Since the 1960s, the government has — at an interval of roughly a decade — compiled long-term plans for development of the nation's social capital that covered the next 10 to 15 years, with each one of the plans reflecting the changing economic challenges of the times.
The first Comprehensive National Development Plan, adopted by the Cabinet in 1962, set goals to be achieved by 1970. It aimed for balanced development among different regions in Japan and called for creation of new industrial cities outside of existing clusters.
The fourth such plan, adopted in 1987, and set goals for the years up to 2000, aimed for a "multipolar" development of the country and called for building a nationwide network of expressways stretching 14,000 km.