Thursday, August 28, 2025
Local voices connecting to the future: Mibaushi District Community Development Forum
A town development discussion meeting was held at the Mibaushi Community Center on Friday, August 22nd from 1:30 pm. Approximately 20 town residents gathered and actively exchanged opinions.
During the question and answer session, 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.
Moderator: Deputy Mayor Masaaki Okuda
Greetings from Mayor Yasuhiro Sasaki
"Thank you for taking the time to join us despite your busy schedules. I didn't expect the farm work to start so quickly, but I'm grateful that you've come here despite your busy schedules. Today I'd like to talk about the town's policies.
I'm truly grateful to the people of the Mibaushi district for their thorough maintenance and upkeep, even in areas that the town office can't do. I particularly visited the entire town to check on the state of the electric fences used to protect against birds and animals, and they were perfect in the Mibaushi district. They are beautifully maintained.
They have been doing a good job in many areas, so I think they will be able to submit a solid request letter. One of the requests was to install air conditioning in the community center, so I feel relieved.
The majority of my explanation today will be about the Regional Revitalization Promotion Grants. Following the 10 years in which the current generation has worked hard, the next 10 years will see the second generation of local governments demonstrate their vision for the future of their children and grandchildren, who will be responsible for the region going forward.
In this context, we will continue with the existing projects that we have been carrying out up until now, while also explaining the projects that we will be undertaking for the next era of Hokuryu Town.
"I just received the draft request. Although the situation is difficult in many ways, as this is an issue that involves the national and prefectural governments, I would like to request and respond to them as soon as possible. We will also continue to make strong requests for subsidies related to smart agriculture. Thank you very much for your time today," Mayor Sasaki said.
Explanation of the town's major policies
Comprehensive Policy Office: Promoting regional revitalization
Katsuyoshi Takahashi, General Policy Officer, gave an explanation on the basic policy of Hokuryu Town's Comprehensive Strategy for Creating Towns, People, and Jobs, the new Local Economy and Living Environment Creation Grant (Second Generation Grant), the "Seven Pillars" business outline of the "Himawari Holding" project, and the project budget for fiscal year 2025.
Initiatives of each department
Yayoi Kawamoto, Director of the Town Future Strategy Division, gave a detailed explanation of the following wide-ranging areas:
- Town Future Strategy Division:"Hometown tax payment" and "regional public transportation"
- Children's Living Support Division:"Writing-free counter" (digitalization of local government counters), multi-layered support system development project
- 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 the explanation, there was a lively exchange of opinions between the participating townspeople and the local government, with many smiles on their faces.
- Promotion of migration and settlement and housing measures:Projects aimed at training people to move to the area and increasing the number of people involved were developed, and plans were made to build four housing units to encourage people to settle down and improve the living environment.
- There was a shared opinion that funds from hometown tax donations would bring great possibilities to each project, and efforts will be made to expand the current system and donation amounts.
- Promoting agricultural production and sales measures:With collection companies accounting for over 90% of rice production, securing sufficient quantities has become a challenge. JA and related departments have implemented measures such as offering an additional 1,000 yen per rice purchase to increase production and promote sales.
- Countermeasures against high temperatures and support for new farmers:High temperatures are causing problems for the management of sunflowers and other crops, and discussions were held on subsidies for heat-retaining materials such as shade netting and support for expensive equipment. Support measures such as short-term loans and free provision of equipment are also being considered to help new farmers with first-year equipment costs and capital shortfalls.
- Reflecting the opinions of young people and local residents and formulating an agricultural vision:The government has called for the strengthening of mechanisms that allow youth groups and local residents to freely exchange opinions. By December, the government will work with the task force and related departments to formulate an "agricultural vision" that looks at agriculture in Hokuryu as a whole, and will work to reflect this in next year's plans.
- Review of winter food waste collection operations:It was suggested that collection be increased to twice a week, as once a week is insufficient due to the increase in food waste in winter, especially around New Year's. It was pointed out that collection frequency needs to be increased, especially around New Year's.
- Winter road conditions and traffic safety measures:During the winter, snow causes road closures and one-way traffic on certain roads, raising concerns about the current operation and calling for specific measures to ensure safety.
- Measures against dangerous housing:The mayor has initiated a process to send out notices to individual owners of homes that have been deemed unsafe and for which no notices have been given in the past. The process is expected to take about a year to complete, and owners are being asked to take the initiative in removing snow.
- The government will provide a subsidy of 500,000 yen and the town will provide compensation, but the subsidy will be limited to four cases per year, so attention will be needed to prevent an increase in demand in the future.It has also been confirmed that the town will take strict measures in the event of an accident or serious safety issue.
Educational reform through collaboration between the community and schools
Superintendent of Education Yoshiki Tanaka gave a powerful explanation of Hokuryu Town's efforts towards the future, including the introduction of its unique curriculum, "Hokuryu Studies."
- In order to solve local issues and create a sustainable town, cooperation with neighborhood associations and external companies was strengthened, and a system for gathering local opinions was required.
Superintendent Tanaka Yoshiki is aiming to create a new education rooted in Hokuryu, and is planning to introduce a unique curriculum called "Hokuryu Studies" that breaks away from the traditional framework of the curriculum. The plan will be submitted to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in August next year, with the aim of implementing it from the 9th year of Reiwa.
Rapid response and expectations for the future
Immediately after the meeting, the mayor, superintendent of education, and other officials were seen heading off to inspect the unsafe housing. We are truly grateful for the government's swift response to the important opinions of our townspeople and its sincere approach to resolving the problem.
With boundless love, gratitude, and prayers, I extend to the great Town Development Council, which sincerely listens to the valuable opinions of townspeople and responds appropriately to administrative activities.
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