## (2) Invigoration of regional railways

Regional railways $ ^{1} $ , as the “legs” of local people, are playing an important role for regional economic development. However, this is an extremely arduous business. Therefore, support is being provided for safety enhancement performed by the regional railway corporation and facility development contributing to transportation continuity through the transportation innovation subsidy and exceptional measures in the tax scheme. There were also plans to expand the scheme, such as increasing the subsidy rate to 1/3 uniformly, from FY 2009.

## (3) Subsidy for local bus routes

It is an important issue to maintain and secure shuttle bus routes that are an indispensable form of transport for senior citizens and schoolchildren, who have mobility limitations and possess no special transportation methods of their own. Therefore, according to the role shared between the nation and regions, the nation is providing a subsidy for maintenance measures costs focusing on transport routes for everyday life $ ^{2} $ . For other routes, regional public organizations decide the maintenance plan and take the necessary financial measures.

## (4) Transport support for remote islands

For remote island airways, in order to secure remote island air transportation, measures are being implemented for aircraft purchase subsidies, navigation charge subsidies, MSAS receiver purchase subsidies (MTSAT Satellite-based Augmentation System), and landing charge, airplane fuel tax and fixed asset tax relief.

In order to maintain and enhance remote island airways, the deficit subsidy is provided based on the “Remote Island Airway Development Act”. At the same time, for controlling the increasing deficit and continuing the airway business, the “Remote Island Airway Structural Reform Subsidy” was established in FY 2009. This subsidy is provided to remote island airway corporations, which carry out forward-looking reform, through the constitution of the Airway Enhancement Council, by related parties, and support for ship construction by public-established-private-managed organizations. Furthermore, fixed asset tax relief measures, improvement projects on remote island airway efficiency, the convenience improvement invalidation project and harbor development for service rate improvement on remote islands are being carried out. In 2008, there were 63 routes of remote island airways. As of the end of FY 2008, the number had risen to 304 routes (Among these, 121 routes are subsidized by the nation).

## Section 3 – Promoting Urban Revitalization Projects

### 1. Promoting Urban Revitalization Projects

An urban revitalization project is a specific action plan that is worked out through the best collaborative efforts of related ministries and government offices, regional public organizations and related parties of the private sector, regarding various “urban issues” for which solutions need to be planned. The selection principles are 1) necessary measures for the basic issues related to urban structures and new methods that are different from those in the past, which related ministries and government offices, and regional public organizations must work out as well as possible; and 2) measures that can bring out the strengths of the private sector from the perspective of linking to economic structure reforms and that can contribute to land mobilization.

Urban revitalization projects that have been approved
First approval (June 14, 2001)	Fifth approval (January 31, 2003)
Developing and improving fundamental, wide-area disaster prevention bases at waterfront areas along Tokyo Bay	Forming urban hub through strategic use of nationally-owned land
Restructuring existing metropolitan areas into zero-garbage cities	Sixth approval (November 28, 2003)
Improving and developing central bureaucracy facilities through PFI	Regenerating Lake Biwa and areas around Yodo River
Second approval (August 28, 2001)	Seventh approval (April 13, 2004)
Enhancing international exchange and physical distribution in metropolitan areas	Forming a hub of lifestyle-supporting robot industries in the Osaka area
Improving and developing beltways systems in metropolitan areas	Eighth approval (December 10, 2004)
Forming an international center of exchange on life science in the Osaka area	Developing countermeasures to global warming and the heat island phenomenon through urban redevelopment
Ensuring a "New Zero-Vulnerability List for Nursery Schools" in urban areas	Ninth approval (June 28, 2005)
Further developing and enhancing PFI methods	Reconstructing safety and reassurance of local communities through collaboration between crime prevention measures and efforts to create a community
Third approval (December 4, 2001)	Tenth approval (December 6, 2005)
Urgently improving crowded city blocks	Promoting urban redevelopment through collaboration and cooperation between universities and community based efforts
Using existing stocks in urban areas	Eleventh approval (July 4, 2006)
Restoring urban environment infrastructures in metropolitan areas	Facilitating urban redevelopment through transfer and relocation of housing of national government workers
Fourth approval (July 2, 2002)	Twelfth approval (January 18, 2007)
Forming an international hub of genome science in the Tokyo area	Urgently developing and improving crowded city areas
Forming a hub of Asian industrial exchange in the Northern Kyushu area	Further strengthening the efforts to dissolve targeted crowded city areas
Creating advanced and unique cities in major urban areas	Facilitating urban redevelopment for enhancing international financial capital functions