Restructuring Process of Regional Management Organizations during the “Community Boom” in Rural Areas : Case Studies in the Shonai Area, Yamagata Prefecture

• Published in: E-journal GEO Vol. 18; no. 1; pp. 1 - 21
• Main Authors: Kazunobu, TSUTSUI, Hisae, KOSEKI
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Japanese
• Published: Tokyo The Association of Japanese Geographers 2023; Japan Science and Technology Agency
• Subjects: Case studies; community welfare; Organizations; region management organization; Rural areas; Sakata City; social education; Tsuruoka City
• ISSN: 1880-8107; 1880-8107
• DOI: 10.4157/ejgeo.18.1

Since the early 2000s, 5,783 regional management organizations (RMOs) have been established in Japan. We conducted two RMO case studies to analyze the process of RMO organizational and functional restructuring. The first case was an RMO in the Sanze district, Tsuruoka City, established in the early 1970s during the first community boom. The second case was an RMO in the Nikko district, Sakata City, established in the 2000s during the second community boom following discussions on how to deal with regional issues caused by the merger of municipalities. The case studies clarified that the functions of RMOs reflected current societal expectations and that the organizations were restructured accordingly.