To boost Japan’s international competitiveness, it is important to avoid thinking only about major cities like Tokyo because it is essential to revitalize regional areas too. How can each region cooperate with major cities while leveraging their respective characteristics and specialized technologies to nurture stand-out industries? These are important themes that touch on targets in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including urban development and technological innovation. Let us examine industry-academic partnerships that are now linking large cities with the regions.
“Tokyo Midtown Yaesu” supports the creation of local industries (an event at “POTLUCK YAESU”)
Industry-Academia Collaboration Spurs Creation of New Industries
On March 14, 2025, Sendai-based Tohoku University held a symposium in Tokyo’s Nihonbashi district to present cutting-edge research results. The event was attended by over 300 people, some of whom watched online. In his opening remarks, Executive Vice President Hideo Harigae stated, “Researchers alone cannot implement our research results for society. Academia would like to promote new projects together with partners. So, this community is crucial.”
Tohoku University was the first to be inducted by Japan’s Ministry of Education (MEXT) in November 2024 into the new program “Universities of International Research Excellence, ” a status the government bestows on world-class research institutions. The goal of strengthening the status of universities is to encourage the emergence of “social impact” that will change the world. The key to achieving this outcome is cooperation with a diverse range of companies.
Mitsui Fudosan teams up with Tohoku University to launch full-scale Science Park Project (joint press conference)
Mitsui Fudosan Co. Ltd. is heavily involved in this project. In April 2024, the company and Tohoku University worked together to found the membership organization called “MICHINOOK Community” that supports industry-academia collaborations. The March symposium was a result of this cooperation.
Mitsui Fudosan aims to move beyond restricting itself to property development, instead becoming an “industry developer” that creates new fields of enterprise. The firm has established a membership organization in Nihonbashi, the company’s birthplace, and the achievements have been piling up. In the life sciences field, membership numbers are expected to exceed 1,000 by 2025. In the space sector, Mitsui Fudosan allied with the European Space Agency (ESA) in 2024 for the purpose of international cooperation.
The collaboration with Tohoku University as a Nihonbashi ‘landlord’ lending joint support for new industries demonstrates its widening the stage of action to include industry-academia collaborations that link Tokyo and the regions.
Mitsui Fudosan participating in industry-academia collaboration in Kumamoto (image of Mitsui Fudosan Science Park Kumamoto Project)
The company’s activities are not limited to the northeastern Tohoku region of Japan. Kumamoto in Kyushu is also receiving attention from the firm and has been in the spotlight as a semiconductor hub since the entry of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) into the market. The business innovations developed in Taiwan together with the convenience, connections, and know-how gained from operations at Kumamoto airport have given the area this new identity. In cooperation with National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, financial companies, and research institutions in Taiwan, Mitsui Fudosan undertook a feasibility study for the science park there. “Tohoku University is a big presence in the development of semiconductors in Japan. There is certain to be many opportunities for cooperation between the Kumamoto project and the Tohoku University project,” said President Takashi Ueda with high expectations for new developments.
Starting in 2023, at Tokyo Midtown Yaesu near Tokyo Station, the firm has been working with NewsPicks Re:gion on a project called “POTLUCK YAESU,” connecting leaders taking on the challenge of creating industries in non-urban regions. In February this year, the company created a membership system for local governments and began networking with both these authorities and private enterprises.
Shigeru Ishiba’s administration slogan is “rural revitalization.” To ensure that this does not merely end up as a budget extravaganza, it will be necessary to ensure the autonomy of local governments and businesses is maintained and find ways to use the particular characteristics of each locality to boost industry. Efforts within the private sector should also provide hints for achieving this.
Communities Are Booming, “Taking Shape” for the Future
Takashi Ueda
President & Chief Executive Officer
Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd.
Starting with the Nihonbashi Revitalization Project, Mitsui Fudosan has provided a “place” for the creation of new industries and built a community. Membership organizations for life science and space businesses are thriving, and I feel that the future “shape” of ecosystem development for new industries across Japan is now in place.
Our focus is now on a new form of “co-creation” between Tokyo and the regions. Given the global competition among urban centers and Japan’s international competitiveness, we must continue efforts to enhance Tokyo’s appeal. Through the redevelopment of Nihonbashi, Yaesu, and Tsukiji, we will promote the creation of a city that will be prioritized by the world. In Tsukiji, we also aim to work with the surrounding medical institutions to cooperatively create a life science community.
Meanwhile, the era in which Japan’s regions all try to become “MiniTokyo” is over. We need to think about a new era and novel forms of regional development. Instead of talking about the two as opposing interests, it is important for local regions to create industries that make the most of their respective characteristics and to create cooperatively with Tokyo.
In April 2024, we formed a partnership with Tohoku University under the Science Park Initiative. We hope to weave new co-creations between industry and academia with Tohoku University’s deep industry-government-academia collaborations in cutting-edge fields acting as the vertical weave while our member community binds as the cross threads for this enterprise tapestry.
We are also considering the establishment of a science park in Kumamoto Prefecture, where the semiconductor industry is increasingly concentrated. We will work with Taiwanese financial companies and research institutions to help draw companies to the site. Our involvement in airport management in Kumamoto together with having developed many businesses in Taiwan has resulted in a wide range of connections for us in that nation. Our activities in Kumamoto have also led to the growth of the semiconductor industry in Japan today.
In this way, unconnected activities that we have carried out often come together in mysterious ways. In fact, I believe that it is not by chance, but rather the bringing together of diverse people is an inevitable result of connecting different networks. We are proud of the role that only we can play in the real estate business, one which allows us to weave together a variety of activities and industries without being held back by vested interests.
AloJapan.com