2004年度の活動報告

Musashi University Faculty of Faculty of Economics Department of Management Noriyuki Takahashi


The Community Business Research Center of Musashi Musashi University (hereinafter referred to as Musashi CBRC), which was established in 2004, has taken a broader view of community business than the generally accepted definition*1, including ordinary small and medium-sized enterprises with organizational structures such as joint-stock companies and limited liability companies as active participants, and also considering organizations with wide markets that transcend local regions as an advanced form of community business.

One of the main reasons for this is that, for example, American NPOs, which were born out of the process of creating local communities on the blank map of the New World, cannot be discussed on the same level as Japanese NPOs, and if community business is defined based on the activities it is undervaluing the role of corporate organizations such as small and medium-sized enterprises that have always been active in the local community.
Furthermore, when considered from the perspective of solving problems facing local communities, for example, the Kita no Kigyo Hiroba Cooperative Association in Obihiro City, Hokkaido, which was the subject of this year's survey, is a non-profit organization, and Kita no Gourmet City Co., Ltd. in Hachinohe City, Aomori Prefecture, is a for-profit organization, but their purpose of activities is to revitalize the city center, and the content of their activities is exactly the same as operating and managing a food stall village.
Also included in this year's survey were the Umaji Village Agricultural Cooperative in Umaji Village, Kochi Prefecture, and Takada Shoten Partnership in Onihoku Town, Ehime Prefecture. Both developed and sold processed yuzu products to solve the local problem of farmers being unable to make a living by simply "tamadeshi" (shipping the local specialty yuzu in the state it was picked), which is dependent on market prices and does not add value, making it difficult to sustain their businesses. These businesses are making a significant contribution to revitalizing the local economy. It is somewhat of a stretch to define the former as a community business and to exclude the latter from this category on the grounds that it is a corporate organization.

Another reason is that we want to focus on the function of community businesses as a breeding ground for the "organizational power" of companies and communities. Entrepreneurship is essential if we are to solve local problems. However, a necessary condition for entrepreneurship to flourish is the presence of ambitious leaders and core members who support those leaders. Few communities are naturally blessed with such human resources, and in many cases leaders are developed through various group activities. If human resources are developed through community business activities, which are attracting attention as a diverse employment opportunity, and such human resources take the lead in developing businesses that create markets that transcend the local area, then this can be considered a major contribution of community business to the local community.

In this way, Musashi CBRC takes a broad view of the actors involved in community businesses and considers their roles in order to focus more on the aspect of local people taking the lead in solving local problems.

The specific activities for this fiscal year are as shown in the table, but they can be explained as follows:
In other words, the four problems targeted were: 1) subsidence of shopping districts, 2) decline of central business districts, 3) stagnation of local industries, and 4) inadequacies and shortages of child-rearing support institutions.

Regarding point 1, on May 25, 2004, we invited Murakami Yoshiaki, Senior Researcher at the Japan Finance Corporation for Small and Medium Enterprises Research Institute, to introduce shopping districts that are implementing cutting-edge initiatives for their local communities, and to report and discuss the conditions necessary for such initiatives to be successful. One of the conditions for success was pointed out as being whether the shopping district is trusted by the local people in the first place, even before any initiative is launched, and it was suggested that the same initiative would not produce the same results if the prerequisites were different. A study focusing on the differences in the actors involved in shopping district activities has been set as a task for next year or later.

Regarding point (2), we first invited Kazuaki Sakamoto, Managing Director the Kita no Kigyo Hiroba Cooperative Association, on October 23, 2004, to hear and discuss a project to revitalize the downtown area of Obihiro, Hokkaido, which had lost its vitality due to the relocation of large stores to the suburbs, by creating a food stall village (a collection of individual shops). Furthermore, inspired by the Obihiro initiative, a similar project is underway in Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture. From November 22 to 23, 2004, we visited Hachinohe and interviewed key players, including Masahiro Nakai, President of Kita no Gourmet City Co., Ltd. and Nakai Food Container Co., Ltd. Despite their different organizational structures, the two companies share the same goals and methods. Furthermore, we discovered a commonality: they had both attempted different forms of regional revitalization before launching the food stall village. In other words, if you try to do something big all at once, no one will follow or cooperate. However, by accumulating experience in areas with low risk and accumulating trust, track record, know-how, and personal connections in the process, even large projects can be successful. It can be said that this is a step forward in that we have recognized the importance of considering the accumulation of so-called "organizational power" as a prerequisite, and the role that community business plays in this.

Regarding point 3, I selected two regions in Shikoku that have successfully developed 1.5-sector industries to resolve their agricultural problems. These two regions in Shikoku are contributing to the revitalization of their local communities by utilizing their specialty yuzu. From February 23 to 25, 2005, I interviewed Managing Director of the Umaji Village Agricultural Cooperative in Umaji Village, Kochi Prefecture, and Mr. Shigeru Takada, Representative Partner of Takada Shoten LLC in Kihoku Town, Ehime Prefecture. These two businesses have increased employment in the local area by 60 and 30 people, respectively, significantly contributing to the survival of local yuzu farmers. To have a visible impact on the local economy, it is necessary to have a broad market beyond the local area, as in these two cases. I confirmed the importance of expanding markets beyond the local area as community businesses develop, as well as the importance of considering the development of community businesses themselves.

Point (4) was discussed in a lecture given on March 26th. The focus here is on the fact that 15 years ago, when the company launched a 24-hour, 365-day childcare service to meet the needs of working mothers in the community, it relied on a labor force that was almost entirely volunteer-based. However, the company has since accumulated management skills and know-how, and is now able to operate 20 childcare centers, pay average wages, secure talented personnel, and invest in equipment. In other words, the prerequisites for providing services continuously have been fulfilled, and this case is noteworthy as it reaffirms the importance of management skills in community businesses.

*1 For example, Kato Yoshimasa (2005) "Urban Life and Community Business" and Ueda Kazuhiro et al. (eds.), Urban Economy and Industrial Revitalization, Iwanami Shoten, list the following characteristics of community businesses: 1) they are non-profit organizations, 2) they seek to achieve social goals through economic activities, 3) profits are not distributed to individuals, 4) members of the organization have equal rights and are run democratically, and 5) they are independent organizations that are subject to social audits.