SMART CITIES IN JAPAN AND THEIR APPLICATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES 101energy systems and a social system demonstration area” in 2010 and
began promoting SC systems throughout Japan.
Yokohama was chosen as one of the four domestic pilot study areas
along with Kitakyushu City, Kansai Science City, and Toyota City, and
private sectors in each city took part in the initiative. Compared to the
other cities selected, Yokohama boasts high urbanization, various forms
of industrial accumulation, effi cient traffi c infrastructure, and smartized
buildings at both respective and comprehensive scales (Sasaki 2012 ).
Developed country infrastructure maintenance processes with respect
to global warming countermeasures employed in Yokohama were exam-
ined in the context of the SC notion. For a more detailed examination,
we considered four sectors (energy, waste, traffi c, and water) with respect
to three policy fi elds: (1) regulations, standards, and planning and admin-
istrative regulations, (2) economic means, and (3) voluntary actions and
environmental ethics in reference to Imura ( 2004 ).
(1) Energy
The energy sector is examined using the smart grid measure, and the
Yokohama Smart City Project (YSCP) Plan developed in 2009 is exam-
ined in response to next-generation energy specifi cations and social system
demonstration enterprises of METI, focusing on three areas (the Minato
Mirai21 area, the Kohoku new town area, and the Kanazawa area) of the
city.
The Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011 has raised concerns regarding
stable energy supplies in and around Japan, and the measure has attracted
international attention. Cities, according to the YSCP, must specifi cally
distribute 6 billion yen from “the next-generation energy fund” from the
Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry to participating companies
(Toshiba, Meiden-sha, Nissan, etc.). The City of Yokohama manages a
board of governors and joint sessions at the YSCP promotion conference.
The city plays a facilitating role in this plan.
Addressing electric power surpluses has proven challenging. Due to
modest rates of photovoltaic (PV) cell coverage, the system extensively
uses storage batteries/EVs of the demand side and involves solar cell
power generation control via Advanced Metering Infrastructures (AMIs),
demand regulation capabilities based on a demand response, and microgrid
construction. Diffi culties have also been associated with electric power
supply cost reductions derived from a single power supplier (Sasaki 2011).
With regard to economic measures, the energy sector includes the
Yokohama Green Power (YGP) Model Project supported through the