A Study of Social Inclusion and ICT Engagement in Chūsankanchiiki (Mountainous) Areas: A Case Study of Kanakura Village, Wajima City

Abstract

As mounting social maladies such as depopulation, population ageing, agricultural decline, and public infrastructure cutbacks threaten the socioeconomic viability of mountainous regions, access to information and communication technology (ICT) is increasingly promoted as a tool to drive socioeconomic development. As a result of ICT adoption disparities between rural-urban areas, the e-Japan Strategy has focused on providing access to ICT through telecommunication infrastructure reforms. This paper advances the debate to examine the ends of ICT use, utilizing the social inclusion framework to examine how ICT engagement can improve the social quality of mountainous region community residents by strengthening the ability to participate in society. We then employ the social capital concept as a theoretical backdrop to examine how engagement with ICT impacts existing social processes. For this analysis, we draw on the findings of a case study conducted in a mountainous region community in Kanakura Village, Wajima City, Ishikawa Prefecture. The case study findings showed a strong relationship between bonding social capital and ‘old’ ICT such as face-to-face communication, and a strong relationship between bridging social capital and ‘new’ ICT, such as the Internet. The case study pointed to the need for johoka policies to incorporate measures that support old as well as new ICT. © 2010, JAPAN SECTION OF THE REGIONAL SCIENCE ASSOCIATION INTERNATIONAL. All rights reserved.