Research

How can we secure the sustainability of the national land in a depopulating Japan? This is the question that runs through all of my research. Rather than relying solely on conventional demographic or economic indicators, I seek to reconsider regional viability from the "perceptions" and behavior of the people who engage with a place. Understanding the national land not merely as physical structure but as a dynamic system woven from people's perception and engagement, I explore sustainable urban and national-land planning through three perspectives: perception → engagement/behavior → structure. The full list of works is available on the Publications page.

1. Regional Perception and the "Regional Perception Holder"

#RegionalPerception #CityImage #Positive/NegativeImage

As the starting point for thinking about national-land sustainability, I focus on the "perceptions" people hold toward regions. I define the people who hold some form of perception toward a specific area as "Regional Perception Holders," and using nationwide municipal data, I reveal the positive and negative images people project onto each region as well as their geographic distribution and inter-city structure through spatial autocorrelation. By reframing regional viability from the stage of "perception" that precedes behavior and engagement, this forms the core that underpins the other two pillars.

2. Engagement with Regions and Behavioral Change

#RegionalExperienceSeeker #DualHabitation #Relocation #DaaS #GoingOut #RX

Perception leads to sustainability only through people's "engagement" with and "behavior" toward regions. This pillar addresses two behavioral dimensions: (1) engagement in the form of regional experience seekers, dual habitation and relocation to regions, and (2) the promotion of going-out behavior into real space (RX: Real Space Transformation). By analyzing the dynamics of visiting populations (continuation, return, interruption, emergence), the need for DaaS, the determinants of "dispersal-type" relocation intentions toward rural areas under COVID-19, the determinants of negative emotions toward going out, and the characteristics of places people "want to visit," I explore ways to translate perception into actual engagement and behavior.

3. Structural Sustainability of Cities and the National Land

#AutomobileCO2 #UrbanFacilities #Affordability #Depopulation

Sustainability rests on the physical and structural foundations that support people's perception and behavior. This pillar examines the sustainability of the urban and national-land structure itself through quantitative data: the long-term (34-year) transition of automobile CO2 emissions by city and its drivers, changes in the existence probability of urban service facilities, and the affordability of urban space in terms of housing and mobility costs. From the perspectives of environmental load, facility location and living cost, I clarify the conditions under which people can continue to live in and engage with regions.