FACILITY-MANAGEMENT
The future of public facilities, on comparable information.
Usage, upkeep, reviewing what a facility is for, and public-private partnership: the questions a decision turns on.
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Public-Private Partnerships in the Kansai Region — Latest PPP/PFI Trends in Osaka, Kyoto, and Hyogo
Comparative analysis of PPP/PFI cases across Osaka, Kyoto, and Hyogo. Covers GRAND GREEN OSAKA's Umekita Park (disaster prevention park district development), Kyoto's machiya regeneration and concessions, and Himeji City's Small Concession (Bokeitei) — revealing the distinctive characteristics of Kansai-style public-private partnerships.
PPP Contract Design After COVID — New Standards for Force Majeure and Demand Risk Clauses
The COVID-19 pandemic exposed structural vulnerabilities in PPP/PFI contracts, with airport concession revenues dropping over 60% and 25 airport building companies falling into deficit. From the Cabinet Office's force majeure recognition to the 2021 triple guideline revision, the 2022 PFI Act amendment, and the 2025 Action Plan's 'phase-free' vision, this article maps the full landscape of post-COVID contract design.
Park-PFI vs. the Designated Manager System: Which Should You Choose? [2026 Edition]
A guide for municipalities and private businesses: a comparative analysis of Park-PFI and the designated manager system. Covers legal basis, project terms, risk allocation, revenue structures, recommendations by park type, and hybrid combinations. 2026 edition.
Comparing 7 PPP/PFI Methods: How to Choose Between Park-PFI, Small Concession, and Designated Management [2026 Edition]
A guide for municipal officials: comparing PFI Act Concession, BTO, BOT, RO, Park-PFI, Small Concession, and Designated Management across project scale, contract duration, risk allocation, and revenue structure. A facility-type recommendation matrix and selection flowchart help identify the right method for your municipality.
Nagaoka City Kosodatenoeki Senshu — Japan's First Park-Integrated Childcare Support Model and Sustainable Operations
Structural analysis of Nagaoka City's Kosodatenoeki Senshu 'Tekuteku.' Opened in 2009 as Japan's first park-integrated childcare support facility. Examines the design philosophy of resident nursery staff, free admission, and all-weather functionality, plus the sustainable model expanded to 13+ locations.
Designated Manager Withdrawals: What the MIC Survey Counts, and the Four Options Open to a Municipality
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.
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.
Change of Use for Former Government Buildings — Three Legal Walls and How to Break Through Them
When a former government building is put to a different use, the Building Standards Act, the Fire Service Act and the Act on Promotion of Seismic Retrofitting of Buildings each set their own conditions. This article checks them against the statutes and MLIT documents: the three conditions that trigger building confirmation, how to investigate a building without an inspection certificate, when fire protection equipment must meet the standards for the new use, and the effort duty, instruction and mandatory categories of the seismic retrofitting act. It then traces, from Shimoda City's own documents, how the city turned the former Inouzawa Junior High School into its city hall.
The Complete Guide to LABV (Local Asset Backed Vehicle) — Proposing Public Asset Development Without Waiting for Park-PFI Public Calls Through Municipal Land-Contribution LLCs
The Local Asset Backed Vehicle (LABV), originating in the UK, is a public-private joint scheme in which a municipality contributes land in-kind while the private sector contributes capital to form an LLC-type joint venture. Although Japanese case accumulation is still in its infancy, LABV deserves consideration as a third option alongside Park-PFI and Small Concessions — particularly when combined with the private-sector proposal system, which enables private actors to initiate proposals without waiting for public procurement. This guide carefully organizes the distinctions from SPCs, institutional positioning, applicable targets, implementation hurdles, and the potential scope of sequential development.
How Local Companies Become PFI Lead Sponsors — Lessons from Yonago Joint Government Building and Date City School Lunch Center Companion-Model Success
Traditionally, large general contractors and major consultants have filled the lead sponsor role in PFI projects. But local companies are now emerging as lead sponsors in nationally recognized exemplary cases. Using the Yonago Joint Government Building wide-area PFI and the Date City School Lunch Center as case studies, this article examines the companion model structure, five success conditions, and the role of municipalities in enabling local participation.
The Toyoake Model — How a Population-70,000 City Masters the Priority Review Procedure (The "Private Sector Utilization Projects" Naming Strategy)
Toyoake City in Aichi Prefecture, with a population of approximately 70,000, established its Priority Review Procedure in FY2018 — a notable achievement given that the formulation rate among municipalities with populations between 50,000 and 100,000, the band Toyoake belongs to, stood at 17.3% as of the end of March 2025. This article examines the naming strategy of calling it 'Private Sector Utilization Projects' instead of 'PPP/PFI', the three-part organizational design (Private Utilization Promotion Office, Review Committee, Project Advisor), the lower-than-national project cost thresholds, the institutional incorporation of designated manager renewals, and the stepwise rollout of comprehensive facility management outsourcing.
The Complete Guide to Water PPP — The FY2027 Grant Requirement and the Level 3.5 Transition
A structured guide to Water PPP (since FY2025 the national government calls it Mizu no Kanmin Renkei, public-private partnership for water), the framework that entrusts the upkeep and renewal of water and sewerage to private operators together. From FY2027, receiving grants for sewage pipe renewal requires that adoption already be decided, and at Level 3.5 that means the tender must be open, not merely that an implementation policy has been published (MLIT Guideline ver. 3.0). Covers which renewal works are in scope, the level taxonomy and four requirements, Myoko City's case, and the three routes left when the deadline is out of reach.
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