Overview of the Aso Design Center - 公益財団法人阿蘇地域振興デザインセンター

The Role of the Aso Design Center

The Aso Design Center has a central role in creating mechanisms and presenting broad-based solutions for local issues. The center is involved with creating broad-based regional ties, pursuing specific policies to promote those ties while fulfilling the role of coordinator. To create those ties, it works with municipalities and other governmental agencies in the Aso area, related broad-based organizations, including broad-based governmental associations, and related private sector groups. While the Aso Design Center was established by governments, its role is not limited to working with governments. It is a foundation with a dual role. On the one hand, it is a think tank with ties to groups, organizations, and individuals that focuses on the entire Aso area. In addition, it implements its ideas through its conduct of different projects.

Background

1990 May	The Aso Environment Design Center was established with the funding of Kumamoto Prefecture and 12 municipalities as a group for promoting tourism and local development by protecting nature in the Aso area.
FY 1993	Kumamoto Prefecture established the Project to Build an Aso International Highland Resort Base and is employing this to create a highland resort base utilizing the area's nature, scenic views, and hot springs.
FY 1996	We envision the establishment of the provisionally named Aso Bureau that will combine the functions of the broad-based area promotion center and the tourism promotion center. Beginning this year, we will stop dispatching people from the prefectural government. Instead, we will convert to an operating system with a project manager hired through a general solicitation, and employees of the 12 municipalities.
1998 June	The Aso Area Promotion and Design Center will be established through reorganization and expansion for broad-based efforts to promote the Aso area and local tourism, as well as spontaneous local development through the unification of the area.
FY 2001	The Aso Area Promotion Policy was formulated as a specific measure to promote the Aso area over the years 1993 to 1998. The objective of the policy was to foster broad-based ties to encourage area-wide unity, including local private sector groups and citizens in addition to government organizations.
FY 2002	The start came with the Slow Life Aso - Aso Caldera Tourism Project. We utilized agricultural villages, shopping districts, and nature to develop a broad-based project that incorporated public transportation networks. The concept was Relaxed and Casual Aso. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport reorganized public transportation by establishing the Council to Promote the Conversion to Public Transportation in Aso, and public transportation experiments were conducted from 2003 to 2004, including bike trains and loop buses.

The fund's organization

Directors (10)	Chair	Nobutoshi Miyazaki	Oguni-machi Chief Administrative Officer
	Vice-Chair	Yoshioki Sato	Aso mayor
	Directors	Shuji Kawazu	Minamioguni-machi Chief Administrative Officer
	Directors	Keisuke Sato	Ubuyama-mura Chief Administrative Officer
	Directors	Shoichi Fujimoto	Takamori-machi chief administrative officer
	Directors	Teruaki Imamura	Minamiaso-mura chief administrative officer
	Directors	Yoshiaki Kato	Nishihara-mura chief administrative officer
	Directors	Toshiyuki Kai	Yamato-cho chief administrative officer
	Directors	Yoshiyuki Komiya	Director, Kumamoto Prefecture Area Promotion Division
	Directors	Kazuyoshi Kaneda	The Regional Promotion Bureau of Kumamoto Prefecture
Directors (2)	Chair, Aso-gun City Council Chairmen Association Chair, Aso-gun Deputy Mayor and Receiver General Association
Auditors (11)	Eight department heads responsible for one city and seven municipalities. Head of Kumamoto area promotion division, area policy department Head of Kumamoto Prefecture area promotion bureau general promotion department Superintendent, Aso regional administrative union office
Office	1 Superintendent (Full time) 4 Office workers (Dispatched) 1 Contracted worker