Backdoor Japan: The Search for a Way out via Regionalism and Decentralization

Sapporo, Niigata, and Kanazawa devised strategies in the 1990s to lead Japan's entry into the emerging Northeast Asian region and to spur decen- tralization, but their plans proved to be unrealistic. Idealistic notions of decen- tralization have faded. The coalition behind the Committee for the Promotion of Decentralization established as part of Prime Minister Hashimoto Ryutar6's big bang has split. Rising aspirations for regionalism around the Sea of rim also have been frustrated, especially as relations with the Russian Far East proved difficult. must coordinate a new model of regionalism and decen- tralization to emerge as a leader. As the transition from the postwar era got underway, hopes stirred along the Sea of coastline that this forgotten sea would no longer be left far behind by Japan's robust Pacific coast. Local administrations, think tanks, and newspapers speculated that, through some combination of decentraliza- tion, reentry into Asia, and regionalism in a newly dynamic Northeast Asia, the geographical balance of might at last shift. Reminding people of the pejorative backdoor Japan (ura Nippon) used to dismiss their back- wardness, the prefectures and cities of the Sea of rim pressed for strategies of cooperation and models of transformation suitable to their vi- sions of a new age. Evidence from the past six years indicates, however, that such hopes have been frustrated. By analyzing the experiences of Kanazawa (Ishikawa Prefecture), Niigata (Niigata Prefecture), and Sapporo (Hok- kaido), we can gain insight into the mistakes of this period and assess the