H
1 JAPAN SPOTLIGHT • July / August 2006
Softland Plan for Hokkaido
By Kawasaki Kazuhiko
SPECIAL ARTICLE I
HOKKAIDO Prefecture is the northernmost part of Japan, and comprises 22%
of the country’s total area.
It is roughly
equivalent in size to Austria....
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H
1 JAPAN SPOTLIGHT • July / August 2006
Softland Plan for Hokkaido
By Kawasaki Kazuhiko
SPECIAL ARTICLE I
HOKKAIDO Prefecture is the northernmost part of Japan, and comprises 22%
of the country’s total area.
It is roughly
equivalent in size to Austria.
With 5.
63
million residents (exceeding the population of Denmark), Hokkaido’s population accounts for 4.
5% of Japan’s total
population.
Hokkaido’s pioneering history began in
1869 when the Hokkaido Development
Agency was first established there.
At that time, the population was a
mere 58,000, but it eventually peaked at
5.
68 million in 1985.
During the 20th
century, no region of any other developed
country in the world experienced a similar economic and population growth.
The Japanese government has given
Hokkaido special treatment regarding
infrastructural development and in
recent years the level of public investment has risen to 10%.
However, this
scheme cannot continue in light of
Japan’s present fiscal situation.
In the
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