5. Draw out potentials for a Tokyo that attracts the world

We will draw out the potentials of Tokyo, which has many different faces, from that of a world-class business center and a culture overflowing with individuality to a rich natural environment, and realize a city that attracts the world.

The progress of startups is the driver of growth

It is said that Shibusawa Eiichi, who was involved in the establishment of numerous companies as the "father of Japanese capitalism,” argued that one cannot achieve happiness without a dream. We want to make Tokyo a more abundant and vibrant city by supporting challengers who have dreams. With such thoughts, we will give our full support to challenges taken up by startups, who will be the drivers of new growth. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government is serious about this. With the aforementioned Office for Startup and Global Financial City Strategy at the core, support will be provided as a one-team effort at every stage, from raising funds to developing business, with the aim of becoming the most startup-friendly city in the world.

The key is to create a place where challengers can gather. We will thus establish "Tokyo Innovation Base," as a major base for innovation in Tokyo. We will provide one-stop solutions for all kinds of difficulties that come from taking up challenges, and in cooperation with various private support facilities, we will send out startups from Tokyo, one after another.

We will also engage in investments that boldly support challenges and advancements with an eye toward the world. We will solidify the foundation for the growth of startups by not only attracting overseas venture capital and accelerators with excellent business know-how, but also through measures such as establishing a new mechanism to support startups in raising funds in the initial stage of activities. We will also set up a large fund to support startups born from universities and their diverse accumulation of knowledge, to broaden the base of innovation.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government will be the first customer to use the excellent services generated in this way. This will boost the credibility of startups, and by also generating open innovation through collaboration, will lead to solutions to various urban issues. In addition to creating a system to facilitate participation in public procurements, we will dramatically expand the stage where startups can perform by increasing opportunities for collaboration in a variety of settings.

Accelerating GX and DX, and promoting a shift in industry structure

We will have the power of digital technology, which generates innovation, penetrate all corners of Tokyo. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government, as the flag bearer for this movement, will work with the municipalities, which are responsible for resident services, to promote digitalization of government as an all-Tokyo effort. This will be strongly promoted by GovTech Tokyo, which will serve as a platform for innovation co-created through public-private endeavors. Preparations are underway with the aim of launching services in September this year.

Along with the digital sector, competition is intensifying in green transformation, or GX, which aims for the shift to clean energy to become a breakthrough for growth. The shift of industries to this new field is urgent. We will strongly support SMEs seeking to seize the opportunity by providing assistance for the development of technologies that will promote business transformation, as well as other support such as the formulation of management strategies for GX and the active use of intellectual property.

It is also important to secure human resources that can properly accommodate the transformation of industry structure. We will implement a reskilling project for some 20,000 people, targeting all generations, including women, young people and senior citizens, with expectations that they will be able to fully display their power in growth industries.

An attractive city that draws the world

Create new tourism

We will create a new Tokyo tourism of a kind never before seen, and increase our city’s magnetism to attract the world. As we take strong steps toward life with COVID, let us strive to have as many people as possible enjoy the splendor of Tokyo.

Holding a key to this is the metaverse. We will have visitors enjoy a variety of content in digitally recreated cityscape and experience a trip to Tokyo that transcends time and space. Or in conjunction with a MICE event in Tokyo, we can create a new virtual venue to introduce the attractions of Tokyo to a large number of participants. In this way, we will increase the number of Tokyo fans in Japan and abroad and attract more tourists.

One of the highest expectations that inbound visitors have for Tokyo is the diverse cuisine available here. We will actively promote Tokyo through food, centering on gastronomy tourism that allows visitors to enjoy ingredients specific to an area. We will strategically leverage Tokyo's strengths such as by also holding fashion events in various parts of the city and establishing a center in Ikebukuro to exhibit anime and manga, which have a strong fan base around the world.

I would also like to make our resplendent nightscapes our new killer content that attracts the world. The key to this is the use of projection mapping, in which Japan leads the world with its advanced technology. We will not only use projection mapping for events, but also expand it to the entire city, including vivid displays in the Nishi-Shinjuku district centering on the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, and urban redevelopment areas. In addition, new landmarks will be created in a Port of Tokyo marine park, including the installation of a fountain with a fantastic light display.

Further stimulation of the arts and culture

Next is arts and culture, which are essential for leading an abundant life. In addition to actively supporting the performance activities of small and medium-sized arts organizations that have felt the impacts of the pandemic, we will rent out vacant stores and other open spaces in metropolitan housing as places for creative activities and in this way create an environment that will allow Tokyo residents come in contact with art in places easily accessible to them. We will also develop a new support center to assist the sustainable activities of artists. It will support creative activities from various aspects, from seminars on fundraising to consultations on harassment and copyrights. Furthermore, at the "Civic Creative Base Tokyo," a creative base for new forms of expression, unprecedented ways to enjoy art, such as creations leveraging digital technology and the development of events in collaboration with the community, will be presented to further broaden the possibilities of art.

Comfortable and abundant urban development

We will also create people-centered spaces and promote the development of walkable towns that people want to stroll through again and again. One exemplary project is the KK Line. Next month we will formulate the policy for redeveloping this line which runs through prime land in Ginza. It will be an aerial corridor surrounded by greenery. In order to allow as many people as possible to envision its completion, we will be holding a large-scale walking event during the Golden Week holiday period.

Steady progress is also being made in projects to renew metropolitan parks. Work has started on redevelopment of the Hibiya Open-Air Concert Hall. While leveraging private sector strength through the Park-PFI system, it will be revived into a concert hall that will continue to be loved by Tokyo residents and artists. In May, Nerima Joshi Park will open as a new metropolitan park. While carrying on the history of Toshimaen, a private-sector amusement park, and other facilities that used to be there, we will create a park loved by everyone, which is full of vibrancy and greenery, and where children can fully enjoy themselves. We will promote the creation of a system to utilize the Sumida River Terrace, a spacious area where the waterfront can be fully enjoyed, as an event plaza, and will also accelerate the revitalization of boat transportation as an easily accessible means of transportation between the city center and waterfront area. These and other urban development projects will be promoted to create comfortable and abundant towns.