# Promoting Comprehensive Development of Hokkaido

## 1 Promoting the Hokkaido Comprehensive Development Plan

## (1) Initiatives Taken for the Revision of Hokkaido Comprehensive Development Plan

Japan has pursued an active policy of developing Hokkaido to help resolve the problems facing the nation and to achieve powerful regional growth by taking advantage of the excellent resources and characteristics of Hokkaido.

As part of its continuing effort to push the implementation of various measures pursuant to the seventh phase of the New Hokkaido General Development Plan to User in the Era of the Global Environment (decided at a July 2008 Cabinet Council meeting), the MILT decided to embark on the formulation of a new plan by leveraging discussions at the Advisory Panel of Experts on Future Prospects of Hokkaido Development (publicized in December 2014) in response to changing conditions since, such as the start of work to make amendments to the National Land Formation Plan and the approval of the National Resilience Basic Plan at a Cabinet Council meeting. Intensive surveys and discussions are now underway at a planning panel founded under the Hokkaido Development Subcommittee, National Land Development Council in January 2015.

## (2) Working to realize the Plan

### a. Strengthening the total food supply capacities

To strengthen the food supply capacities of Hokkaido that command 25% of the nation’s farmland area, the farmland in Hokkaido has been consolidated in larger lots, etc. to augment the productive capacities. The MLIT also supports efforts to create higher added values through the implementation of more advanced expertise of quality control, collaboration with tourism and so on. In addition, the MLIT promotes the development of the infrastructures relevant to tougher logistics. Approaches to fostering food industries include the construction of HOP (Hokkaido export Platform) to facilitate direct, stable export of Hokkaido-made products.

### b. Creating internationally competitive, appealing tourist sites

Efforts are underway to improve the tourist reception environment in Hokkaido by trimming travel time and easing round-trips through infrastructures development, working on the Scenic Byway Hokkaido campaign and so on to take advantage of the potentials of Hokkaido with its appealing tourist resources, such as scenic beauty and food. In September 2014, a fam trip (invitation tours) was conducted to promote cycling tourism. Regional efforts aimed at promoting Hokkaido as a host to international conventions of conferences (MIC) in Hokkaido are also supported.

### c. Forming a sustainable regional community that lives symbiotically with the nature

The MLIT has driven the conservation and regeneration of moorland environments, the construction of breakwaters conscious of the habitat of aquatic organisms, purification of rivers and lakes and so on to help form a community that A scene of a fam trip in Tokachi in which Taiwanese bicycle industrialists were invited.

Source) MLIT

lives together with the rich nature of Hokkaido. Efforts to promote the utilization of renewable energy sources have been developed in different parts of Japan, including the opening of a symposium in November 2014 aimed at realizing a hydrogen society.