## (6) Deep underground utilization

Technological studies on smoother reviews are in progress to facilitate the implementation of highly public projects in the three major metropolitan areas based on the “Act on Special Measures concerning Public Use of Deep Underground.” In addition, information about deep underground is exchanged by means of the “Deep Underground Utilization Council” that has been formed of national administrative agencies and prefectures concerned for each of the target areas (Tokyo Metropolitan, Kinki Metropolitan and Chubu Metropolitan Areas).

## 4 Autonomy and Revitalization of Wide-Area Blocks, and Formation of National Land

## (1) Autonomy and revitalization of wide-area blocks

To achieve regional revitalization and sustainable growth, it is important to deploy measures in an integrated manner while drawing out regional wisdom and devices. To this end, the deployment of measures tailored to characteristics of the diverse wide-area blocks has been pursued with a view to shaping a national land in which the wide-area blocks can grow autonomously in line with the National Spatial Strategies and Regional Plans. The MLIT also pursues measures to promote the formulation and implementation of strategies by public-private partnership organizations to allow various regional entities to step up the revitalization of their regions by taking advantage of their specific characteristics, to provide governmental aid to these entities and to proceed with community development by the leaders of a "new standard of publicness."

## ① Promoting regional autonomy and revitalization

To implement hardware-software mixes of efforts designed to form autonomous wide-area blocks and thus to revitalize the regions through buoyant human traffic or material, the MLIT has granted subsidies to the plans for 75 regions based on the wide-area regional revitalization infrastructures development plans prepared by prefectures. To pursue revitalization of wider-area regions, a total of 33 plans acting on 13 regions have been subsidized based on the wide-area regional revitalization infrastructures development plans prepared with collaboration between multiple prefectures.

## ② Promoting the development of infrastructures for regional revitalization with partnership between the public and private sectors

The system was inaugurated in FY2011 which facilitates smooth migration of those projects that have been worked out in a partnership between the public and private sectors to contribute to the implementation of wide-area regional strategies for target regions, from the stage of infrastructures development planning into the stage of project implementation smoothly and speedily at the timing of private decision making. In FY2012, 16 inquiries were supported, including those into the issues of feasibility of introducing renewable energies into public civil-engineering facilities.

## ③ Promotion of community development by leaders of a “new standard of publicness”

To address the problems the leaders of a “new standard of publicness” are confronted with, such as shortages of human resources, funds and resources and management know-how, continued studies are in progress to: (a) Deliver financial and resources aid to the leaders through a framework of circulation of regional “voluntary funds” and (b) Deliver non-financial aid, such as know-how, to the leaders through intermediate support organizations, etc.

### (2) Promotion, etc. of regional center formation

## ① Developing centers of autonomous growth of diverse wide-area blocks

The MLIT has promoted the development of regional centers as a foothold for the concentration of unique local industrial, cultural and other features in accordance with the “Multi-Polar Patterns National Land Formation Promotion Act.” In addition, the development of core cities $ ^{Note} $ as defined in the National Capital Region Development Plan continues, by relocating business facilities and concentrating various other functions in the core cities, helping ease excessive concentration in downtown Tokyo to some extent. The development of core cities will continue further. In addition, the MLIT has driven the construction of Tsukuba Academic City to pursue urban revitalization by taking advantage of an accumulation of science and technology in accordance with the “Act on Construction of Tsukuba Science City.” Further, environmentally friendly cities are being built along the Tsukuba Express railway line by leveraging the characteristics of