7. Promoting the Tama area and Tokyo Islands

And, finally, I would like to speak about initiatives to boost the vitality of the Tama area and Tokyo Islands, which is essential to the sustainable growth of Tokyo.

Further drawing out the attraction of the Tama area

The Tama area is garnering attention as a place where people can live a more relaxed life. Surrounded by greenery, the area offers a rich residential environment, which is also conducive to raising children. We will advance initiatives for further drawing out the attractive qualities of the area.

First, we will promote industries utilizing the area’s strengths. This fall, the Tokyo Metropolitan Tama Business Activation Center, which will serve as the core for innovation creation in the Tama area, will be born in Hachioji. While also deepening collaborations that go beyond the Tokyo area, we will form a regional network hub for industry, academia, and government. We will also launch a “timber use point program” that promotes the use of Tama and other domestic timber in housing construction. By utilizing Tokyo’s buying power to generate demand, we seek to promote domestic timber, the pride of timber-producing areas across Japan.

We will also enhance the educational environment. This April, the first public combined elementary, junior high, and high school in Japan will open in Tachikawa. The school will utilize the 12-year program to cultivate a rich global awareness in the children.

Concerning the Tama Intercity Monorail, which plays an important role as a provider of public transportation in the area, next fiscal year, we will start procedures related to city planning, among others, with an eye to extending the line in the direction of Hakonegasaki. To support households raising children, we will also implement an initiative to establish a special child fare, and have these efforts lead to further growth for the area.

We will also strengthen preparations for sediment disasters in mountainous areas. For mountain roads, which serve as lifelines for area residents, we will select sections for priority measures to be taken and advance work, including the construction of rock fall prevention fences, to prevent villages from becoming cut off and other such occurrences.

Toward sustainable growth for Tokyo’s islands

The Tokyo islands are brimming with treasures. These include blessings from the sea and mountains derived from the rich natural environment, as well as their own unique traditions and culture. We want to make these islands shine even brighter. To that end, we will start a new branding strategy called “Sustainable Island Creation Project,” which will leverage the characteristics of each of the 11 islands to contribute to sustainable growth for all of the islands. While encouraging collaboration between towns and villages and the private sector, we will uncover local resources and create new attraction for the “treasure islands” we take so much pride in. We will also establish an incentive program to speed up the attraction of MICE (Meetings, Incentive travel, Conventions, Exhibitions) travel to the islands and use it as a catalyst to revitalize industry. And, strategically promoting the islands both in Japan and abroad, we will work to attract more travelers and establish the presence of the islands as a travel destination internationally.

Furthermore, we will fully leverage the power of digital technologies, which make it possible to transcend time and space, seeking to promote their use in various fields such as health care and education. To eliminate areas with poor communications coverage, we will partner with towns and villages to promote the construction of mobile communications networks. In addition, we will advance a broad range of measures with speed, including increasing the capacity of the information and communications infrastructure in Ogasawara Village to support greater use of the 5G network, implementing remote health care at Hachijo Town Hospital, and developing a virtual reality English language study program.