2. Drawing talent and investment to take the path to our next growth

In order to emerge victorious in the fierce competition with the other cities of the world, we must attract talent and investment by refining Tokyo’s strengths. We need to create a sustainable ecosystem in which growth leads to ongoing growth.

Making Tokyo Asia’s top innovation city

Taking Tokyo to new heights through innovation

Innovation is essential for solving the many challenges faced by cities and creating new value. And driving innovation is startups. In a recent contest for young entrepreneurs, most of the finalists were women. New perspectives and ideas are constantly emerging. At the pre-opening of Tokyo Innovation Base, a.k.a. TIB, last week, we welcomed key persons from Japan and overseas. The TIB will organically connect startup bases throughout the country, and then the world, to become a global hub that creates one big ecosystem with Tokyo at its core. Already, some 30 players from diverse fields including universities, accelerators, and large corporations, are participating as the starting members. In preparation for its full-scale opening next May, we will prepare a system to fully support young people and other motivated challengers in Japan and overseas, and generate an ecosystem on a par with those of the rest of the world.

The era is now one in which the technological capabilities of small and medium-sized enterprises are even paving the way to outer space. Centering on Tokyo Tama Mirai Messe （Tokyo Metropolitan Tama Business Activation Center） which opened last year, we will leverage the strengths of SMEs and create new businesses. Next month, the Tama Mirai Industry Fair, one of the largest exhibitions in the Tama area, will be held for the first time. We will encourage innovation by creating new connections between companies through facilitating their awareness of the excellent products and services that have been honed through enthusiasm and ingenuity.

Such evolving technologies will change society. For example, autonomous and flying cars are no longer a fantasy, but a realistic future that is almost within reach. We will draw a strategic roadmap and steadily advance the introduction of next-generation mobility.

Building an international business environment

It is also crucial to build an environment as an international financial center that attracts investment from Japan and abroad. To the national government, which aims to have Japan become a leading asset management center, we presented a 35-item policy recommendation. Items include having companies in Japan disclose their IR information in English and promoting active asset management by institutional investors. Through collaboration with the national government, we will fully demonstrate Tokyo’s superiority in having one of the world's best business infrastructures, and make it the world’s city of choice.

Digital transformation of resident services

The digital transformation （DX） of the metropolitan government will take its next step and digitalize resident services. What is important here is that everyone can sense that DX has improved the quality of service; in other words, achieved a transformation?the X of DX. We will gather the powers of the parties involved to deliver seamless services to the citizens of Tokyo. As one approach to open the way to transformation, together with the national government, municipalities and private organizations, we will promote "Children's DX" for society as a whole to support children and families raising children. By the end of fiscal 2025, we will realize a "outbound service for parenting” that delivers necessary information without waiting for such requests, and a "one-stop daycare center admission service" that allows the time-consuming procedures for enrolling children in daycare centers to be completed online. This month, we will launch the "Tokyo Children's DX 2025: Council for Promotion of Connected Parenting" and together with GovTech Tokyo, accelerate the implementation of services that can be rolled out nationwide.

Raising Tokyo’s urban competitiveness by wielding its diverse attractions

An attraction only found at night

With inbound tourism recovering rapidly, now is the perfect time to have tourism boost economic growth. One of Japan's largest beach projection events,　"CONCORDIA," has been underway in Odaiba since last month. It has received praise for providing a fantastical experience in light and sound through the use of cutting-edge technologies such as AI and AR. We will also have a countdown event on New Year's Eve at the Citizen’s Plaza, where there will be projection mapping on the curved wall of the Metropolitan Assembly Building and floating lanterns in the sky carrying New Year wishes. We will promote the appeal of Tokyo’s nights using light.

Making the most of Tokyo’s potential in agriculture

The diversity of Japan’s "food" is even attracting attention overseas. Securing a stable supply of fertilizer is a major issue in the cultivation of the crops that support Japan's rich food culture. We will engage in a project to extract phosphorus from sewage sludge at water reclamation centers for effective utilization as fertilizer. Japan depends on imports for almost all of its phosphorus. If Tokyo, which accounts for 10％ of Japan’s sewage treatment, embarks on the domestic production of fertilizer, this would have a huge impact on food security as well. An agreement will also be concluded with JA Zen-Noh （National Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations） for the joint promotion of initiatives to make Tokyo's phosphorus available for use throughout Japan.

Informing the world of SusHi Tech Tokyo

SusHi Tech Tokyo 2024, to be held next spring, will serve as an opportunity to send a powerful message to the world about Tokyo’s various initiatives. In addition to inviting leaders from cities around the world, we are also inviting startups from Japan and abroad to take part in a startup pitch contest, one of the highlights of the event. By also holding programs such as one in which cutting-edge technologies are used to allow participants to experience the possibilities of future cities, we wish to use this as an opportunity to significantly raise Tokyo's presence and make it a city where various connections that lead to innovation are born one after another. We will also boost expectations toward SusHi Tech Tokyo 100 days before this event by using digital space to provide a virtual world where people can experience the appeal of Edo Tokyo's diverse culture and industry.