Remote Islands Development Area in Kagoshima Prefecture Shunsuke NAGASHIMA
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KAWAI, K., TERADA, R. and KUWAHARA, S. (eds): The Islands of Kagoshima Kagoshima University Research Center for the Pacific Islands, 15 March 2013 Chapter 12 Remote Islands Development Area in Kagoshima Prefecture Shunsuke NAGASHIMA 1. Summary of the region The region’s uniqueness does not stop at latitudi- he area and population of remote islands within nal geography, however; Mount Miyanouradake is Tthe Kagoshima Prefecture, when combined, the highest Mountain of Kyushu and is part of the surpass any other Japanese prefectures with remote UNESCO World Heritage Site in Yakushima Is.. islands. The ten municipalities within the desig- Migratory sea turtles also lay eggs there on a beach nated Kagoshima Prefecture Remote Islands zone listed on the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International are comprised of 56,119 people (2005 Census data) Importance, and the region has a unique vertical living within an area of 1,253 km2. If we combine distribution of vegetation on which snow settles this with the Amami Islands area, which has 12 mu- along a sea of coral reef. In terms of cultural and nicipalities, 126,483 people live on 1,231 km2. This economic zones, those listed on the Remote Islands means that the combined remote islands zones rank Development Act are most closely connected to the highest in the country. Their combined areas exceed mainland, thus intensifying their diversity. While the by 10 % that of the entire island of Okinawa, an island prefecture with an area of 2,276 km2. Out of the 28 in- Nagashima habited Kagoshima islands, 20 are under the Remote Region Katsurajima (Shishijima) Islands Development Act; the remaining eight are 32˚ Shinjima under the Special Measures Law for Promotion and Koshikijima Development of Amami Islands (Fig. 1). Region The Remote Islands Development Act was im- 31˚ plemented in July 1953 to eliminate “backwardness” in the remote islands. In December 1953, post-WWII Nansei administration of the Amami district was returned to (South-western) Yakushima Islands Region Japan by the U.S. military; this led to the creation Region 30˚ Tanegashima of Amami’s own development act. Nagashima Is. Region and Shourajima Is. in 1976 and Ikarajima Is. in 1998 were removed from the Development Area and were thereafter collectively known as “graduates” as 29˚ bridges connected the islands and they became sub- ject to the Peninsula Development Act. Kagoshima Kikaijima Is. Prefecture is the fourth largest in Japan because of its Amami-Oshima Is. number of inhabited islands. These islands, includ- 28˚ ing the Amami Islands, are scattered in a 600 km Tokunoshima Is. north-to-south stretch resembling an archipelago. Okinoerabujima Is. The islands have temperate and subtropical areas, Yoronjima Is. 100 km which significantly contribute towards their poten- 27˚ tial in producing resources unique to each island. The breadth of the expanse, which has a long transi- Fig. 1. The locations and regional distributions of the areas covered by the Remote Islands tive climate zone, is one of the rarest in the world. Development Act. 73 Kagoshima University Research Center for the Pacific Islands archipelago-like islands maintain continuity geo- disorganized that for example traffic lights needed to graphically, their societies and resources are diverse. be installed outside schools for educational purpos- As a result, in terms of economic development and es and job seekers, as the case of 1950’s, had to be promotion, we hope to maintain the multi-islands trained how to ride bicycles in order to be recruited zones by capturing the individuality of each island outside the island (or else that could have hindered region through demonstrating and availing ourselves their chances). of the merits of their vast scale and archipelago-like This backwardness has been a matter of contro- structure (NAGASHIMA 2010a). versy. The Remote Islands Development Act clause stating the main objective, that is, to improve un- 2. The view and progression of remote is- derdevelopment by eliminating “backwardness,” lands development has not only been the backbone but also been at the rticle 1, clause 1 of the Remote Islands Develop- forefront of the Act’ simple mentation; however, 50 Ament Act promoted the “development of the years after the Act was passed, it was extensively re- economy of islands remote from the mainland through vised in 2002 and reenacted in 2003. This occurred the establishment of measures to improve foundation- because it was felt that by acknowledging the back- al conditions which are necessary for eliminating the wardness of the islanders, this enabled them to re- backwardness caused by their isolation or remoteness ceive generous financial support. Thus, in a sense, from the mainland and to promote their industries.” they were using their status of being in “special cir- This Act was no doubt created in response to social cumstances” to justify the advantages of receiving circumstances in 1953. The challenges then were financial aid. Nevertheless, these islanders did not to find innovative ways in which to use “light and contentedly accept a situation that pointed to their water” and to improve a very limited transportation backwardness because of their pride. Thus, those infrastructure. At the time, barges were widely used islanders who were involved in establishing and to link anchored vessels offshore and to use hard- launching island revival programs were outraged by to-access wharves that were found along quays that the tendency for only the old things to be introduced were known as “hasike.” Japanese society strongly as benchmark values for tourism. advocated viewing those islands on which there were In a sense, the newly revised Act provided shortages of laborers (i.e., young males) to operate an opportunity to review the progress made after hasike as uninhabitable - a view that even became 50 years of investment to build a solid foundation part of the national agenda at one point. An example for these islands (KUWAHARA 2012). The electric- of this is Gajyajima Is. of Nansei Islands, which be- ity supply, small-scale water-supply system, roads, came uninhabited in 1970. The word “shimachabi,” harbors, fishing ports, health care, social care, air- which is written as “the pains and troubles of the port, and public transport changed drastically from remote islands,” has been widely used in Okinawa being neglected to being part of a national agenda. to express the hardships caused by weather such as This compares with Kunio YANAGIDA’s radical criti- typhoons, rainstorms, and droughts as well as dif- cisms, which dig deeply into the disparity between ficulties in accessing health care, education, trans- an ideal maritime nation and the reality of its lack of portation, and communication on these islands. The national policies for the islands: “even the statistics remote islands area in Kagoshima Prefecture, espe- of the islands are insufficiently maintained as a mari- cially the small-island archipelagos that are affili- time nation.” With the support of phenomenologi- ated with Yakushima Is. (e.g., Kuchinoerabujima Is. cal studies (academic progression based on inspec- and Tanegashima Is.) as well as Nansei Islands and tion, descriptive capture, practicality, and folklore) Koshikijima Is., experienced a similar inclination instigated by Tsuneichi MIYAMOTO and the Islands for collective emigration (NAGASHIMA et al. 2009). Research Group network, which was maintained in On the islands that remained inhabited, a wide soci- a geography classroom at the University of Tokyo, etal gap developed with the mainland. For example, necessary administrative measures were linked Koshikijima Is. had their transportation network so up relating to the islands of Shimane, Nagasaki, 74 The Islands of Kagoshima Kagoshima, Niigata, and Tokyo. This gave birth of vast and solid accomplishments and an all-around to the Remote Islands Development Act - the first knowledge within a continuous space that is part of proposed act by parliamentary members in Japan. “satochi” (homeland), “satoyama” (home moun- In 1958, individual businesses belonging to each tain), and “satoumi” (home seaside) provides a rare ministry were integrated into the Ministry of Land, opportunity for city people. The Japanese kanji char- Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (formerly the acter for a child “warabe” is written as “stand” on Economic Planning Agency), which consolidated top of “sato,” which roughly translates to hometown island affairs under one large umbrella to address or homeland. The children who grow up basking in matters comprehensively and determine how much the warmth of island society are full of trust for other business should be allowed to be carried out by each human beings. The islands have thus provided not island. This, as a strategic national policy, largely only a bountiful and rich surroundings in which city contributed to the Act’s firm and steady implementa- children recover and rekindle themselves, but also tion and became the world’s first such undertaking an environment for nurturing parenthood, nursing (NAGASHIMA 2012). for vulnerable people, and education. In 2003, the strategic reformation to transform The obstacles to island life are the isolation, be- the remote islands’ contentment with “backward- ing surrounded by water, and smallness. While these ness” had changed their direction from being pre- may be seen as being disjoining or disengaging, so- fecture-led to being managed by municipalities. In cial mitigation and a measure