Minakami Township together with real estate company Open House (TYO: 3288), Gunma Bank (TYO: 8334) and the National University Corporation Graduate School of Engineering at the University of Tokyo announced they will conclude a cooperation agreement on September 22nd linking industry, government and academia in a regional revitalisation partnership. 

Minakami Township is a well known tourist destination on the Gunma side of the prefectural border with Niigata.  The area has abundant natural environment resources and is blessed with many hot springs throughout.  The area, along with neighbouring Naeba and Yuzawa in Niigata prefecture, has long been touted as one of Tokyo’s easiest accessible getaway spots.

On the other hand, there are issues common to mountainous areas nationwide, such as the declining birthrate and aging population, the aging of public and hot spring facilities, and the deterioration of the ski resort management industry. 

Therefore, the four parties will conduct  a "Comprehensive Cooperation Agreement on Regional Revitalization of Minakami Town" which will continue to work on community development in cooperation thereafter.

Areas of specific concern for the agreement are expected to be related to the creation of attractive tourist destinations, the promotion of sustainable urban development, promoting the benefits of migration to the area, the promotion of tourism and industrial expansion, environmental conservation, other improvement to resident services and boosting information exchanges that contribute to the effective use of public facilities.

For Open House in particular, this partnership provides their first opportunity for ground floor regional revitalisation.  Currently, Open House operates real estate brokerage and development services in the Greater Tokyo Area, Osaka and Hyogo prefectures, Nagoya and Fukuoka; all well populated areas with none of the issues facing Minakami Township. 

Further Reading:

Naeba: A Mountain Gem Two Hours from Tokyo (REthink Tokyo; August, 2021)