## Contest for Airport Arrival and Departure Slot Allocation Policy

In September 2013, the aviation sector—realizing that the running and maintenance of a low demand route to the airport was unsustainable by the efforts of airline companies alone $ ^{Note28} $ —held a “Haneda Arrival & Departures Framework Scheme Contest,” which called for joint proposals on how the region could cooperate with the airline companies to run these routes. Once the committee of experts had evaluated the submitted proposals, the region that submitted the best proposal would be awarded the allocation of Haneda Airport’s domestic landing and departure slots (maximum 3 slots). The proposals were evaluated not only in terms of the profitability of the route itself, such as demand prospects, and efficiency of operating costs, but also in terms of the structure of cooperation with the local government and wider range of stakeholders, as well as regional tourism opportunities and business demand development strategies.

This contest received entries from four regions, and the top three applicants, the Haneda – Iwami line, Haneda – Yamagata line, and the Haneda – Tottori line, were each allocated a route. The proposal which placed first in the contest, the Haneda – Iwami line, included a mechanism for risk sharing between the region and airline company in case the number of users dropped below target after increasing the route, as well initiatives for supporting the development of travel products.

For the use of social infrastructure and supply of public services, we must not only consider an economic rationale but also a variety of social demands, such as ensuring that the service supplied is of a highly public nature, with consideration for equality between regions and individuals. We cannot deploy the market mechanism to every area indiscriminately. However, as evident from the examples described in this section, in situations where the market mechanism is appropriate, it is an advantageous way of having a fair, transparent method for making the supply of public services more efficient, and for encouraging scarece social infrastructures to maximize its benefits.

## 2 Ingenuity in Using Existing Stock

As Japan faces financial constraints, we are required to be even more efficient and effective when moving forward in developing new social infrastructures. However, within the existing social infrastructures, there are some aspects that are not being used as efficiently as possible, due to the changing economic society. Because of this, when reviewing the usage of the current social infrastructure, we must use ingenuity to find ways of increasing the benefits for the users without incurring additional costs. In this section we will discuss examples in which ingenuity is making the use of existing social infrastructures more effective.

## (1) Multifaceted Use of Social Infrastructures

The benefits derived from an existing social infrastructure can be expanded if said social infrastructure, which has been maintaining a certain level of usage, can also be used for other purposes beyond its original function. In addition, by continuing to use the existing social infrastructure while using that same space more effectively, the value of that social infrastructure will increase. Below are some concrete examples.

## ☑ The Various Possibilities of “Michi-no-Eki”

“Michi-no-Eki” have grown over the past 20 years, since its start in 1993, reaching areas nation-wide as a place for drivers on expressways to stop for rest and to find information, and as a place for regional community collaboration. As of March 2014, there are 1,014 stations registered. The scale of these stations amounted to about JPY210 billion in national annual sales, and the national annual number of purchasing individuals arriving at these stations were about 220 million people (both figures as of 2011).

At the start, the services were geared mainly toward expressway users that were passing through, but in recent years, the services have expanded to include attractions that incorporate features that highlight the characteristics of the region through agriculture, tourism, welfare and disaster prevention.