Incentives for the conservation of traditional settlements: residents' perception in Ainokura and Kawagoe, Japan

This study emerged from the author(s)’ experience in conducting a survey with the residents in Ainokura Village at the Toyama Prefecture and the Kawagoe in the Saitama Prefecture, Japan. With the comprehensive legislations bound into the cultural heritage's sophisticated systems, Japan is often regarded as one of the leading countries in promoting cultural heritage protection despite the tendency for westernization and modernization influences prevalent after World War II. At present, the establishment of the Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties in Japan has increased public awareness for the conservation of the cultural heritage including tangible and intangible heritage. This research intends to look at the perceptions of the residents on the implementation of the cultural heritage conservation and incentives programme in those two traditional settlements. By using questionnaires and interviews involving the residents in the two areas, this study has employed the quantitative and qualitative approach in order to gather factual data. This research is conducted in order to address the overarching question of whether the incentive programmes that have been created for the community have been found to be suitable for the fulfilment of their aspirations and real needs.