Overview of the FY2026 Small Concession Formation Promotion Project
Overview of the national program — how the government selects specialists, dispatches them to 7 municipalities, and covers all costs for feasibility support
Selected Municipalities
7
FY2026
Historic Townhouse Cases
4/7
Structural concentration
Population Range
5,600–518K
All scales included
The Small Concession Formation Promotion Project is a program in which the national government dispatches selected specialists to municipalities considering the utilization of idle public real estate, providing hands-on support throughout the feasibility process. In FY2026, 7 municipalities were selected, with specialists supporting the early stages of project development, from area vision formulation to facility condition surveys.
The program flow is as follows:
Open Call (April–May)
MLIT solicits specialist candidates. Consulting firms, community development companies, and incorporated associations — a diverse range of organizations can apply.
Selection
Specialists apply for specific municipalities and projects, then are selected through review. Matching facility characteristics with specialist strengths is the key evaluation criterion.
Hands-on Support (June through the following February)
Specialists provide hands-on support for the early stages of project development, including area vision formulation and facility condition surveys.
Results Presentation (the following February)
Outcomes are presented in February of the following year. The knowledge gained here contributes to a growing pool of applicants for the subsequent year's open call.
The FY2026 program was the second consecutive year of open calls, following FY2025. The track record of municipalities and specialists from the previous year has contributed to a growing pool of applicants for FY2026.
What Is Small Concession?
Explaining the basic framework, eligible facilities, and how to participate
Detailed Case Studies for 7 Municipalities
Target facilities, selected specialists, and the design intent behind selection for Manazuru Town, Anjo City, Himeji City, Nara City, Ikeda Town, Shimoda City, and Nagasu Town
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.
The following table lists the 7 municipalities selected in FY2026, along with their target facilities, populations, and selected specialists.
| Municipality | Population | Target Facility | Facility Type | Selected Specialist |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manazuru Town (Kanagawa) | ~6,000 | Former Folk Museum | Historic Townhouse | EnjoyWorks |
| Anjo City (Aichi) | ~190,000 | Former Kamiya Family Residence | Historic Townhouse (within historic park) | Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu |
| Himeji City (Hyogo) | ~520,000 | Former Hamamoto Family Residence | Historic Townhouse | Hankyu CM |
| Nara City (Nara) | ~340,000 | Former Chief Retainer's Residence of Yagyu Domain | Historic Townhouse (designated cultural property) | PwC |
| Ikeda Town (Hokkaido) | ~5,600 | Former Takashima Elementary School + Former Clinic + Former Residence | Mixed Use (including former school) | Area Craft Hokkaido + Hokkaido Hakuhodo |
| Shimoda City (Shizuoka) | ~18,000 | Former City Hall Building | Former Government Building | Construction Engineering Research Institute |
| Nagasu Town (Kumamoto) | ~15,000 | Former Nagasu Junior High School | Former School | Construction Engineering Research Institute |
Manazuru Town (Kanagawa)
Revitalizing a Port Town Townhouse with a Community Development Firm
A small port town of approximately 6,000 residents. The target facility is the former folk museum, a historic townhouse.
EnjoyWorks was selected as the specialist. The firm specializes in community development, with particular strengths in crowdfunding-driven real estate renovation (fan-investment model). It has a strong track record in small-scale historic building monetization through shared vacation homes, guesthouses, and co-working spaces.
When choosing an adviser with reference to this case, review experience in small facility reuse, community cooperation and financing. Define the work needed for the target facility and compare support capabilities rather than relying on company size.
Anjo City (Aichi)
Why a Major Consultancy Enters a Historic Park Townhouse Case
A core city of approximately 190,000 residents. The target facility is the former Kamiya family residence (a historic townhouse) located within a historic park.
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu was selected as the specialist.
Why Deloitte? The key factor is the legal complexity of operating within a historic park. Sites designated as historic sites generate complex legal questions at the intersection of the Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties and urban planning law. Designing a scheme that introduces revenue-generating activities without impairing the historic site's value requires advisors with expertise in both cultural property utilization and public-private partnerships. This type of project demands the legal and regulatory risk management capacity of a major consulting firm — Deloitte's selection directly responds to that requirement.
Himeji City (Hyogo)
Supporting a Castle Town Townhouse from the Kansai Region
A core city of approximately 520,000 residents, known for Himeji Castle. The target facility is the former Hamamoto family residence (a historic townhouse).
Hankyu CM (Construction Management) was selected as the specialist. The firm specializes in owner-side support (construction management) for PPP/PFI projects and has particular strength in public-private partnership projects in the Kansai region.
Why Hankyu CM? Himeji City has strong tourism assets as a castle town, making tourism, accommodation, and food and beverage the leading candidates for townhouse utilization. For a core city of this scale, "quality control of renovation construction" and "ensuring transparency in operator selection" become critical at the time of project implementation. Hankyu CM's construction management expertise allows it to support both of these needs in an integrated manner — a rare capability in this field.
Nara City (Nara)
Why PwC Enters a Designated Cultural Property Case
A core city of approximately 340,000 residents. The target facility is the former chief retainer's residence of the Yagyu Domain (a historic townhouse designated as a cultural property).
PwC was selected as the specialist.
Why PwC? Buildings designated as cultural properties face fundamental restrictions on monetization methods. Because normal renovation and change of use are restricted under the Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties, the work involves a complex interplay of legal scrutiny (what is and isn't permitted), coordination with cultural property departments at the national, prefectural, and municipal levels, and designing alternative approaches to ensure financial viability. Cultural property utilization in a historic city like Nara is among the most technically demanding projects in Japan, requiring the legal and financial expertise of an internationally prominent major consulting firm. Designing a revenue model that preserves the property's cultural heritage value while enabling private-sector creativity — this is the role expected of PwC.
Ikeda Town (Hokkaido)
An Incorporated Association Beats Large Firms
A rural municipality of approximately 5,600 residents. This is a complex case involving the integrated utilization of three facilities: the former Takashima Elementary School, a former clinic, and a former residence.
A consortium of Area Craft Hokkaido (an incorporated association) and Hokkaido Hakuhodo was selected as the specialist.
Why Area Craft Hokkaido + Hokkaido Hakuhodo? Ikeda Town is a small municipality in rural Hokkaido, where large Tokyo-based consultancies tend to produce proposals disconnected from the local reality. The two-tier consortium structure — an incorporated association functioning as a locally rooted expert, with Hokkaido Hakuhodo handling communication design and community consensus-building — was evaluated as a support framework that deeply understands the local context.
Shimoda City (Shizuoka)
A Major Construction Consultancy for Former Government Building Utilization
A hot spring resort city of approximately 18,000 residents. The target facility is the former city hall building.
Construction Engineering Research Institute was selected as the specialist.
Why Construction Engineering Research Institute? The utilization of a former city hall must begin with a professional assessment of the building's structure, equipment, and seismic performance. Converting a building constructed for administrative use into a facility amenable to private use requires construction expertise at every step: facility condition survey → renovation cost estimation → financial simulation. In a hot spring resort like Shimoda, accommodation, food and beverage, and co-working are all viable utilization directions for the former city hall — but in each case, accurately understanding the building's condition is the prerequisite.
Nagasu Town (Kumamoto)
Construction Consultancies Are Effective for Former School Utilization Too
A farming and fishing community of approximately 15,000 residents. The target facility is the former Nagasu Junior High School.
Construction Engineering Research Institute was selected as the specialist (the same firm as Shimoda City). For detailed procedures on former school utilization, see Complete Guide to Former School Utilization.
Why Construction Engineering Research Institute? The viability of repurposing a former school is directly tied to the question of "how usable is the building?" Seismic assessment, asbestos screening, and rough cost estimates for use-change renovation — these cannot be accurately evaluated without construction specialists. Before determining the direction of use, accurately understanding the facility's current condition is the first step, and that is the expertise expected of construction consultancies.
Three Specialist Selection Patterns
Reading the structural logic of selection through three axes: legal complexity, local context, and physical assessment priority
Looking across the 7 cases, the selection criteria are clearly differentiated by facility characteristics, regional characteristics, and project phase.
Pattern 1: Cultural Property and Historic Site Cases
PwC and Deloitte were selected for the 2 cases involving cultural properties or historic sites (Nara City and Anjo City). At the intersection of cultural property law, urban planning law, and the Building Standards Law, major firms' legal and regulatory research capabilities are essential.
Pattern 2: Rural and Small-Municipality Cases
Locally rooted specialists were selected for the 2 rural or small-municipality cases (Ikeda Town in rural Hokkaido, Manazuru Town as a port town). For municipalities with populations in the thousands, demand for specialists who know the community and can sustain local dialogue is reflected in these selections.
Pattern 3: Cases Where Physical Assessment Is the Priority
Construction Engineering Research Institute was selected for the 2 cases where accurate facility assessment was the prerequisite (Shimoda City's former city hall and Nagasu Town's former school). When "how usable is the building?" must be answered accurately before any direction can be set, construction expertise takes priority.
Understanding these three patterns can be directly applied as a framework for selecting the appropriate specialist type when municipalities utilize the specialist dispatch program.
Three Trends from the Cases
Concentration on historic townhouses, coexistence of large firms and small associations, entry of small municipalities
Trend 1: Structural Reasons Why Historic Townhouses Account for 4 of 7 Cases
Four of the 7 municipalities (Manazuru, Anjo, Himeji, and Nara) are targeting historic townhouses. This is not coincidental — it reflects the national government's promotion strategy, which positions "historic townhouses and similar structures donated by residents" as primary targets.
Why are historic townhouses overrepresented? There are three structural reasons.
① Appropriate scale: Historic townhouses are relatively small in floor area (roughly 100–300 m²), making renovation costs lower than schools or government buildings. They naturally fit the Small Concession definition of projects under 10 billion yen.
② Monetization diversity: There are many revenue options that combine with regional resources — tourism, food and beverage, accommodation, and experiential lodging. Unlike former schools, which often struggle to secure a user base, historic townhouses function as tourism content in their own right as "historical buildings."
③ Post-donation utilization challenges: Municipalities that have received donated townhouses from residents often hold the properties without being able to make effective use of them. These "negative assets" that consume maintenance costs without generating value can be transformed into resources through private-sector involvement — an outcome that also aligns with the original donor's intent.
Trend 2: Specialists Range from Major Firms to Small Associations
"Small" Applies to Specialist Organizations Too
The diversity of selected specialists is striking. From globally prominent major firms (PwC, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu) to large construction consultancies (Construction Engineering Research Institute), urban development firms (EnjoyWorks), and an incorporated association (Area Craft Hokkaido) — the cases span a wide range in organizational scale, legal form, and local embeddedness.
The Ikeda Town case makes a clear statement: given an appropriate consortium and a proposal matched to the regional and facility characteristics, an incorporated association can beat major consultancies in the selection process. The "small" in Small Concession applies not only to project cost, but also to the organizational scale of the specialists involved.
Trend 3: No Population Size Threshold for Participation
The 7 municipalities range in population from approximately 5,600 (Ikeda Town) to approximately 518,000 (Himeji City). Three municipalities have fewer than 20,000 residents (Manazuru Town, Ikeda Town, and Nagasu Town).
The existence of a nationally funded specialist dispatch program means that even municipalities with limited fiscal capacity can overcome the "implementation barrier." Without this program, small municipalities that cannot independently generate consultant fees would be excluded from the outset.
Comparison of Preconditions
A comparative framework for applying the 7 cases to your own municipality and identifying the appropriate specialist type
The following table helps assess whether the 7 cases are applicable to your own municipality.
| Precondition | Manazuru | Anjo | Himeji | Nara | Ikeda | Shimoda | Nagasu |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 5,971 | 186,353 | 518,311 | 338,416 | 5,592 | 17,924 | 14,531 |
| Facility Type | Historic Townhouse | Historic Townhouse | Historic Townhouse | Historic Townhouse | Mixed | Former Gov't Bldg | Former School |
| Cultural Property | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| Number of Facilities | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| Tourism Resources | Port town | Historic park | Castle town | Historic city | Rural | Hot spring resort | Farming/fishing village |
| Specialist Type | Community dev't firm | Major consultancy | CM specialist | Major consultancy | Regional consortium | Construction consultancy | Construction consultancy |
Identify the case with conditions most similar to your municipality and use that case's specialist support approach and selection rationale as a reference. If your target facility is a designated cultural property, you will likely need a major consultancy of the Nara/Anjo type. If you are a small rural municipality, the Ikeda Town model of building a regional consortium may be the more effective approach.
Five Questions for Assessing Applicability to Your Municipality
After reviewing the cases, the following five questions are recommended for assessing the applicability of the program to your own municipality.
① What are the legal constraints on the target facility?
Start by identifying legal constraints that affect the degree of freedom in utilization — cultural property designation, historic site status, and use restrictions under the Building Standards Law. As with Nara City and Anjo City, when a cultural property designation applies, the legal risk management capacity of a major consultancy becomes essential.
② What is the approximate renovation cost?
Assess the building's condition (seismic performance, asbestos, equipment deterioration) and the scope of renovation required for use changes. As with Shimoda City and Nagasu Town, facility condition surveys by construction consultancies are often the starting point.
③ Are there nearby resources capable of attracting visitors?
If tourism assets (hot springs, castles, port) are available, food and beverage and accommodation-type revenue models are more viable. For rural areas like Ikeda Town, utilizing the facility as a hub for community life is often the more realistic direction.
④ Has private sector interest in participation been confirmed?
Whether sounding market surveys (structured dialogue with potential operators) have been conducted. If not, using the specialist dispatch program to start from sounding design is an effective approach.
⑤ How far has internal consensus-building progressed?
Confirm the status of the mayor's office alignment, council explanations, and coordination with relevant departments (urban planning, property management, welfare, etc.). Without internal alignment, even the involvement of an external specialist will not get the project moving.
Answers to these five questions will serve as the basis for determining which specialist type your municipality needs.
Comparing 7 PPP/PFI Methods
How to choose among Park-PFI, Small Concession, designated management, and 4 other methods
Whether you find yourself thinking "we could do this too" or "this doesn't apply to us," the first necessary step is to accurately understand your own municipality's preconditions. In particular, the question of "which specialist type is the right fit for our project" is directly tied to whether the specialist dispatch program is the right vehicle.
ISVD offers free consultations to help municipalities clarify their preconditions and identify the most appropriate public-private partnership approach.
What to do next
When considering expert support with reference to cases, identify the issues and scope of the request.
| # | What to check or consider | Responsible team or contact |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Choose a case with a similar facility type and use | Article cases and published records |
| 2 | Use MLIT's platform to gather information. Membership is free and provides case studies and notices about grants and expert dispatch calls | Official platform website |
| 3 | Ask the case municipality what it asked experts to do and what the support achieved | Case municipality |
| 4 | Check seismic assessment and asbestos survey results for candidate facilities. If surveys are missing, determine their scope and how to commission them | Facilities team |
| 5 | Ask operators about their interest and requirements. If a standalone project is difficult, consider cooperation with neighbouring municipalities | Market sounding and neighbouring municipalities |
Before requesting expert dispatch, identify the matters on which support is needed, such as demand research, project methods or solicitation terms. Review support and outcomes in the case to determine the surveys and advice needed for the target facility.
References
Call for Specialists to Be Dispatched to Local Governments Working on Small Concessions — Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (2026)
Dispatching Specialists to Local Governments Examining Small Concessions — Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (2025)
Small Concession Promotion Policy — Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Bureau of General Policy (2024)
Small Concession Platform — Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (2024)
PPP/PFI Promotion Action Plan — Cabinet Office, Private Finance Initiative Promotion Office (2024)
Explore Further
Manazuru Town × ENJOYWORKS
A port town of 6,000 chooses small concession
Anjo City × Deloitte Tohmatsu
Legal constraints and scheme design for a historic park
Small Concession in Hokkaido
Strategies for vast land and idle facilities
Transforming Idle Public Real Estate
A municipal strategy for turning liabilities into assets
