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Training Crew Members In-House, Eight Bus Companies Collaborating, and Dogs Keeping Watch Over the City—Three Experiments in Setouchi Filling the Gaps Through Innovative Structures

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There are people boarding the ferries crossing the Seto Inland Sea. However, there are not enough crew members to operate them—this situation is already upon us.

In the Setouchi region of Hiroshima Prefecture, three small experiments are simultaneously underway. On the Etajima route, they have begun training crew members in-house; in Hiroshima City, eight bus companies have stepped beyond competition to collaborate; and in residential areas, dog walking has transformed into a form of neighborhood patrol. None of these initiatives are flashy. Yet, when viewed together, a common structure emerges. Instead of lamenting what is lacking, these efforts aim to reconstruct the system itself by changing how existing resources are combined.

Who benefits from this? This question serves as the axis for examining the three initiatives.

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Etajima Route—Transforming “Lack of Crew Members” into a Training System

The passenger ferry route connecting Hiroshima City and Etajima City is a lifeline for residents commuting to work, school, and medical appointments. However, the nationwide shortage of crew members is mercilessly impacting this short-distance route as well. The average age of licensed maritime engineers continues to rise, with statistics showing that nearly half of domestic crew members are over 50 years old. Waiting for immediate hires in the job market is futile.

The ferry operator on the Etajima route chose to stop waiting. They hired two recent high school graduates and launched a program to train crew members from scratch within the company. This is a so-called “in-house training” route that bypasses maritime training schools or marine technology colleges.

Specifically, new hires first board as deckhands, learning practical skills such as assisting with navigation watches and mooring operations. Concurrently, they accumulate the necessary sea service history to sit for the national maritime engineer examination, while senior crew members provide on-the-job training in navigation skills and safety management. If they were to outsource training to external institutions, it would cost over 1 million yen per person annually, but with in-house training, they can pay salaries while having them serve as both “workers” and “learners.” This structure allows the operator to simultaneously reduce hiring and training costs.

However, this system will truly take effect in a few years. Obtaining a maritime engineer license requires a certain amount of sea service history, and it takes at least 2-3 years to become immediately useful. Rather than a short-term solution to labor shortages, this should be seen as a strategic move aimed at ensuring the route’s sustainability five years down the line.

Notably, this system generates secondary effects for the community. If local youth settle as crew members, it provides them with a reason to stay—or commute to—the island. The continuation of the route is directly linked to the island’s demographic trends, and “training people to operate the ferries” ultimately overlaps with “creating conditions for them to continue living on the island.” The development of human resources and the maintenance of local infrastructure are intricately intertwined.

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Hiroshima City Bus Collaborative Operation—A Demonstration Project Melting the “Walls” of Eight Companies

The bus situation in Hiroshima City is somewhat unique. Multiple operators, including Hiroshima Electric Railway, Hiroshima Bus, Hiroshima Transportation, and Geiyo Bus, operate in close proximity, with different companies’ buses running on the same routes. While this may seem like a plethora of options for users, behind the scenes, each company independently creates schedules, secures drivers, and manages unprofitable routes. As the shortage of drivers worsens, this structure of “individual optimization” is reaching its limits.

The demonstration project for collaborative operation among eight companies, which began in the fiscal year 2024, is an attempt to address this very structure. The bus schedules for multiple companies operating in the same area will be integrated, organizing overlapping services while maintaining or reducing “wait times” for users. By standardizing part of the operational management, the aim is to eliminate inefficiencies that each company has faced alone—such as three buses arriving in succession during the same time slot, followed by a 30-minute gap.

While cost estimates are still in the demonstration phase, insiders believe that just reducing overlapping services could save several tens of millions of yen annually in fuel and labor costs. However, what is at stake here is not merely cost reduction. For the eight companies to “share” their schedules, they must delve into areas they have previously avoided due to competition, such as revenue sharing and delineating operational responsibilities.

In fact, this collaborative operation is based on the framework of “joint management” established by the revised Regional Transportation Act, which will come into effect in April 2024. This legal framework allows competing bus companies to adjust schedules and fares without violating antitrust laws. The change in the system has enabled the field to move forward—this case serves as a reference point for bus operators in other regions, showcasing the alignment of system design and practical implementation.

From the users’ perspective, the greatest benefit is the ability to board any bus without worrying about which company it belongs to. As the integration of IC cards and the establishment of a unified timetable progress, buses could shift from being perceived as “vehicles operated by multiple companies” to being recognized as “infrastructure of the city.”

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Wanpato Squad—Dog Walking as a Zero-Cost Neighborhood Watch

Quietly spreading through residential areas in Hiroshima Prefecture, the “Wanpato Squad” has a fundamentally different design philosophy. It overlays the function of neighborhood patrol onto the everyday activity of walking dogs. Participants simply wear special vests or lead covers while walking their dogs. There is no special training, shift management, or compensation involved.

The structural ingenuity of this initiative lies in its utilization of “activities that are already happening every day.” Dog walking occurs in the morning and evening—coinciding with school commute times and the twilight hours when burglaries are more likely to occur. If one were to intentionally deploy patrol personnel, it would incur labor costs, but dog walking is something owners voluntarily do, almost at the same time every day. The additional cost is nearly zero.

Quantitative verification of the crime prevention effect is a future challenge, but there is a certain rationale when viewed through the lens of criminology’s “routine activity theory.” Crime is more likely to occur when three conditions are met: “a motivated offender,” “a suitable target,” and “the absence of a capable guardian.” Dog owners walking their dogs naturally fulfill the role of this “guardian.” Dogs often notice unusual activity before humans do, creating psychological pressure on suspicious individuals by making them feel “watched.”

Another aspect not to be overlooked is the increased interaction among residents facilitated by dogs. Greetings and casual conversations during walks serve as a mechanism to maintain a “visible relationship” within the community. This initiative could also have effects beyond crime prevention, such as preventing the isolation of the elderly and bridging the gap between new and long-time residents. By spreading this structure thinly and widely, the very fabric of community ties becomes stronger.

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Common Structure Among the Three Experiments—Design That Does Not Introduce “New Things”

Training crew members, collaborative bus operations, and the Wanpato Squad. While these three initiatives differ vastly in their subjects and scales, they share commonalities in their design philosophy.

First, all three address challenges not by “bringing in new resources from outside,” but by “changing the arrangement of what already exists.” Crew training utilizes local youth and the existing boarding environment, bus collaboration rearranges existing vehicles and routes, and the Wanpato Squad assigns new meaning to daily walks. This structure generates functionality while minimizing additional investment.

Second, none of the three designs rely on “individual efforts.” Crew training reduces individual dependency through the systematization of on-the-job training, bus collaboration dissolves competitive barriers through institutional frameworks, and the Wanpato Squad lowers participation hurdles by embedding it into daily behavior. The sustainability of the system itself is ensured.

Third, all three generate secondary effects around their “original purposes.” Crew training encourages the settlement of young people, bus collaboration changes user perceptions, and the Wanpato Squad fosters community interaction. They possess structures that extend beyond single functions.

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Future Points of Interest—Will the Systems “Continue”?

What the three experiments are questioning is the next stage: “How will the systems sustain themselves after they are established?”

Crew training will face a critical period in the coming years as the first two hires obtain their maritime engineer licenses and take on actual responsibilities on the route. If senior crew members retire during this time, there is a risk of breaking the chain of training. For the bus collaboration, the real test will be whether they can transition from demonstration to full operation based on the results—this will truly test the interests of the eight companies. The Wanpato Squad will be influenced by the aging of participants and the generational change of their dogs, affecting both human and animal life cycles.

What is common to all these systems is whether they can reach a state where “they can operate without someone continuously waving the flag.” When a system transcends individual dependency, it transforms from an experiment into infrastructure.

The three sites in Setouchi are still in the experimental phase. However, rather than counting what is lacking, they are changing how existing elements are arranged—within this attitude lies the power for the community to weave its future with its own hands.