Wednesday, August 27, 2025
"Town Development Discussion Meeting" held by Wa Neighborhood Association to create the future of Hokuryu Town together
A town development discussion meeting was held at the Wa Community Center on Wednesday, August 21st from 3:00 PM. Approximately 20 town residents gathered and actively exchanged opinions.
At the meeting, explanations were given about changes to local government policies and systems, such as budget execution and organizational reform for fiscal 2025, and the expansion of the budget for Regional Revitalization 2.0. Reports were also given on the success of the Sunflower Festival, new initiatives regarding parking fees, and experiments using AI to measure visitor numbers.
The event was moderated by Deputy Mayor Masaaki Okuda.
The meeting got off to a pleasant start, moderated by Deputy Mayor Masaaki Okuda.
Greetings from Mayor Yasuhiro Sasaki
"I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all of you for your participation and for all your hard work.
We are now in the season to simply pray for a good harvest. Outside the window, the colorful rice fields stretch out before us.
Until the year before last, town meetings were held in two locations: the community center and the Hekisui Community Center, where everyone gathered. From last year to this year, we have decided to visit 10 neighborhood associations. We would like to hear a variety of opinions, not just on local issues, but also on town issues and rice issues.
In accordance with national policy, the budget for fiscal year 2025, which begins in April this year, has doubled the budget for regional revitalization grants. Supporting the active members of the first generation who have completed their 10 years, and looking ahead to the next 10 years, the second generation will be called upon to consider how to build a 10-20-year plan for their children and grandchildren, who will be responsible for the future.
This year, the town received a national budget of 200 billion yen, and town officials worked hard to apply for the grant. The town received 100% of the grant it applied for. There are 1,718 cities, towns, and villages across Japan, and we received the largest amount of the maximum amount of 1 billion yen.
We will be using this money to allocate our budget starting in April, and we hope to continue on this scale for the next three years.
Of course, up until now, there have been requests from existing businesses that we have been unable to implement due to a lack of funding. However, starting in April of this year, we plan to make effective use of the grant money from the national government, and to listen to everyone's opinions and implement the plan, in order to continue the existing operations and build a new future for Hokuryu Town.
A condition of national regional revitalization is that the Regional Revitalization Grant requires the involvement of not only the government but also neighborhood associations and each and every resident. Therefore, today's meeting is very important. I would like to carefully listen to and utilize everyone's opinions when allocating the budget.
"Thank you very much for coming today," Mayor Sasaki said with great passion.
Explanation of the town's major projects
General Policy Office, Deputy Mayor Masaaki Okuda
Deputy Mayor Okuda gave an explanation on the promotion of regional revitalization, including the basic policy of the Hokuryu Town Comprehensive Strategy for Town, People, and Job Creation, the new Regional Revitalization Economic and Living Environment Creation Grant (Second Generation Grant), the "Seven Pillars" of the "Himawari Holding" project, and the project budget for fiscal year 2025.
Yayoi Kawamoto, Section Chief of the Town Future Strategy Division
Section Chief Kawamoto gave a presentation on a wide range of business fields.
- Hometown tax payment and local public transportation
- Children's Living Support Division:"Writing-free counter (digitalization of local government counters)" and the development of a multi-layered support system
- Industry Division:"Bird and animal damage prevention measures" "Sunflower Village management"
- Construction Division:"Formulation of management strategies for water and sewerage accounting" "Construction of a snow removal center and bus garage"
- Board of Education:Holding the "(tentative name) Hokuryu Town Comprehensive Learning and Exchange Center," "Online Public Cram School," and "New School Creation Training Session," and preparing to apply for "Special Curriculum School" status.
Active exchange of opinions
After listening to the explanation from the town, the townspeople in attendance asked a variety of questions and expressed their opinions, resulting in a lively Q&A session.
Main opinions and questions
- My Number System and Digital Government:In order to increase the adoption rate, improvements to online application procedures and counter service are required, and discussions were held on improving the system and strengthening on-site response, taking into account the impact on local allocation tax.
- Deterioration and repair status of road infrastructure:Regarding the significant drop in the shoulder of the road, the report said that a contractor has been working on repairs for the past two years. However, it was pointed out that the repair work may take several more years to complete, and some of the work may need to be outsourced to other contractors.
- Sign and traffic sign issues:There were reports of signs being rotated and blown away by the wind, and concerns were raised about the safety of pre-made signs. The proposal to relocate the sign would require coordination with snow removal operations and police permission, and the government began considering ways to improve the situation.
- Supplementary budget and construction priorities:The difficulty of compiling and securing supplementary budgets was explained, and the risk of necessary maintenance and repair work being delayed due to budget shortfalls was pointed out.
- Improving the response of city hall staff:There was criticism of the town hall staff's inadequate on-site response and communication, and calls were made for a change in their attitude towards dealing with townspeople.
- Urban development promotion and human resource development measures:Taking into account the current situation of neighborhood associations (aging population, lack of officers, budget shortages), a policy was announced in which administrative staff will attend meetings of each neighborhood association to gather opinions. Opinion exchanges are planned in a variety of forms, depending on the region, such as a cafe-style event for high school students and workshops for the parenting generation.
- Community Center and Cultural Heritage Relocation Plan:As part of a redevelopment plan for the community center in cooperation with the Improvement Center, methods for relocating literary monuments and historical cultural assets were discussed. Specific methods for preserving and relocating these assets were considered, while also considering how to balance these with snow removal measures specific to areas with heavy snowfall, and ensuring the inheritance of culture.
Just like the golden rice fields outside the window, this meeting was very fruitful.
With boundless love, gratitude, and prayers, the Town Development Council will listen to the valuable opinions of townspeople, respond to them as much as possible, and move forward step by step toward a bright new future for Hokuryu Town.
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◇ ◇ Photography, editing and website management: Noboru Terauchi Writer: Ikuko Terauchi
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