Public Comments on the "Third Niseko Town Autonomy Revitalization Comprehensive Strategy (Draft)"

We are pleased to announce that we have received one comment from a public commenter regarding the "Third Niseko Town Autonomy Revitalization Comprehensive Strategy (Draft)".

<How to view> Period: From Wednesday, February 12, 2025 to Monday, February 24, 2025 Location: Niseko Town website

(Opinions)
Overall, I think the question is how the town's comprehensive plan and this comprehensive strategy will be utilized in the town's policies and budget allocation as a town responsible for administration, and how the plan will contribute to making them a reality. I was concerned that the "third" plan would tend to be limited to revisions to the "second" plan, or that it would end up being merely a matter of sorting out and adjusting items in the higher-level comprehensive plan. In that sense, I respect the fact that the "strategy" has placed "promotion of town development where people can continue to live in peace" as its first "basic goal." Having said that, I feel that the "reflection" has not been utilized.
"Peace of mind" and "ability to continue living" are also positioned in the current strategy, and in this section, "Review of the current strategy" (p9), it says, "Population cohort analysis (2020-2024, 2015-2019 comparison) 65-74 years old: It is assumed that elderly people move out of the area due to reasons such as transportation, snow removal, and nursing care as they get older." In relation to this, the chart on p33 says, "Responding to the 'difficulties in daily life' (traffic, snow removal, etc.) of the elderly," and on p36, "Developing a living environment that is easy for residents to live in, regardless of nationality or generation," and on p39 and 40, "Development and securing of new housing" is shown along with KPI figures, but there are no items for "traffic" or "snow removal."
Since the second key performance indicator (KPI) states "Responses to the 'lifestyle difficulties' of the elderly (transportation, snow removal, etc.)," how about including in the KPI for "transportation" not only "demand bus abandonment rate (single year)" but also "number of bus and JR services, taxi companies and number of vehicles," etc. There is no mention of a KPI for "snow removal," but wouldn't it be better to include items that show the actual situation, such as "number of large snow removal machine operators" and "number of welfare snow removal users"?

(answer)
We will consider adding additional indicators based on your comments.
For reference, regarding support for elderly people's "difficulties in daily life," the "Niseko Town Regional Public Transportation Plan," which is being implemented in line with the Autonomous Revitalization Comprehensive Strategy, provides details on "policies and projects for achieving goals." In addition, snow removal is described in the policy system of the "Niseko Town 9th Elderly Health and Welfare Plan," and the Autonomous Revitalization Comprehensive Strategy sets the "average period of independence" (the period during which daily life is independent) as a reference indicator for measuring the effectiveness of these policies.