Uozu City is currently conducting social experiments like making the bus fares for buses run by the local railway company (Tozo Line and Kurosawa Line) the same level as the bus fares for the public buses, and adding another afternoon bus service time for the route that starts at the Uozu train station $ ^{Note\ 63} $ .

As discussed above, having residents proactively participate in the maintenance and management of social infrastructures brings to attention aspects that would not be evident through government efforts alone, and has the potential to make the infrastructures of the region function in a more stable manner. These activities can also help to decrease the responsibility of the government. As evident from the results of the 'Public Awareness Survey,' more people prefer that the current standards of service for social infrastructures be maintained by having residents proactively participate in the maintenance and management of social infrastructures, rather than increasing the financial burden of residents by raising taxes and usage charges. Considering these results, going forward we will need to find ways of setting up systems and environments in which the residents of the region can proactively participate in the maintenance and management of social infrastructures.

In regards to the public transportation sector, we introduced an example of residents of the region cooperating and collaborating with the local government to keep public transportation going when it became too difficult to continue with the private business' efforts alone. This means that these ideas can apply to other infrastructure sectors that used to be primarily run by private businesses, and shows that we will need to create an environment where all parties involved can share and understand their future roles in their respective regions, so that the residents of the region, the governing bodies, and the operators can work together to create social infrastructures that are 'Supported by Everyone.'

## Section 3 Taking a Far-sighted Vision

Developing social infrastructures is a project that takes a long time and requires a large expense. Therefore, once a social infrastructure has been put in place, it has a major impact on people’s living and finances of current and future generations. In that sense, decisions made regarding infrastructure in the present will affect not only the current generation, but also impacts the prosperity, safety, and security of future generations. Thus, in this chapter we will analyze people’s awareness regarding the future strain on social infrastructure, and discuss initiatives for social infrastructure that will help realize long-term future benefits by taking a far-sighted vision of the future.

## 1 Perception of Burden on Future Generations

The idea that we must give consideration to future generations when we think about infrastructure is one that is widely shared. When Nomura Research Institute (NRI) conducted a survey in FY2008, about 70% of the people survey responded that the current generation is responsible for keeping social infrastructures in an adequate condition to pass on to future generations (Figure 2-3-1).

However, due to the population decline and the tight financial situation, there is a tendency to think very prudently in regards to upgrading social infrastructures. If we look at the results of the ‘Public Awareness Survey,’ we can see that while many people think that upgrades to existing social infrastructures should be prioritized and done in a planned manner, compared to the previous survey results, there is a slight but definite increase in the number of people who think that if it results in further strain, there is no need to upgrade all the facilities (Figure 2-3-2).