project partnerships with roads, rivers and more have also been advanced to shape networks of water and green. The greening of privately owned land is also promoted by using the Greening Area System, the System for Greening Rate in District Planning, etc. and more.

Other measures deployed nationwide to drive promotion and enlightenment include the sponsorship of “Green Protection” gathering, various systems to award people who are instrumental in greening and the rating and certification of corporate activities to pursue greening and preserve green spaces.

## 2 Advancing Road Making that Prioritizes Pedestrians and Bicycle Riders

## ① Forming people-oriented safe, secure walking spaces

To achieve social safety and security, it is important to form human-oriented walking spaces that assure pedestrian safety. Particularly, efforts are being directed at assuring the safety and security of school-commuting roads by refurbishing sidewalks, paving road shoulders in colors, setting up guard fences and so on to reflect results of emergency joint checkups, etc. conducted in coordination with the school authorities, the children's guardians, the police and the like.

## ② Creating a safe and comfortable cycling environment

In March 2010, the bicycle passage spaces separated from automobiles and pedestrians, such as motor vehicle roads and bikeways, have only a slight total distance of about 3000 km. In addition, the present status of roads entails numerous impediments to the road traffic of bicycles as their passage is blocked by automobiles stopped or parked along the way, for example. Under the circumstances, the Ministry held meetings of a review committee jointly with the National Police Agency. The committee came up with a recommendation in April 2012. In November of the same year, the Ministry responded to the recommendation by working out Guidelines for Creating a Safe and Comfortable Cycling Environment, jointly with the National Police Agency, and promoted its dissemination to encourage regional road administrators and the like to formulate and maintain bicycle network plans and to proceed with strict adherence to traffic rules, etc. in its bid to promote the creation of a safe and comfortable cycling environment.

## ③ Shaping quality walking spaces

The Ministry supports the development, etc. of pedestrian roads and rest facilities by implementing a walking trail project committed to shaping a quality walking spaces that link affluence scenery and nature, historical places and so on, to promote health through walking and help build an attractive community.

## ⑷ Advancing intelligible guideboards

The Ministry is working on the installation of intelligible guideboards to guide pedestrians, etc. in an unfamiliar place to their destinations.

## ⑤ Building a flexible system of road administration

To implement a flexible system of road administration that provides a diversity of road functions tailored to the needs of the local residents along the way, including safe walking spaces and places of regional buoyancy and human exchanges, as well as to make motor-vehicle traffic smoother and safer, the Ministry implements:

(a) Preferential measures, such as the construction of new sidewalks, etc. on national or prefectural highways by municipalities other than designated cities:

(b) A system of suggesting municipalities to refurbish pedestrian safety facilities;

(c) Preferential measures for road occupancy relating to the boulevard trees planted by NPOs or the like, street lamps and so on; and

(d) Preferential measures for the administration of off-street convenience facilities to keep roads and roadside facilities under integrated management.

## Section 3 Realizing Traffic with Enhanced Convenience

## (1) Advancing implementation of comprehensive Transport Strategy

Intensive town making assured of safe, smooth traffic requires a cross-sectional approach to the available transport modes, such as bicycle, railway and bus, from users' standpoints, rather than reviewing the transport modes or their operators individually. To this end, each local government should inaugurate a council composed of public transport operators and other stakeholders and let the council define a future vision of its cities and regions, the suite of transport