In 1997, Kawasaki City drew up the Kawasaki Eco-Town Plan to create a model town where the environment and industry would coexist in harmony. As a plan targeting the entire coastal area of Kawasaki (about 2,800 hectares), it received approval from the Japanese government (Ministry of International Trade and Industry at the time) and the
area was recognized as the first eco-town area in Japan.

The Eco-town Plan has the support of the Japanese government (Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and Ministry of the Environment) as a municipal government project for creating an area(eco-town) where the natural environment and industry exist in harmony.

The coastal area of Kawasaki City that is included in the city’s eco-town project, “the Kawasaki’s Fundamental Plan to Create the Town Harmonizing with Environment (the Kawasaki Eco-Town Plan)”, covers almost the entire area of Kawasaki-ku, which is south from JR Tokaido Line. This area is divided into four sections: the “established urban district”, which ranges from the Tokaido Line to the Industrial Road; the “First coastal layer”, which ranges from the Industrial Road to the Naiou Canal; the “Second coastal layer”, which covers Ukishimacho, Chidoricho, Mizuecho and Ougicho, etc.; and the “Third coastal layer”, which consists of Higashi Ougishima and landfill at the end of Ougishima and Ukishimacho. In this plan, the first layer, the second layer and the third layer are mentioned as main target areas.

What is an eco-town project?

It is a scheme where by a municipal government frames an eco-town plan that exploits the unique characteristics of the respective area and seeks official approval from the government to proceed with its plan. To realize its eco-town plan, the municipal government receives various forms of assistance from the government.

As of February 2009, eco-town plans in 26 areas in Japan had received approval from the government. In these areas. 62 recycling facilities were established using funds provided by the government’s assistance scheme.