Inter-community networks of rural leaders and key people: Case study on a rural revitalization program in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan

The ageing and declining populations face not only challenges in maintaining local services and economies, many also have the added physical and logistical burden of being in hilly or mountainous areas in developed nations. There is urgent need for strong rural leaders and key people to take leadership roles and facilitate social networking that bolsters communities. We examined inter-community networks, focusing on a rural region of Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. We identified the leaders and key people in the many rural communities in this region, examined these people's characteristics, and comprehensively surveyed them to uncover views on such networks, what limits them, and how they can be enhanced. Among the results, we found a high sense of need ascribed to these networks, yet effective participation was relatively low. To facilitate interaction, communication by means such as in-person meetings and telephone conversation was foremost, but online means such as e-mail and social networking have also proven to be valuable supplements across the distance. We further plotted these communicational means of key individuals and found networks some to be extensive, while others are still limited to the range of geographically close communities.