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Information & Strategy Office
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| In severe financial conditions, many municipalities are attempting to focus on policies for the efficient and effective financial operation. What is the necessary policy for the social and economic development? Municipalities are also expected to engage in marketing. ‘Information & Strategy Office’ was set up in URC as an advisory team serving for Fukuoka City with a mission to contribute to the economic growth of Fukuoka City. In daily operation, it collects and analyzes data and information, consults to city bureaus and the general public, builds up policy options and recommends priorities to support Mayor’s decision making. |
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| Positioning Fukuoka on the global mapUncertain times ahead – We are now living and working in the era of increasing uncertainty. In the last few decades the world has changed (and is changing today) by four key drivers; 1) internet (from 1.0 to 3.0), 2) explosion of world population, 3)advanced mobility of goods and people, and 4) energy revolution (from fossil to green). – To survive and thrive in such an era of uncertainty, the following “nine principles” have been advocated by wise leaders including Kiyoshi Kurokawa: 1) Resilience, instead of Strength, 2) Risk, instead of Safety, 3)Systems, instead of Objects, 4) Compasses, instead of Maps, 5) Pull, instead of Push, 6) Practice, instead of Theory, 7)Disobedience, instead of Compliance, 8) Crowds, instead of Experts, 9) Learning, instead of EducationThe rise of regional economies – Economic geography has also dramatically changed in the last few decades (and is changing today). While Thomas L. Friedman proposed “The world is flat” in 1999, Richard Florida argues that the world is not flat but rather spiky. Both seem true. – Implications from these argument are that the world economy today is a network of urban regions, as Kenichi Omae argued in his book “The End of the Nation-State: the Rise of Regional Economies” – Global talents and knowledge workers gather in urban regions (and in particular in the city centers). They become part of “ecosystem of innovation” which in turn accelerates sustainable growth of that region. As AnnaLee Saxenian pointed out, a region is a source of competitive advantage of businesses. Positioning Fukuoka June 20, 2013 |
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 Fukuoka Growth
Data is the basis for planning. |
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| Fukuoka Growth 01 Japan’s No.1 Growing City (10/07/2013 Version1.4) | |
Download English (pdf/2.04MB) |
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| Data | |
| ◆1,500,899 persons “Fukuoka city’s population tops 1.5 million”, reported in news. It topped 1 million in 1975. Only after a short period of time as 38 years, it topped 1.5 million. Fukuoka city is “the fastest growing city in Japan” at this moment. Surpassing Kyoto city, Fukuoka city became a city with the 6th largest population in the ordinance-designated cities following only 5 cities including Yokoyama city, Osaka city, Kobe city, and Nagoya city which are so-called Three Metropolitan Areas (Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya areas) and Sapporo city. |
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| *Click on the figure to enlarge. | |
| ◆Outstanding “Rapid Growth” in short period of time Only in 2 years and 7 months, Fukuoka city’s population has increased by almost 40,000, which is the largest in ordinance-designated cities with almost the double of Sapporo city, the second in ranking. The growth rate of Fukuoka city’s population is the highest among any large cities. Both of the data indicate the outstanding trend of Fukuoka city where a lot of people gather comparing with other cities in Japan. |
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| *Click on the figure to enlarge. | |