Tottori Prefecture Hino County
Partnership Conference(Nichinan Town, Hino Town,Kofu Town and TottoriPrefecture)

Case of Hino County:
partnership to solve regional
challenges
Background

Project Aims

Hino County is situated in a mountainous area far fromTo maintain and improve administrative services andto facilitate efficient administrative management in
Hino County, as well as solve various issues common to
the area to contribute to sustainable development.

the prefectural government office in Tottori City,
where various issues in the lives of residents and publicadministration have surfaced through the accelerationof population decline and aging society. In the early
2000s, when the so-called “Heisei Municipal Mergers”

Project Outline

took place, the current three towns in Hino County

The member bodies implement policy collaboratively(Nichinan Town, Hino Town and Kofu Town) all decided

in three areas, and they have divided roles mutually forto continue to carry on independently. While the local

respective specific approaches.

government finances have become more limited andthe needs for the public administration have become[Areas partnership]

diversified, in order to deal with broad-based regional(1) Ensuring a safe and secure living environment

challenges including the removal of snow and harmful(2) Job creation, industrial development, and tourism

birds and wild life that individual towns have difficulty

policyhandling, and to run an efficient administration, the(3) Regional revitalisation, and improvement of

three towns in Hino County and Tottori Prefecture

administrative functions and resident services

established the Tottori Prefecture and Hino County
Partnership and Collaboration Conference (See Note 1) in[Major approaches]

July 2010, where the member bodies cooperate to<Case example1> Establishment of Development ofdeal with administrative challenges by taking

Resilient Hino County Mutual Support Agreement:

advantage of their scale. Moreover, in July 2015, by

In order to ensure the safety and security of residents

utilising the Partnership Agreement (See Note 2) that hasin the event of a disaster in Hino County, a mutual

been newly established under the Local Autonomy Act,support agreement was concluded in December 2017

the organisation became the current Tottori Prefecture

focusing on six areas (evacuation of residents, medicaland Hino County Partnership Conference (See Note 3),

and emergency systems, safety of housing andwhich enables swifter and more flexible resolution offacilities, waste disposal; snow damage; and efforts toissues.

ensure students in compulsory education have a
comfortable school life even in
1times of disaster),where the three towns in Hino County and theprefectural government work together to makeongoing preparations even in the absence of a disaster.
<Case example2> Damage control against harmful
birds and wildlife:
The Council for Damage Control Against Harmful Birds
and Wildlife was established in December 2013 in（８２Removing snoworder to prevent the damage of farm products causedby birds and wildlife, and a task force was formed by

Strengths and Innovations

the people responsible for operations in April 2014.
The task force educates and provides guidance forSince Tottori is relatively small in size and has thelocal residents mainly with respect to intrusion

lowest population of any prefecture in Japan, and theprevention in order to stop damage by birds andprefectural government and municipalities havewildlife. As soon as they are notified of any damage,traditionally aimed to work on projects in close

they go to the site in order to identify the offending

collaboration, they were able to make a smoothanimal and their intrusion route, propose measures totransition to the new framework.

prevent damage, and make a plan together with theresidents which aims to establish measures against

As of July 2015, the Partnership Agreement between

birds and wildlife in unison with the residents in thethe prefectural government and municipalities was theregion as part of their activities.

first of its kind in Japan. It features a flexible and timely
response to challenges common to the regions.

<Case example3>
Snow removal and maintenance of roads:

Results of the ProjectAs partial responsibility for services concerning snow
removal and maintenance of roads controlled by theThe existing Tottori Prefecture and Hino County

prefectural government is entrusted to the towns, thePartnership and Collaboration Conference required

towns implement the services in coordination withconsultations with the leadership body of therepairs, weeding, and snow removal for the roads they

organisation when discussing a new agenda, which

control. Further, in order to secure the number andtook as long as six months, causing a lack ofability of drivers of snow removal machines in theorganisational mobility. In May 2014, however, thefuture, the prefectural government and the three

Local Autonomy Act was revised, and the partner

towns in Hino County considered a system in which

agreement system was put in place to enabled timely

young people can easily acquire a license for snow

and flexible approaches to be taken. This has led to theremoval machines, and they prepared a budget toimprovement of resident services, and has enabled theestablish a subsidy programme.

maintenance of efficient administrative management
and services. The following are the achievements ineach case.
<Case example 1> Conclusion of Development ofResilient Hino County Mutual Support Agreement:
A system for considering various challenges during2

normal times has been established in order to enableefficient mutual support in the event of a disaster.
<Case example 2> Damage control against harmful
birds and wildlife:
TheTask

Forcecontributestotheregional

revitalisation through its prompt on-site response andregion-wide comprehensive guidance on intrusion
prevention.
<Case example 3> Snow removal and maintenance ofroads:
The municipal governments’ proximity to residents
allows for prompt response in the form of snow
removal and maintenance even on prefectural roads.
For the three years from FY2015 to FY2017, 41 peopleacquired driving licenses for snow removal machines.

Problems and Responses
Challenges to be handled varied by municipality, andidentifying challenges that required cooperation wasdifficult at times. Currently, identifying common
challenges and discussions on necessary measures
have been carried out more smoothly throughdialogue.

Future Developments
The major initiative for the future is to enhancecooperation in preparing for disasters on the basis of
the agreement concluded in December 2017.
Further, against a backdrop of serious population
decline in the region, labour shortages occur in allareas. As it is difficult to secure human resources
especially in the fields of healthcare and nursing care,considering solutions within such framework isimperative.

3Reference URL
https://www.pref.tottori.lg.jp/renkeikyoyaku/

Contact
Regional Advancement Division,
Hino Advancement Bureau,
Hino Advancement Centre,
Seibu Regional Office,Tottori Prefectural Government
Phone:+81-859-72-2085
E-mail: hino-shinkou@pref.tottori.lg.jp

Definitions of Technical Terms etc.
(Note 1) “TottoriPrefectureandHinoCounty

Partnership and Collaboration Conference”
A conference under Article 252-2-2 of the Local
Autonomy Act. It can be established to streamline
administrative execution by handling official workcollectively in a comprehensive and planned
manner in cases where a larger living area isdivided among multiple local governments and inother situations.
(Note 2) “Partnership Agreement”
Prescribes basic polices and division of roles when
one local government handles official work incollaboration with another under Article 252-2 ofthe Local Autonomy Act. Often agreed between
municipalities

in

disadvantaged

areasandprefectural governments, where it is expected tobe utilised appropriate to the situation in theregion.
(Note 3) “TottoriPrefectureandHinoCounty

Partnership Conference”
The name of the conference for consideration anddiscussion entered into by Tottori Prefecture andthree towns in Hino County based on thePartnership Agreement (See Note 2) under theLocal Autonomy Act.

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