Talks at City Hall — on-demand transport and an event at the former school site
On Friday 15 May 2026 we went to Ishigaki City Hall — the Furusato Sōsei Division and the Urban Construction Division — to talk through matters that affect the whole peninsula.
As we wrote in issue 3 of the council newsletter, this council exists as a place to act for ourselves, taking on wide-area problems with residents in the lead. This meeting was part of that.
There were two main items.
1. On-demand transport
The problem in the north, raised since FY2024
In town, a vehicle will come for a single passenger. In the north, it will not come unless three or more people needing care travel together. That is the private operator’s rule, and residents have been raising it since the on-demand transport trial of FY2024.
The city intends to continue the trial
The city indicated that it wants to continue the trial in FY2026, this time based north of the airport and north of the tunnel, with fuller coverage of the north of the island.
From the month after next, briefings for residents are planned at the community halls.
The council could run the service itself
The significant discovery in the meeting was the deregulation under Article 78, item (ii) of the Road Transportation Act. Over the past two years or so, a framework has been put in place for “public rideshare” operated by neighbourhood associations, councils and NPOs. Fares of up to about 80% of a taxi fare may be charged, and services run by the city itself are already operating on Ishigaki.
If the council used kei cars or similar small vehicles and combined visitors with residents and those needing care, it might secure both local mobility and running costs for the council.
That would be a genuine example of the self-sustaining model we are aiming for. We will keep discussing it with the city.
2. An event at the former Hirakubo school site
“We want something like a festival”
With fewer households and an ageing population, the practice of inviting people from outside to the Hōnen festival has been discontinued, and there is no longer a large occasion that brings the whole peninsula together. Residents have told us they want “something like a community festival”, and that they want the council to build a track record.
In response, from this financial year we are working towards an event at the former Hirakubo school site, roughly once a year.
A new route: corporate hometown tax
The encouraging find, as a way to fund the event, was corporate hometown tax.
Ishigaki City has already filed its regional revitalisation plan with the national government and is ready to accept corporate donations. A donation can reduce a company’s tax burden by up to about 90% of the amount given, which makes it a strong option for a company wanting to support the north of the island.
Building relationships with companies such as Airbnb and JTB as possible sponsors also came into view. The Furusato Sōsei Division has agreed to our placing a banner on the council’s website inviting corporate hometown tax donations towards revitalising the north.
This year under our own steam; scaling up from next year
This year we will run the event with our own resources and build a record, so that we are in a position to apply for grants in next year’s budget. We will put together a programme of low-cost items that still bring people together, designed to be repeated.
What happens next
- Tuesday 2 June — the council attends the first meeting of the committee drawing up the basic plan for the former Hirakubo school site
- Wednesday 3 June — the city’s briefing on the former school site, followed immediately by our second monthly meeting in the same hall at Hirakubo
As announced in newsletter issue 3, the meeting on 3 June follows straight on from the briefing in the same room. Anyone may attend.
Talking with the administration, as a first step towards standing on our own
This council is not a place that files a petition and stops there. It is an organisation that acts as a community and works with the administration where that is needed. This meeting was that in practice.
“Decide local matters locally, and solve them through local cooperation” — the principle in Article 3 of our rules, which we intend to keep turning into concrete things, one at a time.