1. Introduction

 In Japan, as the number of children is decreasing and the number of elderly people is increasing, compact town development is required in mountainous areas. Nichinan Town is part of the Tottori Prefecture and is located in a primarily mountainous region. The shifting of residents to urban areas as well as the declining birth rate and aging populace has led to a decline in the population of this town. It now aims to become a "compact village", with centralized public utility facilities, centrally located elementary and junior high schools, and less wasteful living and administration systems.

 2. Purpose

 Nichinan Town has been promoting "Central Area Development Project" for over 20 years. Its current population is 4,000, and this continues to decline. Furthermore, the number of elementary and junior high school students is less than 10% of that in 1970. Ever since a municipality merger in 1959, this town has been promoting the compact village by integrating junior high schools in 1974, nursery schools in 2006, and elementary schools in 2009, and then consolidating them into the Kasumi district. This study clarifies the history and current situation for consolidating public utility facilities for the Shoyama/Kasumi districts in central area.

 3. Conclusion

 1) Nichinan Town has undergone a rapid population decline, with a declining birthrate and an aging population that has shrunk to 30% of its postwar peak. The public utility facilities have also been consolidated owing to the history of industrial decline, such as that of the Tatara iron and chrome mines, as well as the severe climate and geographical conditions in the region.

 2) Nichinan junior high schools were integrated in the 1970s, although elementary schools continued to exist in each old village for 80 years, from the Taisho period to 2009. Collective discussions proposing the integration of elementary schools greatly contributed toward the formulation of "Central Area Development Project" in 2010.

 3) Even in the small-scale municipality of this town, large-scale consolidation involving the relocation of public utility facilities required a long period of half a century. Consolidation into the Kasumi district, which is adjacent to the Shoyama district of the old town center, was an important condition for obtaining consensus among the townspeople.

 4) The future plans for the town include settling and industrial promotion measures that have been formulated in recent years. These plans not only focus on concentrating the facilities in the Kasumi district but also intend to promote agriculture and forestry using forest resources and human resource development. Further, they include efforts to connect the central area to the old villages.