What is Water PPP?

PPP/PFI is a promising method for simultaneously resolving various social issues and achieving economic growth. To accelerate its promotion, the government established a new action plan in 2023. One of the pillars of this plan is "Water PPP." What exactly is Water PPP? What are its benefits? What are the key points to consider when implementing it? Representatives from Water Agency and PACIFIC CONSULTANTS, both of which are actively working on this initiative on the private sector, discussed the matter, sharing case studies.

Eco Green Tochigi Project

Tochigi Prefecture began work on the construction of final landfill site after the discovery of illegal dumping of industrial wastes, but its progress was slow due to opposition from residents. However, it is difficult to eradicate illegal dumping without final landfill site within the prefecture. PACIFIC CONSULTANTS has proposed a completely closed, environmentally friendly approach using a unique PFI system that maximizes the business management's know-how of the private sector, contributing to the creation of final landfill site, "Eco Green Tochigi." Toshihiko TOKIDA, Technical Manager of Regional Environment Business Promotion Sec. in Resource Circulation Management Dept. and Wataru SUGIURA, General Manager of Section of the same section, who provided the support, look back on the project.

What is Area Marketing?

Analyzing trade areas and regional characteristics is essential for corporate marketing and for planning services and urban development measures promoted by local governments. Various types of big data are now available, and their utilization is attracting attention, but many people are unsure of the effects they can expect. We spoke to Taichi FUDAMOTO of the DX Business Promotion Dept., Digital Service Div. and one of the core members developing the human flow statistics service "Nation-wide Movement Statistics," about what area marketing using big data is, what it can reveal, and how it can be utilized.

What is a Parametric Model?

With the promotion of BIM/CIM to improve productivity at construction sites, a major issue at present is the amount of work required to create BIM/CIM. In particular, how efficiently creating structural models can be achieved will have a major impact on future productivity improvements. This is why parametric models are now attracting attention. They are also entering the practical application stage in the world of civil engineering. We talked to four people at PACIFIC CONSULTANTS who are involved in the development and promotion of parametric models: Satoshi TOBIOKA of Erosion Control Dept. of the National Land and Infrastructure Div.; Masato KIKUCHI of Erosion Control Dept. and Advanced Technology Center; Tatsuji YAMAGUCHI of the Ports and Harbors Dept. of the same division; and Miho TANAKA of Ports and Harbors Dept. and Advanced Technology CenterWith the promotion of BIM/CIM to improve productivity at construction sites, a major issue at present is the amount of work required to create BIM/CIM. In particular, how efficiently creating structural models can be achieved will have a major impact on future productivity improvements. This is why parametric models are now attracting attention. They are also entering the practical application stage in the world of civil engineering. We talked to four people at PACIFIC CONSULTANTS who are involved in the development and promotion of parametric models: Satoshi TOBIOKA of Erosion Control Dept. of the National Land and Infrastructure Div.; Masato KIKUCHI of Erosion Control Dept. and Advanced Technology Center; Tatsuji YAMAGUCHI of the Ports and Harbors Dept. of the same division; and Miho TANAKA of Ports and Harbors Dept. and Advanced Technology Center, about the current situation and future development.

What is a Autonomous Driving Bus?

Route buses are essential public transportation that anyone can use easily. However, an increasing number of routes are being forced to reduce or discontinue service due to decreasing users and a lack of drivers, making stable continuity a major issue. This is where expectations are rising for autonomous driving buses. While a field demonstration experiment and demonstration runs are underway across the country, challenges are also emerging. We interviewed three people who have been involved in the development of autonomous driving systems and supporting the introduction of autonomous driving buses for a long time, including Akira MITSUYASU and Kai KOMORI from the Mobility DX Sec., DX Business Promotion Dept., and Ken WATANABE from Urban Management Sec., Transportation Planning Dept., about the current state of the introduction of autonomous driving buses, the steps involved, and points to be aware of.

What is Roadside Station?

"Roadside Stations", which began in 1993, are expected to have 1,230 registered stations as of the end of January 2025, and are expected to play a key role in revitalizing regional areas. However, while some are popular for selling goods, many are struggling with low user numbers. We interviewed about the current state of roadside station and their future direction to Ichiro MIYAMORI from the Infrastructure Business Management Dept., and Masaharu KATSURADA from the Project Promotion Sec. of Tohoku Social Innovation Business Dept. of Project Innovation Div. of PACIFIC CONSULTANTS which have been deeply involved in roadside station as a private business sector as well as providing consulting services to many local governments across the country, such as creating basic plans and conducting feasibility studies.

Corporate's Climate Change Countermeasures

In recent years, extreme weather events such as extreme heat waves and torrential rains have been occurring frequently in many parts of the world, causing severe damage such as floods and landslides. These weather disasters are believed to be caused by global warming in addition to the effects of natural variability. It is "beyond doubt" ("IPCC 6th Report") that human activities have caused global warming mainly through greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and how to reduce GHG emissions has become an important issue not only for governments and local public organizations but also for private companies and individual citizens. We interviewed three people who are involved in the formulation of guidelines for national climate change countermeasures and at the same time provide a wide range of support for local public organizations and corporate carbon neutrality, from strategic planning to on-site implementation: Kimiko KAJII, Chief Technical General Manager and General Project Manager of ESG Sustainable Smart City, Ryota II, General Manager of GX Promotion Dept., Social Innovation Div., and Keizo IKEDA, General Manager of Climate and Resources Policy Sec., who is also a member of this department of PACIFIC CONSULTANTS, about how companies should promote climate change countermeasures.

What is a Bulk Plastic Waste Collection?

In April 2022, the "Act on the Promotion of Resource Circulation for Plastics" came into effect, requiring local governments to collect and recycle plastic waste other than plastic waste used for conventional containers and packaging in bulk. While there are some issues that need to be addressed, such as the need to review the collection and transportation system and the garbage collection calendar, the importance of this initiative is increasing in order to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. We interviewed Takuma KANO from the Resource Circulation Management Dept.,Atsushi TAKENOUCHI from the DX Business Promotion Dept. , and Gou YAMAMURA from the Disaster Prevention Dept. of PACIFIC CONSULTANTS, who provide various consulting services, including analysis of the current situation, identification of issues, and operation management systems for collection vehicles, to ensure smooth implementation of bulk collection.

Protecting Corporate Facilities and Factories from Landslides

In recent years, there have been many landslides caused by short periods of heavy rain, and the number of casualties per disaster has been on the rise. Protecting corporate employees, their families, facilities, and factories from landslides is a major issue for business continuity. However, when it comes to deciding specifically where to start, many people say they don't know where to start. We spoke with Takahiro Igarashi, who is in charge of supporting companies in formulating disaster prevention plans, business creation, and the development and operation of the landslide information service "Doshaburu®" in the Disaster Disaster Prevention Dept. of PACIFIC CONSULTANTS 'Digital Service Div. Headquarters, and Tatsuki Hirano of the Resilience Promotion Office in the same department.