A Study on the Current Status and Issues of Public Facilities in Small Municipalities in Japan

This study investigates public facility management in 351 small Japanese municipalities, revealing three key findings. First, many decommissioned facilities remain undemolished, necessitating strategic asset management under financial constraints. Second, while town halls are actively rebuilt for disaster resilience, the need to update aging infrastructure persists. Third, accelerating population decline strongly correlates with school facility reductions. Given severe demographic challenges and aging schools, comprehensive facility management is essential. This requires integrating facility updates, adaptive reuse of closed sites, and securing demolition funds, rather than mere facility consolidation.