Reinterpreting Japanese planning tools in the global south: A viewpoint from policy transfer to knowledge co-production

Against the urban duality challenges of the Global South under high urbanization pressure, (1) rapid urbanization versus emerging population decline, (2) formal planning systems versus informal urban growth, and (3) global urban development versus local community management, planning tools of Japan, which experienced rapid urbanization would be effective, but not as a model but as a reference. This paper aims to set a viewpoint on how selected Japanese strategic planning tools, that is, agile master planning, urban growth boundaries, and basic building regulations, can serve the Global South cities by interpreting them from the concepts of policy mobility, lesson-drawing, and hybridity. Through illustrative case studies from the selected cities of Asia, Africa, and Latin America, the analysis demonstrated that Japan’s tools offer heuristic value in addressing key dualities. And it highlighted that Japanese planning principles act as a catalyst, prompting reinterpretations and the co-production of hybrid knowledge in diverse contexts of the Global South. In turn, the insights gained from those processes would offer valuable lessons for Japan's own contemporary challenges. Recognizing this two-way learning loop is the key to moving beyond one-way policy transfer and fostering a truly global planning culture rooted in collaborative problem-solving. • A viewpoint for a pluralistic planning paradigm is discussed for further research. • Japanese urban planning tools are reframed as heuristic models to the Global South. • Urban dualities of the Global South and functional principles are identified. • Knowledge co-production mechanism is empirically analyzed through case studies.