Social cost-benefit analysis of the land reclamation projects in Japan

Most urban waterfront developments in Japan are accompanied by large land reclamation from the sea. These reclamation projects shall be appraised not only from the viewpoint of their returns, but also from the viewpoint of social costs and benefits. A new concept of 'coastal accounts' is asserted in order to reform cost-benefit analysis to a more suitable style. The finance of local governments, the main planners and developers of waterfronts, is analyzed from the viewpoint of this new concept, and the actual conditions of development profits created by reclamations are explained. The author discusses Japanese land reclamation projects by way of 'coastal accounts' by which coastal stoclcs and flows shall be appraised. The analysis concentrates on the Nanko project in Osaka and the Port Island project in Kobe. After a brief introduction of the subject matter, the institutional framework and the trend of land reclamation shall be reviewed. Thereafter, the methodology of social appraisal will be explained. Moving onto the main part of this report an analysis of the coastal accounts of the two cities in question is dealt with in depth. After this analysis, a thorough appraisal of the social cost and benefit account is made, followed by the conclusions drawn.