役場で改える地域づくりー Domestic
Fieldwork Report 2007 Rural Development Management through Collaboration and Participation of
Residents and Administration in Seinaiji Village, Nagano Prefecture』『2008 年度国内実地研修報告書―長野県阿智村に学ぶ地域再編下の住民と役場の協働のあり方― Domestic
Fieldwork Report 2008 Collaboration between Residents and Administration under Community
Reintegration, the Case of Achi Village, Nagano Prefecture』『2009 年度国内実地研修報告書̶長野県阿智村に学ぶ村落再生と活性化への途方―
The Ways toward Revitalization of Marginalizing Communities, the Case of Achi Village, Nagano Prefecture』『2010 年度国内実地研修報告書̶静岡県浜松市にみる日本の工業都市の多面的課題̶
Multifaceted Challenges of an Industrialized City in Japan, the Case of Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka Prefecture』『2011 年度国際実地研修報告書̶愛知県田原市に学ぶ地域の特性を活かした持続可能な発展に向けた地域開発の実践̶Sustainable Regional Development D rawing on Local Advantages: Lessons from Tahara City, Aichi
Prefecture』

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