### Environment Hokkaido: Sunshine and Shadow of Capital - Enclosure and Peripheralization of Foreign Capital (2020s)

### Environment Hokkaido: Sunshine and Shadow of Capital - Enclosure and Peripheralization of Foreign Capital (2020s)

Mega solar power plants spreading across the land of Hokkaido were expected to be the hope for renewable energy, but in reality they have become targets of investment by foreign capital, creating a structure that makes it difficult to say that the project is a local initiative. The market, supported by the feed-in tariff system, has become even more favorable to foreign capital due to the depreciation of the yen, and foreign funds are locking up land and projects at a discount and siphoning off profits outside of Japan. As a result, local communities are forced to make sacrifices in terms of land donations and environmental burdens, leaving only a portion of employment and tax revenues.

This structure is an extension of the "peripheralization" of Hokkaido, which has historically been used by the central government and foreign capital as a "food base" and "resource supply area. Due to the constraints of the power grid, electricity is sent to Honshu, and there is no direct link to local use or industrial development. When we look at this situation in light of Marx's theory of capital accumulation, we can clearly see how capital repeatedly multiplies itself in pursuit of profit, transforming nature and land into materials for capital multiplication. Capital becomes self-purposive and expands while encompassing local communities. The depreciation of the yen has become an accelerator of this process, further deepening Hokkaido's marginalization.

This issue is not merely a question of energy policy, but symbolizes the struggle between the logic of capital and the subjectivity of local communities. In order to resist the growth of capital that widens the gap, it is essential for local communities to proactively manage their resources and reinvest their profits through citizen-funded and municipality-led mechanisms. The will of the regions themselves is the key to shaping the future so that the sun of Hokkaido is not overshadowed by the shadow of foreign capital.