"Regional Decline"

April 16, 2021

In January, I published the Iwanami Shinsho book "Regional Decline." In this book, I explain "why regions have declined" using specific examples. I also clarify that some regions may have reached a "critical point" of regional decline. Furthermore, I discuss not only the problems with current policies but also what should be done to stop regional decline.

Initially, this book was planned in 2007 as a new book titled "Regional Disparity," addressing the issue of regional disparities. It was also intended to be co-authored with Professor Masaru Kaneko (at the time; currently Professor Emeritus at Keio University and Project Professor at the Graduate School of Rikkyo University), rather than a solo work. However, due to various circumstances, progress was slow. Later, in the spring of 2019, the book project began moving forward again. Upon restarting the project, it was decided that I would write it as a solo work, focusing on the decline of "base industries" (industries that export products outside the region and earn income from outside the region) as the foundation for "why regions have declined."

Examples of regions where base industries have declined include Suzaka City and Otaki Village in Nagano Prefecture, Nanmoku Village in Gunma Prefecture, and former coal-mining areas. Among these, Suzaka City is my hometown, where I spent 18 years before entering Keio University. The city was a small company town with a population of about 50,000, where a Fujitsu factory was located. However, triggered by the restructuring of the factory in 2002, the regional economy has been in continuous decline. To be honest, I feel some heartache about featuring the city as an example of regional decline, but it is no exaggeration to say that the decline of the city was the motivation for writing this book.

During the writing process, some parts of the content changed significantly from the initial concept when the project was restarted. These include the handling of inbound demand, which had been creating jobs in regional areas, and the job-absorbing capacity of the service industry in Tokyo, which has created the unipolar concentration in Tokyo and the "disparity between urban and rural areas." These changes are due to the spread of COVID-19, and data is beginning to show that the spread of the virus is having a serious impact on regional economies. I intend to continue monitoring closely how regional decline progresses.

"Regional Decline"

Masato Miyazaki

Iwanami Shinsho

200 pages, 880 yen (including tax)

*Affiliations and titles are as of the time of publication.