The purpose of this study is to verify the result of the previous studies and to clarify the types and activation factors of maintenance activities of the naturally favorable water space through the participation of residents in rural areas, through a further survey of the area proposed as a program in the existing study review and previous study related to the participation of residents. The survey was conducted through the survey of 1,242 households and 1,335 persons intended for Japanese rural areas. The study result is summarized as follows. The types of the maintenance activities in the areas intended for the survey have been classified into 'rural type' and 'combination type' through the analysis results by the references like the comparison analysis, job percentage and main utilization purpose of facilities for each type of maintenance and operation activities. In case of the 'rural type' area, residents were doing maintenance activities centered on the group activities rather than personal maintenance activities. Also, the activities of maintenance & operation group members were more active than non-members, and the water-friendly utilization to the facilities was not directly affecting the maintenance activities of residents. In case of the 'combinational type' area, there was no common characteristic according to each area, and the participation percentage in the maintenance activities was low compared with the 'rural type' area. According to the analysis result based on the participation degree of personal maintenance activities, the repair of facilities as a naturally favorable water space, implementation of projects reflecting the opinions of residents, educational programs conducted in order to motivate the participation of residents, etc. have been analyzed as the factors affecting the activation of maintenance activities of residents. Through the above results, for continuous maintenance activities to be made with residents as a main body in the future, it is necessary to support maintenance groups on an administrative level and procure experts for the production and operation of programs that can increase the participation percentage of residents.

For the purpose of finding correlation between the characteristics of the rural residents and the maintenance activities of naturally favorable waterside spaces, this paper has conducted a research with the focus on the three model case regions in Japan. The methods of the research included surveys, interviews, and documents. The research confirmed that the three regions in focus have characteristics distinct from one another. The rate of participation in group activities was high in a region, with members that belong to groups most active in the maintenance activities. Reasons for their participation included: to manage the local area themselves; and to promote cooperation and friendships among the residents. This proves that participation in the maintenance activities has also attributed to the formation of close communities in the regions. According to the analytic conclusion of the factors related to participation, the residents' experience to have been involved in a professional education program which induces communal participation, acted more as the major factor than the individual ones.