JOURNAL
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Three Types of Sounding — Market, Pre, and Trial: How to Use Each【2026 Edition】
A guide to the three types of sounding (market sounding, pre-sounding, and trial sounding) used in public-private partnership projects: purpose, timing, procedures, and deliverables. An introductory guide for municipal officials.
Abandoned School Mixed-Use Development — The Best Pattern Combining Welfare, Education, and Café [2026 Edition]
A guide to activating abandoned schools not as a single-purpose facility but as a mixed-use model combining welfare, education, café, and community exchange functions. Covers the mechanisms behind risk diversification, financial viability, and community synergy; floor layout examples; a comparison of tenant-type and consortium-type operations; and success cases — 2026 edition.
Selling or Leasing a Closed School Under the Statutes: Administrative and Ordinary Property, Council Resolutions, Choosing the Counterparty, Termination, and Lease Terms
How the procedure changes depending on whether a closed school is sold or leased, compared against the Local Autonomy Act, its Enforcement Order, the Act on Land and Building Leases, the Civil Code and MEXT documents. It covers why administrative property cannot be sold, the council resolutions needed when disposing free of charge or below fair consideration and when selling above a set amount, competitive bidding and negotiated contracts, when the municipality can terminate after contracting, and how fixed-term land leaseholds, business-use fixed-term land leaseholds, fixed-term building leases and loans for use differ.
Closed School Rents and Sale Prices: Amounts Municipalities State for Schools on Offer, Free or Reduced Terms, and the Articles That Set Usage Fees and Lease Fees
Closed school rents and sale prices, checked against MEXT's list of closed school facilities currently seeking new uses. Of 455 listings, we set out all 16 that state a lease fee, rent or sale price and all 32 that offer free or reduced terms, together with the articles of the Local Autonomy Act that govern usage fees for administrative property and lease fees for ordinary property, and the documents MEXT requires to show how the amount was calculated when a subsidized building is transferred or leased for a charge.
PFI Act vs Park-PFI — Comparing Legal Basis, SPCs, and Project Terms【2026 Edition】
A thorough comparison of the PFI Act and Park-PFI, covering legal basis, SPC requirements, project terms, financing structures, and applicable scenarios. An intermediate-level guide for public facility management professionals.
Should a Closed School Be Sold or Leased? The Forms and Amounts Municipalities Show for Schools on Offer, and 14 Casebook Cases That Chose Transfer or Paid Lease
Whether to sell or lease a closed school, checked against MEXT's list of closed school facilities currently seeking new uses and its casebook. We count whether municipalities show a transfer or a lease in 455 listings, set out listings that state planned sale prices, lease fees, free or reduced terms and contract periods, and give the renovation costs and how they were shared in the 14 casebook cases that chose a transfer or a paid lease.
Small Concession vs Park-PFI — A Deep Dive into the Differences【2026 Edition】
A detailed comparison of the legal basis, SPC structure, risk allocation, and financing for Small Concession and Park-PFI. Complements the A-9 selection guide with in-depth analysis for intermediate readers.
How to Write a Park-PFI Proposal — Working Backward from the Scoring Criteria [2026 Edition]
A thorough guide to writing Park-PFI public solicitation proposals from the perspective of evaluation scoring. Covers how to read scoring criteria, the structure and key points for each chapter, what evaluators reward most, and the most common failure modes — all with the latest 2026 information.
How to Build a Park-PFI Revenue Plan — With Simulation Template [2026 Edition]
A detailed guide to building a Park-PFI business revenue and cost plan. Covers construction costs, operating costs, revenue forecasting, sensitivity analysis, and financing — with a three-scenario model (optimistic, base, pessimistic) sized for a mid-scale project (¥100M–¥300M development budget).
A Guide to Repurposing Closed Schools for Welfare Operators: Leasing, Building Checks, Subsidies, Designation Standards and Cases [2026 Edition]
How social welfare corporations, NPOs and companies can use closed schools for disability welfare, elderly care or children's support. Covers the Local Autonomy Act rules on lending and transferring municipal property, the contract forms in the 47 cases of MEXT's casebook, how to check seismic performance, accessibility and fire protection, the facility subsidies that differ by facility type, the equipment rules in the designation standards, and the Nishiwaga, Miharu and Nagaoka cases, all checked against the legal texts and ministry documents.
Direct Operation vs. Private Outsourcing — A Comparison Framework [2026 Edition]
Deciding between direct municipal operation and private outsourcing requires evaluating multiple dimensions: cost, service quality, public interest obligations, and risk allocation. This article presents a structured four-axis comparison framework, applies it to common facility types, and introduces hybrid approaches — shifting the question from 'which is better?' to 'how should we decide?'
Financing Public Asset Revitalization — From Green Bonds to SIBs and Hometown Tax
Traditional municipal bonds alone cannot cover the renewal costs of aging public facilities. This guide covers the full spectrum of financing methods available for public asset utilization—green bonds, social impact bonds (SIBs), government crowdfunding (GCF), project finance, and public subsidies—with a framework for selecting the right approach by project phase and scale.
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