JOURNAL
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Designing Park-PFI Scoring Criteria — Lessons from a Real 500-Point Scoring Table [2026 Edition]
A detailed explanation of the six evaluation items in the MLIT guidelines, with a full breakdown of the 500-point scoring table used in Koriyama City's Kaiseizan Park. Learn how to design criteria that favor local firms and how to award bonus points for sounding participation.
Kamiyama and Green Valley: Population and Migration, the Buildings Used for Satellite Offices, and the College That Turned the Former Kamiyama Junior High School into a Dormitory
Kamiyama town in Tokushima Prefecture: its population and in- and out-migration, the history of the NPO Green Valley, the buildings used for satellite offices and trial facilities, and the private college of technology that renovated the former Kamiyama Junior High School, received from the town, into its dormitory, checked against the town's statistics, documents published by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, and the pages of Green Valley and the college.
Kadaru Terrace Kindaichi — Why a Municipality of 23,000 Succeeded with Park-PFI
Structural analysis of Kadaru Terrace Kindaichi in Ninohe City, Iwate Prefecture (population 23,000). A locally funded townscape company, Kadaru Mirai, led a hot spring × Park-PFI project that won the 2023 JSCE Design Prize — a success model for small municipalities.
Manazuru Town × ENJOYWORKS — A Port Town of 6,000 Chooses Small Concession
Structural analysis of the small concession project between Manazuru Town, Kanagawa (population ~6,000) and ENJOYWORKS. As the first case adopted under MLIT's Small Concession Formation Promotion Program, examines the citizen-participatory workshops and operator development-oriented public tender design for the former Folklore Museum (former Tsuchiya Residence).
Growing Designated Manager Withdrawals — Background and Municipal Response Strategies
More than 20 years after the Designated Manager System's introduction, manager withdrawals, declinations, and zero-applicant situations are occurring across Japan. This article analyzes cases including Suntory Publicity Service's withdrawal from Kamakura Arts Hall and zero-applicant cultural facility tenders, examining systemic sustainability and presenting municipal response strategies.
Kaiseizan Park Park-PFI — The Design Philosophy Behind a 500-Point Scoring Rubric and a 19-Year Revenue Model
An in-depth analysis of Koriyama City's Kaiseizan Park Park-PFI project. Examines the 500-point + 8-point incentive evaluation rubric design, the 3-phase sounding structure, the 19-year revenue model, and the 5-company Daiwa Lease JV consortium.
Risk Allocation Design in Public-Private Partnerships — Learning from Failures: 'Who Bears Which Risk'
Most PPP/PFI project failures stem from risk allocation design errors. Drawing on real failures including Thalasso Fukuoka's demand risk transfer collapse and Omihachiman City Hospital's PFI breakdown, this article extracts risk allocation principles and presents practical risk allocation approaches for public asset utilization.
Abandoned School Reuse Failures — Why Repurposed Schools Become Idle Again: Structural Causes of Withdrawal and Business Collapse
According to MEXT surveys, approximately 25% of closed school facilities remain unused. Moreover, even facilities that initially found new uses sometimes return to idle status due to operator withdrawal or business collapse. This article analyzes structural causes of abandoned school reuse failures and identifies preconditions for avoidance.
5 Patterns of Park-PFI Project Failure — Structural Analysis of Contract Termination, Financial Deterioration, and Resident Opposition
While Park-PFI adoption expands across Japan, project failures and stagnation are also emerging. This article analyzes five structural failure patterns — financial deterioration, resident opposition, impact on neighboring businesses, flawed operator selection, and deficient risk allocation — and identifies preconditions for avoidance.
The Zero-Response Sounding Problem — 5 Reasons Private Operators Don't Participate and How to Fix It
Even when municipalities run sounding-type market surveys, some receive no responses or only perfunctory participation. This article analyzes five structural reasons private operators decline to participate and presents concrete design improvements at the sounding planning stage.
Transforming Idle Public Real Estate from Liability to Asset — A Municipal Strategy Guide [2026 Edition]
A comprehensive overview of Japan's idle public real estate problem — 8,850 closed schools, aging public housing, vacant municipal offices, and disused recreation facilities — with activation strategies, available subsidies, and success factors for local governments.
Subsidies and Support Programs for Small Concessions — A Complete Guide [2026 Edition]
A structured overview of subsidies and support mechanisms available for Small Concession projects — including the Leading PPP/PFI Support Program (up to 20 million yen), Social Capital Development Grants, Regional Revitalization Grants, Furusato Foundation, and the Cabinet Office PPP/PFI Advisor Dispatch — with practical application tips.
READING GUIDE
Choose a starting point.
Follow a short route through the basics, examples and practical steps. Community groups, researchers and students are welcome.
ROUTE 01
For municipal planning
Start with the basics, then move through cases, process and dialogue design.
- What Is Public Facility Management? Challenges, Concepts, and Next Steps
- Sapporo Yurigahara Park Park-PFI LiLiLi — Sapporo's First Case, Community-Led SPV Park Operation
- The Complete Park-PFI Process — A Four-Year Roadmap from Concept to Opening [2026 Edition]
- Market Sounding for PPP: 8-Item Question Template and Step-by-Step Guide
ROUTE 02
For prospective operators
Understand the system, test viability and prepare a proposal.
- What Is a Small Concession? A Complete Guide for Local Government Officials [2026 Edition]
- Higashi Yuenchi URBAN PICNIC — Kobe Sannomiya Redevelopment and Park-PFI After 8 Years of Citizen-Led Social Experiments
- How to Build a Park-PFI Revenue Plan — With Simulation Template [2026 Edition]
- How to Write a Park-PFI Proposal — Working Backward from the Scoring Criteria [2026 Edition]
ROUTE 03
Learn from setbacks
See how projects stall and which conditions to avoid.
- Abandoned School Reuse Failures — Why Repurposed Schools Become Idle Again: Structural Causes of Withdrawal and Business Collapse
- 5 Patterns of Park-PFI Project Failure — Structural Analysis of Contract Termination, Financial Deterioration, and Resident Opposition
- The Zero-Response Sounding Problem — 5 Reasons Private Operators Don't Participate and How to Fix It