Factors in the Establishment of a Publicly-Managed Supermarket for Improvement in Access to Food: A Case Study of Hokuryu Town in Hokkaido, Japan

In recent years, more and more people especially without cars have faced difficulties in accessing to food because of store closure. This paper aims to clarify the factors in the establishment of a publiclymanaged supermarket managed by a local government in Hokkaido, Japan. The conclusions of this study are as follows. First, local government had to and could spend a huge sum of money on the new facilities of the store. Secondly, the retailer could cooperate with the town at relatively low cost with existing departments and staffs. Besides, there was no need constructing the new distribution system since the new store was going to be located on the way to the existing directly-managed stores. However, there is little room for quantitative expansion of similar measures. It is important that the residents make purchases to support the nearest shop.