Snowy regions account for about 60% of Japan's land area. About 28 million people, or 25% the Japanese population, live in these areas. Full-scale winter road management dates from 1956, when The Act of Special Measures for Management of Road Traffic in Cold Snowy Regions was enacted. This marked the beginning of winter road management, which included snow removal. It brought accessibility to snowbound areas, which had previously had little mobility in winter. Demographic changes, such as demographic aging, a falling birthrate and depopulation are occurring in the cold, snowy regions of Japan. As the population of elderly increases, increasing numbers of people will have trouble walking on winter roads. These demographic changes have started to cause other problems, such as difficulty of snow removal at the community level, which used be carried out effectively. Considering current financial constraints, it is difficult to increase investment in road management; consequently, it becomes necessary to implement measures more efficiently. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport established the Yuki-michi Kondankai, a panel of experts on snowy/icy roads. Theexperts have provided us with advice and recommendations on winter road maintenance policies, which are summarized herein. For the covering abstract see ITRD E143097.
Abstract