Current State of Public Asset Activation in Shikoku
PPP/PFI adoption status across the four Shikoku prefectures compared nationally
Nationwide Park-PFI deployments
203 parks
End of FY2025
Park-PFI cases in Shikoku's 4 prefectures
Minimal
Ehime PPP/PFI Regional Platform established
2022
Among Japan's four Shikoku prefectures (Kagawa, Ehime, Tokushima, and Kochi), within the 203 parks nationwide where Park-PFI is being utilized, cases in the Shikoku region are extremely limited. No Shikoku municipalities were among those selected for the Small Concession Formation Promotion Project, making it fair to characterize the region as a "blank zone" for PPP/PFI broadly.
National Comparison
Park-PFI adoption is published prefecture by prefecture, so the gap can be checked directly against the list.
| Prefecture | Parks in the MLIT list |
|---|---|
| Tokyo | 18 (the most of any prefecture) |
| Fukuoka | 17 |
| Kanagawa | 14 |
| Aichi and Osaka | 13 each |
| Kagawa | 1 (Takamatsu City, Chuo Park) |
| Kochi | 2 (Kochi Prefecture, Godaisan Park; Kochi City, Katsurahama Park) |
| Tokushima and Ehime | not in the list |
In Kyushu, Kumamoto is likewise absent from the list. What follows is this article's own reading. No document explains the gap, so treat what comes next as an argument from structure.
Three Structural Factors Behind Delayed Adoption
Population scale, private operator absence, and lack of internal administrative structures
Unit costs and amounts in financial examples without a cited source are illustrative assumptions, not statistically established market rates. Use estimates and comparable records appropriate to the target facility, location and business when preparing a project plan. Distinguish these assumptions from cited statistics and case expenditure.
Factor 1: Population Scale Constraints
The populations of Shikoku's four prefectural capitals are modest, and no designated city exists: 407,208 in Takamatsu, 497,041 in Matsuyama, 241,075 in Tokushima and 309,383 in Kochi, as of 1 October 2025. Compared to cities where Park-PFI is thriving — Yokohama (about 3.75 million), Nagoya (about 2.35 million), Fukuoka (about 1.66 million) — the population gap is stark.
Smaller population raises the Park-PFI adoption barrier in three ways:
- Lower ceiling on park visitors: The visitor base that drives revenue facility sales is inherently limited
- Weaker private-sector entry incentive: Revenue prospects are harder to establish, weakening major operator motivation
- Fewer precedent cases: Without examples, municipalities lack confidence that "we can do this too," creating a vicious cycle of delayed adoption
Factor 2: Absence of Private Operators
More than half of municipalities cite "no internal promotion structure" as a PPP/PFI challenge — a nationwide issue that is even more pronounced in Shikoku.
The Shikoku region has few private operators with Park-PFI or Small Concession track records. The incentive for major Tokyo or Kansai-based operators to extend into Shikoku is limited, creating a vicious cycle of "no operators → cannot adopt → operators do not develop."
Factor 3: Lack of Internal Administrative Structures
PPP/PFI adoption requires cross-functional coordination among park management, finance, planning, and legal departments. In Shikoku's smaller municipalities with limited staffing, many cannot assign dedicated PPP/PFI personnel.
Emerging Signs of Change
Sanuki Manno Park sounding and establishment of the Ehime PPP/PFI Regional Platform
Shikoku is not a complete blank. Several noteworthy developments are emerging.
Sanuki Manno Park Sounding
At Sanuki Manno National Government Park (Manno Town, Kagawa Prefecture), a market sounding survey was conducted to explore the potential for private-sector energy introduction.Conducting a sounding at a national government park represents a significant first step toward public-private partnership in the Shikoku region. A market sounding survey is a low-cost, low-risk method of "asking the private sector first" — an optimal entry point for PPP/PFI adoption.
Ehime PPP/PFI Regional Platform
Ehime Prefecture established the "Ehime PPP/PFI Regional Platform" in March 2022 (Reiwa 4). The aim is to systematically promote PPP/PFI adoption to address the aging of public facilities concentrated during the rapid economic growth period across the prefecture's municipalities.
The regional platform's functions include:
- Information sharing: Providing PPP/PFI precedent cases and regulatory updates to prefectural municipalities
- Training and seminars: Conducting PPP/PFI training for municipal officials
- Matching: Supporting matching between municipalities and private operators
- Inter-municipal coordination: Supporting joint project consideration across multiple prefectural municipalities
Characteristics of Shikoku's Public Assets
Types of idle facilities, closed schools, and parks with activation potential
The four Shikoku prefectures have numerous public assets that could serve as PPP/PFI targets.
Closed Schools
School closures from FY2004 to FY2023, by prefecture: Kochi 142, Tokushima 139, Ehime 138, and Kagawa 109. The four prefectures add up to 528, or 6.0% of the national 8,850 (this article did the addition and the division). Many are located in mountainous areas and on remote islands, with potential for conversion to welfare, tourism, and experiential learning uses.
Nationally, annual closures have run between 279 and 405 since FY2016, below earlier years (578 in FY2004). No document gives year-by-year figures for the four Shikoku prefectures on their own.
Idle Public Facilities
Former government buildings, community centers, and teacher housing that have lost their original purpose but lack defined reuse plans exist in municipalities throughout the region. These could serve as Small Concession target facilities, though many cases have not even begun considering activation.
Urban Parks
Urban parks in the four prefectural capitals (Takamatsu, Matsuyama, Tokushima, Kochi) are potential Park-PFI candidate sites. With populations of 240,000 to 500,000, these cities are at a scale where numerous successful Park-PFI cases exist nationwide.
Combination with Tourism Resources
Shikoku's distinctive tourism assets — the 88-temple pilgrimage, the Naruto whirlpools, the Shimanto River, Dogo Onsen — are among Japan's finest. Combining these tourism resources with parks and public facilities could provide visitor-drawing power that compensates for population scale constraints.
Future Developments and Needed Support
What is needed to promote PPP/PFI in Shikoku
What Is Needed to Promote PPP/PFI in Shikoku
① Prefecture-level promotion structures: Extend platforms like Ehime's PPP/PFI Regional Platform to all four Shikoku prefectures. A mechanism for prefectures to compensate for individual municipality capacity gaps is essential.
② Creating small-scale success stories: Rather than targeting large-scale Park-PFI immediately, accumulate small successes of the "single café" type. Success experiences generate subsequent adoption.
③ Inter-prefectural coordination: Shikoku's four prefectures form a relatively compact economic zone where cross-border coordination is effective. Joint sounding events and shared operator pools across the four prefectures are possibilities.
④ Active use of national support programs: The Small Concession Formation Promotion Project's expert dispatch program provides access to expert knowledge at no cost. Shikoku municipalities applying for this program would be a vital first step.
→ For comparison of PPP/PFI methods, see Comprehensive Comparison of 7 PPP Methods.
Complete Guide to Park-PFI
Comprehensive explanation of the system, procedures, and cases
What Is Small Concession?
Basic guide to the idle facility activation system
Park-PFI Latest Cases and Statistics [2026 Edition]
Statistics across 203 parks and regional trends
What to do next
When responding to withdrawals or unsuccessful calls for designated managers, examine the reasons before reviewing management methods and solicitation terms.
| # | What to check or consider | Responsible team or contact |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ask operators why they withdrew or did not apply. Check which conditions caused difficulties, including the management fee, term, repair costs and staffing | Current manager and interested operators |
| 2 | Review how the management fee was calculated, checking staffing assumptions against current minimum wages and other relevant costs | Responsible department |
| 3 | Review repair requests and funding over the past five years. Identify outstanding repairs and expected future costs | Facilities and budget teams |
| 4 | Compare direct operation, appointment without open solicitation, revised re-solicitation and other methods, using the withdrawal reasons, management fee and repair costs | Responsible department and decision makers |
| 5 | If re-soliciting, review price adjustment provisions, the designation period and responsibility for repairs | Solicitation drafting team |
Before re-soliciting, examine the reasons for withdrawals or unsuccessful calls and review the conditions for sustainable operation. Distinguish operator-specific circumstances from problems with the solicitation terms.
References
Park-PFI System Utilization Status — Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (FY2023)
Report on PPP/PFI Promotion Challenges and Support Measures by Stakeholder Type — MLIT General Policy Bureau (2017)
Ehime PPP/PFI Regional Platform — Ehime Prefecture (2022)
PPP/PFI Case Collection — Cabinet Office PPP/PFI Promotion Office (2024)
Related Articles
Comparing 7 PPP/PFI Methods
How to choose between Park-PFI, small concession, and others
Public Facility Management Guide
What to do after the comprehensive management plan
PPP in the Kansai Region
Latest PPP/PFI trends in Osaka, Kyoto, and Hyogo
