it has become an essential task to provide a powerful boost to the development of the urban areas in the nation’s major cities, a source of impetus to the national growth, in a partnership between the public and private sectors to turn them into attractive urban centers that lure businesses, human resources and more from overseas. To this end, the MLIT singled out 11 areas nationwide as “Specific Urban Reconstruction Emergency Development Areas” in January 2012 to enhance urban international competitiveness. In eight of them (as of the end of March, 2014), development plans were formulated by councils formed in a partnership between the public and private sector.

Status of Designation of Special Urban Renaissance Emergency Development Areas and Urban Renaissance Emergency Development Areas (as of the end of March 2014)

Source) Regional Revitalization Bureau (Cabinet Secretariat) and MLIT

In Specific Urban Reconstruction

Emergency Development Areas, the MLIT supports urban development by private sectors by deregulating the private use of untapped sewage energy sources and the use of road airspaces, offering tax incentives and so on, in addition to the support measures already available to an Urban Reconstruction Emergency Development Area. The International Competition Base City Development Project has also been launched to provide prioritized, concentrated support to the development of urban center infrastructures in accordance with development plans.

As of the end of March 2014, a total of 62 Urban Reconstruction Emergency Development Areas were registered in government-ordinance-designated cities and prefectural capitals, including Tokyo and Osaka, hosting a variety of urban development projects by private sectors in steady progress. In addition, a mezzanine financing service $ ^{Note} $ is implemented by the Organization for Promoting Urban Development to support the raising of middle-risk funds.

(2) Status of application of the measures to support urban reconstruction projects

### a. Zoning for Special Urban Reconstruction Districts

A Special Urban Reconstruction District is a new concept of urban district, with greater latitude of zoning, that is exempt from existing zoning restrictions. A total of 66 Special Urban Reconstruction Districts were zoned as of the end of March 2014, 44 of which had been proposed by private entrepreneurs, etc.

### b. Accreditation of private urban reconstruction project plan

Private urban reconstruction project plans accredited by the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (67 plans as of the end of March 2014) are financially supported by the Organization for Promoting Urban Development or granted tax incentives.

## (3) Promoting the formation of larger blocks

Since many of the central areas of Japan’s major cities have been organized into blocks through the implementation of postwar reconstruction land adjustment projects, etc., the scales of these blocks, with the structure of the local streets, are not fully responsive to the prevailing needs, etc. for land usage, transport infrastructures and disaster preparedness. To reinforce the international competitiveness of the big cities, revitalize local cities and seek advanced and effective land usage to fill present-day needs, the MLIT promotes the aggregation of land that has been segmented into multiple blocks, the consolidated usage of sites and restructuring of public facilities in accordance with Guidelines for Formation of Larger