are granted to help develop functionally similar facilities in clusters in accordance with a regional renovation plan. The package comprises the “Road Development Subsidy” (municipal roads, wide-area agricultural roads or forest roads), the “Sewage Treatment Facility Development Subsidy” (public sewerage, village drainage or septic tanks) and the “Harbor Development Subsidy” (local harbor facilities or Category 1 or 2 fishing port facilities). As of the end of March 2014, 1,666 regional renovation plans were accredited. The “Regional Renovation Infrastructures Reinforcement Subsidies” are used to finance facilities development in the projects based on 1,030 of these regional renovation plans.

## (2) Supporting local regional revitalization efforts

The MLIT supports local efforts aimed at revitalizing regions, as by dispatching regional revitalization task forces consisting of private experts and others to those regions. It also awards “Handmade Hometown Prizes” Note $ ^{1} $ to promote further approaches to individualistic and charming regional planning. In FY2013, 20 activiites were chosen, including those aimed at adding to the festivity of urban centers and for reconstructing ancient trails. In addition, information that aids in regional planning, such as examples of regional planning construction works, has been disseminated Note $ ^{2} $ . As of the end of FY2013, there are 1,188 subscriptions to the newsletter service.

## (3) Promoting use of know-how and funds originating from private sectors

The MLIT provides support not only to excellent private urban development projects, such as those coordinated with urban reconstruction and improvement planning projects undertaken by local governments and accredited by the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, through investment by the Organization for Promoting Urban Development, a general incorporated organization, through joint implementation or the like, but also to the funds for resident participation type of community planning activities by subsidization.

In addition, the MLIT supports experimental efforts, such as sponsoring events in parks and other public spaces, and putting outdoor advertisements, to realize the regional participation type of sustainable community planning and to get it consolidated by keeping up and elevating the charms and vitality of communities.

The MLIT also seeks to upgrade the existing Tokyo Metropolitan Expressways in an integrated manner with the ongoing urban renaissance plan. To this end, the Ministry has revised the legal system behind the vertical use of street Example of a private urban development project accredited by the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Sendai Aquarium (provisional name) Project

Customer attraction and human exchange businesses had been badly damaged by the earthquake in this area. An aquarium is then built as a new core of customer attraction to augment the charms of the area as sites of customer attraction and human exchange to regain and expand the nonresident population, thereby expediting the pace of restoration from the earthquake.

Source) MLIT

space by roads and buildings and started talking with other concerned organizations to put the plan into practice, using the Tsukiji River section as a model case.

Further, the MLIT promotes openness of road spaces to help develop and manage infrastructures in a new initiative of partnership between public and private sectors financed by private funds and to create new business opportunities that exploit urban road spaces. One example of such efforts in order to introduce exceptions to road occupancy regulations is to inaugurate a program opening a way to create chances of festivity and human exchange (such as installing open cafes) through the amendments made to the Act on Special Measures Concerning Urban Renaissance in FY2011. Another example is also an inauguration of a program for consolidating the international competitiveness of the nation's industries and forming sites of global economic activities (such as sponsoring international events) in FY2013 under the Act on National Strategic Special Districts.