zMessage from the Director-General

Reconsidering the National Land and Social
Infrastructure

PhotoNISHIKAWA Kazuhiro
Director-General
National Institute for Land and Infrastructure Management(Key words) National land, social infrastructure, population decline, falling birth rate and aging of society,next-generation
1. Introduction
I recently had the opportunity to tour the Science
Museum of Map and Survey at the Geographical
Survey Institute. One of its many exhibits is the EarthPlaza, a popular attraction which provides visitorswith the actual feeling of seeing the JapaneseArchipelago from an artificial satellite on an outdoor
22m diameter spherical map, which includes the entire
domain of the national land of Japan (cut from a giant
terrestrial globe). It is reported that many visitors aredeeply impressed by this exhibit. I was, of course, also
deeply moved. It motivated me to reconsider, from abrand new perspective, the ideal form of the national
land and social infrastructure, which are usuallyconsidered from the ground level perspective.
As the population, car ownership, and various otherindices are declining, Japan has entered a new era. The
social economy suited to a shrinking population isnow widely discussed. I would, therefore, like to takea fresh new approach to the question, “How should thenational land, where nearly 130 million citizens areliving their lives, be managed?”
2. Our domain as the foundation of social
infrastructure
The foundation of the nation is probably constructed
on its land. Consequently, maintaining this domain instable condition must be considered as part of social
infrastructure. Japan seems to be recognized as a small
country consisting of many islands enclosing a large
sea area, but in actuality, it possesses the world’s sixth
largest exclusive economic zone (EEZ), and thenatural resources existing in this zone have attracted
international attention. This is the reason why
maintaining the stability and protecting the coastlines,
being essential to maintain the EEZ, should becontinued. Words such as “domain” may soundexaggerated, but it is well known that a road network,
which symbolizes infrastructure, was constructed andmaintained by the military of the Roman Empire
primarily to protect its expanding domain.
In addition to considering this matter in this way, it
is important to consider whether or not our domain
will, through the improvement of the social
infrastructure, become user friendly as the foundationof the lives and activities of the people. In other words,
how will it efficiently and reliably support economic

activities with international competitiveness? Or will it
allow us to maintain natural environments comfortableenough for people to spend their lives safely andsecurely? From this perspective, we will occasionallyhave the chance to notice the need to revise existing
indices of social infrastructure improvement and waysof representing social infrastructure on maps.
3. National land continually collapsing
Viewed from the topographical perspective, most of
the land of the Japanese Archipelago consists of steep
mountains protruding from the ocean surface. Thesemountains have, since ancient times, continuallycollapsed under meteorological impacts produced byheavy rainfall and sunlight. It includes places wheresoil collapsed and discharged from the mountains has
finally settled and, over a long period, formed gently
sloping land., where people have settled by cultivating
the land. They are ephemeral plains created originallyby the collapse and run off of mountains, so stabilizingthem is acting against the natural force of nature, andwe are forced to continue to battle this process. TheJapanese Archipelago exists in a high earthquake
frequency zone where a number of plates collide andannual typhoons arrive like uninvited guests, causing
the destruction of the national land.
The history of flood control in Japan, which isalmost synonymous with containing the flow of waterand sand in usually unusable space such as river areas,
can be called a record of a fierce struggle to overcome
the forces of nature. In the face of a continuous
population decline and ongoing financial pressure, wehave to rack our brains from a variety of perspectives
to decide how to efficiently manage the continuously
changing national land.
4. River basins and transportation infrastructureContinuous rains and collapsed soil form river basin
topography along the course of the flowing water. It is
not so difficult to envision, from the perspective ofwater use, how a culture matured through agriculture,and its economy has been created and developed as
river basin units. But when you try to travel from one
river basin to another, you are unfailingly forced totravel over mountains. So in Japan, transportation has
historically been developed on water, while that onland developed later, remaining poor until recent

●所長メッセージyears.
So many railways, roads, and other landtransportation systems in Japan are often constructedin river basins, that the maintenance of these structures
must attempt to preserve the national land fromlandslides, slope failures etc., especially inmountainous regions. If these structures are built along
the sea coast to avoid these threats, salty sea spraycauses harsh corrosion, shortening their lives. A battlewith landslides on National Highway 112 Gassan
Road and with salt damage to concrete bridges andslope collapses on National Highway 7 along thecoastline help me recall my impressive experiences at
the Tohoku Regional Bureau, Sakita River and Road
Office almost 20 years ago. An overview of themanagement of Japan’s national land can remind us
how the social infrastructure has been provided underharsh national conditions.
5. Considering the population decline, falling birthrate and aging society
As mentioned above, the population of about 130
million people now living on the national land has
begun to fall. The National Institute of Population andSocial Security Research has predicted that thepopulation of Japan will drop below 100 million
around 2050. And according to another report by thisresearch institute, the population of Asia and the entire
world population including that of Africa will bothpeak at the same time in 2100.
So, setting aside discussions of the estimatedpopulation size and of the population appropriate forthe national land, perhaps the configuration of thepopulation of Japan in 2050 will display a certain
constancy in line with its low birth rate. Whether or
not the structure of the population returns to its
previous pyramid shape, the structure of society willprobably change accordingly. What this structure will
be must be discussed, but a more serious question is
how we are to live for next 40 years. In other words, todeal with this structure, which will be extremely top
heavy under the impact of the falling birth rate andaging of society, we must complete the renovation of
the nation to adapt it to future conditions, through thefirm support of economic activities under the burdenof huge welfare costs.
So, we must reconsider what sort of social
infrastructure to establish and how to operate it so a
reduced population can use it effectively and easily. It
will definitely be impossible to construct good
infrastructure with high costs and with the large
quantity of labor which will be needed for its
maintenance, considering the poor energy efficiency
of its use. I think that this is a strategic researchchallenge.
6. Conclusion
Now in this age of population decline, theimprovement of social infrastructure is being replacedby its management and its use. The necessary
conventional economic policies are no longer effective
under deflation and declining growth, and theconventional economic indices are also ineffective as
tools for national land management.
A new book titled Theory of Japan as an Outlying
Country is now a best seller 1).An example of
Nihonjinron, which means writings on the theory of
the uniqueness of Japanese people, it argues that themain stream of scholarship or religion has always beenelsewhere, and that Japan, an outlying country fromthe world’s perspective, can only be consideredimpertinent to do its upmost to try to become a model.
It correctly points out the principle of behavior byJapanese people, and that the time has come when wemust consider the fact that there are no models in othercountries. The global standard has simply been theAmerican standard or the Anglo Saxon standard,
rapacious capitalism without morality, a lack shown in
the process of sub-prime loans ending in Lehman
shock. Japan has existed as a unique civilization up totoday because, although it has continually accepted
Confucianism, Buddhism and other inflowing culturesfrom outside the country, it has been able to discard
aspects which do not match its essential character toaccept only that which is suitable and beneficial.
As you watch only sensational news, you might
have noticed the fact that the food, fashion, comics,
animated movies and other aspects of the culture of
the younger Japanese generation are imitated aroundthe world. When considering the future social
infrastructure, you had better realize that its users are
the next generation.
References:1) Uchida Tatsuru: Theory of Japan as an Outlying
Country, Shinchosha, November 2009