circles and so on pursuant to the Basic Policy for the Construction of Kansai Science City. In addition, the MLIT promotes the implementation of a development plan based on the Act on Development of Osaka Bay Areas to make a district that is complete with the facilities of a global city, good living amenities and more.

## (ii) Promoting Small Stations development within a village area

There are hilly and mountainous areas and other regions with declining and aging population where it is increasingly difficult to maintain life service functions, including shopping and healthcare, and community functions. Therefore, in regions that have multiple villages including elementary school districts, we are promoting the formation of small station where needed functions and bases of regional activities are gathered in walking distances and transportation networks with near villages are secured.

Specifically, we examine the overall regional framework for developing small station, support the realignment and consolidation of facilities leveraging existing public facilities, and work on penetration and boosting awareness in coordination with relevant ministries.

## (iii) Reviews of the relocation of the Diet and other organizations

The MLIT aids the Diet in its reviews of the relocation of the Diet and other organizations based on the Act for Relocation of the Diet and Other Organizations by conducting surveys on the relocation of the Diet, disseminating information to the nation and so on.

## (iv) Examination of measures on land for which whereabouts of owners is difficult to find

From April 2015, this issue was examined at the review meeting for measures on land for which whereabouts of owners are difficult to find, and the guidelines for assisting the search of owners, approaches to the use of land and other field measures as well as the final summary of the meeting were published in March 2016.

## 5 Promoting Regional Partnerships and Interaction

## (1) Forming a trunk-line network to support regions

To achieve safe, comfortable travel to the central part of an area that has urban functions, such as medical care and education, the MLIT supports the elimination of bottlenecks by widening existing roads and developing road networks. Furthermore, in order to promote the integration of merged municipality, the development of roads that connect the central area of a municipality to each of its centers, such as public facilities, bridges, and so on, is being promoted by implementing municipal merger support road development projects in collaboration with the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.

## (2) Promoting human interaction between cities and farming, mountain and fishing villages

The MLIT forms axes of human wide-area interaction and partnership through the development of trunk road networks, supplies housing and housing lands to help realize a country life, develops ports and harbors to serve as centers of human interaction and more. It also promotes the creation of new breeds of tourism, such as green tourism, and the activities of “All Right! Nippon Conference” and so on in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and other ministries concerned to promote human interaction between cities and farming, mountain and fishing villages.