Silviase/jgov_v1.4_full_ann huggingface dataset:
Source) “Survey of the Causes and Living Conditions for Migration and Settlement in Small-scale Municipalities” conducted by NTT Data Institute of Management Consulting, Inc.

## (Monetary Valuation of “District Attractions”)

Here, in order to quantify the “Attractive Traits of the Region” which has a major influence on the flow of people migrating to rural areas, we will study the assessed value people place on the “Attractive Traits of Region” Note $ ^{33} $ by conducting the “Awareness Survey of the Richness of ‘Stock of Local Traits’” to make monetary valuations.

If we establish two imaginary district models (“Very Convenient City Life”, “Rich in Nature Country Life”) and study which district model people would want to live in, there is a difference in tendency between the responses from general residents and from those who migrated to Rural Areas. Many of those who migrated to Rural Areas chose “Rich in Nature Country Life (hereafter “Country Life”)” while many of the general residents chose “Very Convenient City Life (hereafter “City Life”)” (Figure 2-1-44). However, if you think of the general residents as a microcosm of the population distribution in Japan, we can surmise that approximately 40% of the citizens aspire to “Country Life”.

Next, in order to analyze the “Attractive Traits of the

<Very Convenient City Life>	<Rich in Nature Country Life>
• Public transportation and shopping are very convenient	• Public transportation and shopping is not convenient
• Poor access to nature	• Great access to nature
• Many entertainment facilities and places to go for fun	• Rich in nature with good air and water quality
• Travel and latest information, meeting many kinds of people	• Local culture of ethnic groups and traditions
• Living quarters are small	• Spacious living environment
• Long commute (rush hours)	• Close proximity to work and residence
• Not much interaction with neighbors	• Limited community but can live cooperatively

Region” underlying the motivation to migrate to Rural Areas, we will focus on how much value is placed on which factors
by people who selected “Country Life”.

In studying the “Awareness Survey of the Richness of ‘Stock of Local Traits’” by considering the permissible amount of decrease in annual income due to migration (Permissible Decrease Amount) as the monetary valuation of a district, of those who chose “Country Life”, approximately 43% of the people migrating to Rural Areas and approximately 31% of the general residents would give a valuation of over JPY750,000/year (approximately JPY60,000/month). Further, of the people migrating to Rural Areas, when the Permissible Decrease Amount reached JPY1,500,000, there is a sudden drop in the number of people who want a “Country Life”, while for general residents there is a sudden drop in numbers at JPY750,000, indicating that the people migrating to Rural Areas place a higher valuation on the attractiveness of a district. However, it is evident that although small in numbers, there are general residents who place a high monetary value on “Country Life” (Figure 2-1-45).

Figure 2-1-46 and Figure 2-1-47 show the average monetary value according to factors, and both those migrating to Rural Areas and general residents value “Country Life” and “Rich in Nature” most highly, followed by “spacious living quarters”. From the fact that “Rich in Nature” was valued higher by general residents rather than the people migrating to Rural Areas, we can infer that there are some among the general residents who place a high value on “Country Life” based on their “longing” for nature.

Source) "Awareness Survey of the Richness of 'Stock of Local Traits'" by MLIT

In this way, for people who place a high value on “Rich in Nature Country Life”, there is a greater possibility that they will find more value in living in the country rather than living in the city. For example, general residents who aspire to
Last year, Kanako Sakashita, one of the four women, married a man she met at Ikeya Village to where she had migrated. From the ‘Chapter One’ in which this “Woman Who Migrated” came to the hilly and mountainous areas, now a ‘Chapter Two’ is beginning as they start a family.

Figure 2-1-48 The “Women Who Migrate” Who Edit and Publish “ChuClu”

Source) ChuClu Editors Office

Source) ChuClu Editors Office

## (4) The Move Towards Living in Two Districts

Amidst a decline in the total population of Japan, it is not possible to increase the “residential population” of all areas. Even for people who have an interest in living in Rural Areas, when thinking about the risk of finding actual conditions to be quite different from what they are looking for, it is not an easy thing to “migrate” in one quick step.

Even if it does not end up in “migration”, it is important to promote the flow of people to Rural Areas by getting the existing interacting population in community building, in order to expand the “cooperative population” and spread the lifestyle of being proactively involved in the community.

In this sense, it is important to promote the lifestyle of “Living in Two Districts” which has been promoted from before.

## (The Lifestyle of Living in Two Districts)

With an increase in the population of people living in two districts, the consumer demands and housing demand will increase and the creation of new employment opportunities can be expected. Also, as shown in the awareness survey results in Section 1, since people with a connection to the Rural Areas have a greater desire to migrate, a certain ratio of the city residents who are living in two districts can be expected to become part of the regular residential population by actually experiencing the attractive traits of local districts. Furthermore, living in two districts serves to act as having a safety net against natural disasters and can be one of the choices for emergency evacuation, especially in disasters such as earthquakes.

In recent years, with the shortening of time and distance through the development of public transportation and highway

networks, the sophistication and diversification of communication methods with the development of ICT (Information Communication Technology) equipment such as the wide spread use of social media and smart phones as well as the installation of high speed cable/wireless communication networks, the limitations of time, distance, and location are lessening.

Figure 2-1-49 Results of Survey on the Conditions and Limits Involved in Living in Two Districts

Source) "2012 Study of the Measure to Promote Living in Two Districts in Response to the Change in Social Conditions" by MLIT
Figure 2-1-50

Changes in Number of Users and the Average Length of Stay

Source) Developed by MLIT from 2013 Results of Hokkaido Relocation Experience "Live a Little While"

Figure 2-1-51

Number of Users by Ratio of Residence Location

Source) Developed by MLIT from 2013 Results of Hokkaido Relocation Experience "Live a Little While"

Figure 2-1-52

Results of Questionnaire for Users of "Live a Little While"

What was the purpose this time of using “Live a Little While”? (n=551)

## Column

## Regional Development Through Interaction Between Urban and Rural Areas ~ Connection Agreement Between Kawaba Village in Gunma and Setagaya Ward in Tokyo ~

Kawaba Village in the Gunma Prefecture is located in the northern area of the prefecture on the southern base of Mount Hotaka and is a mountain village rich in nature with approximately 80% of the village's total area being forest. It has a total population of 3,445 people (as of February, 2015) with agriculture and forestry being the main industries. However, since 1975, due to the aging of people working in agriculture and an increase in the ratio of part-time farmers, the amount of idle farmland has been increasing and there were concerns regarding the deterioration of the beautiful scenery.

On the other hand, in the Setagaya Ward of Tokyo, there was a search for a “second hometown” in order to strengthen the interaction between the city and the mountain villages by mutual cooperation with people in the Rural Areas while experiencing the riches of abundant nature which could no longer be found in the city. From these conditions, in 1981 the “Agreement of Mutual Cooperation for Ward Citizens Health Village (Connection Agreement)” was formed based on the concept of partnering with Kawaba Village, which had been working to revitalize the village based on the concept of “agriculture plus tourism” to take advantage of its rich natural environment and beautiful scenery.
In 1986, Kawaba Village established two Ward Citizens Health Villages (Nakano Village, Fujiyama Village) and started accepting visiting classes from each elementary school of Setagaya Ward every year, organizing events like village tours and mountain climbing for experiential learning about nature and activities of the village. Further, with the activity base of the Ward Citizens Health Villages, many Setagaya Ward citizens visit to participate in the forest conservation activities and farming experiences at the local farms such as “RentApple” Note, and currently about 50,000 people a year are making use of the Ward Citizens Health Villages.

Furthermore, villagers from Kawaba Village have visited Setagaya Ward as well, like taiko drum performance groups from Kawaba Village participating in festivals or events in Setagaya Ward, holding a farmer's market with produce from Kawaba Village, and other such activities.

In addition, at “Kawaba Denen Plaza”, the roadside station—the construction of which was inspired by the interaction with Setagaya Ward—efforts are being made to use local resources to provide interaction opportunities for the villages and visitors, such as farmer’s markets selling local produce, fruit picking, pottery, and other such events and experiences.

With such “agriculture plus tourism” programs, the number of tourists visiting Kawaba Village shows a rising trend, and with the “Kawaba Denen Plaza” gaining recognition in 2013, the number of tourists that have visited has reached approximately 1.5 million people. The success of the Denen Plaza has led to an expansion in sale of agricultural products, as well as the revitalization of the village through things such as stable farm management, expansion of employment opportunities, etc.

Figure 2-1-54 Views of Kodomo Satoyama Shizen Gakko (Children's Nature School)

Source) Setagaya Ward Citizens Health Village website

Figure 2-1-55 Changes in the Number of Tourists to Kawaba Village

Source) Developed by MLIT from "(Estimated) Results of Number of Tourists, Amount of Consumption Survey" by Gunma Prefecture

Note A system of renting a tree from an apple farm in Kawaba Village to become its owner for one year.

## 2 The Flow of People (Interacting Population), Goods, Money and Information to Support the Local Districts

In Subsection 2 of Section 1, as part of the flow of people—other than the “residential population” discussed in Subsection 1—, people, goods, money and information for each of the following categories: tourism (interacting population), logistics, information, and district economic circulation, we will discuss the effects on the local districts’
economy and introduce actual cases of efforts involving these factors.

First, for “(1) Tourism (Interacting Population)”, we will introduce and analyze the effects of visiting foreigners and Japanese tourists on the local economy, with factors like the change in the number of consumption-tax free shops in Rural Areas, as well as the income and expenses of consumption amounts for domestic travel and lodging by district. We will then introduce examples like the “Akita Marugoto Market”, which for the first time obtained permission as a consumption tax-free shop with capital from within the prefecture to sell mainly local products, and Aomori Harbor, which is getting results as a port of call for cruise ships.

Next, in “(2) Logistics and Information”, we will review the spread of internet usage and its influence on the logistics. Then as examples of how logistics is contributing to the local society, we will introduce how locating a large-scale logistics center in Ishikawa Prefecture resulted in creating jobs, and how establishing a logistics business operation base at a roadside station in Yamaguchi Prefecture resulted in supporting the local district. We will also introduce an example of the spread of telework and satellite offices (Kamiyama-cho) as a new way of working made possible by the spread of ICT (Information Communication Technology).

Finally, in “(3) Circulation of the Local Economy and Community Building”, we will introduce the concept and structure of circulation of the local economy as community building from the “flow of funds”, and consider measures for improvement from the four aspects of: “acquiring funds from outside the local district”, “containing consumption drain to outside of the local district”, “diversifying investment methods inside the local district”, and “investing by using real estate in the local district”. We will also introduce the local district revitalization program going on in Minamata City in Kumamoto Prefecture as a program based on analysis of the economic circulation of the local district.

## (1) Tourism (Foreign Visitors to Japan)

## (Trend of Foreign Visitors to Japan)

The yearly number of foreign visitors to Japan in 2014 increased by 29.4% from the previous year, with a total of 13.41 million visitors, which is the highest total recorded thus far (Figure 2-1-56). Looking at the visitors by their country/region of origin, there were approximately 2.83 million visitors from Taiwan, followed by approximately 2.76 million visitors from Korea, and approximately 2.41 million visitors from China, in that order. There was also an all time high of approximately 1.6 million visitors coming from the six Southeast Asian countries $ ^{Note35} $ . The ratio of the total number of foreign visitors to Japan was as follows: 66.5% from East Asia and 11.9% from Southeast Asia, with 79.1% of the total being from Asia (Figure 2-1-57).

Note 35 Tha iland, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam
Next, looking at the consumption amounts by foreign visitors to Japan in 2014, there was a 43.1% increase over the previous year, amounting to JPY2.0278 trillion, with each foreign visitor to Japan's consumption amount increasing by 10.6% over the previous year, amounting to JPY151,174 per visitor, the highest record thus far (Figure 2-1-58). Furthermore, the travel income and expense—which shows the difference in the amount of money spent by foreign visitors to Japan and the amount of money spent by Japanese visiting other countries—has shown a recovery trend, with the travel income and expenses for April 2014 recording a positive balance for the first time since July 1970 during the Osaka Expo (Figure 2-1-59).

This increase in the number of foreign visitors to Japan and the travel consumption amount is caused by—in addition to traveling to and shopping in Japan becoming cheaper due to the weakening of the JPY exchange rate—improving the consumption tax free system for foreign visitors, easing the issuing requirements for visas, expanding the arrival and departure slots at the airports in the Tokyo metropolitan area, as well as increasing the number of flights. In particular, for the LCC international flights, the number of flights to countries and regions of East Asia and Southeast Asia have increased rapidly since 2010.

Looking at the change in the total number of foreign visitor lodgers, the number of lodgers has been increasing

in both the 3 Major Metropolitan Areas and the Rural Areas since 2011 (Figure 2-1-60). Looking at the total number of foreigner lodgers in 2014 by prefecture, although the lodgers tend to be mainly concentrated in the metropolitan areas of Tokyo, Aichi, and Osaka, and also Hokkaido, in the growth rate comparison with the previous year of the number of foreigner lodgers by prefecture, the Rural Areas are showing some increase (Figure 2-1-61, Figure 2-1-62). In particular, Yamanashi Prefecture had an increase of 91.3%, and Shiga Prefecture had an increase of 77.0%, showing major growth compared to the other regions.
## (The Effect of Increase in Foreign Visitors to Japan on the Local Economy)

a. The Effect of Improving the Consumption Tax Exemption System for Foreign Visitors on the Local Economy

From October 1, 2014, the product categories subject to tax exemption were expanded so that food products, beverages, prescription drugs, and consumable goods such as cosmetics that had previously been excluded from tax exemption status became subject to tax exemption, with the prerequisite of having certain fraud prevention measures being put in place (Figure 2-1-63). Due to this change, the number of point of sales locations for export products in Japan became 9,361 stores (as of October 1, 2014), an increase of 3,584 stores within half a year as compared to April 1 of the same year (Figure 2-1-67).

Out of the total consumption amount of travel by the foreign visitors to Japan,

shopping costs are approximately one-third of the total (Figure 2-1-64) and—in looking at the items purchased in Japan by the foreign visitors to Japan—the purchase ratio is growing for items which have become tax exempt for the first time, such as “confectionary”, “other food products, beverages, alcohol, cigarettes” and “cosmetics, perfumes” (Figure 2-1-65). Additionally, there seems to be a tendency that people who used the tax exemption procedures made higher priced unit purchases than people who did not use the tax exemption procedures (Figure 2-1-66).
## ☑ Example of Duty Free Shop in Rural Area ~Akita Marugoto (whole) Market~

“Akita Marugoto Market” in Oroshimachi, Akita City, Akita Prefecture (Figure 2-1-69) received the permit to be a duty-free shop in December 2014 and started duty-free sales from late January of 2015. On October 1, 2014, when the tax exemption system was revised and exempt items were greatly increased, there were only 7 duty-free shops in Akita, in places like the international terminal at Akita Airport, department stores in Akita City, and large-scale discount stores, all of which were owned by businesses funded from outside the prefecture. “Akita Marugoto Market” became the first duty-free shop to be funded by a business within Akita Prefecture.

“Akita Marugoto Market” is located close to Akita Airport and Akita Harbor, with easy access from the express highway (Figure 2-1-70). It has a large parking lot where large buses can park, and a food court, so that in the past over 1,000 foreign tourists have visited each year from places such as Taiwan, China and Korea. While consumer spending is sluggish within Akita Prefecture, due to the influence of the JPY becoming cheaper, the number of foreign tourists visiting Akita Prefecture has been increasing. “Akita Marugo Market” sells local products from the prefecture, such as famous Akita confectionery, local specialty products, and fresh produce. Since many visiting foreign travellers buy fruit and food products, it is expected that the consumer spending on such regional products by foreign tourists will increase further with the newly obtained duty-free shop permit.

In addition, in 2015, it was included in the optional tour for cruise ships, so even further positive results are anticipated.
Figure 2-1-69

Akita Marugoto Market (Akita City, Akita Prefecture)

Source) Akita Marugoto Market

### b. The Effect of Cruise Ships Coming to Port on the Local Economy

Cruise ships call at over 100 ports including the Rural Areas and of those, foreign cruise ships call at over 50 ports. The number of times that cruise ships call at ports in Japan has increased in recent years, with an all time record of 1,204 times in 2014 (Figure 2-1-71), and the number of foreign travellers entering the country from a cruise ship reached 416,000 people (Figure 2-1-72). According to a study conducted by Fukuoka City and Kobe City, the economic effect for a port of call of large-scale cruise ships is JPY30,000 to JPY40,000 per person, and for one ship’s visit has been calculated at around JPY100 to 200 million and for the home port (arrival and departure port) especially, the effect is even greater.

Changes in the Number of Times Cruise Ships Call at a Port in Japan

Figure 2-1-72 Number of Foreigners Who Enter Japan From a Cruise Ship (Approximate Figure)

(Notes) 1 Number of foreigners who enter Japan, according to the data collected by the Immigration Bureau of the Ministry of Justice in approximate numbers (ship crew not included).

2 For the foreign travellers on cruise ships that call at many ports on one cruise, (rather than counting them again at each port) they are counted as one entry per person.

Source) MLIT
important to continue to attract not only foreign tourists but also Japanese tourists.

In 2014, the number of domestic sightseeing trips that included lodging per person was 1.29 times, with the number of nights stayed on these trips per person at 2.12 nights (Figure 2-1-77). The total number of people taking day trips decreased 7.2% from the year before to 191.58 million people/times, and the total number of people taking trips with overnight stays was down from the previous year by 7.0% to 164.05 million people/times. Both types of trips show a recovery from the lowest point in 2011, but in 2014 there was a down turn (Figure 2-1-78).

Figure 2-1-79 shows the income and expense of the consumer spending on domestic trips with overnight stays by region. However if, for example, a person living in Hokkaido spends a night in Tokyo for the purpose of sightseeing and spends JPY10,000, for the category of “Sightseeing/Recreation”, the consumer spending of JPY10,000 would be allocated both to the residential location of Hokkaido and to the destination location of Kanto (“All Domestic Travel” is a total of “Sightseeing/Recreation”, “Visit to Hometown/Visit Friends”, “Business Trip/Work” and the regional income and expense has been shown as a bar graph). In light of this, it is evident that there is a tendency for the money to flow from Kanto, Chubu, and Kinki—the so-called 3 Major Metropolitan Areas—to the Rural Areas.

Domestic travel with overnight stays—which is the bulk of consumer spending on travel—has a major influence on regional economy, but the three districts of Hokkaido, Hokuriku-Shinetsu, and Okinawa have an especially large amount of overnight stays for the purpose of “Sightseeing/Recreation”, which skews the overall income and expenses of travel with overnight stays to show a surplus.