世論 What Japan Thinks

A recent survey from the Cabinet Office Japan looked at Japan’s three large metropolitan areas, specifically at international development and preserving the green belt and other green areas.

Demographics

Between the 15th of July and 1st of August 2010 5,000 people randomly selected from resident registeries all over the country were approached for face-to-face interviews. 3,283 people, or 65.7% were available and agreed to take part. 51.9% of the sample were female, 12.3% in their twenties, 15.4% in their thirties, 16.5% in their forties, 18.1% in their fifties, 20.5% in their sixties, and 19.2% aged seventy or older.

There’s unfortunately no nice data to plot from the questions below, so instead here’s a picture of a park from ykanazawa1999 on flickr.

The amount of green space is pretty depressing – I live on the edge of the Osaka conurbation so fortunately there’s a bit of green around, but in the one hour train ride to work, barring river banks I see almost nothing but concrete by the side of the tracks. As there seems to be little evidence of green belt protection laws in Japan, it’s only the mountains that stop the builders, sadly.

Research results

Next, the respondents were shown a card with the following text:

“Forests, meadows, riverbanks, etc perform various roles such as allowing encounters with nature, moistening the atmosphere, cleaning air pollution, counteracting global warming, preventing disasters, and providing a place for flora and fauna to grow. However, in Japan’s large metropolitan areas, the post-war period has seen the population explode and built-up areas expand, reducing the area of green spaces. For instance, in the 30 years from 1976 to 2006, green spaces in large metropolitan areas have shrunk by a tenth. [Note: this might actually be 'to a tenth'] As large metropolitan areas continue to grow and built-up areas expand, this loss of green space may very well continue.”

Q9: Did you know that green spaces in large metropolitan areas are decreasing? (Sample size=3,283)

Yes	83.5%
No	16.5%

Q10: What should be done about green spaces in large metropolitan areas? (Sample size=3,283)

Should be increased	46.1%
Should try to maintain at the current level	44.4%
Should try to maintain, but it’s inevitable that some may be lost	6.8%
No particular need to maintain	1.2%
Other	0.1%
Don’t know	1.5%

Q11: What would be effective for the government to do regarding preserving and cultivating green spaces in large metropolitan areas? (Sample size=3,283, multiple answer)

Increase the number of parks, plazas, roadside trees, etc	53.1%
Create a plan for preserving existing green spaces, promoting greening	52.0%
Promote raising awareness of greening amongst residents	38.7%
Promote environmental education at schools, etc	38.6%
Designate areas as being important for preserving and cultivating green spaces	38.3%
Request that residential, commercial areas, etc plant trees	34.1%
Limited development of green spaces	33.5%
Conduct fundraising for the protection of green spaces	14.8%
Buy up green spaces	11.4%
Nothing in particular	1.6%
Other	0.6%
Don’t know	2.5%

Q12: Excluding parks, most of the green spaces (including woods) in large metropolitan areas are privately owned, but due to the aging population, costs of day-to-day management, etc, it is becoming difficult to manage green spaces appropriately. Did you know this? (Sample size=3,283)

Yes	46.0%
No	54.0%

Q13: Who do you think is the most appropriate entity to manage privately-owned green spaces in large metropolitan areas? (Sample size=3,283)

Land owner	17.5%
With the land owner’s agreement, someone other than the land owner, such as an NPO, government entity, etc	72.5%
No particular need to manage	5.8%
Other	0.5%
Don’t know	3.6%

Q14: In order for large metropolitan areas to become leaders in Japan’s growth, what do you think the country should plan to do to strengthen international competitiveness? (Sample size=3,283)

The country should lead the promotion of large metropolitan areas	18.4%
The country should set the basic policies for promotion of large metropolitan areas, but implementation should be carried out jointly between the government and local bodies	68.0%
The country should set the basic policies for promotion of large metropolitan areas, but the country need not get involved in the implementation	5.9%
The country need not get involved at all	2.0%
Other	0.2%
Don’t know	5.5%