highways, are being promoted to strengthen international competitiveness and to further regional independence and industrial growth, as by realizing speedy and smooth logistics.

### (4) Promoting community-conscious projects and programs a. Michi-no-Eki

Located roadside, Michi-no-Eki is a facility with three functions; roadside amenities, including parking spaces and restrooms, a source of information, including highway and regional information, and a forum of regional partnership, which encourages interaction between a region and users of the roads in that region and between regions. As of March 2014, 1,014 Michi-no-Eki are registered. Support will be extended to renewing existing facilities, developing disaster preparedness facilities, responding to evolving needs in conjunction with the ministers and agencies concerned and so on to upgrade Michi-no-Eki from a mere source of roadside amenities to a forum for addressing local tasks.

### b. Promoting river town development

The MLIT is keen to exploit the regional resources, or charms, of rivers, such as scenery, history and culture, that could help revitalize local industries, such as tourism, etc., and the wisdom, or ingenuities, of the locals. It is committed to expediting spatial planning to merge excellent concepts of community development with the waterside, through implementation of the highly practicable plans worked out in conjunction with local governments and local residents to develop and utilize rivers and the waterside.

### c. Managing rivers with resident participation to suit regional characteristics

Those individuals who possess an expert knowledge of river environments and who are zealous for the idea of affluent river development are appointed “river environment preservation monitors” to help create and preserve river environments and carry out meticulous activities aimed at ensuring and promoting orderly river usage. “River environment protection monitors” are also appointed, and work at collecting information about river management, such as locating cases of illegal garbage dumping into rivers and detecting flaws in the river facilities, and promoting the philosophy of river preservation.

Further, with the inauguration of a river cooperation organization designation program, the MLIT designates those private organizations, etc. that pursue activities voluntary relevant to the development, maintenance, etc. of river environments as “river cooperation organizations” and legally accredits them as an organization working in conjunction with a river administrator, with a view to promoting their organized voluntary activities and driving diverse modes of river management tailored to specific regional conditions.

### d. Supporting efforts to take advantage of the regional features of the seaside

The implementation of seaside environment development projects, which formulate seaside usage revitalization plans and develop seaside preservation facilities according to those plans, are supported by granting General Social Infrastructures Development Subsidies to them to revitalize the usage of the seaside and add to its charms as a tourist resource.

### e. Regional promotion built around ports

Efforts made to help Japan grow into a tourism nation and grab more inbound foreign tourism include constructing passenger ship terminals, a gate to Japan’s tourism, and opneing a one-stop desk for foreign cruise shipping companies inaugurate in the MLIT Ports and Harbors Bureau. Efforts have also been directed at driving the development of hardware and software environments for encouraging ocean-going cruise ships to call in at Japan in a bid to approach regional revitalization through activated cruising, such as setting up the website as a source of visitors’ information in the vicinity of way port.

Further, Minato Oases have been deployed nationwide to use port and seaside facilities as the sources of information and centers of interaction with local people, tourists and so on. As of the end of FY2013, 76 ports are registered across