Call for Policy Essay: 'Medium-Term Management Plan for Local Governments' – Redesigning the Future of Shrinking Towns with 10 Billion Yen

Pre-registration: https://forms.gle/LUARkjpQ5NuLV7Ev6

Application deadline: August 31, 2026 (Monday)

PoliPoli Inc. (Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Kazuma Ito) has launched a call for policy essays, 'Medium-Term Management Plan for Local Governments', a project designed to offer new alternatives for regional management in the era of population decline. This initiative is a joint effort between PoliPoli and donors of the 'Policy Fund', a donation-based fund for policy proposals. It is the second installment following last year's policy essay '10,000-Person Future Sphere'.

Draw a 'Medium-Term Management Plan' that overturns national assumptions.

Japan, facing the most severe aging and low birthrate among major countries, can no longer reverse its demographic curve.

However, a declining population does not necessarily mean national decline.

The key question for Japan's future and the welfare of its citizens is: 'How can we achieve per capita prosperity even as the population shrinks?'

There is no future in maintaining infrastructure and services built during the growth period with the same approach, competing for a shrinking population among municipalities while relying on central government funding.

What is needed now is a practical 'medium-term management plan' that faces reality, reexamines past assumptions, and rethinks Japan from the local level.

This project is a thought experiment that throws this challenge into society, aiming to expand Japan's future options by discovering individuals with a 'policy entrepreneurship' spirit.

Theme

Draw a 'Medium-Term Management Plan' that overturns national assumptions.

The stage is a real municipality with a population of 10,000 or less. The starting capital is a one-time grant of 10 billion yen in the first year. Your mission is to design a medium-term management plan that graduates from national fiscal resources (such as local allocation tax and local bonds) within 10 years, creating a 'self-sustaining and reproducible state' where the region thrives solely on the value it generates.

We are not looking for a beautiful idealistic theory. We seek the ability to face limited resources and real demographic trends, set aside precedents and existing systems, and envision a future that works 'only for this region' from both numerical and narrative perspectives.

Five Unique Features of This Project

1. 10 billion yen at your discretion.
You can design the use of the 10 billion yen lump-sum grant. Land acquisition, fund formation, removal of unnecessary infrastructure, investment in neighboring core cities, launching new businesses – there is no predetermined correct answer.

2. The stage is a real municipality.
Not a fictional one; you choose an actual municipality with a population of 10,000 or less. Future population projections are based on estimates from the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, requiring planning within real constraints.

3. You are allowed to overturn national assumptions.
Proposals may include unique tax systems (e.g., zero corporate tax), deregulation, administrative reorganization, and rules for foreign residency and employment. As a 'special zone,' you can boldly restructure existing systems.

4. Increasing population is not the goal.
Population recovery is not a requirement. The question is: 'How to achieve per capita prosperity even if the population shrinks?' As long as the plan is self-sustaining, population size is irrelevant.

5. Value is generated locally.
The value created must fundamentally originate from within the selected area. Starting from the memory of the land and locational necessity, the 'sparse space' model proposed by Kazuto Ataka in his book 'Hope of the Valley of the Wind' serves as the starting point.

Take on the challenge of an unanswered question with your own vision. We believe that an excellent plan can expand Japan's future options.

Evaluation Criteria

Submissions will be evaluated from four perspectives:

1. Cost Redesign and Resilience
Can the plan maintain service and infrastructure quality while restructuring the method and cost structure to create a sustainable fiscal foundation that withstands population decline and external changes?

2. Top Line (Revenue) and Long-Term Self-Sustaining Reproduction
Does the plan generate revenue from within the region without relying on national fiscal resources, enabling self-sustenance and expansion after the 11th year when allocation tax runs out?

3. Specialization and Regional Characteristics
Is the plan focused rather than scattered? Is it backed by locational necessity – why this region and not others?

4. Feasibility
Is the 10-year roadmap, securing of human resources, and financial plan realistic and not just a pipe dream?

Required Submissions

- Plan Narrative (Word/PDF, up to 25,000 characters)
- Financial and Organizational Plan (Excel, using the template provided by the organizer)

*The templates (applicant entry sheet, financial plan Excel) and writing guide will be sent to the email address registered in the pre-registration form.

*The final round will include a 10-minute presentation and a 10-minute Q&A session. Details will be provided to first-round passers.

Application Overview & Prizes (Tentative)

Eligibility
- Must be 40 years old or younger as of December 31, 2026
- Affiliation does not matter (students, working professionals, researchers welcome)
- Individuals or groups (up to 3 members) can apply
- Must be able to attend the final judging and award ceremony in Tokyo on Saturday, October 10, 2026 (travel and accommodation subsidies available)

Application Deadline: August 31, 2026 (Monday) 23:59 JST

Participation Fee: Free

How to Apply: Pre-register to receive the application form and detailed guidelines.

Prizes
- Grand Prize (1 group): 500,000 yen
- Special Excellence Award (1 group): 250,000 yen
- Encouragement Award (1 group): 100,000 yen
- Finalists: 6 groups (advance to the final round)

*Six finalist groups advance to the final round; Grand Prize, Special Excellence Award, and Encouragement Award are selected from among them.

Pre-registration

Pre-registration is required. Registered email will receive detailed guidelines and the application form.

Pre-registration form: https://forms.gle/LUARkjpQ5NuLV7Ev6

Schedule

Date | Event
2026/6/8 (Mon) | Applications open
2026/7/31 (Fri) | First deadline (applicants by this date receive initial feedback)
2026/8/31 (Mon) | Application deadline
Mid-September 2026 | Notification of first-round results
2026/10/10 (Sat) | Final judging and award ceremony (Tokyo)

*Travel and accommodation subsidies for final participants

Judges (in alphabetical order, titles omitted)

Three judges from last year will continue to serve.

Kazuto Ataka
Professor, Faculty of Environment and Information Studies, Keio University; Senior Strategist, LINE Yahoo Corporation; Representative Director, General Incorporated Association 'A Future Worth Preserving'

After McKinsey, joined Yahoo in 2008. Served as CSO from 2012, assumed current position in fall 2018. Master's degree in Biochemistry from the University of Tokyo Graduate School of Science; Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Yale University. Author of 'Start with the Issue', 'Shin Nihon', forthcoming 'Hope of the Valley of the Wind'. Proposer of the 'sparse space' model that forms the basis of this project.

Takaaki Umada
Director, FoundX, University of Tokyo