Last night creatives and city officials from Fukuoka descended on London’s Tech City, as part of a two day visit to the capital showcasing the Asian digital hub’s offer around innovative tech and gaming start-ups/talent, as well as linking up with British firms. After Mayor Soichiro Takashima detailed the growing city’s economy as start-up capital of Japan, the event saw pitches from leading Fukuoka creative businesses, the demonstration of local culture, food and drink and, during the networking, DJ sets by local creatives (and the mayor).
This March the City of Fukuoka concluded a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Tech City Investment Organisation (TCIO) at a ceremony held in Fukuoka, with British Ambassador Tim Hitchens signing the agreement on behalf of TCIO. The MOU commits both cities to collaborate around joint promotion of local tech firms and knowledge partnering, of which this event and visits to Tech City-based companies are the first such collaboration.
For more on Mayor Takashima and Fukuoka’s lifestyle offer you can download this briefing (PDF, extracted from City Portraits, a publication of the World Cities Summit Mayors Forum 2013. To download the full publication or learn more about the World Cities Summit, visit http://www.worldcitiessummit.com.sg/), while the mayor’s presentation from the event can also be downloaded (PDF).
