Mari UCHIUMI

Mari UCHIUMI is a Professor at the Department of Political Science, Faculty of Law, Komazawa University. Her primary research focuses on urban planning, urban policy, and local government administration in Japan, with a specific emphasis on depopulation challenges and cross-national comparisons with French urban systems. She has conducted extensive studies on decentralization impacts, citizen participation mechanisms, and adaptive strategies for shrinking cities since 2015. During her 2020–2022 research stay in France under the FFJ collaboration, she led the 'Citizen Participation and Consensus Building in Urban Planning and Policies' project, exploring sustainable urban development models.

Her work bridges legal frameworks and practical governance, addressing issues like land use regulations, local ordinance implementation, and policy validity. She has published widely on urban shrinkage, participation systems, and administrative reforms in Japanese and comparative contexts. Her research highlights the intersection of national policies and grassroots initiatives in achieving resilient urban futures.