At the Rio+20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development last year, the Government of Japan was the lead organiser of the ‘Future Cities We Want – Linking and Spreading Sustainable Future Cities’ side event (alongside Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the City of Yokohama), which examined the potential for Japan’s own ‘FutureCity’ Initiative as a means through which to spread knowledge globally to bring about more human-centred settlements for the future.
This weekend, the Japanese government will host the 2nd International Forum on the FutureCity Initiative. This is intended to allow for the dissemination of the initiative’s platform for global knowledge, as well as expand and deepen its global network. It will showcase the leading practices of the 11 Japanese municipalities participating in the initiative, in addition to other global partner projects, as well as discuss their practicality for wider use and implementation. The event will be held in Shimokawa, Hokkaido, a small town of only 3,600 residents which strives to utilize local assets to realize a true ‘FutureCity’. A full programme for the event can be viewed here (PDF).
A full list of the 11 selected FutureCity projects is available here. Other English language resources for interested readers include (all PDF):
- ‘FutureCity’ Initiative – 2010 presentation by Regional Revitalization Bureau, Cabinet Secretariat
- ‘FutureCity’ Initiative – 2012 (update) presentation by Tashio Kato, Secretary General – Regional Revitalization Bureau
- ‘Strategy for Rebirth of Japan: ‘FutureCity’ Initiative’ – JBIC presentation given at World Cities Summit 2012
- ‘The Future City Concept’ – interview with expert review panel chief Dr Shuzo Murakami, Highlighting Japan, February 2011
On February 28, the ‘Building smart communities in TOHOKU together with the World: collaborating with and spreading to the international community’ international seminar will be held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tokyo, full details of which can be viewed here.
The Japan Smart City Portal, also profiling four Japanese smart cities, is operated by the New Energy Promotional Council.
